Centered Riding Lesson

I'm at a Centered Riding Clinic this weekend, and yesterday afternoon, I had a private lesson. What a great feeling I had when the lesson was over

What a big difference this will make! Post from your Center. To do this, allow
the horse's movement to induce the post. In other words, don't try to post,
just let it happen.

If we're working on the post, then we know how to post. Now, just let the
horse's movement help you to post. And just think about only your center
posting.

I felt like I wasn't posting at all. My instructor, a level 3 CR instructor,
plus a Hunt Seat and Dressage instructor, said the difference was incredible. I
could have posted forever, it was so easy. And as I was letting my center and
the horse's movement do the posting, my horse started stretching out and down
with his neck.

It was so effortless. All I can say is to ride from your center, think about
your center as you are walking, trotting, posting, cantering, loping. Don't
overdo any motions. Just ALLOW them to happen!

and have fun while you figure this all out. remember, this is a journey! and
it takes a lifetime!

Yesterday's lesson should me, even more, that I need to breathe out and let go of the stressors of the day. This is just not a deep breath or two, this is a total relaxation of the body during the deep breaths.

I don't bring "life's moments" to my riding anymore. But the tensions may still be there. Yesterday, Carol did some leg work on me, while I was in the saddle, and it felt wonderfully to feel the legs totally relax, and "let go". It's hard to explain, but it's like a total emptying of anything tight within my legs, or in the body when you work on the body. It felt wonderful to feel the total relaxation. I could have gone to sleep, and that was just a minute of "hands on" relaxing ONE leg.

Later, when she did a little bit of pelvic work with me, and shifted my pelvis forward 1/8", even less, she had me release down into my lower back. She had me feel like I had an "aligator tail" at the end of my pelvis, and to drop that tail into the saddle, and into the ground. What a difference. I did feel very grounded. But I felt like I was on the front of my pelvic bones too much and I also felt "heavy in the cantle", which we don't want for CTR. Carol said that that was because it's our body's memory, which I know, and that the right thing may feel wrong until our body gets used to it. How right she is.

For example, you feel straight in the saddle, but looking in the mirror, you can tell you're leaning forward or backward. You feel right, but you are seeing yourself, and you're not straight. It will take time to have the right stuff feel right, when we have years of doing it wrong. We need to reteach muscle memory that right is RIGHT!

I'm off to my first day of Clinic. later...

"Embrace the Journey!" I'm wearing my bracelet today that has that quote on it!

B