It's Not About The Horse
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Your horse understands you... really understands you and in ways that you probably can't imagine. It's why they are used so often in healing. I know that humans are at the top of the food chain and have more developed brains that most other species on this planet but in other ways we are behind. I've spent the last fifteen years studying human excellence and in particular, for the past five years, I have focused on 'Flow', the peak performance altered state of awareness. It's not really in the mainstream yet although the information is out there if you know where to look. It has incredibly powerful implications for you and your horse! |
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I'm launching the Horse Flow Project which is the first of it's kind anywhere in the world.
It will teach you that by learning how to access the flow state, it will dramatically impact your relationship with your horse. |
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Overview
Several years ago I was fortunate enough to spent some time living and working at the amazing Brandy House Farm in Wales, UK with Medina and Richard. They run a variety of Parelli Clinics as well as other natural horsemanship based courses and activities. It was the first time I'd ever been fully immersed in the world of horses and it changed my life for ever! I spent every day with the horses in some way, whether it was cleaning the stables or the even more enviable task of poo collecting! Sometimes the horses responded to me and sometimes they didn't. I assumed, as most people probably would, that it was down to them. Sometimes they were interested and sometimes they weren't. Then I had one of those light bulb moments. It struck me that maybe they were just responding to my state! So I began to experiment and sure enough, it became clear that they only responded to me when I was in a certain state! The Flow state!
I've done a considerable amount of research since then and have travelled to various parts of the world including the USA, Ireland, the UAE and the Netherlands. I've developed various programmes utilising a variety of techniques. I also use nuero feedback technology which measures your brainwaves and provides you with in-motion feedback with regard to your state. This means that you can monitor your progress.
I'm looking for twelve horse owners/riders who would like the opportunity of participating in this ground breaking project.
Phase 1 is a personalised six session online programme which will train you to access your flow state. It does not involve doing anything differently with your horse. Each participant will be provided with neuro feedback device which will send data in real time, to an App on your phone or iPad. You will have personal access to me via messaging, WhatsApp, FaceBook, email, phone.
Phase 2 will involve specific exercises involving you and your horse. This will be facilitated in a number of ways. If you are in the UK, it will involve me visiting you or meeting at an agreed location (I'm considering Brandy House Farm in Wales as an option as it is a well known centre of excellence for horsemanship.) If you are elsewhere in the world, we will do it via Skype/FaceTime.
I've done a considerable amount of research since then and have travelled to various parts of the world including the USA, Ireland, the UAE and the Netherlands. I've developed various programmes utilising a variety of techniques. I also use nuero feedback technology which measures your brainwaves and provides you with in-motion feedback with regard to your state. This means that you can monitor your progress.
I'm looking for twelve horse owners/riders who would like the opportunity of participating in this ground breaking project.
Phase 1 is a personalised six session online programme which will train you to access your flow state. It does not involve doing anything differently with your horse. Each participant will be provided with neuro feedback device which will send data in real time, to an App on your phone or iPad. You will have personal access to me via messaging, WhatsApp, FaceBook, email, phone.
Phase 2 will involve specific exercises involving you and your horse. This will be facilitated in a number of ways. If you are in the UK, it will involve me visiting you or meeting at an agreed location (I'm considering Brandy House Farm in Wales as an option as it is a well known centre of excellence for horsemanship.) If you are elsewhere in the world, we will do it via Skype/FaceTime.
Flow
Flow is an altered state of awareness in which we effortlessly perform to optimal levels. The term was originally coined by Hungarian research psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced 'Mee-high' 'Chick-sent-mee-high'!) in his book on flow published in 1990.
Historically, the flow state or zone is seen as something that just happens; that it can’t be planned. People just find themselves in it. But this is all changing... fast!
Flow can be seen in all areas of life where individuals and groups are performing at optimal levels. People talk about a quietening of the mind, time slowing down or speeding up, everything moving in slow motion, everything feeling effortless, feeling like you know exactly what to do at exactly the right time and feeling completely one with your activity!
Those gifted with the ability to connect with animals... horse whisperers/shamans like Buck Brannaman... people like Cesar Millan and his ability with dogs... they all project a certain energy and this comes from the brain and the heart combining in a unique way to create the flow state.
Since 1990 there has been a significant amount of research done on the flow state covering many aspects of peak performance in various sports, activities and industry/commerce, however at this stage, here is just a brief insight into flow.
Firstly, the flow state consists of four stages.
