At a Riding Camp near Hickstead this week I was invited to offer horse riders help with every day issues including a fear of falling off, nerves, forgetting dressage tests and 'rushing everything' with our horses. (Although no-one was rushing the strawberry tarts...delicious!)
Getting smart about how our brain works included facts about hormones and the impact of different hormones and emotions on our ability to make smart decisions, solve problems, concentrate, remember and be emotionally resilient. Using the Heart Math technology gave individuals the chance to see the impact of breathing techniques on physiology, mental state and heart rate changes. It was like a scene from ER or Casualty!
If it is said, that an absence of disease ISN'T health, then an absence of feeling stressed doesn't mean we AREN'T. Many of us live in an unnaturally state of constant stress (measurable with the HeartMath tools) which can be quite a shock when we first see it, visibly as our own heart rate. Realising we live with an unnatural (and unsustainable) level of stress can explain why things don't go our way when we ride: remember horses can feel our pulse through our leg!
Fortunately seeing our heart rate form sharp peaks and spikes as under stress or anxiety is usually all it takes to create an impetus for change and to take seriously what we mentally do to ourselves during everyday life.
It can catapult us into being honest with ourselves for the first time in a long time!
Without honesty about the mental habits we have developed and why we have relied on them, we don't find the solutions to help combat them. Curious? Have a look at the following questions and answer them honestly:
* how many thoughts do you have in a typical day?
* what percentage are negative?
* how quickly (in seconds) do negative thoughts grab a hold of your mind and body?
* can you recognise negative thought patterns BEFORE they take hold?
* how often (in a day) are you angry?
* how often does 'what you think' predict the outcome? Example ever thought... "I knew he'd run out at that fence..." and he did!?
Most of us aren't conscious of the above until we stop and consider it. In other words we go through each waking day, fast asleep not awake at all. (The re-occurring theme of Essy's message about humans needing to become more aware).
Personally I don't teach or preach positive thinking. Most people's brains spot the clumsy attempt to trick ourselves with fake positive thoughts. Secondly, our thoughts have much less impact than our emotions do, on our physiology, heart rate and ultimately our cognitive ability to ride well.
As proof in point, the brain performs better by 37% when we feel positive versus negative or stressed (no mention of thinking positively).
Additionally, something most of us don't know is that when it comes to neurons running back and forth between our brain and our heart, we are lead to believe that it is the brain that drives us; acting as our central control centre. If this is true then it would make sense to focus our self improvement efforts on changing our thoughts. However, there are more neuron pathways travelling north from our heart to our brains, than vice verse. So our ability to feel positive or remember positive feelings is far more powerful in creating focus, solving problems, making decisions and remembering our way round a jumping course!
It seems to have taken a while to embrace what's been known to us all along, as evidenced in the many old expressions about the heart. So if your heart is set on getting back on a horse after a fall, if you have learned by heart your dressage test, and if you have a change of heart about hacking out today - you'll be in good stead if you let your brain listen to your heart, and do as your heart tells you!
Getting smart about how our brain works included facts about hormones and the impact of different hormones and emotions on our ability to make smart decisions, solve problems, concentrate, remember and be emotionally resilient. Using the Heart Math technology gave individuals the chance to see the impact of breathing techniques on physiology, mental state and heart rate changes. It was like a scene from ER or Casualty!
If it is said, that an absence of disease ISN'T health, then an absence of feeling stressed doesn't mean we AREN'T. Many of us live in an unnaturally state of constant stress (measurable with the HeartMath tools) which can be quite a shock when we first see it, visibly as our own heart rate. Realising we live with an unnatural (and unsustainable) level of stress can explain why things don't go our way when we ride: remember horses can feel our pulse through our leg!
Fortunately seeing our heart rate form sharp peaks and spikes as under stress or anxiety is usually all it takes to create an impetus for change and to take seriously what we mentally do to ourselves during everyday life.
It can catapult us into being honest with ourselves for the first time in a long time!
Without honesty about the mental habits we have developed and why we have relied on them, we don't find the solutions to help combat them. Curious? Have a look at the following questions and answer them honestly:
* how many thoughts do you have in a typical day?
* what percentage are negative?
* how quickly (in seconds) do negative thoughts grab a hold of your mind and body?
* can you recognise negative thought patterns BEFORE they take hold?
* how often (in a day) are you angry?
* how often does 'what you think' predict the outcome? Example ever thought... "I knew he'd run out at that fence..." and he did!?
Most of us aren't conscious of the above until we stop and consider it. In other words we go through each waking day, fast asleep not awake at all. (The re-occurring theme of Essy's message about humans needing to become more aware).
Personally I don't teach or preach positive thinking. Most people's brains spot the clumsy attempt to trick ourselves with fake positive thoughts. Secondly, our thoughts have much less impact than our emotions do, on our physiology, heart rate and ultimately our cognitive ability to ride well.
As proof in point, the brain performs better by 37% when we feel positive versus negative or stressed (no mention of thinking positively).
Additionally, something most of us don't know is that when it comes to neurons running back and forth between our brain and our heart, we are lead to believe that it is the brain that drives us; acting as our central control centre. If this is true then it would make sense to focus our self improvement efforts on changing our thoughts. However, there are more neuron pathways travelling north from our heart to our brains, than vice verse. So our ability to feel positive or remember positive feelings is far more powerful in creating focus, solving problems, making decisions and remembering our way round a jumping course!
It seems to have taken a while to embrace what's been known to us all along, as evidenced in the many old expressions about the heart. So if your heart is set on getting back on a horse after a fall, if you have learned by heart your dressage test, and if you have a change of heart about hacking out today - you'll be in good stead if you let your brain listen to your heart, and do as your heart tells you!
| a change of heart |
|---|
| for the feint-hearted |
|---|
| half-hearted |
|---|
| change of heart |
|---|
| best interest at heart |
|---|
| heart in the right place |
|---|
| heart isn't in it |
|---|
| know by heart |
|---|
| learn by heart |
|---|
| not have the heart to do |
|---|
| heart in one's mouth |
|---|
| heart is set against |
|---|
| heart is set on |
|---|
| put heart and soul into |
|---|
| take to heart |
|---|
| young at heart |
|---|
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