|
|
| for the musculoskeletal health of horse and rider |
|
      |
|
|
CLINICS
Equine Massage Register Now a workshop for owners Sun. June 3, 2007 Eventful Acres, 9594 Yuba Ranch Rd., Oregon House CA 8:45 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. $75
Prevent muscle injuries and keep your horse healthy by learning a complete massage sequence.
Gain a deeper understanding of Sports Massage as it applies to horses, learn Trigger Point Therapy as practiced by the originator of Equine Massage, Jack Meagher, and Myofascial Release Techniques...
You will learn a full sports massage sequence. Course materials include basic physiology and technique in a written format as well as an audio cd for you to practice with on your own.
This class received high accolades from past participants:
"Thank you, Gabrielle, it was a wonderful day. I have a new appreciation for equine massage. My inclination to use force was thoroughly dispelled, as I saw Fontaine relax with only the lightest of touches. I greatly appreciate having your handout and the cd...I'll certainly be referring to them as a refresher." - Carol Smith
"This clinic is 100 percent positive. The lecture, handouts and 'hands-on' experience gave me the confidence to continue on my own. Learning techniques to relieve sore areas was my reward. Being able to 'zone out' was my horse's reward. I can't wait to practice." - Karen Hiskin
Prevent injuries by keeping your horse's muscles elastic and healthy. Help your horse deal with a stressful show season by increasing circulation. Knowing how to help your horse unwind cn make the difference in having a partner with a winning attitude.
Take a day for you and your horse to bond on a new level - communicate your commitment through touch and watch how trust unfolds... because, after all is said and done, it's just you and your horse out there.
(If you have not already completed the introductory class that Gabrielle teaches for Sierra College Community Education, it's okay. The material does build on that class, but is not required for participation.) This class is specifically for those who would like to bring their own horse, although there may be horses available for those who don't wish to bring their own.
Eventful Acres, 9594 Yuba Ranch Rd., Oregon House CA One hour break, bring your horse and your lunch!
Directions: 20 E. to Marysville Rd., Left... or from Grass Valley, take 20 W. to Marysville Rd., Right, then follow up hill until Marysville Rd. Makes a sharp Right at the Willow Glen Saloon, proceed past intersection at Frenchtown Rd. and continue on to make a Right on Yuba Ranch Rd. follow gravel road to left and just past sign for Hisken's make a Right into Le Geoff Lane. Pick a corral and park your trailer in front of it. For info on camping or schooling call Karen Hisken directly 530 692-0919 Kindly Register in advance by mail, by phone or on-line.
Equine Anatomy & Biomechanics Sierra College for horse owners and trainers Sat. April 28th, 2007 9:00-3:30 p.m.
You should have a basic knowledge of a horse's structural anatomy to understand this course. It will provide more than an intellectual understanding of the muscular system, rather, it focuses on experiential learning for a 'felt sense' of the principles biomechanics. In this class you will learn concepts via a slide presentation and have an opportunity to feel those concepts in action during guided movement based on the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. Because this is experiential, it's a kind of learning that sticks.
This class clarifies the requirements of weight-bearing and locomotion that will improve how you see your horse's movement as well as how you respond to it in the saddle.
9:00-3:30 p.m. $66 Sierra College Community Education, Nevada Co. Campus Rm. B-205 in the Campus Plaza Shopping Center, 5050 Rocklin Rd., Ste. A-16. Please register for this class now directly with Sierra College at www.sccommed.org .
ON-GOING CLASSES
AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT Classes Register Now
Most of us have been conditioned with a puritan work ethic so all-encompassing that it affects every area of our lives, including how we move. From the moment we are first made to sit still in a school desk and told to work really hard there is a conflicting tension that results in a heightened level of tonus in the muscles. We grow so accustomed to living with a detrimental level of tension, it's barely noticable. Gradually, as we mature into adults, we move less and less. Thus the stage is set for rigidity and for holding back, for only children - and horses on turn-out! move about with complete abandon for the sheer joy of it.
Then what happens? We inflict this regimen on our horses when we train. Horses are splendid mirrors and respond in kind. They meet our tension and stress in equal measure. When we are rigid, we physically prevent them from accessing their own natural mobility. Where we are crooked, we inhibit them from natural balance.
Historically, in the military, riding was taught as a drill that continued for hours and hours without respite until the rider attained a good seat. Yet, with AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT (ATM) classes, you can acheive dramatic improvements in skill without hours of drilling. The key difference is that you actually learn to put yourself into an altered state of consciousness from which learning can occur much more quickly. Release trying, release judging, release excessive tension and you create a blank canvas from which you can improve easily, and quickly.
These simple lessons cultivate your kinesthetic skill, or ability to FEEL what you are doing, where you are in space and where your horse's limbs are in space. Greater flexibility and better posture in motion are added benefits that occur as you learn. Training really hard on horseback makes you really good at the mistakes you are practicing. Before you get in the saddle, you can do a few simple moves learned in ATM and find you are more centered, more able to respond spontaneously and that the training you do is more effective without hours and hours of constant minldless repetition.
