Page 13 - CR NEWS Summer 2020

Self-Grounding in Times of Corona Virus
Sit with your socks and boots off, and have a marking pen close at hand. Cross your leg and tap the bottom of your foot. Make sure to tap heel, toes, ball of foot, instep, etc. – you can even “wake up” the top of the foot and the ankle, too. Now, zero in on where you think you can feel the bubbling spring; where does it feel a little different? What do you notice? Is the spot more dull or more sensitive? Now, draw a round circle with your marker on that spot on the bottom of your foot.
Now, do the other foot. Try to be honest with yourself. This is fun, so experiment! Put the round dot where the bubbling spring feels the clearest to you. This may not be on the same spot on both feet.
Sit in front of a mirror and compare the two feet and the circles. Are they the same or different? Either answer is correct. It’s just something fun to notice for today.
The following exercise is useful as a social- distancing leg release. Riders can do this standing still or in the walk.
Remove your feet from the stirrups. Begin by gently lifting the toes one at a time— then spread and wiggle them, making sure to leave all the other joints relaxed.
Next, move the ankle by flexing it with effort, then releasing the effort to drop it back down. Use the least amount of effort required and move only the ankle. (I use the phrase “lift and drop.” Riders often initiate this movement by raising the toes but you want them to isolate just the ankle).
Move to the knee next: bring the heel back by bending the knee slightly, then let it drop back down, like a gentle swinging of the lower leg as if one was sitting on the tailgate of a truck.
Now, socks and boots back on, mount up and take a moment to place your stirrups somewhere underneath the little circles you have drawn. How do your feet feel? Time to go for a ride and notice whatever you notice about your bubbling spring and your grounded feet. Enjoy, and have a wonderful, grounded ride!n
Peggy Brown is a Level IV Clinician and President of Centered Riding Inc. Peggy lives in Maumee, Ohio.
Finally, move the hip joint by alternately lifting and dropping the knees just a little bit as if you are marching in place. (If doing this mounted at a walk, the rider should coordi- nate with the movement of the horse—knee up on the side on on which the back is up.)
Finish by gently shaking out each leg. It is important to only use effort on the exertion and return to the starting position by stopping the exertion (which is different from using muscular effort to place the leg), and to isolate and move only one joint at a time.
Smaller, mindful movements are more effective than big ones!n
Stephanie Barberra is a Level III Centered Riding Clinician living in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania.
By Peggy Brown
MOVE!
When you feel stuck... MOVE!
Allow your joints to move with your horse.
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Social-Distancing Leg Release
By Stephanie Barberra