Oklahoma Dressage clinic

HI
We all had an amazing weekend in Claremore OK working on and discovering the absolute genius of the human pelvis as it applies to capturing and controlling the movement of the horse, with out force ( over use of muscle). The key is in the balanced nearly unseen turning of pelvis into or away from the rising seat bone. Have a look on my Face Book group 'Ride from Within' at James Russell Shaw to see video of this weekends rides.
see ya there
james

discovering their center

The Whole Seat & Nothing but the Seat!

International clinician, James Shaw, gave a unique clinic in Yelm, Washington, August 28 & 29, 2010. James utilizes ground work (unmounted) for the riders to show them how to utilize their bodies to receive and redirect the larger power of the horse without blocking or diminishing it.
Every participant was astonished during the mounted sessions at how easy and comfortable it was for themselves and their horses to redirect the horse's power to shape his motion and as a consequence shape his physical body. Horses became round and through from the hindquarters forward and lightened their forehands with free shoulders and full, soft necks. Riders sat deeper than they ever had before with ease.
James taught that the pelvis actually must move in three directions to follow the movement of the horse's lumbar spine and pelvis. Most riders move in one direction and a few move in two directions, thereby accommodating the rise and fall of the horse's back. When the third direction is added, the horse's pelvic rotation is accommodated allowing the total power of the hindquarters to come through, lifting the horse's back and filling the base of the neck. Once the rider has this skill, he/she is able to effect changes in the horse's frame, carriage and power by either following, matching or leading the movement
These movements are so subtle that onlookers only see the rider sitting deeply and the horse doing amazing things on his own.
These movements are so subtle that onlookers only see the rider sitting deeply and the horse doing amazing things on his own.
James Shaw does clinics in the US, Germany, England, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and others. See http://www.shawtaichi.com/ or his blog http://www.shawridefromwithin.blogspot.com/

For information on his next clinic in WA, contact Sue Connors at susanc@lugosoft.net

Looking Forward to the UK in September!

Hi James, just a quick note to say I continue to be thrilled by the improvement both in my own balance and movement and in the ridden work. I am finding that it is much easier to feel into my body for my contribution to the problem - for instance, my horse was feeling rather hard and unyielding in my left hand, and I could feel that my left Chi Whoey was closed, and allowing it ot soften allowed my horse to soften too.
And on the ground, I feel much lighter in my movement, it is noticeably easier to stand from sitting, and in doing the exercises I now find that my neck turns are coming from midway down my thoracic spine and lifting the chin I can feel the stretch right down the centre of my abdomen. So it's all good! Looking forward to your visit in September.
Kind regards,
Julie P

Hannah from Yorkshire and her Big Trot!

Great course with James Shaw James Shaw's Tai Chi riding techniques have proved themselves yet again!

We had a fantastic course with him in July, getting deeper into how our body influences our horse. This can be both positively or negatively!

My big breakthrough this trip was getting the key to sitting a big trot, something I've been struggling with for a while! It's taken a lot of work to get here, but when I managed to get all the pieces together (it's all in the bellybutton!) sitting Toby's bigger trot was easy! I had an hour and half lesson from James yesterday, nearly all of it in trot and canter and none of it with stirrups! I don't know another method that enables you to get this easily and pain-free for both horse and rider. Seriously, check it out! http://www.shawtaichi.com/

And the good news is he's back in September teaching courses all over the UK, so click here to find out more and when he's near you!

Hannah, Hannah Dawson Equine
Check out her webpage--Click Here!

Neurofeedback &Tai Chi for Equestrians in Tennessee!

Hello James,

     Wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your clinic and how incredibly useful it was for every aspect of my riding and my personal/professional life.
     Not only am I a psychologist, but I specialize in Neurofeedback Therapy. Essentially, I am able to monitor the brain activity and provide visual/auditory information and help my patients (as well as myself) regulate their brain activity inorder to achieve greater balance, harmony, and health in their lives. I experimented a bit on myself today with some of your "balancing" exercises and monitoring the sensori-motor strip as well as the occiptal lobe. I was able to recieve visual verification of the proper regulation as well as the internal sensory awareness of proper balance. Awesome! I plan to also take a look at the cerebellum (monitored at the inion) and see what happens when providing the feedback during the standing meditation exercises. I am playing with these ideas and will let you know what I find.
     I hope you have a wonderful respite in Montana and I am sure you will enjoy yourself at Aimee's. I am very grateful for the work you are doing.
Best regards,

Catherine (the great)

Testimonial from Switzerland!

Testimonial by Nicole Giger, classical dressage instructor in Switzerland and Portugal:
"Just a day after my first Tai Chi and Riding-course with James in Switzerland, I implemented some of the exercises in the lessons I give and my students improved their riding immediately. What my students and I enjoyed most: to see and feel how much the horses relaxed and apparently improved their rhythm/cadence. The Key element for the rider is to keep attention to his breath and to feel how sensitive the horse is to it. You can learn as much technique as you wish but at the end good riding is all about feeling. I was very pleased to get enough time during the lessons to figure out which elements and exercises I want to add to my own classical schooling and the one of my students. Tai Chi is not a new technique for riding,
Tai Chi just helps to feel your body better, so you can get a better rider, who is balanced enough not to disturb the natural balance of the horse anymore!"
Best regards, look forward to meet you again.
Nicole

New Lesson Uploads on YouTube!

