Equine Assisted wellness workshop series: Breakthrough in 2022:
Each workshop in this series is designed to work individually, as well as sequentially. The goal for the series is to help you discover the organic, natural wisdom you are born with, and to release the self defeating patterns that we learn through the experiences we have.
What it is and what it is not:
Equine assisted workshops possess their own integrity. They are a complement to traditional therapy and not an extension of it. Keep in mind that the experience is unlike any other and has its own boundaries. The combination of experiential therapeutic work, alongside the intuitive nature of working with horses, requires flexibility and responsiveness in the moment. Rigid agendas or timetables aren’t compatible with the method. Flexibility and fluid responsiveness are often injured through trauma and other maladaptive experiences. We will strengthen these psychological muscles (skills) throughout our time together. Sufficient time will be allocated for each individual to complete his or her own process.
Workshops will integrate leading edge therapeutic tools and best practices for breakthroughs. Mindfulness, somatic accessing and resourcing, neurosequential integration, Polyvagal work, EMDR informed protocol with horses, parts work and shadow work informed by IFS, as well as Hakomi, are included.
the core program
Core questions we examine include: being embodied and doing boundaries, the HOW vs WHO I am. How do you consciously and intentionally relate to yourself in an empowered manner? When the past seems to define present and future, how can you be “free”? How to let go of a past event and/or self that is haunting you? What does it mean to be “whole”? How to live in (and love) your body? Somatic INSIGHT: seeing within.
How will i benefit?
First and foremost: discover how you work, from the inside out.. Reconcile yourself with your body. Integrate your emotions and your beliefs. Common signs of stuckness and blocks range from the absence of peace, quiet or stillness, to the noise of the narrator within or inner critic; from the ‘never enough’ perfectionism or impossible standards, to second guessing or self punishing defeatism. Difficulty feeling or regulating one’s feelings, as in “living from the neck up” or “acting out” the internal drama; all or none thinking; hopelessness, powerlessness, found in ‘always’ or ‘never’ attitudes toward oneself or life; inability to be present, in dissociation or numbness, or reactive impulsivity. Difficulty feeling your body or looking in the mirror: overwhelming shame or loss. Regret or remorse that will not let you enjoy yourself. Serial seriousness that won’t let you play. Perpetual distraction: not knowing how to unplug, to disconnect from media, to be or to play.
Why THESE horses?
The team of horses we work with have been trained to be therapy horses for many years. We work with the horses to lean the building blocks of a healthy relationship. HEAL= hopeful, empowered, active living. Each participant will develop a relationship with his or her horse, You will experience the essential building blocks to a healthy, strong relationship with yourself. Your horse will reflect back to you what you are putting out energetically, emotionally, somatically. Horses have mastered essential elements of empathic attunement : receptivity, intentionality, flexibility, fluidity, and harmony. They’ve balanced intuition and responsiveness, leading to empathy in action, grace under pressure. They are grounded and centered, adaptive and responsive. We stand to learn much from them.
isn’t my relationship with myself automatic?
Some think, “I don’t have to work on my relationship with myself. It just happens.” NO! Substitute “unconscious” for “just happens” or “automatic” and you’ll be on to something.
We learn how to relate to ourselves through the earliest relationships with our caregivers. Common experiences of participants include: trauma, intergenerational included, codependency, ACOA, early family stressors, etc. The relationship you learn to have with yourself is the foundation for all the relationships you have, including with “life”. Its the tool through which you navigate life. If you do not approach it intentionally and mindfully, you are living unconsciously, which is a form of acting out. Acting out is like replaying a movie over and again. Rather than living life, you are a victim of it. Rather than directing your own story, you are having a Groundhog Day moment. You are not in charge of yourself. What’s driving the story line are unmet needs (from the past). Because needs NEED to be met, they will keep driving your behavior.
building resilience and post traumatic growth
Most of the distress and pain people feel are actually unmet needs screaming for attention. These workshops teach you to 1) speak the language of the self 2) discover the unresolved conflicts you carry within 3) how they block your liberation and progress 4) recognize the unmet needs embedded in the conflicts and 5) relate effectively to yourself (and others) so as to release yourself from stuckness. Each workshop has a specific focus, however the reason for the series itself is to develop competence in these 5 areas. These are required for self mastery.
Goals and objectives
The goal of the retreats and intensives is to work through to resolution 1 specific goal, area, issue, or stuck point. This is a magnificent opportunity to accelerate personal growth or therapy. We are embodied beings, subjects, who develop through direct experience. The horses will facilitate repair of past experiences that led to maladaptive learning, as well as to cultivate new experiences of vital resources necessary to support wellness goals.
schedule for 2022
June 18th: Drop into Stillness: Equanimity.
Discover your core boundaries, like the Eye of the Hurricane, your center remains still, holding space for you to access your internal resources. Learn to regulate yourself through the vagus nerve. Learn to access your nervous system.
Retreats in july and august
July and August include a Retreat and Small Group Intensive. A small group facilitates intimacy, born of common ground and privacy. There is exceptional power in witnessing each other. What we cannot accept wields tremendous power over us. This intensive will facilitate a release of blocks and permit a return to wholeness.: Acceptance, Forgiveness, and Letting Go.
Retreats will integrate leading edge therapeutic tools and best practices for resolution of trauma, self regulation and integration: Mindfulness and compassion based practices, somatic attunement using the neurosequential model and Polyvagal work, EMDR informed protocol with horses, parts work and shadow work (informed by IFS, as well as Hakomi,) among others.
July 30 and 31: Release the Resistance.
Each participant will select 1 challenging experience that has meaningfully impacted your lives. The goal is to release yourself from the program you learned as a result of it. When past experiences exert power of your present, it is because they remain unresolved. This means, energetically, they aren’t digested, or processed. assimilated and integrated. Like physical digestion, certain conditions are required for experiential digestion. We will co-create these and work in group as well as individually to breakthrough and release ourselves from these programs. Please note: Experience is not the same thing as an “event”. You may select a discrete memory, a set of similar experiences that unfolded over time, or a sense of self that formed over time. You may select abuse, neglect, loss, an injury, an inner child wound, or a regret or experience of remorse. For experiences that seem “too big” or “too vague”, don’t worry. We will identify the most compelling part of it for you right now.
August 20: Deep dive/small group intensive. Acceptance and Self Compassion.
Participants will work with a source of shame or guilt. If you participated in the 2 day retreat, you may identify a new target or we will continue to heal the wound you identified there. Healing occurs in layers, so the need will appear on a deeper level, requiring greater intimacy from you.
September TBD: Being Authentically YOU.
More lessons on self acceptance. Live grounded and centered. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. How to take a mindful pause. The conditions for self acceptance in a nutshell. Applications of the vagus nerve, affect regulation, and somatic connection in the face of external pressure. Learn to regulate yourself through the vagus nerve. Learn to access your boundaries no matter what. Access your nervous system in a sequential manner in line with your organic template .