My Homework for You

This is the homework for week one in my Nerve Release Course; but honestly I thought the entire collective could use it. Bodywork to me, is a sacred dance.

It is not some mechanical and sterile action or job that I perform on a body. Human or horse.

Instead, it is a co-creation of healing between them and I.

Before I put my hands on a body, I am already talking to it.

Setting gentle intentions of genuinely seeking to understand how I can be used to help facilitate the releases that it needs but cannot find itself.

I come to it, energetically on my knees with a reverence for all that it has been through, and for how powerful it still is.

Fervently respecting that the fascia binding down into restrictions are not “bad"

Those beautiful webs are simply the binding spells that your body weaved together intelligently and crafted fully to protect you (or whoever you were seeking to protect) in a time of need.

I thank it, and tell it how sorry I am for having to do that in the first place, but how in awe of it I am that it was able to.

I remind it to be so proud of itself.

It is not up to me to decide what should stay and what should go.

It is merely up to me to listen, facilitate, and take only what the body decides it no longer needs to hold onto.

I believe that the thing that helps me to build trust and create the changes I am able to co-create, is the contract that I bind myself to -

"I promise to never knowingly take you past threshold.

I promise that if something happens and I do on accident, I will immediately be accountable for my part and learn from the experience to never do it again.

I promise that my touch will never come with a selfish motive.

I promise to be mindful of my own self and our environment so you feel safe.

I promise to protect you while you are vulnerable.

I promise to honor your voice and take to heart when you say No.

I promise to only take the space your body willingly gives me.

I promise to never bulldoze you.

I promise to stay open minded and free from any bias that I might hold around your body and what it needs.

I promise to seek answers for things I do not know.

I promise to never assume I know better for you, than you do.

I promise to listen.

I promise to stay".

My Homework for you -

1.) Come up with your own contract going into this work.

It can be mine, it can be your own words, it can be something different all together.

I want you to say it out loud before every session.

(You can do this driving to the barn and in your own privacy, but force yourself to do the act of saying it out loud.)

2.) Write yourself a letter, forgiving yourself of any feelings of regret or pain that come up for you as you learn to better understand your horse.

You have always done as right by them as you could, and your continued growth is what makes you worthy of them.

I want you to read that letter out loud to yourself every day, for at least 30 days or until it stops feeling fake or gross when you do it. (Trust me, I know).

3.) Set aside some intentional time, and truly sit with your horse.

Watch them while they move and appreciate their body for all that it was, is and will continue to be. We are not here to fix them, we are here to unfurl their wings, remind them how to ground and facilitate them in their own healing.

And I believe they are here to do the same, for us.