Category: Podcast

A reminder to let yourself be new.

❤️ Jane

There’s a beautiful phrase that I hold gently in my hands, that I’ve adopted as one of my mottos for living.

“Birds coast when they can”.

Every time I say it out loud to myself, I’m met with the glorious vision of a bird in flight, that proves these words to be true.

Birds coast where they can is a reminder to let yourself be supported.

A reminder to look for opportunities for ease, and where you, yourself, may be complicating things in a way that isn’t necessary. Doing too much for what is required.

Where are the opportunities for you to coast?

How can you allow yourself to be carried?

And what are all the ways you argue against allowing this to be the case?

xx Jane

Peeps, I’m back with one of my favourite humans, the most loveliest Kathy Price!

Kathy and I are teaching a workshop together this weekend, and in our pre-workshop prep decided we could scoop the cream off the top of our conversation and sit down and chatter with you on the podcast.

Over the course of our meandering conversation, we talk about:

• The evolution of our work and business
• The principles that we follow that inform our life and work
• The application of energy and intention to our decision making processes

We hope you enjoy it!

If you want to join us for our workshop, you can sign up here.

And if you want to get in touch with Kathy, you can find her here.

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane (and Kathy!)

 

The possibilities for your horse to move functionally and in a way that promotes health and wellness exist only within the range that he is balanced; our job as riders, then, is not only to facilitate balance in them in order that they can carry us without compromising themselves, and to ensure that our balance point matches theirs.

The area of study that I’ve involved myself in is really interested in the movement of the fascial trains and the path of movement that the body follows when it is in the parasympathetic, or not in fight flight. The key element that we pay attention to is the movement of the centreline and the arc that the centreline follows to produce healthy movement patterns.

In this episode, we discuss movement patterns and their relationship to the nervous system: how your nervous system manifests in movement, why understanding movement pathways is important and how we can use that knowledge to create ways of moving and riding that optimise harmony and health, physically, mentally & emotionally.

I hope you enjoy it! If you want to learn and explore more, we expand on these understandings in my membership program JoyRide. You can learn more by visiting here.

Enjoy!

❤️ Jane

Interwoven thoughts of a new year.

Happy New Year,

xx Jane

Beautiful people, it’s been a hot minute since we were last on the podcast airwaves. I’m super excited to be back for Season 3, and to share with you all the thoughts, musings and conversations that are swirling round my brainspace.

Before we get into that though…

At this time of year, it can be really easy to fall into “achievement energy”; the feeling that we have to set our resolutions, refine our goals and have things sorted out for the new year. The conversation I want to have with you today is an invitation to, well, not do that.

And the framework I want to offer in its place is one I stumbled upon recently and have been practicing in the moments since.

Omen Days are an ancient Celtic tradition that were practiced in the 12 days from the 26th December to the 6th January. They rest on the foundation of bearing witness, and of deep noticing. Of the land, the animals we share it with and the greater world around us.

In this podcast, we discuss the nature of Omen Days and how we can use it as a reminder to slow down, observe and begin the new year from a place of enoughness.

I hope you enjoy it!

Much love,

❤️ Jane

Kate Sandel is back on the podcast! In less than a week’s time, Kate and I are co-teaching at a three-day clinic called Camp of the South, in Devon, UK. Initially we had the idea to record a conversation together to send to participants of the camp as a “here’s some helpful information” type spiel but it quickly became obvious that our chattering extended far beyond the limits of those three days to encompass the broader expectations we might have in learning environments, what it takes to be open to learning and what we consider to be “the best way to show up” as a student.

In this episode, we discuss:

🌷 What is takes to develop a “teachable mindset”

🌷 The necessary mess of the learning process (and how to embrace it)

🌷 How there is no such thing as failure

🌷The benefit of honesty and vulnerability in teaching environments

🌷 Discovering the joy (and challenge) of movement for both horses and humans

For those of you yet to discover the delight that is Kate Sandel, Kate runs a thriving equine business in the UK and internationally. She had trained for several years with French classical master, Philippe Karl, as well as honing her horsemanship skills with a variety of incredible teachers. She is also a qualified equine sports massage therapist and her background in mental health means she values the wellbeing of both humans and horses in a riding partnership.

