"Hay! How's the view from up there?" - every horse to the Arabian
How to do:
1. From barrel horse, stretch crown and tail
2. Evenly weight all 4 fours
3. Feel the core stretching long
4. Feel hands/knees in active support
Don't do:
1. Rock back on knees and feet
2. Drop back locking lower back
3. Sink into hands and lock elbows
4. Forget to breathe or lengthen muscles
This is the pose we will flex from the barrel horse pose. The spine gives our body incredible mobility. It can move side to side and up and down. Although we shouldn’t typically carry our spine in a way that is ‘swayed’ with the belly button facing the ground, doing this position as a supported stretch is beneficial. It can add circulation to our back and ribs, and a stretch across the entire abdominal region. Our center of gravity and strength in in our core, so when we add an inverted position like the Arabian Horse pose, it challenges us to still remain supported and find our center of gravity. This pose trains us to still remain in control, while being flexible and not losing any connection. With this pose, think more about stretching the crown and tailbone upwards, versus the letting the belly button recklessly drop from being connected to the spine.
Ride and Apply:
While we don’t actually do this pose on a horse, we are better riders when our spine is pain free and mobile. Doing this pose in an activated (isometric-type) stance we immediately start prepping our body for the circulation and proprioception it needs to move with fluidity and function. The more function, and space to be fluid that we give our spine and lower back, the more fluid we can be in the saddle.
Try it:
Try to set up your phone or mirror on this one. Evaluating where your naturally out of habit want to rest your weight (forward/back/ or to one side) or in one hip) can give your feedback on your posture when you ride. How you default in posture, and how you default in correcting posture, will tell you a lot about how you correct movement in the saddle. When you do have to correct any alignment/movement or posture try to do it from the inside out. Breathing in then out, engaging the core first and then lengthening everything from there is a healthier pattern.
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