It’s been a while since my last post on this blog, and no, I did not disappear, but have been very, very preoccupied with matters that required all my attention. Study was one of those matters and my health was another, both have now been successfully “conquered”.
When Andrew and I started our Equine Touch study back in 2012, I honestly thought I would be a qualified practitioner within a year or so. But sometimes the universe has ways of showing you need to slow down, and that is exactly what happened to me in the winter of 2012-13 when first I suffered from a herniated disc in my neck and weeks later lost the use of my right arm and shoulder. It was diagnosed as NA which stands for neuralgic amyothrophy. I won’t bore you with a description of the disease, but can tell you it was extremely painful at the onset, only to discover that after the pain had disappeared I hardly had any use, let alone strength left in my right arm and that my shoulder blade would stand out like a wing, hence the name “winged scapula”, not very handy for someone who wished to become an equine bodyworker!
The prognosis was not helpful: it could take anything from 2 to 5 years or more for the condition to improve, and nobody could tell me if I would regain my former strength. OK, I would have to slow down…. So I put my study books away, got a house cleaner (now, THAT was the positive part!), started training my left arm to do all those chores that my right arm would normally do and hoped for the best outcome. Regular physiotherapy sessions followed, but I instinctively knew that some of the prescribed exercises were not right for me and concentrated more on the Feldenkrais method with its gentle moves in which both body and mind are stimulated. To give you some idea of the Feldenkrais method, I have included the first of Ruthy Alon’s “FM and Bones for Life” videos. I love the simplicity and beauty of it, and get goosebumps when I see this woman effortlessly use her body in such a graceful way.
All healed, let’s fast-forward to 2014 now and I am pleased to announce that I have just set up my Equine Touch business “Humans for Horses”. You are welcome to visit my website (which is in both Dutch and English), www.humansforhorses.com, and yes, as Andrew mentioned in his last post, I did take the plunge into Facebook and set up a business page there as well: www.facebook.com/humans.for.horses.
I hope you like it, and for those readers in the Netherlands or Belgium, we say Equine Touch is a gift to the horse. Give your horse a present – an Equine Touch session! And I know just the person who can help!
Vicki
Vicki, well done to you (and Andrew in his book venture), for delving deeper and deeper into what makes you and your/other horses whole. Then sharing all that hard work with others through your business venture. I hope it is successful and fulfilling.
Smiles
Kelly
http://www.waterfallcreek.com.au
Thank you Kelly, I thoroughly enjoyed studying this modality, in that respect it has already been fulfilling. Equine Touch is not very well known here yet. By sending out invitations to do demonstrations, I hope owners/carers will see what ET can do for their horses.
Warm wishes
Vicki
Vicki, it is great to “hear your voice” again! Feldenkrais is SO helpful. Look at where the journey has taken you both over the last few years ~ what an adventure!
Thank you Susan, yes, it is amazing where this journey has taken us. One moment you think a door has been closed, only to discover that others have been opened, and in fact changes one’s life quite unexpectedly!
There is also a human version of Equine Touch, called VHT. I am seriously considering studying either VHT or Feldenkrais to be able to address the human rider as well as the horse. After all, helping the horse to find its balance is great, but it won’t last if the rider is not balanced…
Warm wishes
Vicki
You are so right that the human needs to be balanced as well as the horse. And rider imbalance can be one reason the horse becomes unbalanced in the first place. Jock Ruddick actually did some Touch work on my neck years ago and it was amazing and you have inspired me to resume some Feldenkrais work. Thanks!