You can find Kate at www.softandsound.org

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

It’s a party people! A few weeks back, I had the hankering to have a pod conversation talking about energy, the mystical and the magical, and the two people who immediately sprang to mind were Denise Elizabeth Byron and Kathy Price.

Denise I have known for a few years now, meeting her for the first time when I went to stay with Robyn Schiller and skipping along to an astrology session that blew my mind. After that, we all convened at the chocolate shop in town and well… if there’s a better way to cement a friendship, I’m not sure I’ve found it yet.

If you are yet to be introduced, Denise is a psychic, visionary guide, and mentor with over 30 years’ experience, using astrological patterns to illuminate each client’s unique pathway to embody the magic of their life purpose more confidently.

And if you’ve been around the tracks on my podcast for any amount of time, you will already be acquainted with the fabulousness that is Kathy Price- what would this conversation be without her! Kathy’s business is called Point of Balance, and she has been studying and researching the world of energetic modalities for a number of years now.

The aim of Kathy’s work is to help human and animal systems that she’s working with, whichever of those applies to find its own unique point of balance and to help itself come back into health and vitality on every level, be that physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Over the course of our conversation we cover:

•     Their different approaches to working with people, the tangible aspects of energetic connection and how information “shows up”
•     Parsing apart “what is mine and what is yours” when working with energy
•     Allowing time for creative expression, rest and rejuvenation

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

You can find Denise here: www.deniseelizabethbyron.com

You can find Kathy here: www.kathyprice.co.uk

❤️ Jane

 

There are so many ways to introduce Barbra Schulte. You could start with the incredible work she does coaching riders, helping them develop mental strategies to get the best out of themselves and their horses. Or you could talk about her many outstanding accolades in the cutting horse arena, including her induction in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2012. But what I love most about Barbra is the warmth, love and kindness she exudes and the way she’s shows up in the world. Beyond everything, that is what impresses me the most.

I was fortunate to meet Barbra relatively recently, at the Journey On Podcast Summit in November of 2022. Listening to her talk, and then later having conversations with her, I instantly fell in love. I was so thrilled to have her agree to come on the podcast because there were things I wanted to talk about with her that extended beyond her work, her horses and what she teaches.

I wanted to hear more about the behind the scenes of her life, about her beautiful son Zane and their story, and what made her tick.

Over the course of our conversation we discuss:

• Her life growing up with horses, her discovery of the Human Performance Institute and the impact that had on her life and work
• Her son Zane, the impact of his life and death, and her journey with the experience of grief
• Navigating life with trust and love

I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

❤️ Jane

In March of this year, I ventured over to the UK for a series of retreats and workshops that I held together with Rupert Isaacson. Having had a few weeks off from the pod, it made sense to kick back off with a catch-up conversation with Ru so we could effectively pick up where we left off and fill you in on the latest of our adventures.

 In this episode, we talk about:

• Popping the cherry on our first Longing and Belonging Retreat on the Welsh Borders (and our lead up extravaganza in ASDA)
• Vitality and community; ideas of shared responsibility of health, well-being, and healing
• Working together in Ireland on our collaborative clinic.

Rupert and I are also excited to be holding the next workshop in our three-part series that spans the course of this year called Friendship.\

This two-part workshop explores the nature of friendship, how we go about cultivating it and the broad spectrum of understanding (friendship with self, each other, and the landscape) that the topic of friendship can encompass.

You can learn more about that or sign up for the workshop here

If you want to get in touch with Rupert, you can do so here.

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

As many of you who follow along with my adventures will already know, at the start of this year I lost my beautiful Irish horse, Bear. Following on from that day, I shared my experiences and thoughts in series of Facebook live sessions that spanned the course of a couple of weeks, which led me to conversations, understandings, and a level of awareness that I would never have gained if I had chosen to keep my feelings to myself.

