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What Services Do Your Equines Assist?

What Services Do Your Equines Assist?

by | Aug 23, 2023 | Applied Principles, Basics of Natural Lifemanship, Equine Assisted Trainings

By Bettina Shultz-Jobe with Kate Naylor

In a 2023 webinar we discussed the importance of having a clear understanding of the service you provide when offering *Equine Assisted Services in your community.

When communicating with clients, collaborative partners, or funding sources it is imperative that we can speak to how our service helps others, who it helps, if there is any research on this service, and last but certainly not least, how does incorporating horses into that modality make that service a richer, deeper, more embodied and effective experience for the participant?    

While this  blog will not focus on the “Why Horses?” part of the conversation, (admittedly, the part that most of us love to talk about!) how we answer this question IS super important, and was discussed during this webinar if you’re interested.  It’s also a conversation for another day.

2025 Edit:  Recently, we deepened the conversation about scope of practice in another webinar.  We gave some concrete examples of how your scope of practice affects the work you do with clients and horses.  You can find this webinar here.

Speaking of 2025, check out our 2025 training opportunities, here!

So then, let’s talk about the first part of our communication about what we do, which is also very important – the services your equines assist. . .

*Learn more about our terminology here.

 

Foundations of Service

It is crucial that we understand how we would serve our clients without horses present before we can ethically and effectively incorporate horses into our work.  Yes, horses are such powerful partners, but they aren’t the only part of the process….AND there is just so much more to hold when they are part of your services.  

In this field we offer what is called Equine Assisted Services – an umbrella term that encompasses things like:

  • Equine Assisted Mental Health and Counseling or Equine Assisted Psychotherapy which is facilitated by a licensed mental health professional.
  • Equine Assisted Coaching facilitated by a certified coach.
  • Equine Assisted Energy Work
  • Equine Assisted Health and Wellness
  • Equine Assisted Spiritual Direction
  • Equine Assisted Reading Support (yes, even this is a thing!  I discussed it in the webinar I mentioned at the beginning of this blog.)
  • The list can go on and on. . .

NL teaches you how to incorporate horses into the service you provide in a trauma informed manner.  This approach is based in the relational sciences and is attachment focused. 

In order to use the Natural Lifemanship approach ethically and effectively, you must know what services you provide separate from the inclusion of horses. You can explore this idea further by asking yourself…what have I learned about how humans heal, and what do I believe about how humans heal? What skills do I offer people to support their healing? What are my goals when I work with a client? If I couldn’t work with the horses today, would I still be offering competent services to my clients?

Several of you have asked that we provide some suggestions of places you can get more support, guidance, and education as you hone the services you provide.

There simply is no way for us to give you an exhaustive list, so I have narrowed this list down the following ways:

    1. The list below includes only trainings that do not require participants to have a Master’s level education or license in the therapy field.  Mental health, occupational, and physical therapists often find it easier to describe the service they provide, so I wanted this blog to offer support, or a starting point for those who are outside of the “therapy” box.
    2. I shared several trainings that I have personally completed and have found to be very helpful in the work I do with people and horses.  Many licensed professionals will find these trainings beneficial, but a professional license is not a requirement to attend.   Again, all of the trainings below can help build a skill-set and refine the service someone outside of the therapy field is offering.
    3. I have also included some trainings that NL  trainers or certification students have completed, but I, personally, have not.  We have over 300 certification students that come from various backgrounds and I spend a lot of time with most of them  – during the certification process it is often clear to me when a person has trained in a way that better prepares them to integrate NL into their practice.
    4. Lastly, I have chosen services in which the integration of horses as partners seems natural and organic.  Horses do a beautiful job of assisting these services, if you will.

I hope you find this list helpful as a starting point.  I also included a few links to some NL content if you are interested in exploring a certain category of services with us.

By the way, more learning for NL Members is coming soon in every single one of these categories!   To be notified when we release new trainings and resources in these categories, sign up for our newsletter.

 

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma informed care is for everyone!  This is why it is the backbone of the Natural Lifemanship trainings, and informs many of the services that follow in this list.  NL offers a detailed overview, however there is plenty more to learn if this is to be a service you choose to offer.

Trauma informed care simply means that one is working from a place of 1)understanding the neurobiology of humans and how trauma affects that neurobiology, 2) understanding the value of rhythm and how to offer it, both literally and figuratively, and 3) is relationship first focused (relationship before task – this is easier said than done in day to day life).

Trauma Informed Care is a perspective, an ethos, a philosophy, as well as an approach, and can therefore be utilized in literally any service.

The Neurosequential Model:  Dr. Bruce Perry.  Tracks offered for clinicians, educators, caregivers, sports coaches and trainers, clinical supervisors, and clinicians who work with young children.

Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind:  Bonnie Badenoch

The Mindsight Institute:  Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dr. Dan Siegel

 

NL content available if you are interested in exploring this direction:

The Fundamentals of NL teaches many of these foundational concepts.

