Exercise 1. Smile, Sing, Dance, Laugh.
While in Chihuahua I read this book on the connection between physical movement and learning. It included some 25 exercises to do which apparently increase one´s concentration and memory. While it was more theory than I enjoy in a "scientific" text, it brought up some interesting questions. At the end were the actual exercises. One of them was called "Sonrie, Canta, Baila," or Smile, Sing, Dance (I am adding laugh to my list), the principle being that you can manipulate the physical manifestations of happiness and contentment, and the brain will follow. The depressing or sad feelings are given 5 or 10 minutes of attention, then one continues with the exercise. This way the feelings are not denied, but they are not allowed to govern the conscious thought processes.
As I said, I have yet to research any peer-reviewed, journal-published papers on this idea, but it describes succinctly the basic idea upon which I fixated in Chihuahua. The idea being that if the rider has fun, if they enjoy their half-hour session twice a week, then the job is done. THe therapy has been successful. So how to make the sessions fun? For one by realizing that every rider truly is different. While you can learn everything about Down´s Syndrome, all your down´s riders will not respond to the same exercises. Every single class, both between riders and between classes for the same rider, was different, unique, and very much intuitively conducted. Thus instead of doing the same exact exercises for everyone and risking them becoming monotonous, try different exercises, change them, make the movement into a game, give the rider a task. One rider is bored just reaching to the mane, and so is given the job of placing colored clothespins in a specified order on the mane. Another rider doesn´t have fine motor skills, and so enjoys just reaching forwards and behind.
But what really makes the difference is the personality and the attitude of whomever is conducting the therapy. Do THEY want to be there? Is he/she smiling, laughing, enjoying the afternoon? And of course, not every rider should be treated the same emotionally either. While some need jokes and laughter, like Aron, who would spend the entire time in a fit of laughter, others dont understand or don´t appreciate silliness. What they will realize, though, is an atmosphere which everyone enjoys.
This idea extends not only to the therapist, but the leader of the horse, the side-aids, and anyone else in attendance at the session. The first rule of volunteer (or employee) retention is to keep them happy and make them feel appreciated. What better way than by making therapy a diversion for them as well, instead of a chore they have to do after school, after work, etc.?
To return to the theory of singing and dancing to learn, the application to equinoterapia is that the rider doesn´t "Feel" like they are in therapy. Even if the rider never crosses over into the Sportive division of therapy, the psychological power of riding makes the sessions a diversion, rather than an obligation (well, hopefully!). If their mind is removed from the actual therapy the horse provides naturally, the muscles can also relax and receive greater benefits from the motion of the horse. And if they are having fun, they will want to come back.
Next to the hope that the riders have fun in the sessions, a therapist hopes that the benefits from riding will transfer into daily life. Sometimes the changes are notable, and parents are always forthcoming with a Miraculous Improvement in their child´s gait, their personality, etc. Most places that have been around for a while have seen a rider go from wheelchair to walker to independence. That was a fact that astonished me at first and fueled my interest in this project, but now I see it is acutally pretty commonplace in equinoterapia worldwide. I think it is great that I am no longer surprised that wheelchair-bound people walk on their own after utilizing mounted therapy. Things don´t always transfer, though, or at least not right away. Mary, a super-dedicated rider with Down´s Syndrome, is learning to steer her horse with both hands, on her own; the other day she learned to stop her horse on her own and navigate various obstacles in the ring with two hands. But when her driver saw me ask her to turn right, he ran out of the car and started yelling to me, "she can´t, she doesn´t use that hand." Once I understood what he meant, I told him, "no entiendo!" The irony being that she was, at that very moment, using her right hand. He explained later that at home, Mary will try to scoop ice cream with one hand, resulting in no more than pushing the carton across the counter, and reaches for things exclusively with the left side digits. But she will brush Pajarera with a brush in each hand, grab the saddle with the right, etc.
So what if the therapist can get the fun, the enjoyment, the laughter to proceed outside of the arena? Sometimes it does not work, like Mary´s right hand function. But sometimes it does. Riders become more outgoing, arrive already smiling or with a joke to tell, at home become more cooperative and lose a bit of attitude or so the parents say. Isn´t that the whole idea??
