The Relaxation Paradox

The Relaxation Paradox

One thing that is often misconstrued in riding is the concept of relaxation. When we are in the zone in riding and things are going well we feel light, relaxed and softly connected to the horse. A lot of the time when coaches are observing tension or brace in their riders, they give the instruction to relax. However, attempts to achieve the look and feeling of relaxation by trying to relax paradoxically often creates a situation where riders are not in control of their own bodies or the horse’s and a cycle of instability and tension ensues. If this sounds familiar, read on to explore what might be going on, and some tips to help you find a functional tone for optimal balance, stability and clarity of aids.

 Outside of riding, I am involved in rock climbing. I am always noticing little parallels between riding and climbing. Like riding, climbing is a very psychological sport and you can end up gripping the wall too tight due to fear of falling. In climbing, when you grip too tightly you will tire more quickly and end up losing the strength to hold on. You also lose the ability to make dynamic moves from being too locked up. There’s a way to feel relaxed when climbing but this is obviously not total relaxation – that would result in letting go of the wall. It is a game of relative relaxation, a game of scanning for areas of the body that are holding too tight and softening the grip or brace. Here are some patterns I find consistent between riding and climbing:

1.      An increase in core tone often facilitates freer limb movement. If I stabilize through my core, I can balance through a move without my arm or leg movements throwing me off the wall.

2.      An increase in core tone facilitates more effective force transmission in dynamic moves. When I have to swing for the hold I am more likely to make it as my increased tone improves power transmission through my body.

3.      When I stop breathing I am almost certainly holding unhelpful tension.

Why is it so hard to let go?

In general, it is natural for humans to use our limbs for balance; in fact, it is hard-wired into our nervous system. So in riding we have to train our seat in order to control our arms and legs so we can move them when we mean to and keep them from doing unwanted movements. The problem is that if we just try to relax the tense body part but are out of balance, our body will recognize that imbalance and will not allow us to relax until we stabilize somewhere else. We may need to address our strength, mobility and symmetry off the horse to effectively balance in the saddle.

The Quest for Suppleness

In his book The Horse in Positive Tension Stefan Stammer highlights our quest as riders for suppleness and draws comparisons to other sports. He writes: “‘Suppleness’ does not mean ‘Relaxed!’…A 100-meter sprinter has to stay supple over the last 30 meters of an Olympic final to win. Once this sprinter “clenches up” she loses. But if her body tension is too low, she also loses. She is only truly relaxed 20 minutes later, sitting in a chair with a glass of champagne.”  The right tone for riding is reminiscent of the right tone for dance, martial arts and gymnastics. These are highly controlled but dynamic and mobile endeavours. They require strength, focus, and positive tension that allows us to transmit forces and motion through our body without excess motion.

Finding the Right Tone

If you are moving about the world in with the tone of an Olympic sprinter, you probably don’t need this blog. However, most of us come to riding under-toned, and wind up bracing in compensation. To feel the difference between bracing/clenching and positive tension, stand up.

Bracing: Straighten your legs and push down really hard into your feet imagine you are trying to bore a hole into the ground with your heels. Squeeze your quads to push your knees back clench your glutes to push your hips forward. Straighten your back, pull your tummy in, stick your chest out and lift it high. Notice how this takes your breathing more into your chest and lifts your centre of gravity.

Connected: Take a soft bend in the knees. Imagine your feet are growing roots into the ground. Lengthen the back of your neck. Breathe deeply into the bottom of your belly and feel your insides expand into the edges of your torso. As you breathe out, constrict your throat slightly so the outbreath makes a soft noise. Notice how by doing that you can keep your insides feeling connected to your torso’s edges. Notice the connections of the muscles of your legs and torso working isometrically to keep you in this posture, grounded and stable but ready to spring into motion.

