The pursuit of healthy life has pushed people into finding new alternatives and combining passions which lead to the birth of new exercises. The new trend that is quickly gaining popularity is yoga on horseback or someone calls it equestrian yoga.
At first glance, this activity is confusing since riding the horse alone is a hard thing that needs practice, and now you can do yoga on a horseback?
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Well, many professionals trained horses to sit still and move when they asked just so people can practice yoga on their backs. Equestrian Yoga is a practice that addresses specific movements and postures of the horseback rider’s body.
In fact, yoga on a horseback is very healthy for you and can improve your core strength, flexibility and balance by focusing on different parts of the body, such as the shoulders, hips, and lower back.
What is Equestrian Yoga Actually?
Imagine yoga, but instead of doing it in class, you do it on a horseback. It includes gentle movements and poses off and on the horse with lots of breathing and improved awareness just to deepen your connection with your horse.
Horses in yoga are not just there for you to do exercise on their back. Horses and humans have established deeper connections since ancient times, and this emotional connection will help you improve your concentration while practicing Yoga.
Some of the moves that you can practice in equestrian yoga are hip openers, deep twists, lateral stretches, and shoulder stretches. All of these activities are great for your body, and they will improve your flexibility and your balance when riding.
In fact, equestrian yoga is a great way to start learning about horse riding which is an exercise on its own.
The combination of yoga and horses starts to make sense after you’ve experienced this activity and established a deeper connection with your horse, and your inner self. Horses are emotional creatures and pick up on the emotional environment including your own energy and the true state of your emotional state.
Horse yoga also teaches you how you can use your breath as an aid to stay focused and connected with your horse, even when you feel fear during a ride.
Who Can Practice Yoga on a Horseback?
For someone that has never ridden a horse, it will be a big step to jump on horseback and practice Yoga movements. That is why it is best to take a few horse riding classes and learn more about the horse’s behavior before jumping on their back to stretch.
Usually, horse yoga classes start with horse riding and establishing a deeper connection with the horse.
After you’ve learned the basics, you can practice slow movements on a horse’s back with the instructor right beside you. Remember, you don’t have to fear the horses since they are trained for such a thing.
Benefits of Yoga on a Horseback?
Like any other activity, no matter how odd it might seem, it provides some kind of benefit to your body and mind. When it comes to yoga, you’ll increase flexibility, muscle strength, cardio and circulatory health, and many other things. On the other hand, horse riding is great for circulation, muscle strength, coordination, balance, and reducing strength.
When you combine both things, we have the ultimate workout activity that is created to work on both your physical and mental health with the goal of achieving harmony.
Some of the benefits of equestrian yoga:
- It can lower your center of gravity by opening up your hips and working on building a stronger core
- Improve the balance that can help you manage weight in your sit bones
- Use your body and mind to establish a deeper connection and relationship with the horse
So, if you are looking to spice up your workout schedule, yoga on a horseback might be perfect for you, especially if you love and appreciate these majestic creatures.