Like any theory, the time came to test it out by putting it in action. Just before I left the family I was staying with had their annual Christmas Posada - like a Christmas party basically that remembers Joe, Mary, and the Donkey looking for shelter and being denied at every turn. The guests were 15 aunts, sisters, and cousins - only the women - and me. Of course I felt out of place being the only one not in the family, not from the country, eating only the rice (everything else was meat), and being one of the youngest. The great thing about these women, though, is they seriously practice "Smile, Sing, Dance." When the musicians arrived, they hadn´t even set up the equipment when the women started calling out requests, moving tables for a dance floor, and letting out the classic Mariachi yell (aaaaaiiiiiiiii-hahahahaaaaa!!!!). I thought, wow, this is definitely NOT a Proper English Christmas Party. No tea cups here. I should note at this point the most alcohol anyone drank was the flute of sparkling wine we all drank before dinner. Someone brought a bottle of tequila, and when it left at the end of the night it lacked maybe 2 or 3 shots.
So the band begins to play some mariachi tune. EVERYONE is up dancing, and before I know it one of the aunts is beckoning me to come out to the dance floor. I dont need much coercing when it comes to dancing, so out I went, modestly practicing the basic steps until I was told by the aunts to START DANCING! THey were out there shaking and moving like pro´s, it was amazing and wonderful. Soon everyone was dancing like crazy, singing at the top of their lungs, stealing the microphone in a sort of makeshift karaoke manner, and generally laughing and enjoying themselves.
It was powerful not only for the room of fifteen women thoroughly taking pleasure in the company, but because it confirmed the idea, for me at least, that if everyone around me - no matter how different - is being silly without regard to any kind of vanities, I can relax, physically de-tense my muscles, and have a good time too. I said later, "well, it is impossible NOT to have a good time with those women, they don´t allow it."
So while riding inherently involves a significant amount of concentration, challenge, and safety concerns, that does not by any means signify that it must be a serious endeavour. In fact, perhaps it is better sometimes if it is not, at least in the warm up, cool down, and interactions with the family off the horse. It not only provides a release for the riders, but keeps the volunteers (ME) happy too. If you are doing therapeutic riding, it is for the passion of it. Why make it a chore????
----------------------------------------- Colligan´s reply (rejected by blogger)
Hey Griffmaster,
There is actually a body of psychology that talks about what you were reading about, where people read an identical story and were asked to record their emotions afterwards. 1/3 of the group was told to smile the entire time, 1/3 to frown and 1/3 controls. The smiling group reported feeling significantly happier at the end of the story than the other two. Basically the brain works top-down and bottom-up, which is SO cool. I love the insightfulness you're giving these posts. I like the point about how it's important that volunteers enjoy what they're doing and feel appreciated. I need to work on making people feel like that in my volunteer "job."
Colligan
As I said, I have yet to research any peer-reviewed, journal-published papers on this idea, but it describes succinctly the basic idea upon which I fixated in Chihuahua. The idea being that if the rider has fun, if they enjoy their half-hour session twice a week, then the job is done. THe therapy has been successful. So how to make the sessions fun? For one by realizing that every rider truly is different. While you can learn everything about Down´s Syndrome, all your down´s riders will not respond to the same exercises. Every single class, both between riders and between classes for the same rider, was different, unique, and very much intuitively conducted. Thus instead of doing the same exact exercises for everyone and risking them becoming monotonous, try different exercises, change them, make the movement into a game, give the rider a task. One rider is bored just reaching to the mane, and so is given the job of placing colored clothespins in a specified order on the mane. Another rider doesn´t have fine motor skills, and so enjoys just reaching forwards and behind.
But what really makes the difference is the personality and the attitude of whomever is conducting the therapy. Do THEY want to be there? Is he/she smiling, laughing, enjoying the afternoon? And of course, not every rider should be treated the same emotionally either. While some need jokes and laughter, like Aron, who would spend the entire time in a fit of laughter, others dont understand or don´t appreciate silliness. What they will realize, though, is an atmosphere which everyone enjoys.
This idea extends not only to the therapist, but the leader of the horse, the side-aids, and anyone else in attendance at the session. The first rule of volunteer (or employee) retention is to keep them happy and make them feel appreciated. What better way than by making therapy a diversion for them as well, instead of a chore they have to do after school, after work, etc.?
To return to the theory of singing and dancing to learn, the application to equinoterapia is that the rider doesn´t "Feel" like they are in therapy. Even if the rider never crosses over into the Sportive division of therapy, the psychological power of riding makes the sessions a diversion, rather than an obligation (well, hopefully!). If their mind is removed from the actual therapy the horse provides naturally, the muscles can also relax and receive greater benefits from the motion of the horse. And if they are having fun, they will want to come back.