Historically, the flow state or zone is seen as something that just happens; that it can’t be planned. People just find themselves in it. But this is all changing... fast!
Flow can be seen in all areas of life where individuals and groups are performing at optimal levels. People talk about a quietening of the mind, time slowing down or speeding up, everything moving in slow motion, everything feeling effortless, feeling like you know exactly what to do at exactly the right time and feeling completely one with your activity!
Those gifted with the ability to connect with animals... horse whisperers/shamans like Buck Brannaman... people like Cesar Millan and his ability with dogs... they all project a certain energy and this comes from the brain and the heart combining in a unique way to create the flow state.
Since 1990 there has been a significant amount of research done on the flow state covering many aspects of peak performance in various sports, activities and industry/commerce, however at this stage, here is just a brief insight into flow.
Firstly, the flow state consists of four stages.
- Struggle, in which the conscious mind gets overloaded/overwhelmed with data. Internal/external stimuli. Cortisol, adrenalin and norepinephrine flood the system causing tension and frustration.
- Release, where we need to let go of the struggle. This is often best achieved by finding a distraction of some kind. Powerful neurochemicals are released including dopamine and endorphins that replace the stress hormones and create relaxation.
- Flow, the altered state of awareness, an incredibly powerful cocktail of neurochemicals are produced which induce this altered state of awareness. Our creativity/problem-solving abilities become heightened and our ability to achieve the impossible becomes possible! In flow, we experience the paradox of control i.e. having control where we should have none and a sense of controlling the uncontrollable.
- Recovery, where serotonin and oxytocin are released helping us to return to our normal state of consciousness.
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Secondly, the triggers to flow primarily consist of external and internal triggers. External triggers include:-
Internal triggers are those psychological strategies that drive attention into the ‘now’. The primary ones are clear goals, immediate feedback and challenge/skills ratio (this is when there is a specific relationship between the difficulty of the task and our ability to perform it. See right. Research shows that in order to keep yourself moving along the flow channel towards the upper right hand corner of the graph, you need to keep the difficulty level just 4% higher than your skill level.) |
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A key element to the project involves our understanding of the role of the heart in accessing the flow state. The graph to the right shows the importance of being in a positive emotional state because this creates a coherent heart rate. It matters less what the actual level of your heart rate is. You can see from the graph that negative emotion creates an erratic heart rate and combined with a higher heart rate it is synonymous with anxiety and fear. We go into more detail in phase 1 of the project including various exercises to help you achieve to achieve a coherent heart rate. The performance tower to the right is another important area to understand. At the top of the tower is 'Performance' i.e. our results and that is directly affected by our 'Behaviour' i.e. what we do. This is our external world and historically, is where most of our focus and effort is directed. It is essential for us to realise that our external world is built on internal foundations, ultimately being dictated by our unconscious mind which has been proven to be one million times more powerful than our conscious minds. The flow state originates from a strong unconscious foundation that is in alignment with whole mind/body system. This results in an altered state of awareness which animals can easily tune into. |
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Topics in Phase 1 include:-
- Flow, the peak performance altered state of awareness. What is it exactly? How do you access it? How will it help you connect with and interact with your horse more. How it shortens the learning curve. And how it’ll help you in all areas of your life too!
- The TELL routine and how the mind/body performs better when it is focused on process as opposed to outcome. (TELL stands for Think, Execute, Learn & Let Go)
More About Phase 1
You'll get your own personalised private webpage which will include all information and instruction.
The first session will include a questionnaire to assess your current situation covering yourself and your horse. This will provide a benchmark from which assess future progress.
Personalised brainwave entrainment audios.
Your own neuro feedback device called Focusband with instructions of how to download the App and get started. (Value £400 and is yours to keep.) If you want more details on Focusband, check out their website here.
Access to Nick Lees via messaging, WhatsApp, FaceBook, FaceTime, Skype, email, phone.
The first session will include a questionnaire to assess your current situation covering yourself and your horse. This will provide a benchmark from which assess future progress.
Personalised brainwave entrainment audios.
Your own neuro feedback device called Focusband with instructions of how to download the App and get started. (Value £400 and is yours to keep.) If you want more details on Focusband, check out their website here.
Access to Nick Lees via messaging, WhatsApp, FaceBook, FaceTime, Skype, email, phone.
For further information on participating in the horseflowproject, please email me at nick.lees@flowppa.com or phone/message +44 (0)7411 944284