Quick story before we get into it. Because I’m a chatty Kathy (verbose Veronica?) I used to talk during my dressage test. My trainer was tired of watching me lose points (so many points), so she taught me and my horse to communicate via breath work. A sharp inhale readies her for an increase in energy, a long slow exhale is just as good as a verbal “whoa.” Unfortunately, overachiever that I am, I took that assignment a little too seriously. Riding my horse when you have the sniffles now means a lot of unexpected trotting. Poor girl is just as much of an overachiever as I am.
So, don’t learn breathwork from me, learn from Maija of Freely Forward Bodywork instead. A licensed massage therapist, she and Equestly have partnered up to create the latest addition to the Equestly Ride app, the Exhausted Equestrians course. Does that sound like you? ‘Cause it sure sounds like me.
I watched the first episode of the course, where Maija teaches you all about diaphragmatic breathing and why you should be putting this tool to good use.
Every experienced equestrian knows how much our breathing impacts our horses. If you haven’t experienced this for yourself, next time you get on your horse, try breathing quickly and shallowly. How does your horse react? (If you ride a sensitive horse, try deep breathing instead. For our lawyer’s mental health, please don’t do something that will get you thrown off.) You may notice your horse becoming tense, alert, and nervous.
The way we breathe has a significant impact on our body, our posture, muscle tension, mental state and more. All of this translates to how our horses move, as well as their mental state. Remember, horses are herd animals. If one horse in the herd becomes snorty and tense, the rest of the herd goes on high alert. When you ride, you are effectively part of the herd. When you take short, shallow breaths, or forget to breathe altogether, you are sending warning bells to your horse.
Many equestrians breathe using their chest, particularly when they’re anxious. Instead of using the diaphragm, this type of breathing relies on the scalene muscles, which are located on either side of your neck and connect into your shoulders. Maija said chest breathing stresses these muscles and causes tension in the shoulders and neck. If at the end of a horse show or after riding a spooky horse you notice some neck and shoulder pain, that might be why.
According to Maija, diaphragmatic breathing allows for more oxygen to enter the body and stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps keep your mind calm and focused in stressful situations such as at a horse show or while riding a spooky horse. The vagal nerves are responsible for many functions involving the parasympathetic nervous system, including your mood, speech, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. There are many ways you can stimulate your vagus nerve, including diaphragmatic breathing and singing.
Have you ever had a trainer make you sing while you ride? They were onto something! Singing stimulates that vagus nerve and keeps you breathing, both of which will prevent your body from locking up and going into a freeze state. But, because you can’t really go around the warm-up ring singing, learning how to breathe with your diaphragm is probably the better option.
Maija says the best way to learn how to breathe diaphragmatically is to lie down on your back on the floor. As you breathe in, focus on fully inflating your stomach. As you breathe out, contract your stomach or simply allow it to slowly deflate. To get all the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing, take very slow deep breaths. Maija suggests breathing in for seven seconds and out for seven seconds. Make sure you’re counting this out; when I did this exercise it was much slower than I thought.
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If you breathe with your shoulders and chest automatically, it will take some dedicated practice to start breathing with your diaphragm. While you can practice your diaphragmatic breathing anytime, Maija says that she practices her diaphragmatic breathing at the end of a long day, while lying in bed, like any true exhausted equestrian. This way she can relax before she drifts off to sleep.
After some practice, you should be able to breathe diaphragmatically all the time on a subconscious level. Just think, if you’re this accomplished now, what will you be able to achieve when you’re getting all the oxygen your body needs? Maybe you won’t be as much of an exhausted equestrian as you are now!
Up next on the Exhausted Equestrian course, learn how to decompress your spine for better posture in the saddle. Download the Equestly Ride app and watch the course.
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