Soggy/deflated: For contrast, now stand normally, but slump your shoulders and collapse your ribcage down in front. Let your shoulders round forward. Notice how this posture feels soggy in comparison, and unprepared for any unexpected motion. If you were to experience motion, your natural instinct to stiffen would automatically kick in. Notice how your breathe is shallower as you are unable to fully expand on an inbreath. Contemporary humans spend a lot of our days in this body habitus at our desks and computers, so it is no wonder that this is the most common pattern we bring to our horses and why so many riders actually need to bring their tone UP when they get into the saddle, not to try to “relax” more. In fact, at first when you encounter “enough” tone, the contrast may have you feeling a little like you are bracing at first. Experiment, compare and contrast, and use your breath as a guide.

Postural tone and dynamic balance

Creating balance over a moving horse requires stability and positive tension in the body. In trot, there are two moments of acceleration in each stride, as each diagonal pair pushes off the ground, and two moments of deceleration when a pair meets the ground. In canter and jumping, there is one larger acceleration and one larger deceleration each stride. When we have enough postural tone for the gait we are riding, we minimize excess movement, This leads to improved clarity and precision of communication.

Most riders I encounter who are unable to relax are perpetually a bit behind the motion, meaning they are out of phase with the acceleration and deceleration phases of the stride. They are not creating enough tone to actively take the horse forward and stay in phase. They cling on or lean forward (or both) to avoid being bounced into the air on the upswing and brace for impact on the downswing, or go soggy in the middle leaving them unable to influence the horse effectively and likely end up pulling back on the reins. More advanced riders may have learned to lean back to absorb the motion of the upswing, relying on the reins and the cantle of the saddle to be brought along by the horse each step but this has negative repercussions for the horse’s mouth and back and leads to incorrect movement strategies in the horse and thus dead ends in training.

In her books and clinics, Mary Wanless often asks of riders “which is stronger, your push forward from your body or your pull back on the reins?”. Thinking about this while riding can often shine light on where our balance is and if we have enough tone to support our body dynamically to keep up with the horse. Asking the question “what would happen if the reins were suddenly cut – would I bounce to the back of the saddle or keep up?” is another way of looking at it.

The Fear Factor

Similar to climbing, fear can be a factor in our movement strategies as riders. Becoming aware of whether the inability to relax is coming from fear or not is a precursor to finding safe and sustainable solutions. Listen to what your body is telling you, and to your own thoughts about your situation. If there are alarm bells going off, you must take the time to decide whether or not your situation is safe. If you decide you are reasonably safe but you are still dealing with fear, your strategy is going to be different than if you conclude you are in an unsafe situation. Ignoring fear is never the answer. If you are in a safe situation but still feel fearful, connecting to breath can often be both diagnostic as to your level of fear, and the start down a more functional path.

Improving Stability to Improve Connection

When we connect our body parts with focus and athleticism we create a quieter, lighter seat and start to let go of brace and holding patterns. We take out the “radio static” of accidental movement our horse must try to interpret, and enter a ready state to influence the horse’s balance proactively. It takes concentration to scan our bodies to discover where we are holding unconsciously and where we can let go a little bit, and to shore up the right kind of tone that allows the absorption and transmission of forces to and from the horse. This is where the magic of that invisible connection between horse and rider lies and the place where correct movement starts. If you are looking for help with this on or off the horse, please reach out to learn more about our slate of rider performance services.

Happy riding!

Dr. Steph

Five years in practice: Looking Back and Ahead

In the summer of 2016, my partner (now husband) and I were celebrating finishing our respective academic programs with a cross-country trip. Somewhere between the evergreens and shining waters of Lake Superior, the open plains of the prairies and the rocky mountains is where the name On Course Chiropractic was first conceived.

By this time I had already completed the training to become a certified animal chiropractor in addition to the four year Doctor of Chiropractic program and I knew I would be treating horses in addition to my human practice. The choice to complete the animal certification was a no-brainer for me. Horses have always been front and centre in my life and I was going to apply my chiropractic knowledge and skill to treat them even if it was just for the benefit of my own horses. I enrolled in the training at the earliest possible time, in fourth year when I was doing my chiropractic internship. I had been investigating the animal program since before I was even accepted into chiropractic college. I knew only two chiropractic interns were accepted each year so I planned carefully to ensure I was one of them for the year I was eligible.

