Flow, Centering, and the Classroom: Wisdom from an Ancient Friend

Abstract

O one-two-three. I am cantering. No, we are cantering. We are moving rhythmically forward in this three-beat gait with a suspended fourth beat, and I am so relaxed that it feels as if my own legs are doing the cantering, not my horse’s. I feel centered with my horse as she carries me willingly; I am sitting tall, square, supple, yet strong enough to balance with 1,000 pounds of momentum underneath me. I live for such spiritual moments; we are in flow. To be centered in the physical sense is to be balanced, relaxed, strong, aware. A rider must keep her center on a horse both physically and spiritually if she hopes to achieve quality in dressage requirements such as shoulder-in or halfpass, movements where the horse moves laterally and forward with much force. Dressage is the ultimate form of classical riding where the rider and horse “dance” together as one with very little obvious communication. It only takes seeing the Lippizaner stallions perform or watching the dressage events in the Olympics to understand the seamless, precise, gentle, but extravagant energy that characterizes the dressage pair. If a horse is naturally balanced, achieving this ideal is somewhat easier, which is why certain breeds are preferred. My horse, however, was very unbalanced, stiff in some ways, supple in others. Until I learned to find my own balance, my own center, I could not help her find hers. And so began my quest. Through the years, I have learned first the physical balance required to find my center and then the spiritual balance that allows me to keep my center while using different parts of my body independently. This process required learning first cognitively, and eventually somatically, the physical and mental strategies that would allow me to be centered, relaxed, and confident. My experience as a teacher