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The pandemic is a reminder that some things are beyond our control, but horses can help us focus on the things that really matter.
Horses in the time of coronavirus
Like everyone else, I have been grappling with the ways the pandemic has disrupted my life. Even where I live, amid the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, the realities of quarantines and social distancing have altered the ways I spend time with my family, friends and horses.
I’ve been a horse owner for more than 20 years and a practitioner and teacher of yoga even longer. A physical and mental discipline centered on breath control, simple meditation, bodily postures and other techniques, yoga has been used by people for millennia to enhance health, relaxation and life in general. Now more than ever, I rely on lessons I’ve learned through yoga---and from working with horses---to make the most of each day.
No doubt you’ve heard the saying “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” The current situation is a good reminder that some things are beyond our control and we are at our best when we navigate them with as much grace as we can muster. In yoga, we try to bring gracefulness into specific postures, even when they feel difficult. This metaphor applies to life in general, especially when we face challenging circumstances.
Situational adaptation is something that horsepeople do well. We are resilient and resourceful. Nonetheless, it’s perfectly natural to grieve the loss of the trail rides, horse shows, group lessons and riding clinics that have been canceled as a result of this crisis. But even as we experience disappointment, it’s important to keep the feeling of loss from coloring our view of the future. To avoid that, I have been con
templating the areas where my two worlds---yoga and horses---converge, to focus on the joyful moments that remain. Here are some tips and thoughts from a yogic perspective that you might find helpful during this unusual time.
• Live in the moment. Horses live in a state of what yogis call “present moment awareness” naturally and we can learn to do this, too. Living in the moment allows us to fully experience what we’re doing and reduces the anxiety that arises from the projections and “what-ifs” that can easily flood the mind. Horses are good teachers: They’re not in the pasture processing what might happen next, they are happily in the moment.
• Take care of care of yourself.
Eat well, keep active and stay flexible so you’ll be fit and ready when activity resumes.
• Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Focus on what’s right with your life, not what’s wrong with it.
• Maintain an outlook of acceptance with yourself, others and the world. But don’t confuse acceptance with complacency ---work on what you can, and from where you are. Be creative about new ways to stay plugged into horsemanship, wellness and your support network.
• Practice “mindful grooming.” When you are with your horse, you might enjoy something I include in some of my retreats called “mindful grooming”: Listen to soothing music, remain silent, and fully experience the act of grooming---taking care of another being, breathing deeply, connecting and relaxing.
One of the foundations of yogic thought is the realization that all things are impermanent. This pandemic may be the biggest hardship of our time, but it will pass. Things may not resume in exactly the same way, but isn’t that the nature of life? Much like horsemanship, life is dynamic, ever moving and shifting. We fare better when we go with the flow rather than fighting the current.
Peace, happy trails and namaste.
About the author: Cathy Woods’ book, Yoga for Riders: Principles and Postures to Improve your Horsemanship, will be published soon.