This experience was overwhelming in the best possible way. People shared with me their stories of loss and their personal experiences of grief. But was I felt most acutely was the love. Love not only sent to me and my little Irish pony, but a love that was unifying, gratifying and uplifting.

 I guess death is funny like that. It brings into sharp focus everything that’s important and allows the superfluous to simply drop away.

 I thought to record a separate episode on grief and I’m sure I will still do this. But the live session captures an “in the moment” experience that is impossible to emulate from a different vantage point. So, in an effort to continue to send conversations on grief, loss and death out into the ether- conversations we are intrinsically terrible at in western society- I offer them to you now in the hope that they will land where they are supposed to, with whoever it is that needs to hear them.

 The nature of the live recordings means that the audio is imperfect at times, but hopefully their value extends beyond that. Amongst other things we discuss:

     – The duality of experience: how grief and loss can co-exist with happiness and joy (and why it’s important to understand this)

      – The invitation of loss and hardship

     – Dealing with guilt within the loss

    – My personal experiences with loss and death

Much love to you all,

❤️ Jane

 

 

Are you ready for us?! I’m joined back on the pod this week with two of my besties who you no doubt are well familiar with already- the most amazing Kathy Price and the infinitely regal Tania Kindersley.

 Kathy, Tania and myself are regularly chattering about all things life, horses and the universe, and whenever one of us is stuck or needs an ear, the call goes out over the WhatsApp airwaves saying, I need a DollyLama conversation! And when one hears this cry, one knows that they need to pay attention.

The Dolly Lama talks began a couple of years back when we were discussing what a superb human Dolly Parton is, and how the perfect cross between a human being would be Dolly and the Dalai Lama. Thus the phrase “Dolly Lama” was coined, and the Dolly Lama chats was basically us doing our best to make sense of this whole human-ing experience.

On that thread, when we all got together for this podcast, I couldn’t really do anything else other than to call it a Dolly Lama session. And with most of our conversations, we cover a lot of territory with much giggle snorting in between.

 Amongst other things, we talk about:

•   The movement away from seeking outward validation and people pleasing patterns
• The liberation of living with authenticity and integrity
• How your perspective creates your reality

I hope you enjoy it!

You can find Kathy on her website here.

And you can find Tania on her Red Mare page here.

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

The subject of vitality is on my mind because in a couple of weeks’ time, I’m teaching a workshop with Rupert Isaacson on that exact topic. It’s a workshop that I’m really excited for because at the heart of my work lies the desire for the restoration of vitality.

The pathway there might look different for everyone; the challenges each of us experience may hold their own unique flavor; but ultimately, we are all looking to feel the essence of our own aliveness and to be able to hold that energy without turning away from the conversations that are important to us.

Horses provide us with a portal to have conversations that we would not be brave enough or supported enough to have without them.

They free us to say,

I am experiencing anxiety or

I feel lost or

I can’t find my way or

I’m struggling in my relationships,

by allowing us to think that it’s about them, just enough,

that we can turn towards what it is that is happening and begin the conversation.

They teach us different ways that we can save our own lives.

Ways that ultimately become more graceful as we become more skilled at holding the energy that’s required.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What vitality is (and what it isn’t)
• The many ways we seek to save our own lives
• How vitality allows us to face towards the conversation, instead of away from it

I hope you enjoy it! You can learn more about the Vitality Workshop I’m teaching with Rupert Isaacson or sign up on this link:

https://confidentrider.online/vitality-online-workshop/

Happy listening,

❤️ Jane

Elsa Sinclair is a human that I have looked up to for a very long time. In the horse world, she is a rare light who explores a way of partnering together with horses that is seldom explored and practiced; one that is rooted entirely in freedom.

When I consider my own life and horsing adventures, I know that I am traversing a time where our consciousness of our relationships with our horses is undergoing a seismic shift. Whilst the majority may still work and ride with the traditional methods we have always known, there is a groundswell of others who are seeking something more. And beyond that, are starting to ask themselves the question, is what we’re doing here really ok? Is how we are approaching our horsemanship and riding of true benefit to our horses?

