Riding Into Freedom
I haven’t ridden a horse since I was a young woman. But I have wanted to. Each year my life in Los Angeles and New York became too busy. I looked up horse riding companies and even had a friend who invited me out to ride with her but somehow it never happened. It eventually became a fantasy that I reserved for some day
As the year of the horse in the Chinese calendar rolled in and I was out in the middle of vast country I was presented an opportunity to ride. I have been teaching yoga to a group of women on the Wyuna reserve on the South Island, New Zealand and one of them is a horse rider who maintains the stables where half a dozen horses live. I have admired those horses every time I drove past on my way into the little tiny town called Glenorchy.
On a beautiful but rare calm and temperate day I went for my first ride in years. Ruth Ann is an incredible riding coach and her knowledge of each horse and its temperament, personality and habits blew me away. Horses have minds of their own. They are in credibly sensitive and strong creatures and as a rider one needs to not only honor and respect their horse but also hold the reigns and remain in charge.
As I rode on the back of Rio down to the edge of Lake Wakatipu I felt a freedom and a connection to the earth that melted my heart. I remembered something in a certain light that I didn’t know I had forgotten. I remembered what it means to be rooted into the raw power of earth and primal ways of animal life. I relaxed my body enough to be moved by the animal between my legs and let the sway of this precious beast flow up my spine. We began to move together as one. I had to stay present to my horse’s own desires, keep him on track or give him space depending on the moment. It is a sacred primal dance of power and sensitivity.
My roots where pressed against the saddle. My perineum bounced upon its back. I felt the space between my legs and the base of my sacrum vibrantly alive as it was massaged with each step my four-legged friend took. There was something inherently sexy and wild about it. It is extremely sensual to feel such power between my legs and to allow my pelvis and hips sway in such a way. With each bounce I felt vibrations rise up my body to my crown then back down again. I dissolved into this connection with nature and its primal power.
I felt a deep and satisfying love and respect for Rio and his willingness to let me ride him. He took me on a beautiful and romantic walk and taught me about life in a way I hadn’t felt in a while. Since then I have been back from more. And I plan to ride again and again and learn the ways of this magical beautiful beast. It’s all about love and respect and when I experienced that between this animal and me it felt transcendent and deeply spiritual.
Blessings to you in this year of the horse, may you ride with power and grace, may you be fearless and move swiftly in the direction of your dreams, may your passion and your purpose merge as one and may you never forget the wild ways of freedom.