Groundwork can be an essential part of horse training and is quite beneficial to our equines for a variety of reasons, one of which is to help bring the horse’s body and mind into focus. But have you ever considered the importance of groundwork for yourself?
Here are a few reasons we do groundwork with our horses; perhaps you can see why personal groundwork could be beneficial for humans as well.
◆ Promotes circulation
◆ Helps alleviate soreness and decreases the chance of injury
◆ Develops the trust necessary for safe, effective collaboration
◆ Builds a foundation of fitness and confidence
◆ Improves communication between horse and human
◆ Increases focus
◆ Collects the physical body and mind
“Groundwork for the human” is a phrase I coined while working with equestrians on the yoga mat and on the meditation cushion through my Body, Mind, Equine programs. This concept might sound a bit puzzling at first, so let me break down what groundwork for the human looks like.
The yoga mat and the meditation cushion can be great places to practice personal groundwork for the body and mind. Yoga offers an opportunity to focus on overall awareness, body alignment, placement, and orientation—all beneficial skills to have when we’re around or riding horses.
Groundwork for the Human Body
Through yoga, you can work on body mechanics, fine-tuning, focus, discipline, moving through challenges, and observing inner energy and breathing. Treat the mat as a training ground to develop effective, efficient use of your body. As you become more body-aware, these lessons begin to trickle over into your riding and other physical activities.
Often on the mat and in riding, you think you’re aligned or symmetrical, but that’s not always the case. For example, when in a tabletop position on the yoga mat (on hands and knees), it may feel like your weight is placed equally on each hand and knee. But sometimes, upon checking, you look at your knees and they are together, rather than hip-width apart, or when you take a glance at your wrists, they are not aligned under your shoulders as you think they might be.
How this might look in the saddle is that you may think your weight is even in each stirrup, or that your shoulders are relaxed down away from your ears. But upon checking, you notice you are not physically as collected or as aligned as you thought.
When you’re not physically collected, your horse will not be either, as tensions and misalignments in your body can restrict your horse’s movement.
The yoga mat is a great place to learn bodily self-correction. Once this skill is honed on the mat, it begins to naturally translate to self-correction when riding or even in your body language while training or interacting with horses.
Exercise 1: T-Pose Symmetry
◆ While mounted (saddled or bareback), bring your arms to what you think is a T-position with palms facing downward.
◆ Look out at each arm or have someone else look or take a photo to see if your arms are at shoulder height. Notice if your arms are coming directly out from your shoulders, or if they are above or below shoulder height, or if they are lopsided.
◆ If doing this exercise while saddled, it’s also a good opportunity to check and see if your weight is placed evenly in each stirrup.
Note: It’s a good idea to have someone hold your horse so you can solely focus on the exercise.
Pictured above are two riders doing this exercise. One has her arms in an aligned T-pose and the other thinks hers are, but they are not.
This and other simple, similar exercises can be practiced on the yoga mat or while mounted as a form of physical groundwork for the human.
Groundwork for the Human Mind
Then there’s the aspect of mental groundwork. When your mind is all over the place and unfocused, your energy becomes less clear and more fragmented, which of course your horse detects and responds to, often mirroring back distracted or uninterested energy.
Through yoga or meditation practice, you’ll notice when your mind wanders to a thought or to a distraction so that you can gently rein it back in to the breath, the bodily sensations, and the present moment—where life is happening.
Mental groundwork is a most valuable tool for training the “mental muscle,” much like developing your other muscles. Without focus, it can be hard to complete a task, whether at your desk or working with horses—not to mention the excess energy it takes to be scattered.
In deep meditation, you are fully integrated and focused, without attention wavering. Ultimately, you can learn to carry that focus with you beyond the sitting meditation.
Training the body can seem easy compared to training the unfocused “monkey mind” (for more, read “Harness Your Monkey Mind,” pg. 18, Horse Illustrated January/February 2024). The good news is, you can learn to collect your mind through meditation techniques.
One effective method is directing attention to your breath. It’s simple yet powerful, and can be done virtually anywhere.
Exercise 2: Watching and Counting Your Thought Stream
◆ Set a timer for one to five minutes.
◆ Close your eyes.
◆ See your thought stream (the succession of thoughts).
◆ Notice that each individual thought arises, is present, and then disappears.
◆ See if your attention can remain on the succession of thoughts. See each individual thought, one after another.
◆ Count the number of individual thoughts you see in a row.
◆ Attention will move somewhere else. When that occurs, let your attention return to the thought stream and resume counting.
◆ With practice, the count will increase as your ability to direct your attention strengthens.
This is one mental groundwork exercise to gather the mind, improve focus, and help you become more aware of the workings of your mind. This practice also allows you to feel less controlled by your thoughts as you notice how they arise, come, and go while you build your power to observe and direct your mental attention.
Key Takeaway
When your body and mind are integrated—working as a team—your life and your relationship with your horse is enhanced. Personal groundwork helps you show up as more centered and grounded rather than scattered.
Physically and mentally, you become a better companion for your equine partner. I hope that you enjoy and consider this new way of viewing groundwork beyond the horse.
This article about groundwork for the human appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