Diving into Elsa’s work gives you real possibilities when it comes to finding those answers. And as with any new learnings, it’s a process that involves unpicking and discarding some of your current beliefs or ways of going about things in order to make room for some new, that is as much about the human as it is about the horse.

In this episode we discuss:

• The different forms of leadership; what it means to be a passive and supportive leader and a dominant leader
• My takeways from my 4 day clinic with Elsa
• How we can work in a way where the horse trains themselves to be a better partner
• What’s required for emotional stability in our horses

You can learn more about Elsa on her website Taming Wild 

I hope you enjoy it! Let us know what you think!

❤️ Jane

Fabulous humans, it’s a party of awesomeness on the podcast.

I am joined today by the incredible Crissi McDonald and Mark Rashid who are not only incredible horsepeople, but beyond that have a collective list of skills and accomplishments that make them a unique force of goodness in the horse world.

Crissi has spent over thirty years working with many different horses and people from all over the world, as well as learning herself from some of the horse industry’s top leaders in our current understanding of humane horse practices.

She teaching at clinics with her husband Mark Rashid, is a certified Masterson Method® equine bodyworker, and an instructor for the Masterson two-day Beyond Horse Massage workshops. Crissi is the author of a number of books exploring the human/equine bond, as well as a fiction series that we discuss over the course of our conversation.

Mark Rashid is an internationally known author and horseman, he has earned a third degree black belt in Yoshinkan aikido and now teaches the “way of harmony” in the local dojo as well as in his Aikido for Horseman workshops, which are known also by the name of “Aibado.”

He is the author of fifteen books, is an accomplished musician  with three music cds, and his novel Out of the Wild is now featured on Amazon Prime.

Before I release you to our conversation together, I wanted to let you know that all three of us- Crissi, Mark and I are teaming up to bring you a three part Zoom series called Come as you are, an exploration of mind, movement and the nervous system in horses + humans that we would love you to join us for! We will be discussing topics such as how to create a productive learning environment for horses and humans, how to create new learning patterns, how the mind and the nervous system shows up in movement and so much more.

You can learn more about that here.

We would love to have you be a part of it!

If you want to get in touch with Mark and Crissi, you can do that here.

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

 

If you listen to the podcast regularly, you’ll know that I was recently in Texas as part of Warwick Schiller’s Journey On Podcast Summit. 

The summit itself was a mindblowing experience in every way, and I’m yet to adequately find the words for my experience there. I definitely didn’t come out of it the same person I was going in.

I wanted to chat about my time there from the position of a presenter, but it didn’t feel right to do that alone… so I’ve brought in some of my favourite people to do it with me! Today I am joined by Robyn Schiller, Kathy Price and Christine Dickson, incredible individuals in their own right and each a key part of my own summit adventures. 

We chatter about how the idea for the summit came about, our thoughts leading up to it, and of course, how things played out over the course of the actual summit.

I hope you enjoy it! You can tune in via your fave podcast app or listen on my website here.

You can find out more or get in touch with Robyn here.

To find Kathy, jump on her website here.

And you can find Christine on her website here.

Happy listening!

Fabulous humans!

Ready to riff with me on all things mind, movement, and the nervous system?

This week’s episode is a recording of a live Q&A I held yesterday to answer some questions and continue on discussing the topics I talked about in my presentation at the Journey On Podcast Summit.

I’ve had a lot of emails come in post-summit that vary from general questions on movement and the nervous system to more specific questions on various challenges that people are currently facing and I thought what better way to talk about them than to jump on a call, share space, and get into it together!

We cover a lot of territory ranging from the structural changes that occur in the different nervous system states, the effect of the nervous system on emotions and mindset and the relationship of the nervous system overall to riding biomechanics.

So here it is for you… I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to share!

❤️ Jane

Want to check out JoyRide? You can do so here!

 

Last week, an email landed in my inbox that asked a very specific question.

“I get much of what you talk about, this person told me, but I still can’t make the connection between how the movement work you teach relates to mindset. Can you explain this to me please?”

