Centered Riding Topic: Centering

We discussed this on my chat group, Horses Are Our Lives. You are inviting to come chat with us!

Centered Riding is about being centered. No biggie there. How do we center ourselves when we ride?

First, we find our "Neutral Pelvis". As you sit on the edge of a chair, rock your hips forward and backward. Keep rocking forward and backward, but a little less each time you rock, until you are not rocking forward or backward anymore. That is your neutral pelvis and that is where you should sit when you ride. You will be sitting on the correct part of your pelvic bones. When you are sitting in the saddle, try this exercise. Another way to find the neutral pelvis when you are on a horse, is to lift a leg to the pommel and lower it. Lift the other leg and lower it. You should be at the same point on your pelvis as when you were rocking. If you have a holder for your horse, try lifting both legs, one at a time, until they are both on the pommel, then lower them.

Also, remember to keep your back relaxed. and breathe. We will talk about the other areas of Centered Riding soon: breathing, soft eyes, building blocks, grounding, centering, and clear intent.

More on centering next week. Let's practice with finding the correct position to ride. Your body may not be used to this, so ride this way a little bit, then go back to what is comfortable. Whatever you do, remember to have fun!

Also...how do we remain centered in our life? Think about centering yourself before doing a task, if you are feeling stressed, before you go to catch and halter yourself. Practice centering yourself throughout the day this week.