At HorseBack, we love simple things which make a big difference. Since we work in the field of mental health and wellbeing, we are always looking for small tweaks humans can make to their daily routines which reap great dividends.
One of those is to be aware of your body. It’s not just in the sense of physical health, although that is important. The human body is built to move, and the more you move it, the happier it will be. But just as important is understanding the central nervous system and how that connects to the body. If you get stuck in the sympathetic nervous system, you are in fight, flight or freeze. You will feel this in physiological ways – you’ll get tight and tense, your heart will beat faster, you will be producing stress hormones like cortisol, which can wreak havoc on your physical self.
At HorseBack, we like to do a body audit, especially when we are working with our horses. We run through our bodies looking for hidden tightnesses and tensions. We try to release those. This can be as straightforward as swinging your arms, if you carry tensions in your shoulders, or breathing out worry and fret, or doing some long stretches. We find that the habit of getting trapped emotions out of the body is incredibly useful. It’s an easy habit to build, and it’s wonderfully helpful.
Breathe, stretch, roll, stomp, dance. Let your body express itself just as you let your mind express itself. You will feel so much better.
