The premise of Dutch psychiatrist Dr Bessel van der Kolk’s bestselling book The Body Keeps the Score is that when we experience a traumatic event, our brain tries to forget it but our bodies never do. 

Instead, he argues, our bodies store the stress and distress, and this alters our nervous system and hormonal function, ultimately manifesting in ‘‘ a whole range’’ of physical maladies, including fibromyalgia , chronic fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and autoimmune diseases. It can also manifest as anxiety and depression.

Address the body, he suggests, and we can remedy the mind’s forgotten pain. 

Equine therapy addresses the body's pain with a somatic therapy approach amplified with the beautiful horse energy. The horses' energy fields are so vast and sitting in it and going through the process is a relaxing and therapeutic experience.

 

Equine therapy is useful for all ages. Horses show us the way back to our true Selves.  They are relational beings and respond to us according to how we do our world.  They show us our blind spots, and how our patterns of thinking, feeling, and limiting beliefs manifest in our life experiences.  Through their seemingly unlimited patience, they give us opportunities to reframe how we do our world.   As we become more aligned with our true nature, the horses are naturally drawn to us – validating our increased alignment.

 

Appointments are available on Wednesday mornings at the Yoga Farm in Mount Duneed.

 

Robyn Thompson has been trained by CEEL (Centre for Equine Experiential Learning) and is associated with Free Rein Australia