Now at this point there are two things you should know about me:

1. I’m a self-professed movement and nervous system nerd. This question lights up my insides in a similar fashion to when I see dark chocolate, and I really like dark chocolate.
2. I have trouble narrowing things down into short, bullet point form. I err on the side of big conversations rather than succinct snapshots

… so, with those two things in mind, I’ve dedicated this week’s podcast to answering that exact question.

We all know that movement, exercise and being active generally is important for our emotional and mental well-being, but I want to dive beyond that more superficial understanding and consider movement from a nervous system perspective, and how we can use that knowledge to better understand ourselves both in daily life, in our riding, and when it comes to moving on from experiences we might label as upsetting, stressful or traumatic.

In this episode we discuss:

• The connection between our nervous system and our movement patterns and habits
• Dominant Patterns of Use; what they are, how that affects us and why they hold the key to moving past trauma and upset
• The interconnection of thought, movement, and experience

I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to share and review the podcast- I really appreciate you taking the time to listen.

❤️ Jane

I first became aware of Kate Sandel after reading one of her most excellent blogs that she shared on her Facebook page ,Soft and Sound, and from there launched into “quiet stalker mode” to find out more about her on her website.

I was fortunate enough to become one of the early members of her online membership program, and from there, she has become not only one of my go-to people for help and advice about my horses, but beyond that a much-cherished friend.

If this is your first introduction to Kate, she runs a thriving equine business and teaches in the UK and internationally. She trained for several years with Philippe Karl, French classical master and founder of the Ecole de Légèreté, as well as honing her horsemanship skills with a variety of incredible teachers.

She is also a qualified equine sports massage therapist and her background in mental health means she values the wellbeing of both the human and horse in a riding partnership.

She also recently released her book Riding In Release: A Practical Guide To French Classical Equitation & Horsemanship that is well worth having in your library!

You can find out more about Kate via her website www.softandsound.org

I hope you enjoy our conversation, happy listening!

❤️ Jane

Finding the right environment and teacher to learn with can be really messy territory to step into. On the one hand, we want to open ourselves up to the learning experience and put ourselves out there for the betterment of both ourselves and our horses. On the other, the vulnerability that creates means we want to make sure that we are doing so with the right people and in the right situations.

From the student perspective, we want to know that the ethos of any trainer or coach we work with aligns with what’s important to us. We want to make sure that our voice is respected and considered, and that the learning container is one that allows us to navigate our comfort zone artfully, empathetically and skilfully.

We also want to step into the mode of self-responsibility; to commit ourselves to the necessary level and to do the work required in order fully understand and embody what is being offered to us.

From the coach perspective, we need to have done enough work ourselves to allows our students their own learning experience, without seeking to control or override it. We need to let go of the need for others to agree with us and our patterns of perfectionism and likeability in order that we can be honest and clear.

At the end of the day, truly being teachable, I believe, comes down to self-trust. The self-trust that allows you to open yourself up to new things whilst maintaining your voice and advocating for yourself and your horse whenever the situation requires it.

In this episode we discuss:

• The difference between boundaries and barriers (and how they apply in learning situations)
• What to do when things go wonky and you realise you’re not in the right place for you (I share my own clinic experiences to this effect!)
• What it means to be teachable and take responsibility for your own “stuff” (which applies to both coaches and students)
• How the different nervous system states affect our capacity to learn

I really hope it’s useful to you when it comes to navigating your own experiences in the arena and beyond!

Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

In the last episode, we launched into the topic of biomechanics and how understanding the role of the conscious and unconscious brain in movement can empower us to find a different way of moving and being in the saddle that sits outside of the traditional riding lesson model.

One of the things I find challenging about these conversations is that the work I practice is highly experiential and so explaining things from a purely cognitive or “thinking about it” perspective can make it difficult to appreciate what I’m going on about.

With that in mind, when I recorded today’s podcast I had it in mind that you could ride along with me- a ride along audio session- so if you want to do that, you’ll need to grab a pair of blue tooth ear buds or a speaker, your phone with this podcast on it and set yourself up so you can listen to it while you ride.

