The Confident Rider Podcast

Latest Episodes:

On Increasing Your Capacity & Why Mindfulness Isn't Always The Answer Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Capacity is a word that's entered into my work in a big way. But what does it mean to increase your capacity? And why is this an important consideration when it comes to being effective, compassionate, and creative horsepeople?

Capacity, the way I teach it, relates to the amount of activation we can hold in our body before we go into a place of flight, fight, or freeze. It's a dynamic conversation based on our experiences up to that point, how much our mental, emotional, and physical energies have been drawn on over the course of the day and where our current thresholds are.

When we turn our attention to increasing our capacity- to increasing the ability of our body to hold and maintain the energy of the experience without disconnecting from ourselves or our environment- then we can move beyond just "managing" fear, anxiety, overwhelm and frustration and create a way of being that allows us to hold more.

In order for us to do so, it's important to educate ourselves on the way our nervous system works and understand within that why mindfulness techniques may not always be the most effective answer in the moment.

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

The Power And The Presence Of Mindful Anger May 26, 2020

Show notes

Of all the emotions we think of when it comes to horses and riding, anger would be up there with the seemingly most inappropriate. I totally get it. After all, most of our associations with anger link us directly to outbursts that cause harm and upset to someone or something else.

Our limited understanding of anger, however, causes us to shut ourselves off from a very important and powerful experience; one that allows us to harness a potent energy that's necessary for forward momentum, passion, and assertiveness and gives us to tap into our own strength, in whatever way we might need it in the moment.

In this episode, I discuss mindful anger and its role in our riding and our life. We look at how we may have been conditioned out of its essential essence and how we can go about inviting more of it into our experience, for the benefit of ourselves and our horses.

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

Holding Your Centre In The Midst Of Hard Things May 19, 2020

Show notes

Like many of us, I've found the last few weeks to be a continual wave of constant and intense experiences. The general atmosphere we are operating in is charged, and as a consequence, we are approaching everything in front of us from a place of heightened activation also.

Everywhere we go, there are hard conversations. Everywhere we look, there are polarising opinions and calls to ask us to take a side. It can be confusing, inflaming, overwhelming, and at its worst, destructive.

What I love is that follows me, especially in my member's group, JoyRide, are here with the central, unifying reason of horses. For many of us, the work on ourselves has begun with and for our horses. But what has become more and more obvious to me is the flow-on effects to other areas of our life; how we can also see that these skills- the ability to hold our centre; the ability to not shut down or run away; the ability to maintain a sense of self that we are all working on- allows us to have a social discourse and to talk about big issues BEYOND our horses in a way that is loving and mutually respectful, and for that, I am so, so grateful.

In this episode, I explore how it is that our horses provide us with a training ground for life, and how the skills that we develop are transferable to every other area that we involve ourselves in, whether we are aware of it or not.

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

Olivia Towers: On Mindset, Dressage & Being Enough May 05, 2020

Show notes

Olivia Towers is in the house! Olivia is so many things (all good I might add), but amongst her many talents, she is a Grand Prix Dressage Rider, entrepreneur, Vlogger, and blogger with a passion for mindset and really getting the best out of yourself.

I've talked to Olivia before on her podcast a little while back, so it was super fun to get to switch seats and be the one asking the questions! Aside from the obvious bonding point that we both have a horse named Sausage #sistersforlife, Olivia and I chatter about

- Her journey from self-doubt and anxiety to diving into the world of mindset and self-development

- How she uses her social media platforms to show both sides of her equestrian journey, and be "the voice of real-ness"

- Her competitive aspirations and path with her own horses

I hope you enjoy it!

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

When Calming Down Isn't The Answer: Dealing With Nervous System Activation In Horses & Humans Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

Is it ever NOT appropriate to calm down? We talked about this in a post a week or so back and I'm exploring more in today's podcast!

Let's break it down…

Whenever we move into a sympathetic response that brings a lot of energy to the surface (anger, fear, and anxiety are all examples of this) we are often taught that we need to calm down; that the goal is to move from a place of reaction and activation to relaxation by changing our thoughts and perhaps taking a series of deep breaths.

In order for us to find true relaxation, however, there needs to be a discharge and an honoring of the energy that's present. This does not mean channeling anger towards someone or something in a harmful way or melting down in a pool of panic but it does mean meeting the energy where it's at and finding ways to release it from the system so it's not driven down to a darker and deeper place.

In order for it to be a corrective emotional experience, however, the energy needs to be integrated, not just released. What does that mean? In this episode, we explore exactly that. I give you two examples of how we can work with that- one horse and one human- in response to nervous system activation.

I hope you enjoy it!

❤️ Jane

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

Instinct And Inner Awareness: 3 Ways To Develop Your Intuition Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

Intuition and instinct: how often do you allow yourself to follow yours? And what's more, do you feel like you are connected to that internal sense of self enough that you are able to hear when it expresses a desire or impulse to you?

Many of us don't. But that doesn't mean we can't cast off the layers of social and cultural conditioning that tell us it's not ok to trust ourselves or to follow our own instincts and curiosity. Reclaiming our intuitive selves requires reconnection and re-embodiment; it's a process of following our own impulses, of understanding our own boundaries and recognizing that being with our horses and engaging in life is not a pass/fail test.

Working together with our horses takes us through a master thesis of developing feel and inner knowing. Our society and educational system values and applauds rational and logical thought above all else, and as a consequence, we have an overdeveloped thinking mind and have left our emotional and instinctual bodies depleted and dehydrated. Our horses- if we allow them too- pull us out of that space and ask that we reconnect to a much lesser understood but equally valuable part of ourselves that is generated both from within and through tapping into a bigger, universal pool of intelligence that's available to everyone.

