Kindred Spirits

17/09/2024

Hi friends! Terry here, inviting you along for this exploration of the Metaphysical world and how it intertwines with horse healing power for the liberation of our souls. 🐴✨

Learn how these majestic beings can help balance your energy, align your chakras, and unlock your inner potential. Whether you're new to energy healing or a healer yourself, join me in exploring the profound connection between humans and horses. Feel the power of these wise, transcendent healers as we explore the path of self-discovery together.

With all my love, Terry.

This unique approach combines ancient wisdom with the innate healing abilities of horses, offering a powerful path to healing that addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your being. Learn how these majestic creatures serve as conduits for universal energy, helping to unlock your

02/08/2024

This has been on my mind for a long time, but has been brought to the forefront, due to the last incidents in the horse world in the Olympics. It saddens my heart how these incredible beautiful sentient beings are often treated for the human's ego, needs and desires. And while having dreams and goals is not bad, the process often is. And so I write this to bring awareness, that ther are ways, where the human can satisfy their aspirations, in a way that does not take away from the horse, but instead can enhance and heal the horse and the human together,, creating true connection, partnership and Magic.
Please go out into your horse communities, be the light, be the example, show them a kinder more compassionate way of living in harmony together.
Namaste

The integration of yoga with equestrian practices can transform the world of horse riding. This blog explores the healing power of yoga for both riders and horses, addressing the hidden abuse in equestrian sports and offering solutions for creating harmony, well-being, and a balanced connection. Lea

02/07/2024

Namaste, dear kindred spirits!

I am thrilled to invite you all to join us for a transformative journey in our latest episode of the Yogi Horse Women Podcast, where we explore the powerful and enlightening world of Kundalini Yoga with my dear neighbour Satya, a Kundalini teacher you must meet. 🙏✨

In this episode we delve deep into the ancient wisdom and practices that have been proven over thousands of years to bring profound change and inner peace.

We discuss how Kundalini Yoga influences the pranic body, transforms inner chemistry, and helps you connect with your true self. Satya shares his wisdom on the importance of mastering the pranic body, especially in this significant year according to ta***ic numerology. We also touch upon the powerful effects of white ta**ra practices and the healing energy of horses.

Join us as we explore how these practices can elevate your consciousness and bring about a more positive, expanded life. We also talk about our upcoming Kundalini immersion retreat in the beautiful, energetically charged land of Costa Rica. This retreat promises to be a life-changing experience, filled with deep yogic practices and the calming presence of horses. I myself am no expert on Kundalini and am also looking forward to challenging myself to this practice, knowing that I have a teacher I can trust.

Let the light and love of Kundalini Yoga guide you on your path to inner peace and transformation. Tune in to our podcast and embark on this sacred journey with us.

With love and light,
Terry.

In this episode of the Yogi Horse Women Podcast, host Terry L. Newton is joined by Kundalini Yoga expert, Satya. They delve deeply into the concept and pract...

21/06/2024

Hello dear kindred spirits, today I bring you a project very close to my heart. Join Dana and I for a deep-dive into the transformative power of human-horse connections in our latest podcast episode of Yogi Horse Women. Discover the healing potential of interspecies relationships and the journey of creating the Rescued Hearts Film Documentary.
I'm very excited about this new iteration of the podcast, now in its second season. I hope you enjoy this conversation and please, like, comment, subscribe to the film and podcast. We can do nothing without your love and support

Dive into a riveting discussion on interspecies communication and relationships in this episode of the Yogi Horse Women podcast, on the Rescued Hearts Docume...

20/06/2024

Just sit, Be still, Be aware, Be Consciousness.
Find the peace within you, see the happiness and joy around you. Be happy, Be joy. Your horse feels all you feel.

20/06/2024

Slow down & have a conversation with your horse today.

In the end we all just want to be loved, give love, receive love. Instead of going out to your horse to make him do things, control her, next time just slow down, feel your energy, your horse's energy, breathe and have a conversation. Ask him, instead of telling. You will both transform and magic happens.

