If your experiences with horses have been more “bucking bronco” than “graceful stallion,” Centered Riding might be worth a try. The method, created by Sally Swift, author of Centered Riding, is designed to foster “inner balance, serenity and control” in the human, which means “increased balance, poise and forward motion” for the horse.

This allows you and the animal to “become as one, in harmony,” reads the Centered Riding website. In other words, you may acquire that perfectly melded, minotaur-like look––and feeling––of professional equestrians and their rides.

The main tenets of the approach are “soft eyes,” a way of seeing that expands your field of vision and relaxes your movements; proper breathing, which lowers your center of gravity and releases tension; centering, which stabilizes you and gives you greater control; and “building blocks” which align the body for smoother movement.

Other takes on this method are slightly warmer, fuzzier, and yogic. Conscious Riding programs are taught at the Kripalu Center in Western Massachusetts and the Omega Institute in upstate New York. “When ridden with awareness, the horse becomes a spiritual utility vehicle (SUV) to explore consciousness and delight in our innate serenity,” says instructor Paul Striberry, who teaches at both places.

To meet your own Black Beauty––and inner equestrian––check out centeredriding.org or Eomega.com and Kripalu.org. Other workshops to explore: ridingtours.com and murdochridingtours.com.

Photo by rougerouge, via Flickr