Who you think you are is who you will become.
even in the most difficult circumstance.”
Unknown Author
Words cannot describe the feeling of being in the presence of a horse; often you will feel calmer, be able to breathe deeply and simply relax.
Everyone has the capacity to heal themselves though sometimes we need outside guidance to help us get us on the right track.
* * * * *
My name is Leigh Hodgins and I am a certified facilitator of equine experiential learning and owner of Willow Spirit Path Holistic Services. My horses and I help people find their flow and live their best life through the wisdom of horses!
After experiencing a series of life altering changes in a short period of time, I turned to my horses for comfort and support. During that challenging time, I came across and took training to become a facilitator of Equine Experiential Learning. Now my horses can assist you in learning how to navigate the bumps in life and get your life flowing.
What is Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning® (“FEEL”)?
Equine assisted therapy is a fairly new healing modality where a person is in the centre of an experience with a horse as the teacher. The facilitator provides observation and feedback. FEEL is based on an emotionally intimate partnership with a horse. This is where the potential is for you to look within yourself to improve your health, well-being, and life!
Horses engage people in experiential learning – learning by doing. Using mindful activities, participants learn to find their own answers as horses reflect and mirror back to them what is going on within themselves. People gain knowledge and acquire skills from these activities. There are various FEEL activities with the horses that you are guided through by the facilitator. These activities help give you insights and integrate these captivating moments in a deep, powerful way.
All FEEL activities are done only if the horse is willing and are usually done at liberty (meaning that the horse is loose within a confined area). There may be certain situations, such as working with young children, that the horse will have a halter and lead.
Many people who have experienced this work have reported feeling faster, more powerful change than other mindful activities.
FEEL helps people by:
· Allowing us to get out of our head and more into our heart, allowing us to be more empathic and compassionate and thereby increasing our emotional intelligence;
· Allowing us to become more mindful, authentic and vulnerable;
· Assisting us with developing intuition, self-awareness, awareness of others and mindfulness;
· Helping relationship development, communication and leadership skills;
· Helping us to understand and regulate our emotions better;
· Assisting with processing loss and grief;
· Expanding our self-awareness and awareness of other people;
· Helping us understand and set boundaries;
· Opening our heart to endless possibilities; and
· Increasing vitality and energy.
Why horses?
· Generally, horses help people re-connect with themselves and their lives.
· Working with horses allows a person to experience an authentic relationship; you will feel safe with a horse as they offer unconditional support and love without judgement. Horses will not reject someone who is authentic.
· Working with horses brings feelings to the surface which allows people to understand and work with their emotions to become emotionally agile providing emotional growth.
· Partnering with a horse allows safe physical interaction; there is nothing better than a horse hug!
· We understand our behaviour better when we see it mirrored back by the horse as this helps us to self-regulate.
· The large physical presence of a horse provides people to confront their fear and gain more courage and confidence.
· It has been determined that less than 10% of communication is verbal. Horses help us to understand body language, unconscious behaviour patterns and intent of words and actions.
· Horses have survived through the ages as they have highly sensitive observational skills and intuitive responses to their environment. Most people mainly rely on intellect while horses rely on their entire bodies allowing them to read and respond to the energy around them.
· Horses listen at a different and deeper level and this resonance is a sense of connection. Horses respond to this connection and we interact with the horses’ insightful reflections, change our behaviour and experience a positive impact of such change.
Connections
· One way we connect with each other and other beings is through energy, mostly electromagnetic, consciously or unconsciously.
· The strongest source of electromagnetic energy is produced by the heart, then our gut.
· The Institute of Heart Math in California has conducted research into energy radiating from and being received by the heart and how it affects our feelings and behavioural responses.
· The magnetic field of a heart is 100 times stronger than the field generated by the brain and the heart carries important information.
· The institute of Heart Math discovered that the electromagnetic field of a horse is 5 times stronger than that of a human heart and that a horses’ heart rate is about 3 times slower than a human.
· People and horses have a need for personal space and each one is different.
Given this information, horses have a lot to teach us how to live a better life!
All FEEL activities are done on the ground and there is no riding involved. Previous horse experience is not required.
Willow Spirit Path Holistic Services offers private, couple, group FEEL sessions as well as workshops.
Come out to Whonnock (East Maple Ridge) and meet the horses in a beautiful location in nature with an open mind and heart and experience the magic of horses!
