"From the moment I saw the poster, I knew I wanted to participate in this amazing weekend with horses. The location, the exercises, the hospitality I enjoyed were beyond awesome! I will never look at horses the same way ever again! They are truly dedicated counsellors for us all. The horses and counsellors helped me with my journey through my sadness and grief and lead me to believe in myself again. An amazing weekend that needs to be experienced to really understand it's impact. Thank you so much for the experience."
Leslie
Vernon, BC

What a wonderful weekend. Mother nature blessed us with sunshine and warm temperatures. Seven lovely women participated in our first weekend retreat. We started the weekend with a beautiful meditation read by Kathleen Lainsbury who also closed the weekend on Sunday evening with another meditation. The mornings were spent learning from the horses. Their most significant teaching was on how to set personal boundaries so the self can be fully expressed and each of us is able to lead the type of life we desire. Is this not a classic woman's dilemma - how to create a satisfying life for oneself while caring for those we love? Each woman was carried through a process by particular horses that left them with more wisdom about their own personal needs and how to stay in communication with one's body. The art exercises led by Lisa Webster complimented this process by giving each woman experience of how their five senses are continually speaking to them about what is meaningful to them. Saturday afternoon Terryn Thachuk facilitated yoga outdoors under the shade of the gigantic pine trees with a fantastic view of Vernon in the background. She reminded us of how important stretching and caring for the body is so toxic energy does not get stuck in our bodies. The women enjoyed an hour of napping and enjoying the view from the tea house before the delicious dinner was served. In the evening, we were treated to the songs and guitar playing of Sherrie Erickson. We laughed and cried to her moving lyrics and she even convinced us to sing along a few times.

Why do children play? When children are playing they are actually processing life, and moving emotion through their bodies. Very young children, like animals, simply express how they feel in the moment, and then get on with living their lives. Unfortunately, as we age, we learn from the society we live in to suppress, and ignore feelings. When we do this, the feeling becomes energetically stuck somewhere in the body. With time, this stuck energy can manifest itself in illness, or, for instance, in a state numbness whereby we simply are no longer aware of what we feel. Life can then seem meaningless. To reconnect with our emotional worlds, and find meaning in everyday life we adults need to play. Play can be any form of creative expression that is done in a non goal oriented manner, and with as little structure possible. What constitutes creative expression is different for everybody. It may be a form of play for you to rearrange the living room furniture. Somebody else may play by doing sports, or by gardening. Many things can be done playfully. To start, try colouring. Simply take a piece of blank paper and let yourself pick the crayons, or felts intuitively, without thinking. Don't plan your artwork. Let it emerge. Maybe it is simply blobs of colour. Maybe it is a nature scene. It doesn't matter. As long as your thoughts are not controlling the process. You can do this exercise until you no longer feel an urge to continue. Ideally we play a little everyday.

I just finished reading 'Horse as Teacher: the path to authenticity'. The book is a compilation of stories from North American women, who work with horses. It is the first in a series of books aimed at sharing stories of how horses can help us grow spiritually and emotionally. I was introduced to the book by Helen Amanda Russell, who I facilitate equine-assisted therapy groups with. Helen is the author of one of the chapters in the second book (Horse as Teacher: the path to relationship) in this series. The books stretch one's perspective of animals, asking us to see horses as equals, and as sources of wisdom. The stories tell of experiences of how horses have taught the authors to see themselves more clearly, and thus be able to live lives that are personally more meaningful. The stories also are evidence of the importance of having nurturing relationships in our lives. You can buy the books directly from Helen, who can be reached at www.horsepatter.com.