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WILSON MEAGHER SPORTS THERAPY NEWSLETTER |
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TRAINER'S TIP
Sue Clarke has a wealth of knowledge and experience as stable manager at Stonehall Farm, The Plains, Virginia, since 1992 (read more about Sue at the link below) Question: What fundamental lesson do you feel is very important for foals to learn that will remain with them through their adult lives?
RIDER'S TIP
Quick Stress Reliever - Meditative Breathing
Sometimes we forget to breathe. This simple exercise can be used before competing, riding, social situations or simply after a hard day at work. A very good, quick way to instantly relieve stress is the following meditative breathing exercise:1. Sit comfortably in a chair, or in the car, if on the go. Feet flat on the ground, with arms and legs uncrossed. Close eyes. Begin by breathing very slowly, deeply, noisily into your belly. 2. First breath is in through your nose and out your mouth. Pucker your lips and breath noisily on the out breath. |
Welcome!
Once
you have to think about motion, you have interrupted the motion. Here
is an example. I was finished working on horses at a barn on a warm
spring afternoon, when Mrs. Honey, the owner of the farm called out
to me. She came out of her house with golf clubs, a bucket of golf balls,
and a big smile, as she asked if I wanted to drive some balls. I told
her I did not play golf, but I did take a few lessons as an undergraduate
in college many years ago. ”Oh, come on, give it a try she said. All
you have to do, is hit the ball as far as you can across that big lawn
over there”. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained I thought. I took
the club and drove the ball nearly 100 yards across the lawn and more.
She couldn’t believe how high and far I drove that ball. She said” I
thought you told me you didn’t play golf?” “ I don’t,” I replied. Much
to her surprise and delight, I presented her with a challenge and some
competition. Mrs. Honey took quite a swing, and with great precision,
and execution, she drove the ball just short of mine. 
She
told me it was my turn next. Hesitantly, knowing my little experience
as a golfer, I decided to think about how to hit the ball so I could
repeat my previous performance. I stood square, hips directly below
my shoulders, arms extended with slight flex of the elbow, knees bent,
waist slightly flexed. I swung at the ball, and it landed about 10 feet
from me and in to the ground. Wow, I thought that was pathetic. Mrs.
Honey laughed and told me to try again. This time, I really concentrated,
got in to my position and, whamo, the ball went 15 feet while the club
jammed in to the ground and tore up the grass. What was I doing wrong?
Since
all muscles pull, and that is all they do in terms of motion, I needed
to think in terms of the biomechanics to begin to solve the shortened
stride problem. It is the release process of the muscle that is effected
by simple muscle tightness. When muscles are tight, they do not release
easily for the opposite motion to occur. Thinking about which muscles
are not releasing is critical to solving the problem. A simple example
is a person who has tight back muscles. The back muscles are responsible
for extending the spine and keeping the person erect and standing upright.
If these same back muscles in a person are tight, they may not release
fully to allow for flexion of the spine, or bending forward...
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JO-ANN'S TEACHING IN 2011
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3. Imagine all your stress is releasing and pushed out on the out breath. Make the out breath twice as long as the in breath. This gives you more time to release the stress. 4. Do this meditative breathing 5 to 10 breaths as needed. It really works to achieve a sense of CALM. |
Over
the past year of 2011, Jo-Ann enjoyed teaching many professional massage
therapists, physical therapists, veterinarians, and some horse owners
the highly successful