Mark Rashid was in Campton, NH May 22-27th and I was able to audit for two days. I always learn so much, and this time was no exception. I am going to type up all my clinic notes soon, but wanted to get the biggest piece for me down before I forget it! Mark was working with a horse/rider that were interested in jumping. As Mark coached the rider on a few changes to try, one of them was to engage her center. I had thought of engaging your center as kind of throwing energy out from the your core. But Mark said engaging your center was using the muscles and the way to do that was...........to breath! Okay, but he also says for every muscle you tighten, the horse has to tighten the corresponding muscle. Hmmm. So wouldn't that make your back muscles tight too?
A few days later, I was doing the Classical Stretch with Miranda Esmonde on TV and she was explaining how when you tighten one set of muscles, the opposite muscles are relaxed. Tighten your quad in your leg, and the hamstring relaxes. Tighten the outside of your thigh, and the inside is relaxed. Tighten your bicep and the tricep is relaxed. Tighten YOUR CORE and YOUR BACK is RELAXED!!!! And how do we want the horse to travel, with engaged abs and relaxed back. Such a small thing, but it finally makes sense to me and I get it! YIPPEE! All I have to do is BREATH! Engaged center/relaxed back, how cool.
1 comment:
I just LOVE those moments when things you puzzle over suddenly make sense, you just needed one more tiny piece of the equation and it comes at the most unexpected time!
SO GLAD your back to posting! Missed you!
Post a Comment