Go to YouTube and look up JamesRShaw1111 Channel for my latest uploads!

Help with Riding & Plantar Fasciitis in one Clinic!

Hi James
I hope that you are doing well! Since your last clinic (my third), I have made amazing strides!!!! As you know, my horse is very spooky and easily startled. (Although you have never met him, I talk about him enough!) So anyways, I made a decision to go back to the basics. So, to the unenlightened eye, it looks like all I do is walk and trot! However, being able to trail ride and ride outside without it being a roller coaster ride is amazing!!! We even encountered bicyclists-and I didn't die!!!lol Anyways Thanks!
Ok, so now on to my other breakthrough. I work in a very busy and demanding Orthopaedic Office. I am an X-Ray tech and we all work 10 hour days with a half hour lunch break. All of us have had bouts with plantar fasciitis. It is a painful disease of the ligaments in the arch of the foot. There is a standard course of treatment, but non of my coworkers experienced any long term relief. I started teaching them about Standing Meditation and how to walk (the James Shaw Way) and ALL of us have had at least a change for the better. Some of us, like myself, have had complete resolution! I swear it was from the changes that I learned at one of your clinics! Thanks so much. Looking forward to working with you again soon!
Deb, NH

Two Great New Clinics in Washington!

I had the great pleasure of two new clinics in Washington this March. Both venues were beautiful and the people warm and open to learning a new way to connect with their body, mind and spirit AND their horses!

I'd like to offer thanks to all who attended the clinics as full participants, groundwork students or auditors. A special thanks to organizers and hosts:

At the Whidbey Equestrian Center I'd like to give special thanks Sharon and Lisa for all the arrangements they made and for making me feel comfortable and welcome!

At the Eros Bordeaux Stables Clinic I'd like to give special
thanks to Joyce and Charlene for all their hard work and for making my job a pleasure!
I look forward to returning to both of these groups to see the progress that's been made! Don't forget about my clinic on May 21-23 in Yelm, WA. I hope to see you there!
James

My New Awareness!

Hi James
I wanted to share my new awareness with you!
I was walking my dogs this morning and really felt for the feel of using my bones. It had lightly snowed the night before, so I had a fantastic view of my foot fall. I was working in the pedaling mode and feeling of my bone while I started opening my gates. By the time I got to the final gate my whole body was in flow, light and soft. I paused and looked behind and my foot fall in the snow was the best I have ever produced. Instead of doing just the movement and opening up the feel really opened the gates
I continued with this feel easily and now I am working on imagining the horse underneath. Wow, thanks for this new awareness.
Sincerely,
Dana

Want to Extend a Connected Trot?

I find it fascinating that even with the most accomplished riders that after about 15 min (sometimes much less time) of the sitting trot their body has tightened against the movement of the gait. When this happens the rider absorbs less of the power of the trot into the body. This causes more imbalances that the rider must further brace against to manage. Returning to the walk or the rising trot has little effect on relieving the body of this tension.

It seems the most effective way to release and recover from this tightened state in the seat is to get off the horse and do 2 simple stretches:

Kiss the Toes

Place Palms on Feet

You will be amazed at the results when you are back in the saddle!

Walking Backwards--What Happens in Your Brain!

Here's a response to a question about the benefits of walking backwards from Lynda.

Hi Lynda,
Walking backwards has very strong and positive effects on the brain. It expands your awareness, something I'm not sure we could measure even if we had a neuro research lab. Having said that, this is what I think, as we walk backwards we are reversing the order in which the muscles are being used and this has a powerful effect on the wiring and firing of electrical impulses in the brain via the nervous system. I also know that the neuro pathways involved in walking are some of the earliest and deeply established wiring paths. Just ask anyone over 3 years old if they have to think about walking? Nope, they just do it. Walking backwards does not use the same ingrained paths in your brain, it develops new ones. It's not that big a deal over all because it happens all the time in the brain. What is fascinating is that the new paths are created by the new movement in the body. Again no big deal except that the vision is not directly involved because we don't look back to see where we are stepping. This increases our need to use other senses. If you look at it from another angle, say the energy/chi angle, every time your foot hits the ground, toes first it opens the yuen cheun ( kidney channel) it then bares the weight of the body which in turn pushes earth chi into the meridian with every step that's cool! Because you can't or won't lean back when walking backwards your bones take on more force from gravity. This greatly increases the electrical activity in the entire bone structure, it's way better than milk for your bone health. This increased electrical activity heads straight for the brain and helps create more and new stimulation for the wiring. All of this could be easily tested if we had the equipment, and feeling better and more alive after walking backwards is all the proof I need. I hope that I have answered your question. Thanks Lynda see ya soon.
James