Next to the hope that the riders have fun in the sessions, a therapist hopes that the benefits from riding will transfer into daily life. Sometimes the changes are notable, and parents are always forthcoming with a Miraculous Improvement in their child´s gait, their personality, etc. Most places that have been around for a while have seen a rider go from wheelchair to walker to independence. That was a fact that astonished me at first and fueled my interest in this project, but now I see it is acutally pretty commonplace in equinoterapia worldwide. I think it is great that I am no longer surprised that wheelchair-bound people walk on their own after utilizing mounted therapy. Things don´t always transfer, though, or at least not right away. Mary, a super-dedicated rider with Down´s Syndrome, is learning to steer her horse with both hands, on her own; the other day she learned to stop her horse on her own and navigate various obstacles in the ring with two hands. But when her driver saw me ask her to turn right, he ran out of the car and started yelling to me, "she can´t, she doesn´t use that hand." Once I understood what he meant, I told him, "no entiendo!" The irony being that she was, at that very moment, using her right hand. He explained later that at home, Mary will try to scoop ice cream with one hand, resulting in no more than pushing the carton across the counter, and reaches for things exclusively with the left side digits. But she will brush Pajarera with a brush in each hand, grab the saddle with the right, etc.
So what if the therapist can get the fun, the enjoyment, the laughter to proceed outside of the arena? Sometimes it does not work, like Mary´s right hand function. But sometimes it does. Riders become more outgoing, arrive already smiling or with a joke to tell, at home become more cooperative and lose a bit of attitude or so the parents say. Isn´t that the whole idea??
Like any theory, the time came to test it out by putting it in action. Just before I left the family I was staying with had their annual Christmas Posada - like a Christmas party basically that remembers Joe, Mary, and the Donkey looking for shelter and being denied at every turn. The guests were 15 aunts, sisters, and cousins - only the women - and me. Of course I felt out of place being the only one not in the family, not from the country, eating only the rice (everything else was meat), and being one of the youngest. The great thing about these women, though, is they seriously practice "Smile, Sing, Dance." When the musicians arrived, they hadn´t even set up the equipment when the women started calling out requests, moving tables for a dance floor, and letting out the classic Mariachi yell (aaaaaiiiiiiiii-hahahahaaaaa!!!!). I thought, wow, this is definitely NOT a Proper English Christmas Party. No tea cups here. I should note at this point the most alcohol anyone drank was the flute of sparkling wine we all drank before dinner. Someone brought a bottle of tequila, and when it left at the end of the night it lacked maybe 2 or 3 shots.
So the band begins to play some mariachi tune. EVERYONE is up dancing, and before I know it one of the aunts is beckoning me to come out to the dance floor. I dont need much coercing when it comes to dancing, so out I went, modestly practicing the basic steps until I was told by the aunts to START DANCING! THey were out there shaking and moving like pro´s, it was amazing and wonderful. Soon everyone was dancing like crazy, singing at the top of their lungs, stealing the microphone in a sort of makeshift karaoke manner, and generally laughing and enjoying themselves.
It was powerful not only for the room of fifteen women thoroughly taking pleasure in the company, but because it confirmed the idea, for me at least, that if everyone around me - no matter how different - is being silly without regard to any kind of vanities, I can relax, physically de-tense my muscles, and have a good time too. I said later, "well, it is impossible NOT to have a good time with those women, they don´t allow it."
So while riding inherently involves a significant amount of concentration, challenge, and safety concerns, that does not by any means signify that it must be a serious endeavour. In fact, perhaps it is better sometimes if it is not, at least in the warm up, cool down, and interactions with the family off the horse. It not only provides a release for the riders, but keeps the volunteers (ME) happy too. If you are doing therapeutic riding, it is for the passion of it. Why make it a chore????
----------------------------------------- Colligan´s reply (rejected by blogger)
Hey Griffmaster,
There is actually a body of psychology that talks about what you were reading about, where people read an identical story and were asked to record their emotions afterwards. 1/3 of the group was told to smile the entire time, 1/3 to frown and 1/3 controls. The smiling group reported feeling significantly happier at the end of the story than the other two. Basically the brain works top-down and bottom-up, which is SO cool. I love the insightfulness you're giving these posts. I like the point about how it's important that volunteers enjoy what they're doing and feel appreciated. I need to work on making people feel like that in my volunteer "job."
Colligan
posted by Sarah at 2:29 PM
3 comments
