Seeing is Touch at a Distance
I love this quote by Ida Rolf - one of the pioneers in Fascial Release and Structural Integration in humans.
SEEING IS TOUCH AT A DISTANCE
When I recently attended a seminar and workshop on this very same subject. And it brought home how much horses have taught me about the different layers of touch and awareness.
When we work with horses, we use a very light touch - but a lot of intention. Explaining this to some of the human practitioners at this workshop was an interesting experience.
It certainly is true:
If you truly want to know something on a deep and intimate level - teach it to someone.
I attended this event with a fellow equine practitioner, Becky Tenges. Everybody else worked exclusively with humans.
You may ask: Why did you just make this distinction?
During the workshop, we not only covered theory, but also got lots of hands-on experience. And with people, we had two options:
- on a massage table
- work in gravity - standing up
The most interesting aspect of the two different approaches is that the client has to be a participant. Which meant we had to work WITH the person.
How many times have you received a massage or bodywork where you were asked to participate?
There are no massage tables for horses (believe me, I get this question quite often!). So we ALWAYS work "IN GRAVITY".
So what does this mean? How does this effect our approach? Does it effect it?
You become aware - you "touch" through your sight and senses:
- How does the horse stand?
- How does he shift weight?
- How does he move?
- How does he respond - globally and locally?
Subtle things like a relaxed look, moving away from my touch or into it, fidgeting, a change in breathing, a change in ear position, tail movement or lack thereof, muscle tone ... all of these little, seemingly unimportant and separate things paint a picture un-equaled in its complexity.
IT IS A WHOLE AND COMPREHENSIVE BODY APPROACH.
When Becky & I introduced ourselves at the seminar, we encountered such curiosity, but also some very basic misconceptions.
The most glaring one was that human practitioners thought we had to use a lot of pressure and muscle because horses were so big. The exact opposite is true.
It hadn't crossed their mind that horses are so incredibly sensitive, no matter their size. It also gave us an opportunity to bring greater awareness to the power of light but INTENTIONAL touch.
SEEING IS TOUCH AT A DISTANCE
Observing is like putting a puzzle together at a distance.
Stepping back , seeing the whole, not just the parts - integrating it all.
And the realization that our intention is the most valuable tool we have.