11/06/2024

Hello beautiful souls, I've just shared a deeply personal journey on my blog. It's the story of my experiences, my homecoming, and my life in the enchanting "dangerous" Caribbean coast of Costa Rica over the past 30 years. It's a tale of transformation, challenges, and profound love for this land. If you've ever wondered about the magic that lies within the heart of Costa Rica, I warmly invite you to dive into this blog. Your soul might resonate with the energy vibrations I've tried to convey through my words. Here's to the journey of finding our own paths and embracing the beauty of life.
Much love to you all. 🌺

Sometimes, I would share the sensation I felt upon nearing the coast with others. To my surprise, many had similar experiences but different interpretations and understandings. My mother felt it very strongly ...

16/05/2024

Hannah was a wonderful student and she has blossomed into an amazing teacher. She has embraced the concepts and tools of yoga so gracefully in union with horses. If you are in California , you should absolutely take a class with her and discover the benefits yoga has for both human and horse, they are infinite. Adi Om 🙏🏻🪷

What do you imagine when you think of “Horse Yoga?” Many of us picture people doing crazy poses on horseback and a Google search would reinforce that image! While yoga poses on horseback are an exhilarating part of the practice, yoga with horses has even more to offer. The core principles of yoga offer a pathway to practice on or off the mat and in or out of the saddle.

The first of these yoga principles is Ahimsa or Non-Harm. Ahimsa encompasses both physical and mental/emotional non-violence. When we practice Ahimsa we do no bodily harm to ourselves or any other being, we respect physical and emotional boundaries, we honor our authentic selves, and we avoid negative thoughts about ourselves and others.

What might a day with your horse look like without Ahimsa? Imagine you’re getting ready to spend time with your horse. You put on your spurs grab a whip and mount up. For some reason, your horse has decided they don’t want to go to the far end of the arena today. The facility you’re at is crowded and you can feel people watching you. Under their gaze, judgments and insecurities bubble up in your mind. Maybe you label your horse as lazy, or yourself as incompetent. To escape these negative thoughts you drill down on your horse driving them toward the far end of the arena. Your horse fights you and you can feel their resistance building until it boils over as your horse bolts away.

Now let’s look at the same situation through the lens of Non-Harm. Imagine grabbing a good book and a chair as you go to see your horse. You sit with them as they enjoy the last of their breakfast and your quiet company. When you mount up, you notice your horse is avoiding the far end of the arena. You can feel the eyes of others on you as you come to a halt. You can feel judgments and insecurities bubbling up, but you recognize them as old stories you used to tell yourself. You have better stories now. You remind yourself that you’re a confident and caring person. Your horse is a magnificent being who always does their best. You pause and take a few deep breaths, feeling yourself unwind and relax. You release and your horse sighs, releasing with you. You feel connection growing as you pause and breathe together. When you ask your horse to move forward, they do so willingly.

While these are representative imaginings, the feelings in each are real. Which feelings would you prefer? Practicing Ahimsa teaches us to build relationships on harmony rather than harm. We learn to be mindful of the thoughts and judgments we apply to ourselves and others. We stay true to ourselves and our horses and enjoy our journey over our destination. We find that harmony attracts harmony and our continued practice of Ahimsa welcomes deeper relationships with ourselves and others.

Can you envision how you might apply Ahimsa in your life? Is there a time when you practiced Non-Harm with yourself or your horse? If so, how did you feel about it? Let us know in the comments below.

Namaste,
Hannah Francis & Terry Lillian Newton

24/04/2024

Breathe, just Breathe,
Come and rest at my feet,
And Be, just Be,
Chaos calls but all you really need is to just Breathe.
- Jonny Diaz

When life is moving fast around you, stay centered, just as in the eye of the tornado, all is come and peaceful, the peace and calm allies within you, always. Remember that.
Today Haku and Dixon, the doggies, are the tornados, while Isha and I remain grounded and at peace in the center.
Namaste

