@reclaimconnection
Partnering with my horses to discover a deeper connection to yourself.
Who Is This Little One? And What Are Those Markings on her Face About?
Who Is This Little One? And What Are Those Markings on her Face About?
This is me, just a few months old – a very long time ago, as you can tell by the picture. I had a difficult birth, with my mother in labor for many hours. Finally, the doctor ‘put her out’ and delivered me. That is all we know. Birth trauma has become my passion in the Somatic Experiencing work. The more I learn about how a difficult beginning affects us throughout our lives, the more I see evidence of this in my clients. Asking what they know about their birth is now a standard part of my
The Power of Softness - YouTube
The Power of Softness - YouTube
Horses, Hierarchy, and Hormones
Horses, Hierarchy, and Hormones
It’s been a wild spring at my place with horses. After Ella’s unexpected death, Faraona and Diva were jittery. Ella had been the leader of the herd and the other two relied on her to keep them safe. Ella was the one who noticed everything in their environment and made the decision whether they could ignore something or whether they needed to react. Without her guidance, Faraona and Diva had to decide for themselves. But where that had been easy for Ella with her natural leader energy, for these
Remember How They Made You Feel
Remember How They Made You Feel
The Shaman is Gone
The Shaman is Gone
Winter came back last night and I went out this morning to wet, heavy snow. Faraona and Diva were waiting for their breakfast but I had to look around for Ella. I found her laid out flat in the shelter and knew immediately that she would not be getting back up. She had been laying down for a long time and I could see that she had tried to get up but no longer had the strength to do so. The day that I knew was coming was finally here. I had to end her suffering. She has now gone home to the
One Wild and Precious Life
One Wild and Precious Life
What's Wrong with this Picture?
What's Wrong with this Picture?
A beautiful photo of a girl and her horse. But look a little closer. All is not as it seems. This is a younger me and my first dressage horse, Odin. He was and will always be the most naturally talented horse I have owned. I bought him when he was 10 and schooling Third Level dressage. I flew to Toronto, tried him out and took video back to my coach. In my trial ride, he had way more movement than I was used to riding and the dressage saddle didn’t provide the kind of support I was used to
Working Through Near Death Experiences
Working Through Near Death Experiences
What Do You Do When Your Horse Starts to Show Her Age?
What Do You Do When Your Horse Starts to Show Her Age?
What is Congruence and What's It Got to Do with Horses
What is Congruence and What's It Got to Do with Horses
Sole Abscess - A Metaphor for Life?
Sole Abscess - A Metaphor for Life?
I was surprised by the number of views to my original Instagram Reel of soaking Holly’s sore foot. For some reason that resonated with people. I am pleased to report that Holly is now fully sound again. The farrier trimmed her hooves last week for the first time since the abscess broke and this picture shows her now-healthy foot. When he started to trim, he noted that the whole frog (that triangular part in the middle of the rear of the hoof) was ready to shed. As he pulled the frog off, the
The Transformation of Diva - Final (?) Update
The Transformation of Diva - Final (?) Update
Why are Emotions Important?
Why are Emotions Important?
We live in a culture that values rationality and intellect over emotionality. Many of us grew up in families where expressing certain emotions – sadness, grief, fear, for example – was discouraged or perhaps even threatened with punishment. And yet, emotions are critical for survival. They are nature’s warning system, our body’s response to a stimulus in our environment. As Daniel Goleman writes in the groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, “All emotions a
Recognizing the Freeze Response - Diva Update 4
Recognizing the Freeze Response - Diva Update 4
They Come Out the Way They Went In - Diva Update 3
They Come Out the Way They Went In - Diva Update 3
One of the principles of trauma recovery that Peter Levine formulated was that ‘they come out the way they went in.’ What he means is – if they went from ‘calm and connect’ (ventral vagal nervous system), to ‘fight or flight’ (sympathetic arousal), and possibly to ‘freeze or dissociate’ (dorsal vagal), they need to go back through those physiological states to release the trauma energy stored in the body. I realized that, for Diva, since she went all the way to dissociation when she was trauma
Dance Like No One is Watching
Dance Like No One is Watching
Dancing with a horse is the final activity of the Eponaquest Instructor apprenticeship. My dancing was a complete failure, as I experienced it. I had chosen to work with a horse that I had great experiences with during the week, expecting that the bond we had created would lead to a beautiful dance together. That was not to be. The horse connected with me, but would not follow me. Instead, she herded me. I did not have the energy to stand up to her and set a boundary. Without a boundary, t
Covering All the Bases - Diva Update 2
Covering All the Bases - Diva Update 2
The Beginning of Connection - A Diva Update
The Beginning of Connection - A Diva Update
Meet Diva
Meet Diva
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Visit my Website
WHETHER YOU ARE LOOKING TO GROW AS A LEADER, DEEPEN YOUR RESILIENCE, OR HEAL UNSPOKEN TRAUMA, START HERE.
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