Why Yoga?    How Can Yoga Help Me With Riding My Horse?   What is Yoga?  Yoga is an ancient form of mental and pshysical discipline originating in India.  The word yoga means "union" in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. One might think of the union occurring between the mind, body and spirit.   Many people think of Yoga as simply stretching exercises.   However, while stretching is involved, yoga is actually about creating balance in the body through the development of strength and flexibility.   As equestrians, whether you ride Western or English, we know how very sensitive horses are to our balance and body language and even facial expressions   -- sometimes even to the point that we swear they can read our minds.    For example, we know our horses are more confident and less likely to spook or bolt if they read confidence from us - through the way we hold the reins, to our confident sitting position and relaxed facial expression, etc.    The more control we have over our minds and bodies, the more able we are to communicate to our horses in ways that will give us the desired response.   There are many methods we can use to develop this control  -- yoga is a very effective one.

Try This Now! Yoga Breathing Exercise For Relaxation -  Excellent For Equestrians Before a  horse show or simply before an everyday ride, when you're finding yourself particularly nervous about riding your horse, try this exercise.   This is an excellent way to relax almost immediately  -- anywhere -- anytime. Alternate Nostril Breathing  -- Yoga term:   Nadi Sodhana   Close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Do this to the count of four. Immediately close the left nostril with your right ring finger and little finger, and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril, and exhale through this nostril. Do this to the count of eight.  This completes a half round. Inhale through the right nostril to the count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of eight seconds. This completes one full round. Start by doing only a two or three rounds per session.  In time, you can add more rounds, as needed.   You may find yourself using the alternate nostril breathing for relaxing during lots of stressful situations -- before a job interview, before a dental appointment etc.  -- not just to relax you before riding your horse. Benefits of Nadi Sodhana: This exercise produces optimum function to both sides of the brain: that is optimum creativity and optimum logical verbal activity. The result is a more balanced person. The yogis consider this to be the best technique to calm the mind and  nervous system.   At first, it will feel a little like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time, but with a little practice, it will become second nature.

Learn to Incorporate Yoga into your Riding with These DVDs by Linda Benedik:   This website offers for sale two videos by Linda Benedik the will help you start incorporating yoga into your riding.  Linda Benedik is an internationally known equestrian author, clinician, trainer, and riding instructor in the United States. She is the founder of Harmony With Horses, a unique riding program that blends mind-body practices such as hatha yoga with traditional equitation and dressage. These videos:  Yoga & Riding 1 & 2 will introduce gentle beginner-level yoga routines featuring postures (asana) and breathing exercises (pranayama) that you can easily integrate into your busy equestrian lifestyle—before, after, even during your ride! Learn more about Linda Benedik's Yoga & Riding DVDs here.