BEGINNING THE SECOND WEEK IN JANUARY 2007:
Mondays 7-8:00 p.m. at the Aikido Dojo in Grass Valley, 135C Joershke Dr., behind the Briar Patch Market (all the way to the back of the parking lot) Must pre-Register.
Fridays 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Wild Mt. Yoga Ctr., 574 Searls Ave., Nevada City CA (around the corner from California Organics) Must pre-Register.
Cost: $14 to drop in or $78 per six class series. $95 over six weeks to go to as many classes as you like for the quickest possible improvement. Please give 24 hours notice to drop in to verify that the class is appropriate for you. (530) 263-3323 or register on-line.
F.A.Q. : How can working outside the saddle improve your riding?
Each lesson is a means of improving your overall organization. The real essence of each lesson is the process, not the material.
By learning how to release tension, you improve your riding no matter which class you take.
The underlying theme of all lessons is to teach you to work with yourself, so that you become more autonomous, more capable and more able to improve on your own. This is an effective, inexpensive way to improve your riding that has many fringe benefits. It improves your posture, your ability to learn and to manage stress. Horses don't respond well to stressed out riders...
The best riders are not only technically brilliant, they also have a 'feel' for riding that seems to come naturally. This method is the breakthrough in improving your 'feel.' For most people, you either have it or you don't, and no amount of training can seem to make the difference. Yet, there is a way.
By working outside the saddle, you can improve your kinesthetic sense, or 'feel.'
You can also improve your spacial awareness and that makes the difference between an mediocre ride and a ride that takes you back to your first moments of feeling one with the horse underneath you.
What people are saying:
"Thank you, Gabrielle. I just wanted to let you know that I am really getting it. The other day I was in a waiting room and realized that there were a number of things I could do to improve how I was sitting. It never would have occured to me before taking your class, that I can make a major difference in how I feel by attending to my own experience at this level. I really enjoy your class!" - Jeanette Paganetti
"I honestly cannot believe how much better my right shoulder is.
The pain was actually gone after I left class on Fri. I find that astounding,
as it really didn't seem as if we did that much. Incredible !!"
- Vickie Hisaw
"You are a miracle worker. I can actually get my arms up
over my head now, whereas before I couldn't move them higher than my
shoulders. Thank you."
- Heidi Turcott
Past Workshops - look for these again - these are recurring clinics:
CLINICS
Warm-up Workshop for Riders based on AWARENESS THROUGH MOVEMENT Saturday, January 27th, 2007 1:00-3:00 p.m. $20 advance registration, $25 at the door Grass Valley
Riding with both sides means using both sides of your brain equally! Learn some simple warm-up moves you can do before you ride that will even out your asymmetries, improve your 'feel' for riding and keep you soft, supple and working with your horse. This Method is a very sophisticated form of movement education that is well known for it's efficacy in improving function by teaching you how to work with yourself to cultivate your own kinesthetic skill, or 'feel.' Increase the amount of things you can pay attention to at one time to include not only your position, but also your mobility, and where your horse's legs are underneath you. Most of us hit a barrier in improvement because we can't know what we can't feel. Learn to improve your skill in this area and your riding will improve by leaps and bounds. Greater flexibility and better posture in motion are added benefits that occur as you learn to expand your spatial awareness and become more present, more spontaneous and more able to communicate with your aids using very subtle cues. Clearly, the best riders make it look easy because you can barely see the subtlety of how they use their aids. You can learn to have that level of finesse, but you have to practice on the ground before you can make it happen in the saddle.
Location: Wild Mt. Yoga Ctr., 574 Searls Ave. in Nevada City, (around the corner from California Organics) Register Now
Equine Massage Intro - Sierra College a workshop for owners & trainers Sun., Feb. 25th 8:45-1:00 p.m. $51 ($2 material fee at class) Grass Valley
Learn the basic muscle physiology that governs both massage and the principles of conditioning. Learn how massage techniques work and practice basic Myofascial release, and sports massage concepts on school horses, or bring your own horse if you prefer. This is a short introductory class perfect for the person who wants a taste of what equine massage is all about. Bring your hands and a pen, because this is a lot of information in a short period of time. Intended for people with a basis of knowledge in how to work around horses.
6497 Marysville Rd., Browns Valley (Approx. 35 min. from Grass Valley) Please register for this class now directly with Sierra College class # 6102 at www.sccommed.org
Directions: 20 W. from Grass Valley to Marysville Rd. Right at Chevron Station. Go just past only 35 mph S curve and look for hot pink sign on Left.
| |
| Home Page | Meet Gabrielle | Events & Clinics | Services | Contact Us Copyright © 2006 Gabrielle Pullen, GCFP Secret Garden Publishing. All Rights Reserved. | |