In this episode, we explore how you can reignite the flame of your intuition by paying attention to three areas of focus; your curiosity, your boundaries, and free, organic movement.

I hope you enjoy it!

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

The Masterson Method: Relaxation, Relationship & Relieving Tension With Your Horse With Jim Masterson Apr 14, 2020

Show notes

Team, I am so thrilled to be able to share this conversation with you today. I'm talking with Jim Masterson about the Masterson Method and how it is we can work with our horse to release underlying patterns of tension and promote optimal health, relaxation, and connection.

Many of you will have heard me talk about this integrated bodywork practice before and it's something I'm utilizing on a near-daily basis together with my own horses. I've found the results to be fascinating and profound, and I really believe that the Masterson Method is something that all horse owners need to have in their knowledge bank.

Over the course of our conversation we talk about:

⭐️ The what, how and why of the Masterson Method: How you can apply it to bring awareness to, relieve and release underlying patterns of tension with your horse

⭐️ The role of awareness and intuition in allowing for relaxation

⭐️ The signs of tension and signs of release: How to recognize both and create space for optimal release and balance

We are also throwing down the challenge to you to watch the Bladder Meridian Video that Jim mentioned over the course of our talk (I'll share the link in the show notes of this episode) and try it out for yourself. Set up your phone, hit record and share your experiences with us! Make sure you tag us in so you can share the magic also!

I hope you enjoy it!

----

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

Meeting The Energy Where It's At: Working With Flight, Fight & Freeze Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

Beating yourself up for not maintaining a solid baseline of calm with everything that is going on? You're not the only one! But the thing is, we aren't designed (nor is it preferable) for us to be calm all of the time. In an environment where there are lots of triggers ringing our nervous system alarm bells- from the sounds of actual alarms in our physical environment if you're in the city, to a flooding of pandemic social media posts, to more distressed looks on the faces you see- it's a very functional response of your nervous system to be moving more into flight and fight, and for some of us freeze.

All of these functions have healthy expressions, it's just that for most of us (in my work and experience anyway) we have come to associate energetic activation in the body with fear. That also means that when we are presented with a horse with a big amount of energy or a situation that requires us to embody more energetic charge, we find ourselves unable to cope with it- physically, mentally and emotionally.

The learning, then, is to begin to condition (or re-condition in the case of any pre-existing trauma) ourselves to a higher energetic frequency in our bodies as a vital response of the body; vital in as much as it's an expression of vitality as much as it is communicating a message. I believe this to be of fundamental importance not only in successfully navigating the global situation that we find ourselves in but in developing the emotional and energetic agility needed to work with our horses.

In this episode, we discuss this and other points including:

⭐️ Healthy ways of meeting and discharging the flight and fight response

⭐️ Understanding freeze: When to take energy away and when to add it

⭐️ Stuck on a channel: Why we need to develop our physical and energetic range for the sake of ourselves and our horses

I'm so passionate about the messages I've shared in this episode and would be so appreciative if you shared this post or the podcast episode in whatever way you see fit with your friends or riding buddies.

I hope you find it useful!

❤️ Jane

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

5 Things To Practice Outside Of The Saddle To Transform Your Time In It Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Aye kaboosh! What're the feels out there currently? From where I sit, it's certainly a mixed bag. One thing I do know is that we need to be even more intentional than usual in looking after our own sanity and wellness so we can ride out the waves as easefully as possible.

The other thing? Whether or not you are able to hang with your horse currently or not, many of us have a niggling voice in the back of our minds telling us to hold onto our horsey plans by whatever means possible (even if that's in a drastically modified form!).

The beauty of the kind of work I do is that I work with what I call transferable practices. This means that you can apply the principles that I teach in your riding AND your day to day life circumstances… which ALSO means you can practice your mindset for the saddle in your everyday life too.

A lot of what is happening right now is emotional amplification, meaning that if you are familiar with operating from a baseline that includes a certain amount of anxiety, concern or worry, those tendencies are going to be magnified now. The good news is that getting on board with what you can do to manage that (and be kind to yourself in the process) means that when you step foot in the arena next, you are going to be in an all-round better position to manage yourself for the sake of your horse (and yourself, obviously). It's a total win-win.

So in this episode, we expand and chatter more about that. Five transferable practices that you can utilize and get better at wherever you find yourself sitting or standing now that will strengthen your mental and emotional muscles when you're out there with your horse.

----

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/

Freedom With Structure: Healthy Habits For Sanity & Wellness Mar 29, 2020

Show notes

Routine! It used to be a word that I turned my nose up at, but these days, routine and I are pretty much BFFs. With so many of us finding ourselves well outside of our normal routines currently, it's important that we seek out and create some form of structure in our day so we don't find ourselves floating around in free-form, crazy-making territory!

What it comes down to is this: When you have a lot of time on your hands and not a lot of variety in terms of how you can spend it, it's easy to get into a routine that follows the path of least resistance and leaves you feeling under-nourished mentally, emotionally and physically (hello endless watching of TV and scrolling the internet!). As humans, two of our base needs is to have a sense of purpose and to experience a sense of progress. Both of these are possible to cultivate, we just need to be intentional in how we are using our time.

The other thing that I consider uber important? Taking care of your nervous system. Right now, I believe self-care is part of our community and global responsibility. This is a time where our considered responses, our creativity and our ability to care for each other are needed more than ever. We aren't able to do any of those things in any constructive way if we are anxious, overwhelmed and strung out.

In this episode, I run you through some important things to consider to create purpose, structure and structure wellness your day, and how you can go about creating a routine in a somewhat routine-less world right now.

---

Click below to learn all about my JoyRide membership, to help you think, feel, move & ride differently:

https://confidentrider.online/joyride/

For other resources:

Website: https://confidentrider.online/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheConfidentRider/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confident_rider/