The Year of the Horse

Last year in Ibiza I did a horse coaching session with Guardian Horses. I had no big expectations. I think I just felt curious. It turned out to be one of the most intense experiences I have ever had.

There was one horse I immediately felt drawn to. I cannot explain it better than that. She just felt calm, beautiful and solid. At some point during the session I noticed that every time I stepped into the shadow, the horse gently pushed me forward into the sun. Not aggressively. Just very clearly. I would move slightly out of the light, and it would nudge me back in the sun.

It happened several times. It sounds small, but it wasn’t for me. I realised how instinctively I sometimes step back. How quickly I make myself a little smaller without even noticing it.

Then the horse started to exhale very loudly. Deep, strong blows of air. And suddenly I heard other horses in the nearby fields doing the same. The coach looked at me and said that I hold my breath too much. That I carry everything inside and that I need to learn how to really exhale. She even told me to take a guided breathing course to learn how to breathe properly.

It felt confronting because it was true…. I am good at holding things together. I am not always good at releasing them. Emotions, stress, expectations, disappointments. I stay composed, but my body always remembers.

When I now hear that this is the Year of the Horse, I cannot not think about that day. For me it is not about running wild or being fearless. It is about not stepping back into the shadows anymore. It is about breathing out what is done. Literally exhaling.

Maybe that is what I am taking with me into this year : less holding, more breathing. And staying in the sun when life nudges me forward.

With love, Sofie