In my line of work we have a light bulb joke that says something about the way we perceive our work: “How many Feldenkrais practitioners does it take to screw in a light bulb? None. We don’t do energy work.”
This does not mean however that the riders I work with don’t interpret what I do as energy work, they often do. I use the work of Moshe Feldenkrais combined with a dose of Centered Riding, Alexander Technique, and bio-mechanics to teach riders to move with the motion of their horse and ride in easy balance.
When I watched the DVD “Riding With Chi: Your Pathway to Energy Mastery” I knew why my students often think of my as an energy worker—like a clap to the forehead—here was a program all about energy mastery that was describing exactly the same things I’m always proclaiming will positively bring any rider to a new state of fluency and balance, nay, oneness, with a horse—relaxation, alignment, balance, efficient movement, belly breathing, and flow. And they were describing it as energy awareness! With the same principles I, the not-energy-worker, teach. I know Moshe Feldenkrais was an engineer/physicist and based his awareness work on sound bio-mechanical principles and neurology. He was also a Judo master—was that the tie that brings everyone else to think energy when I teach riders to move with the motion of their horse? I don’t really know, but I do know that these principles stemming from the ancient arts of Tai Chi and classical dressage will bring riders to a new level of communication and balance.
Riding With Chi is a 2 part DVD that features Tai Chi Master David Ritchie, dressage trainer Patricia Norcia, and western/dressage trainer Mark Russell. Three experts in their fields were brought together to discuss the link between Energy, Tai Chi, and the Horse~Rider system and to give instruction on how to master the essential relaxation, balance, alignment, and energy flow to ride a horse with true grace.
The first DVD flows like a natural life process, moving from discussion to action as the team talks about and shows how an introductory level of Tai Chi and Qi Gong can bring a rider to a new level in the connection to the horse. The second DVD has four parts, three sequences of Tai Chi exercises to bring awareness, relaxation, and alignment to the rider. The fourth part teaches Dantien breath or how to breathe into the lower belly—essential for efficient movement and back health. Patricia ends by giving a relaxation sequence that, done before mounting, will prepare the rider to ride with energy mastery.
This DVD is filled with gems about both riding well and horse training as the team both demonstrates and discusses how the practice of Tai Chi can inform the rider to effectively influence the horse in a relaxed, easy way and at a high level of performance. It’s obvious that Mark and Patricia ride with the concepts they teach when in the riding sequences their bodies flow in unison with the horses. You can see how, when riding with chi, riding becomes like a moving meditation. This program will benefit any rider seeking to ride with that “Centaur feeling” in any riding discipline.
Riding with Chi was produced by Andrea Steele at Mouse Hole Farm Productions and can be ordered online. $35.99 2 hours in 2 DVDs.
