Concinnity Farm

Just one of the many reasons why equestrians can benefit from making Feldenkrais a regular practice 💚

**Spot has been filled**

One spot has become available for our clinic with Deb Davies, October 24th and 25th. This is private lesson format, each participant gets two lessons per day. Total cost for the four lessons - $580

You can learn more about Deb here: https://www.equineselfexpression.com/about-debbie

Please contact me if you're interested :)

About Debbie | Equine SelfExpress Deborah Bowerman-Davies' passion for the horse began as a child living in the UK. Her equine journey began by volunteering at a Therapeutic Riding Academy, where she quickly earned an award for the most accomplished horsewoman and rider at the young age of 13! 

Most horses do not need you to do more, they need you to do less with a whole lot more clarity.

Help them be right, instead of always telling them they're wrong.

- Terra

This morning I found myself thoughtfully reminiscing about my journey. This farm, the things that brought me here, and the future.

I put a lot of thought into the name of this farm...

"Concinnity is a noun that means the skillful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of different parts to form a graceful, unified whole."

And at the time, I had horses at the forefront of my mind. I wanted to provide a space where horses could come together again. In mind, body and spirit.

But, as the years have passed and this community has grown, I've come to realize that before the horse, there is a human. It is that human that will be responsible for facilitating the healing of their horse. Another thing I have come to realize is that the human must first facilitate their own healing before they can facilitate the healing of their horse.

Existing between us and our horses is a space, a gap. One we often do not recognize is there. The space of our subconscious, where memory of every experience lives. Etched into every inch of our being. Injuries, trauma, relationships...all of it. It is the space that fosters our survival. Sometimes, for as brilliant and amazing as our survival mechanisms are, they're the very thing that is stifling so much of what we would love to achieve.

I like to think that this farm has become a place where people can work through that space. A place that facilitates and allows a deeper level of self discovery, awareness, and connection within the human...which they can then offer to the horse. That the universe has very intentionally led me to teachers, colleagues and friends that have all the things necessary to support people on their journey to a greater understanding of themselves.

Life and horsemanship are not so different.

So, when I see the name of my farm...I no longer think of just the horses, but the humans too.

It starts with us...here's to becoming more concinnous.

- Terra

What a wonderful podcast episode with our very own Leah Astrup of Integrated Movement,LLC and the amazing Mary Debono of Debono Moves.

An important reminder of why it's so important to work on ourselves as riders. As well as a reminder of the beauty and value of both Feldenkrais and Applied Neurology. These modalities have the potential to be powerful tools for personal transformation, in life and in the saddle.

The Missing Piece in Your Connection With Your Horse: A Conversation with Leah Astrup Podcast Episode · Easier Movement, Happier Life · September 22 · 49m

"Notice how much you did and do less next time"

We have all likely heard something similar in a riding lesson.

Do less...an idea that makes me ponder 🤔

How many know themselves intimately enough to be able recognize what they did and do less? When the instructor says, "There! Did you feel that?!". You nod, yes. Did you really? It's okay if you didn't. Maybe a better question is...can you? It's okay if you can't. Have you learned to feel and sense within yourself enough that learning in that moment is even an actual possibility? Learning to learn is a thing!

“Without learning to know ourselves as intimately as we possibly can we limit our choices.” - Moshe Feldenkrais

In a world that rewards maximum effort and exertion, we must be willing to rebel...for ourselves, for our horses. We must be willing to move so slowly that it's almost boring. We must be willing to pause, to take a moment between moments, to notice and integrate. We must be willing to breathe and let that breath fill and gently move our bodies.

"In order to recognize small changes in effort, the effort itself must first be reduced. More delicate and improved control of movement is possible only through the increase of sensitivity, through a greater ability to sense differences." - Moshe Feldenkrais

Every day, I am learning to do less, so that I can do more. I am grateful for mentors who facilitate that learning and have offered me opportunities for contrast.

- Terra

Integrated Movement,LLC with Leah Astrup
Connected Riding with Peggy Cummings'

Hey everyone!

I would like to ask you all for a little feedback.

This year, as the clinic season winds down, I would like to offer more things here at the farm. Some smaller, more casual opportunities to continue building on what we learned throughout the year. I mean we attend, we buy the books, we buy the equipment, we leave inspired, and then? So many of us rarely have a chance to utilize it, lets change that!

Here's the thing...there's options, lots of options and I want to know what you would be most interested in!

We have access to Leah who has a lot to offer - private Functional Integration sessions (hands on Feldenkrais work), live group ATMs (Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement), ZHealth, Franklin Balls, DeBono Moves.

What I can offer - Well, I am happy to support you wherever you feel like you need it. Finding neutral, groundwork, riding...lets play with it and see what we find.

Leah and I can work together. We can combine things. We can explore dynamic movement. Breath work. Without horses, with horses, on saddles on saddle stands, on the ground, on a horse...what would you want?

Your own horse? My horses?

Days of the week? Weekends are limited, so looking more at weekdays. Time of day?

While Brent was here, he helped me with a greener horse that I hadn't done much with in awhile.

The last day we worked together, as I lead her through the pasture gate he said, "From here to the barn, you can feel if she's ready to be saddled or not."

Then, once we were in the barn he asked, "What's one way you might know if she's ready to ride? You could ask, is she ready to trim? That's something you can feel out, you have experience there. If she's ready to trim, she's ready to ride."

She had lead to the barn nicely. Her eyes were soft, her breathing was good and had stayed steady. She felt so much more with me than when we had started a few days earlier. She was standing quietly and square, with a leg in every corner. I knew if I asked for her feet, she would give them easily and softly.

She was ready to ride and we did have a great ride.

What he reminded me of throughout that session is how interconnected everything we do is. The way they lead can tell you a lot about how they'll probably trailer load. How they are with their legs being handled can tell you a lot about how they'll feel about you being on their back. If we're really paying attention, our horses can tell us a lot about how they're feeling, what their tendencies might be, and what kind of support they might need from us...sometimes just in our walk from the paddock to the barn.

So many of us take our horses for granted. We get complacent. We stop feeling back to them. Then we miss a lot of what they've been sharing with us. Then we wonder why we have troubles.

Never underestimate the little things, the simple things...

- Terra

"It's simple but not easy"

This was something I heard Brent Graef Horsemanship say a few times during the clinic. At one point, I think Nicole Shoup Horsemanship and I looked at each other, laughed a little, and nodded in agreement. Horsemanship in a nutshell.

Learning is so vulnerable. You're sifting through your strengths and your weaknesses. Using your strengths to your advantage and working to turn weaknesses into strengths. Always hunting for center, for that middle, for where you want to be. Finding the courage to come with your best, experiment, and not be too hard on yourself when you find a spot that needs a little work.

Nobody's perfect. We each only know what we know and that's okay.

If you're showing up. If you're learning. If you're growing. That's worth a whole lot.

Having a teacher and a community that helps you feel safe while you're doing that, that's pretty priceless too...and this clinic had both 💙

- Terra