The Wisdom of the Herd 2: Somatics and the Knowing Field

As the title of a recent survey of trauma treatment puts it, "the body keeps the score". Many contemporary approaches to treating trauma emphasise gradually reconnecting clients with their bodies in order to rewire the brain and nervous system - but tapping into bodily wisdom is also hugely beneficial for anyone wanting to process grief, heal anxiety, develop self-confidence and self-trust, transform the emotional components of physical illness, or simply understand themselves better and live a more fulfilling life.

Horses are masters of bodily awareness: they live fully present in the moment to every sensation and emotion, and are also finely attuned to their herd members and the wider environment. Their capacity to extend this awareness to their relationships with humans makes them excellent teachers - just as their compassion and willingness to support other members of their (horse and human) herd makes them powerful healers.

The Wisdom of the Herd is a two-part series of workshops, intended for healing practitioners in any modality, including equine-facilitated learning practitioners, that will support you to deepen your own embodied awareness, and to develop skills to support your clients to heal by accessing the wisdom of their body. The workshops explore the theory underpinning somatically-focussed healing work, but the emphasis is on experiential practice with the horses. No previous horse experience is required.

Building on the skills developed in Part 1 (March 4-7), Part 2 of The Wisdom of the Herd is a deeper exploration of the somatic "knowing field", and the theory and therapeutic application of relational neuroscience, through experiencing systemic constellations with horses. Horses sense and respond to our right hemisphere - with its connections to the body, emotions, and our relational world. Working with a herd, the herd's resonance with our right hemisphere allows us to explore our relational systems, and, as we perceive and name what is, to restore flow and alignment to those systems. Facilitating constellations with a focus on somatic experience shows us just how much information is received and available through our bodies, and develops trust and fluency in this form of knowing.

Anyone wishing to register for Part 2 of The Wisdom of the Herd needs to have attended Part 1, or have completed at least Modules 1 and 2 of the year-long Healing Herd programme.

As the testimonial below shows, a somatically-focussed approach to healing, based in the wisdom of the herd, is profoundly transformative for clients:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to spend time with your lovely herd and yourself recently.

I am deeply thankful for the profound but gentle shifts in my awareness that I have come to recognise in the time since your equine coaching workshops. Some of the mental rejigs happened quite obviously while I was participating or holding space on the days, but others I can honestly say have resulted in deep tectonic movements within that I am noticing as time goes on - and in a positive way.

I have had previous complex trauma and PTSD and have struggled to feel deeply engaged and truly safe internally for some time. After this experience of support and guidance with the horses I can feel this abating rapidly and still have that sense of calm that I left Potent Equine with. I notice I am not triggering and stressing out as much anymore and if I do I can quickly employ the wonderful horse wisdom for people that I learned and experienced. Absolutely, embracing the concept of 'returning to grazing' swiftly after stress has been the best take home message ever!. Highly recommended!!

Thank you so so much to you, Anam Cara, Bella, Ginny, Cherokee, Luka and Lulu for this healing experience - I will return!

Price: The Wisdom of the Herd Part 1 and Part 2 are $1150 each (incl GST) - or $2070 (incl GST) if booked together.

Limited to 6 participants.

For further information, or to discuss whether this programme is for you, contact Ingrid on 027 4879923 or ingrid@potent.co.nz.