photo by Valerie Fomina on Unsplash
Stories & Inspiration
Rider, Breathe! – But How?
Have you heard your instructor say:Â “Breathe!”, or have you caught yourself holding your breath when riding?
Quite counter-productive, isn’t it? You have probably stopped feeling yourself and your horse. It all happened subconsciously when you were nervous or overly focused, and it felt good to then actually breathe again.
Holding your breath is just one way of a counter-productive breathing pattern that keeps you from feeling yourself and your horse. But changing these patterns is not hard. It will take awareness, but that’s a good thing, right?
Here is a 20-second exercise that you can do right now that can bring more awareness to your breathing:
Take a looooooooong, full exhalation. A little bit more and more and more. Until every little bit of air leaves your lungs. And then let your body do the inhalation. Did your belly and your ribs extend more than they usually would?
You have probably now used muscles for your breathing that you usually don’t use. With this simple exercise, you are waking these parts of your body up. And you might feel more awake in general. You have – on purpose – created a little stimulation of your nervous system that is very healthy.
For more fun, easy exercises that will change your body awareness (and therefore your riding) instantly, join the 3-week Online Breathing Masterclass to learn how to use your breathing to:
- let go of tension when you or your horse are too tense.
- create positive tension when you or your horse are too loose.
- improve your posture and coordination.
- connect with your horse.
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