We cover some basic terms at the start and then launch into the practice together!

Along with the ridden practice, in this session we also discuss:

– Movement arcs and their role in movement in the parasympathetic system

– The basic anatomy of your centreline, and how to use your centreline to match the balance point of your horse

I hope you enjoy it!

If you are interested to learn more or join me in my membership program JoyRide, you can do so here.

Happy Riding!

❤️ Jane

Those of us interested in the art of horsemanship and riding find ourselves on a constant quest for harmony; a way of being and moving with our horses that allows both of us to find an ease of movement not only in our bodies, but also in our minds.

My adventures into the nervous system have led me to some specific understandings of how the nervous system impacts our movement, and how we can use this knowledge to not only move through the physical challenges that we experience as riders, but optimize our balance and effectiveness in the saddle.

This involves letting go of models of control and embracing ways of working with the body that honour its inherent wisdom and capacity for ongoing adaptation.

In this episode we discuss:

• The relationship of biomechanics to the nervous system
• The role of the unconscious and conscious brain in movement
• How we can use these understandings to work with the body rather than against it

I hope you enjoy it!

You can learn more about my work by visiting my website at www.confidentrider.online

❤️ Jane

It’s one of my favouritist (yes, that is a word) humans ever joining me for the podcast this week. Kathy Price is in the house and we are talking about the… well, basically all. of. the. things.

It’s impossible when chattering to a person like Kathy to keep things at surface level, so we cover a lot of territory. Before we get into that however, let me introduce Kathy to you!

Kathy comes from a scientific background gaining a BSc (Hons) degree in Zoology. Her mindset then was always based on the scientific paradigm of you had to be able to “measure it, replicate it and explain it” for it to be true. If those criteria where in place Kathy was happy. If they weren’t she didn’t want to know.

That was until in 2003 when with her horse Midnight she went to a horsemanship clinic with clinician Len Judd. For her this clinic was the moment of transformation, a spiritual experience that changed her life.

From that weekend forward as she stepped into and embraced the world of energy and connection, her need for scientific explanation fell away and her mind set became “My experience is my Truth.”

Now nearly 20 years on, after many years of studying energy, quantum physics, healing, spirituality and training in several energetic modalities, Kathy is well-established in her work which she calls Point of Balance.

Through this purely energetic work her aim is to help the person or animal she is working with move back into balance at all levels – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. This move back to balance not only helps them to heal themselves, but also helps them realise their unique power and potential.

In this episode we talk about:

• Kathy’s personal journey that led her to the work that she’s doing now
• The importance of movement to health and well being
• The beliefs that we have about our body and the nature of change
• Stories and experiences from working in the field of energy and movement

I hope you enjoy it as much I did!

You can find Kathy through all of the following channels:

Website: https://kathyprice.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pobwithkathyprice

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathypricepointofbalance/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KathyPrice333

❤️ Jane

 

Hands in the air if you feel like you never have enough time?

This “time conundrum” is something that I’ve wrestled with for a long time and has created a lot of stress and struggle along the way. I recognize now that my own relationship with time has been caught up in a somewhat toxic relationship with people pleasing patterns, the need to get things right, and that somehow my self-worth was inextricably linked to how much I could get done in a day.

What’s more, the idea of being endlessly busy is something that is socially supported and as a result, normalized.

But at some point, this no longer cut it for me. I was sick of juggling balls and feeling like more balls were being thrown my way.

So instead, I threw all the balls on the ground so I could step back and ask myself, what’s happening here? Do I really have no choice in my experience? How can I renegotiate my relationship with time so that I could release this feeling of being overwhelmed or flat out bonkers?

In this episode we discuss:

• How your nervous system impacts your relationship with time
• How embracing your limitations is a liberation
• How the ability to make choices and be decisive impacts your experience of time

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Happy listening!

❤️ Jane

How would things change if we looked at our horses and the first thing we thought was, you are brilliant?

A Confident Rider Sound Bite on the place we begin from.