22/11/2024
I practice yoga with all of my dogs. Even this guy right here. Mav is an intense dog. His favorite command is “GO”. He would prefer we do everything at high intensity, fast and all the time. Teaching him to be calm with me is an important skill and piece to our relationship working together. Mav and I train and trial in the sport American Schutzhund, where part of the judging is on your dog’s attitude, power and your coordination as a team. Adding the element of calm doesn’t necessarily mean we are slowing down or dimming our energy. It’s a sense of steady calm, presence, feeling assured and trusting in each other. We discover this together on our yoga mat and it changes our relationship off our mat and in everything we do. Stepping out on a field to trial or do anything new with our dogs may bring a sense of nervous energy, excitement, increased heart rate, quicker movements…through yoga we learn to meet ourselves in this space. Connecting to our breath and feeling grounded and ultimately calm and ready.
Mav reminds me to go big, shine bright and just go for it!✨