22/04/2024

Horses are all about connection and union. They are social beings. They have family and friendships just as we do.
If we can let go of our humaness, of to- doness for just a moment and begin just to be, we will find the horse.
It is actually quite simple and straightforward to begin a relationship with a horse. They seek connection, they seek friendship, safety is in numbers, it brings safety and harmony.
By just allowing ourself to let go of all of our needs, desires, expectations and attachments and just be still, still in thoughts, still in actions, the horse will come. There is need for leads, forceful bits, whips and such, this only creates chaos and horses avoid chaos, they seek harmony.
In the Yoga Sutras 1:12 , Patanjali tells us that all we need for happiness is to transform our mind through the simple process of practice and non- attachment.
Everyday when I go out to my horses, I might have a plan, a direction in my training, but I go with an open heart. I take a moment to check in with myself and how I am feeling today, then I pause and observe my horse for awhile. I wait for him to come to me and check me out, to say hello and from there I might take the lead or maybe my horse takes the lead. We begin from that place of mutual connection, sometimes moving into liberty work if there is a sense of playfulness in the air, or maybe ground work with shoulder in, if the energy is calm and focused and then into some riding free style with neck rein. Im looking to see what can be easily offered and then take direction from there, but always in connection, never with force.
Today Yogi and I played football with Haku the Dingo!
So take a moment to pause and practice non- attachment to all your desires, your likes and dislikes, how you want things to be, all that you want to get done. Practice being present in the moment, because its the only moment that is, right now, there is nothing else.
The wise horses tell us so.
Namaste

12/04/2024

For me connecting with horses brings me into the most beautiful state of being. Where I can let go of worldly problems and chaos. It grounds me and centers me back to whom I truly am, me.
“So Ham”, the Sanskrit Mantra for “I am that” becomes more profound yet so simple, I am that.
Living, moving, walking, meditating, sharing space together with the herd, allows me to come to that space of whom I truly am, without all the masks. Horses give me the space to breathe and be me, there is no judgment , no expectations. It feels so safe, so connected.
When I find myself in low spirits, confused, my mind chaotic, spending time with the horses, brings me back to what is real, back to acceptance of how things are. They heal me with their presence, their spirit and fill me with Grace.
During our retreats and classes , we spend a lot of time, just being with the horses, breathing, meditating, allowing what is to be to happen, in all its forms. It is a powerful circle of healing, well being and personal transformation. The horses guide us into the deeper areas of ourselves and help us to release what no longer serves us. Sometimes they also step in to receive healing, resonating with the higher vibrations of meditation.
Today lets sit with our horses, breathe and meditate on “So Ham” I am That. Feel your energy, the horses energy and just Be.
Namaste from the Caribbean Sea and the beautiful sea horses!

10/04/2024

I want to share to you my own personal experience of yoga and how it affected me and changed me as a horsewoman.

My first experience of yoga began when I was 19. Someone had left a small pocket book about Yoga and there were many poses sketched inside it. The poses intrigued me, initially from a fitness point of view. I began to copy these poses, having no idea what I was doing, except I knew I enjoyed it, at the time, it felt like a moment out just for me. Somehow with my random attempt at these poses it still had a peaceful effect on me. As the years went by, my interest slowly grew and from there I would go to classes when I found them, bought a few DVD’s and so on.
I practiced yoga almost daily during my whole pregnancy with Gwenaelle and after.
Later moving to Costa Rica when I was 33, I met a beautiful Buddhist woman, Joe, an American Artist from California in her 70’s, who gave yoga classes on this incredible yoga deck over looking the Caribbean Sea. I went 3 times a week for asanas classes and every Sunday for Meditation, or at least as much as the hotel I was running allowed me to.
Riding on the beach with Shiloh (means Peace), swimming in the sea with him, galloping ba****ck and free to the wind, I discovered how my yoga practice had helped me become a better more balanced rider. I could gallop through waves, yet my body stayed firm, balanced, connected to the flow of my horses movements, it was so easy. My mind would be still, I felt fully present and alive! I began to spend a lot of time doing nothing with my horse, just hanging out on the beach or in the pasture, practicing pranayama and meditation. Often he would kneel down nearby, lying down in the sand just chilling with me. It all felt so natural.
Through these many experiences, I realized how yoga affected me and my horse on so many levels, I was intrigued, and so my journey of yoga and horse began.
Years went by before I decided I really wanted to share this with the world, and so I went on a quest, this quest led me to Corinne, who became one of my dearest friends to this day. She had discovered the same thing herself up in the mountains of Central Valley near San Jose. She was a yoga teacher and she had 2 horses. We met, connected immediately and began our first retreat of Yoga in Harmony with Horses in 2012 and the rest is history. Of which I have many more stories to tell!

