About Centered Riding®:
Focusing on the Rider.
Centered Riding® is a teaching method which helps riders to improve body awareness and recognise unhelpful habits. Through mounted and dismounted exercises using visualisation and imagery it develops the rider’s understanding of how and where tensions arise, creating the ability to address these tensions and let go of them. It is applicable to all disciplines and all levels and uses a variety of exercises based on the Alexander Technique and martial arts such as Tai Chi to develop security, stability and confidence. We all have ways of using ourselves which are unconsciously habitual and which can get in the way of being an effective and sympathetic rider. Often these habits show up as difficulties with riding which happen time and again, such as always losing one stirrup or the saddle sliding over to one side. Sometimes it can feel as if the horse’s training has got a bit stuck, no matter how many lessons or trainers we have; the horse may be crooked, always falling in on corners or tipping his nose to one side, or leaning on the bit. In fact, the horse is often simply reflecting problems his rider is having - and when the rider becomes aware of these, and takes action, the faults disappear. Many instructors will recognise and comment on a rider's habits -‘keep your heel down’, ‘elbows in’, ‘bring your lower leg back’, ‘look up’, ‘relax!’ - but how many understand what's causing the problems and how to correct them? A Centered Riding Instructor has specialised training, based around the Alexander Technique and martial arts, in body awareness, 'use' and anatomy which gives that understanding. Centered Riding® explores how to do what your instructor always picks up on. If you're constantly trying to correct the same faults and getting nowhere, then Centered Riding is for you. If you get stiff, sore and tired from trying hard to follow your instructor's directions, then Centered Riding is for you. If you struggle to reproduce the great work your horse can produce during your lessons, or come away disheartened at your lack of progress, then Centered Riding is for you. '[My trainer's] unusual in that her main aim is to train the rider rather than forcing the horse to do things when the rider is wrong. Trainers all say 'bend it, kick it', but they don't mention you're sitting off to one side.' Dressage rider, quoted in Horse & Hound magazine. Centered Riding® : * Uses simple, easy to remember exercises *Develops awareness *Creates a softer way to ride *Uses less energy * Improves the horse *Builds confidence *Provides long term benefits *Makes riding fun again. To find out about lessons and courses click here. For more detailed information about what Centered Riding teaches, read Sally Swift's books Centered Riding and Centered Riding 2- Further Exploration, or click here. |
About Sally Swift
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