Jannie Smit is passionate and highly experienced in horse friendly and holistic ways of training and looking after horses. As we communicate with horses through body language we first of all need to get a better understanding and awareness of how we move ourselves.
Any tension in our body will block the flow, as we say with horses “the Swung”, and is directly translated to the horse. We need to find a way to “Move with Ease” and keep the flow going throughout our whole body.
I have been practising Feldenkrais with Grace Chapman for 6 years now and find the Awareness Through Movement classes and Functional Integration sessions of most benefit, not only for the work with my horses but also in day to day life.
We are more than just our mind; and more than just our body. This means mental shifts can happen through training the physical body beyond cognitive thinking.
As you open up and listen during these subtle practices, you’ll focus on sensations in movement and breath as they come into harmony. You’ll expand learned techniques as you follow your intuition and learn to “Move with Meaning and Ease”.
Experience the endless benefits of your body as an instrument of conscious awareness and you’ll have a perfect tool for clear communication with your horse.
Grace has a beautiful way of guiding us exploring our movements, with softness, kindness and lots of laughter.
Not only is this helping me to understand my own body but also that of the horses as our skeletal structure is very similar. The main difference is that they are on all fours (horizontal) and we are upright (vertical).
No matter what you do in life, Feldenkrais will give you many benefits, physically, mentally and emotionally.