03/04/2024

Part 3 “Lets Talk about Yoga and Horses!” Continues

Pranayama.
What is Pranayama? Literally translated it is prana= life force energy and yama= control or restraint.
But really it is about influencing the life force energy that moves through us.
What is life force energy, you might ask?
In India this is called “Prana”, in China it is called “Chi”, in Japan it is “Ki”. In Christianity it is called the “Holy Spirit.”
The Polynesians call it “mana”, the Greeks called it “pnuema” , the Hebrews “ruach” and in Islam it is known as “baraka”
We can understand it as the breath of life or the cosmic life giving power. It is that energy that gives us life.

When we come into this world the first thing we do is inhale this life force energy with the first cry as a new born, and when we leave this world with the last exhale our body is dead, just flesh, no life.
It is not just the oxygen we breath, though that too sustains us. It is so much more, it is what gives life to all living things from the tiny insect, to the tree, to humans and to all animals. It is literally life force energy.
With this life force energy is a power that not only sustains us and keeps us alive, but it also nourishes, heals and transforms. Prana affects the physical body, the emotional mental body, the subtle energy body and the Wisdom body. Remember those 5 Koshas I talked about in Part 2?

As “prana” can influence our every state of being, we can also control the way and how “prana” moves within us, this is “Pranayama”. The ancient rishis and gurus of India discovered techniques that would influence our physical body. There are breathing techniques that help with reducing pain and sometimes relieving it all together. Other techniques that bring fire and energy to the body for action and movement engaging the Sympathetic Nervous System to take flight or fight. Others that calm the the Central Nervous System, activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System for rest and digest. There are even methods that will cool the body down, like your own inbuilt air condition device!
The ancient Yogis often through observation of nature and animals learnt ways that different breathing could affect us in many ways.
Example, animals that breathed slowly, like elephants lived very long lives. Animals that breathed quickly like hummingbirds lived much less.
That dogs, cats, parrots to cool down pant (as they cannot sweat like us and horses and other animals). This created the breathing technique we call Sheetali , and it really works!

When we can understand that everything is energy, from the ground we stand upon, to the sand, to the trees and wind, to ourselves and all life, even the small pebble on the ground, and that energy is in a state of constant movement & transformation, we can begin to realize how it really does make a difference to our emotional, mental, and physical bodies, we can not only heal, we can literally transform ourselves.
If we can do this to ourselves, then through our breath we can also influence others around us.

I have been using these breathing techniques for many many years with our horses, students and guests. It is a very powerful tool, a tool that creates a deeper connection with all other living beings. Through my breath I can calm a horse’s energy, or bring their energy up. I can help them to be grounded and focused. I can ask a halt from a walk, trot or canter, with my breath alone, no rein contact. I can ask for forward motion with my breath. I do this from the ground, leading, at liberty training, riding and in Dressage movements.

It can seem magical and in a way it is. It is this magical connection that links us to all life. As horses are very sensitive to all energies, this has kept them alive for over 60 million years, they react very quickly to this. Another tool for the Horse Whisperer/ Listener :)

In our Attuned Horsemanship and our Equine Yoga program, we teach these methods of breath work ( specific with horses) to bring connection and create softness and lightness into our riding and all our interactions with our horses. Our horses respond instantly, they are quiet, focused and present. They are a safer ride for our students and a happier horse that is willing to be with us and do things together.

So take a moment. Breathe!

Have a beautiful day, Namaste Terry

02/04/2024

Living close to nature one begins to move in life with the Grace that one absorbs from the environment. We are part of nature, not separate, but we have forgotten. Returning to nature is returning to the rhythm of life, returning to our true nature. When we walk with horses, breathe with horses, listen to horses, connect with horses we open our hearts and connect with that Grace that is available to all, when we just pause and become aware, we become One.

May your day be filled with Grace and lots of horses!
Namaste Terry