Finding My Seat
This morning, riding out at Gilmerton in freezing temperatures, gloveless and probably wearing all the wrong attire, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face.�� Such happiness felt almost indecent, actually, but even that sober reflection could not force my mouth into a straighter line.����While my helpers were��struggling to keep warm and jumping around to unfreeze their extremities, I smiled inanely, filled with gratitude.�� I was instructed and counselled so carefully, and after a sore start, my legs settled down. ��Then, magically, with a straighter back and lengthening legs, sitting up from the hips instead of leading with my head, the pain left and I found my seat. ��I finally discovered what it means to sit on a horse properly, and move easily, go with the flow.
Yes, it felt odd to be sitting straight; but I am left wondering how often I have used my back mistakenly, forcing it to take responsibilities that should really, in the natural way of things, devolve more comfortably to the hips. ��Afterwards, returning to the car with that feeling fresh in my mind, I tried walking from the hips (instead of leaning forward, my��head leading the way) and found that an unaccustomed straightness and unusual confidence was the outcome. ��Immediately, I wanted to go back and say, ���Hey! Karen! You���ve taught me a new way to walk!! YAY!���
Quite an achievement for an unassuming class on a Tuesday morning. ��Must tell the ladies next week, how much I appreciate them. ��Would a box of chocolates and a large bunch of flowers be a bit over the top? ��Probably, but then ��� just imagine! ��Now, if I remember to walk from the hip, my view casts itself naturally up and outwards, instead of tilting uneasily towards the ground.�� Confidence lower in the body ��� instead of massive overcompensation in the back, neck and shoulders ��� translates into calmness, and awareness of what is happening on the horizon. It���s rather as if I have finally been given a pair of spectacles for distance, instead of being forced to wear reading glasses outside.
Wow.
