Hello!
It's hard to believe we recently celebrated the Fall Equinox! The days are getting shorter and autumn is upon us, already!
As the temperatures drop, the herd will naturally begin to produce more melatonin in their bodies which in turn prompts their bodies to increase coat growth for thermoregulation.
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In addition to the horse's ability to thermoregulate, horses also entrain with each other to protect themselves from prey and to stay aware of their surroundings.
When one horse senses danger, the rest of the herd will immediately take notice of the energetic shift in that horse on the neurosystem level, since they can't speak! They'll raise their heads, look in their 350° vision, perk their ears to take in the sound and continue to sense the nervous system of each other to take action.
More on this below and how this extraordinary sensing and noticing, helps us when we work with the horses!
Do you have questions? Please send me an email if there is more you'd like me to cover here!
With kindness,
Belle, Salsa, Penny, and Mimi too!
Equine Guidance ®
Belle Shook MC, NBCC, LPC, SEP, NARM
928-301-7688
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How Horses Heal:
Belle Shook & Equine Guidance®
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We discussed in our last newsletter ~ horses track and monitor our nervous system and heart, naturally and expertly as their defense mechanism in the wild. Horses spend their time when they feel safe & are free of threats in the parasympathetic nervous system - rest, relaxation, digestion, decreased heart rate, and respiration. Horse's heart-rates (32-36 beats per minute) and their respiration rates are slower than humans as well. We feel calm and centered when working with the horses.
With the horses, we automatically begin to entrain with their lower heart rate, decreasing our stress and helping us balance our parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. This balance is called coherence.
Coherence pulls our nervous system, cardiovascular, hormonal, and immune systems into flow and balance and begins the healing process in our bodies. This elevated feeling of peace and wholeness is our baseline for aligning and increasing our resilience, immunity, clarity, intuitive intelligence, peace, and joy.
When we are out of balance, we are not aligned with good decision-making, creativity, our true north, purpose, focus, and heart's intelligence.
We see the world as we are, not as it is. All of us see with varying degrees of unresolved stress, and the more stress there is, the more challenging it can become to experience new possibilities, clarity, creativity, peace, heightened states of consciousness, critical thinking, and intuitive intelligence.
Once we have our baseline for conscious and unconscious coherence within our nervous system, we can use it as a touchstone to stay there longer and longer, and to expand our resiliency, courage, and intuition.
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Because the horses provide immediate feedback to us in mirroring our imbalances, blocks and blind spots, they then work to bring us back into balance for our own good, safety, and the good of the herd. Equine-assisted therapy and learning at Equine Guidance® is scientifically faster and far more exacting than talk therapy, with even the most skilled and intuitive human!
Ready?
Call us at 928-301-7688.
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5-Minutes: How to Harmonize Heart and Brain Featuring Gregg Braden |
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Heart and Brain Coherence |
I've always loved Gregg Braden's work. He has an extraordinary ability to bridge science and spirituality.
In this 5-minute meditation, Gregg shows us how to keep things simple and how to stay heart-centered.
We see here that intention is powerful - how did it go for you?
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A Sampling of Equine Guidance® Experiences! |
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While every experience at Equine Guidance® is customized and no two sessions are alike, we decide following our intake process, and Meet The Herd, what's next depending on your goals and desires. We the take time to learn which horse is your natural partner in this experience. After twenty years of assisting people through somatic equine guided therapy and healing, we have always centered on exactly what the client needs! |
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The Reflective Round Pen Session |
This experience is like Carl Jung's Mandala (the center of the self). Through the uncertainty of walking into the unknown and co-creating an experience with a horse, we gain a working experience and insights into the meaning and depths of our experience and lives. This revealing and safe space expands upon our resiliency, courage, and presence. |
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The Reflective Leading Session |
Discover how effective of a leader you are. Experience first-hand the dynamics of responsibility through leading another. The importance of authenticity, consistency, and direct communication and listening. This experience provides honest feedback about your leadership abilities and allows you to fine tune, and hone your skills as well as practice new skills in a safe and reflective space. |
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“This workshop gave me the opportunity to reflect about myself and how new thinking incorporates into coaching for executives.”
– Teri, Nike Corporation Retreat Participant
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Belle Shook Presents for Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute:
October 9th, 11:00 am Pacific
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Equine Guidance®:
Horses Heal Trauma
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Join us to learn about the magical and scientific world of healing trauma with horses and Somatic Experiencing! We will examine and reveal the alchemy of an Equine Guidance® session blended with the power of Somatic Experiencing. |
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Together, we will explore the triad of the horse, client, and therapist. We will take an in-depth view of horses' and humans' connections in psychology, autonomic nervous systems, intuition, and trauma-informed care at the intersection of Somatic Experiencing.
You will discover:
- How horses mirror or reflect our unconscious affects
- What happens when a horse reads our autonomic nervous system and supports the client in coming back into a cohesive regulated state
- The profound depth of expanded consciousness the horses bring to facilitate personal growth and healing
A Q&A and exchange of information will follow.
A link to the registration will follow under separate cover!
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Waking the Tiger:
Healing Trauma
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Dr. Peter Levine created the trauma healing modality Somatic Experiencing. He asked the question, why do wild animals rarely have trauma? In his book, he discusses releasing the stored energy of trauma from the nervous system after a traumatic event as the answer. |
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Horses do this naturally - this is how they process to survive! It's been fascinating to watch the herd buck, run, fart, play, and ultimately release the stored energy during client sessions. Horses attune to the nervous system of each other and us.
Horses and their 1200 pound mass of coherence hold space for our nervous system to heal; they mirror and reflect our unconscious affect, pinpoint trauma in the nervous system, help us shift the stored energy, and orient us toward homeostasis within the relationship of our nervous systems interacting.
Imagine a person who has been divorced for ten years suddenly in unexpected grief as she discovers the news of her former husband's passing. Her system moves through various emotions and ultimately lands in the dorsal dominant state of depression/grief.
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Her round pen session looks from a distance about as exciting as watching paint dry as the horse stands near and holds space in healing silence. The two stand together as her nervous system finally has space made available to transform the trauma of what has been.
Without words, her nervous system in the horse's presence guides her to resolving the trauma found in her former marriage.
Upon completion, she steps out of the arena, and once she closes the gate, the horse release through movement, running, bucking, and gallivanting around the arena, releasing all that was sensed and all that the horse assisted in processing.
The horse is waking the tiger and releasing the old energy to bring the collective nervous system back into balance.
My client is grateful, as is the horse. Horses love that humans are waking up and coming online with the interconnectivity of all that is.
Dr. Levine's book explains why trauma gets trapped in the body creating issues for us, and how trauma can be released from the body when it gets lodged in the nervous system. We just happen to be able to help to release it through relationship with the horse.
No horse experience or running necessary! That's just how the horses do it! Your experience is quiet, grounding, expansive, and magical!
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Belle Shook Shares:
Trauma Specific Equine Therapy
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Equine Guidance® 928-301-7688
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