Help yourself and then the world

My clients come because they want to be more able to support their clients, colleagues, their loved ones or their horses.

Many of my clients know that who they are in themselves and how they feel and respond can affect their clients, colleagues, loved ones and horses and they want to enhance their ability to communicate authentically.

For some it is a surprise when I begin by focusing on the relationship they have with themselves – they think they are coming to learn more skills or techniques to help others. They are – but I believe that at the heart of improving our ability to help listen to, heal, care for, manage and lead others, is the ability to do those things for ourselves.
“In order to help people, you have to first learn how to help yourself” Tiger Woods

Only now I realise that I was drawn into the world of ‘riding coaching’ because I wanted to offer an approach to riding, which I truly wanted for myself. I didn’t want to be humiliated or shouted at, I wanted to be listened to, respected, and given skills and techniques to build my confidence.

Equally I entered the healing profession to help others; I trained in Reiki and Radionics, to help my horses heal from past trauma; and Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching to help people reduce anxiety, be calmer and move forward more confidently in their lives. Only later did it become clear that it was me who needed to heal from past events and be more balanced first if I was going to progress in this field!

I’d been around horses my whole life and had worked professionally with horses and people for 20 years before my first experience of Equine Facilitated Learning. So, imagine my surprise on that day, when it became crystal clear that my area for development was within myself! I had learned a lot of skills and information over the years – now it was time to embody my emotional intelligence.

I find this reflected by my clients, when they say, “I know all this stuff intellectually – I just haven’t integrated it into my body before, this work has helped me to do that”

I love helping people with what I have learned from my lifetime of experience with horses and it’s one of the best ways that I know to help us to connect to our authentic selves on all levels of our being – mind, body, emotion and spirit – in other words to connect us with our soul.
As therapists, coaches, carers, managers, parents and horse owners we are human beings with our own challenges and life’s experiences. It’s important to take time and space to reflect, explore, refresh and reconnect with our true selves and take care of our own needs and desires, as this enables us to support others to the best of our ability.

In my experience, and that of my clients, Equine Facilitated Learning helps you to:
Be congruent – say what you mean and mean what you say
Take responsibility for your own needs
Set clear boundaries and acknowledge the personal space of others and build respect in relationships
Become more calm and grounded
Communicate effectively
Empathise (feel into the situation of another, without becoming overwhelmed)
Connect with your heart and develop a stronger connection to your authentic self

“Dare to connect with your heart. You will be lifting not only yourself and those you love and care about, but also the world in which you live”.
Doc Childre, HeartMath Founder – another great resource www.heartmath.com

If you are ready to embark on a journey to explore your authentic self and focus on your positive inner growth and development so that you can better help others, then please get in contact.

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