A Map of the Equestrian Tai Chi Program for Riders
This page is an overview of the Equestrian Tai Chi Program for riders.
It’s about how the different trainings in the Program developed, and how we can use parts, or all of them, almost every day out riding, to keep ourselves and our horse calm, to feel our chi flow in harmony with our horse riding, to communicate with our horse through our energy, and to even have a spiritual connection with our horse riding.
The Equestrian Tai Chi Form, the sequence of Equestrian Tai Chi movements, is the centre of the Program and following on from this I developed other trainings for riders, to help with specific things.
One of the main benefits of the Equestrian Tai Chi Form is the relaxing effect it has on the horse and rider partnership and this is not just during actual practice, but it extends into the rest of their time together as well.
It helps the horse and rider to build trust and confidence together and in each other.
I thought it would be useful to create another separate course to build confidence and manage emotions riding, to build on the natural advantages of Equestrian Tai Chi.
In this course, as well as Equestrian Tai Chi, I added breathing exercises for managing emotions riding as well as a way of dissipating energy that could be affecting the horse and rider adversely.
This was in 2013 and I called the course Equestrian Tai Chi To Build Confidence Riding.
I created another version of this course in 2017 called Taoist Breathing and Awareness in Time for Confident Riding. I created another version again in 2019. This time it was called How to Manage your Mindset and Emotions Riding!
In 2022 we have another version of this course - Build Chi Confidence & Connection with Your Horse Riding.
Being able to build confidence, to manage fear and anxiety and keep ourselves and our horse calm has been an important focus in the development of the Equestrian Tai Chi Program for Riders!
Something else that was very important for me was helping riders who wanted to develop their Chi/energy.
We began with the first course Equestrian Tai Chi for Equestrians and then this was updated to become the Equestrian Tai Chi Connect course in 2015, where I included breathing exercises and other exercises to help riders to open and develop their energy.
Then in 2018, I began to teach specialised exercises to help riders to awaken their internal energy riding.
These specialised energy exercises for riding were to help riders to feel their chi flow in harmony with their horse riding, to communicate and connect with their horse through their energy riding and to give energetic aids, lessening the need for physical aids and sometimes replacing them.
I felt this was important to teach, not just for the rider, but for the possibilities it offered the horse and rider partnership, and for the way it showed us how talented the horse was at understanding energy riding.
What many people don't know is that mostly, people’s chi or energy lies dormant in them, they are unaware of it.
It remains dormant in most people unless they want to train to open and develop it.
It seems to me that the horse's energy is more spontaneously open than ours.
If we want to develop an energetic connection with our horse, then we can achieve this through awakening and developing our energy.
In 2018 I began to teach Taoist Meditation for Equestrians, this seemed a logical progression as we don't just come to our horse with our bodies, we bring our mind as well!
Heaven and Earth Energy Riding is an extension of awakening your internal energy and developing a chi connection with your Horse Riding. It is where we learn to unite the energies of Heaven and Earth in us Riding.
Freedom flow is about making the body and easy body for energy to flow through and increasing the dynamic interconnected flow we have with our horse riding. It carries on from awakening your internal energy and developing a chi connection with your Horse Riding.
The different courses complement each other and each one adds to our learning about and development of our energy and through this, deepening our connection with our horse.
The Equestrian Tai Chi Form or sequence is where we begin learning, it will develop your energy and help you and your horse to build a wonderful partnership.
We can just learn the Form on its own or we can choose to learn other things with it, so we can practice Equestrian Tai Chi Connected Riding, a way of riding where we can feel our Chi flow in harmony with our horse riding and communicate with our horse through it
If you'd like to be sent information about these two different trainings, please click below.
Two Different options for learning Equestrian Tai Chi