The Wisdom of the Herd: Developing Embodied Awareness (Rangiora)

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, and learning how to work constructively with the way our nervous systems interact with other people's, is also hugely beneficial for processing grief, healing anxiety, developing self-confidence and self-trust, transforming the emotional components of physical illness, or simply understanding ourselves better and living a more fulfilling life.

Horses are masters of bodily and relational 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 hands-on intensive, intended for people who support others - for example, as therapists, educators, social workers, coaches or bodyworkers. It 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 - in particular, interpersonal neurobiology and Polyvagal Theory - but the emphasis is on hands-on practice with the horses. No previous horse experience is required.

You will learn:

• how to grow your connection to your own body and your capacity to identify the real-time information about feelings and needs held in bodily sensations; and
• tools and processes to support clients to develop greater self-empathy, self-awareness, emotional regulation, flexibility and creativity.

As the testimonial below shows, this work 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: $1150 (incl GST) 

Limited to 6 participants. Registrations close 21 Feb 2020.

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