As I drove across our vast country, four years and two programs of intensive professional training literally in the rearview mirror, the man I loved beside me and my entire career ahead of me, I began thinking earnestly about the type of practice I wanted to build and the population I wanted to serve. I knew that I wanted to work on horses but I had moved to a different area from the community I grew up riding in and I had literally zero clients and few connections in the horse community where I now lived. I figured I would work full time in a clinic and supplement my income with some horse appointments on evenings and weekends.

And yet, when I envisioned my practice, I never pictured the inside of a clinic. All I saw was horses and riders and the ways my new profession, powered by almost two decades of previous immersion in the horse industry, could help them find pain relief and better performance in the sport I care about so much.

What I wanted to impart to my equestrian clientele is that riding and training horses is not just about teaching them what we want them do to. It’s also conditioning a body to perform athletic tasks (even if that’s just carrying a rider for pleasure) without breaking down along the way. It’s removing barriers to success by understanding the process of injury and repair. It’s avoiding the dead ends of training with incorrect biomechanics. It’s having the horse’s long term health and soundness in mind in the tasks that we ask of them and the way we ask them to work. And it’s applying those same principles to our own bodies as riders too!

People might think that chiropractic college is about learning to adjust. It is, in part, and we spend a lot of hours practicing our manual skills. But most of our training is related to understanding the myriad of factors that contribute to health - particularly musculoskeletal health - and that goes way beyond an adjustment. We learn about the physiological processes of joint health and degeneration; the mechanical rules that govern body movement; the way we are wired to move, feel, balance, and metabolize; the histological properties of every type of tissue in the body and how that relates to its ability to function and repair; the pathological processes that can make us sick or disabled; the anatomy of how everything is connected; how to interpret scientific findings to help our patients; how to recognize when the body needs interventions outside our scope. In other words, we learn how to see the big picture: how all the factors are related, and how to devise a plan to help our patients reach their goals to live more comfortably, function better, last longer.

That concept of understanding of the big picture has a name: “wholistic”. In my practice, it means I have the opportunity to help progress horse and rider towards their goals while minimizing the chance of roadblocks along the way by recognizing and addressing small problems before they become big ones and veering back on track efficiently when things start to go sideways. Maybe it was because I was on a cross-country drive but the concept that kept coming back to me was one of getting and staying “On Course”. Being aware of all the factors involved in the journey, planning ahead, having the right tools for when things start to break down, and having a roadmap of where we want to get to and how fast we can safely do it.

It didn’t take long before my vision of mixing chiropractic with horses, riders and barns manifested into my daily reality. This year I made the big move of leaving the clinic completely and I’m now providing a host of services for horses and riders that all relate back to my mission of keeping both parties sound, functioning, and on course to their goals. With each passing day I become more excited by this journey because I am really starting to see the positive impact of working with both sides of the horse-rider partnership, looking at the big picture and helping not only with my hands but through education. I am immersed in an amazing community of owners and riders who inspire me with their skill and dedication to their equine partners. I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with other dedicated equine professionals including veterinarians, farriers, saddle fitters and other body workers and it is such a great feeling to be part of a team with a common goal of helping horses.

There is a lot of uncharted territory ahead for On Course Chiropractic. Just as I envisioned barns and horses and riders five years ago, there are more visions developing clarity for me. They involve research, education, and inter-professional collaboration. They involve systems of horse and rider training that connect rehab to long term performance and soundness. They involve building this community of like-minded equestrians who are interested in training ethically, sustainably and with long term soundness in mind. And they involve a professional team all working towards the same common goals.

The On Course team grew from one to three this year. The thought that this business has the potential to support other passionate equestrians like me as we work to improve quality of life for horses fills my heart with joy and excitement for the future.

For everyone who trusts On Course Chiropractic to care for themselves and their horses, you’re my inspiration to continue on this path of learning, collaboration and skill development to best serve you. After five years, I am more excited than ever to be playing my part in helping you to stay On Course to your goals!