Conversation with Bonnie Badenoch for NL Members

Trauma Informed and Developmentally Sensitive Schools for NL Members

Trauma Informed Care and Trauma Informed Relationships are for Everyone for NL Members

NL Connection Kits to support bottom-up regulation

 

Somatic Work

“Somatic” means “relating to the body”.  As our understanding of human beings has evolved and deepened, one thing has become clear no matter the theory or perspective…the body is not simply a machine executing the brain’s wishes, it is alive with its own way of thinking and feeling and it informs all that we do.

If we wish to support humans in a healing process, at the very least, a basic awareness of how the body is involved in developing a person’s lived experience is necessary.  Not only will somatic training aid you in supporting humans, it will deepen your relationship with yourself and your horses as well.  All of this learning will complement what NL teaches.  Horses are natural partners for somatic, body-based, and movement practices.

Somatic Experiencing

The Center for BodyMindMovement

Uzazu Embodied Intelligence

Body-Mind Centering

New in 2025!  Embodied Developmental Movement, a collaboration between NL (and the NL horses!) and The Center for BodyMindMovement!

NL Member content available if you are interested in exploring  this direction:

Healing Attachment Wounds Through Movement with Bettina Shultz-Jobe

Orientation:  Moving into Presence with Mark Taylor

Somatic Experiencing®, Attachment and Touch with Sarah Schlote

NL Intensive and Personal Immersion delve into this much more.

 

Coaching

Coaches typically assist people in identifying, pursuing and achieving specific goals and objectives.  When working with humans to support their growth and development, no matter the modality, it is necessary for providing ethical services that the provider have a basic rationale for why and how they will approach a session, as well as develop goals to guide the work.

Coaching trainings will support you in learning how to provide that structure for your clients. Horses tend to give very genuine and honest feedback so their interactions with humans can help clarify patterns of behavior, relating, and communication that may be contributing to a client feeling stuck or blocked from moving forward in their life.

International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching

Neuro Somatic Intelligence Coaching

Ontological Coaching

 

Experiential Facilitator Training

The human nervous system needs experiential learning to turn information into embodied knowledge. Purely cognitive approaches to healing take us only so far – in order to promote lasting change in a client, we must include the whole experience – not just thoughts, but emotions, sensations, perceptions, relationships, etc.

Facilitating a client experientially can be quite different from traditional talk approaches and requires a separate skill set. Learning to support your clients in having a healing experience takes training and practice.

Extreme Facilitation with Become More

Facilitation 101

We!  With Chad Littlefield

Mark Collard – based in Australia, but has super valuable online learning

New in 2025!  Extreme Facilitation (scroll down to collaborations and partnerships) hosted at the NL Headquarters.

 

NL Member Content available if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Rainy Day Activities: Trauma informed, experiential activities that can be done without horses AND that blend well with EAS programming

 

Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation practices focus on bringing the mind into the present moment, which can include noticing our surroundings with our senses, observing our internal experience, and tracking the body’s experience as well.  Often some breathwork is involved. These practices support clients in grounding and regulation which are the foundation of any future healing, and can be utilized anytime, making them incredibly approachable practices.

Both mindfulness and meditation trainings are a great entry point for those wishing to provide healing services – often trainings offer a protocol or specific skill set that can be implemented immediately.  Of course, fine tuning one’s offering takes time.

The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Little Flower Yoga:  Mindfulness and Yoga for Children

 

Content available to NL members if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Mindfulness Practices to Build Connection with Shannon Knapp

 

Therapeutic Drumming

The research that supports drumming keeps rolling in.  The individual or group connection that occurs through rhythmic music making can be a powerful offering in the support or healing of clients. It is also playful, creative, and engaging! (AND so amazing when the horses are part of this!)

Upbeat Drum Circles with Christine Stevens

Health Rhythms

Village Music Circles with Arthur Hull

 

NL Content available if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Finding Your Rhythm:  Therapeutic Drumming with Mary Oliver and Reccia Jobe for NL Members

NL Rhythm Resources

Rhythmic Riding and Personal Immersion both integrate therapeutic drumming

Rhythmic Passages for Wellbeing with Mary Oliver  for NL Members

The NL Drum Connection Kit

 

Breathwork

Everyone breathes, it happens automatically.  And, everyone can control their breath, with practice.  Our breath is linked to our nervous system in intricate ways and the one influences the other.  Learning to aide clients in breathwork is a simple and effective way to support them in regulating themselves, staying connected to their own internal and external experiences, and begin healing from the inside out. The breath is a tool everyone has access to, regardless of circumstance, making it a highly approachable service to offer.

Heart Math Institute

Online Breathwork Teacher Training

 

NL Member content available if you are interested in exploring  this direction:

I recently did some teaching for NL members about ways we have integrated the HeartMath emwave into our work here and here.   

Breathing Practices for Nervous System Awareness and Regulation with Jennifer Cohen Harper.

 

Energy Work

So much of our human experience occurs in the unseen exchange of energy between ourselves and the world around us. Training in energy work can support a practitioner in honing in on this exchange of energy and facilitate energetic movement that fosters healing in a variety of populations.

The language of horses is largely energy based.  Horses communicate with their bodies and provide rich opportunities for people to learn how to tap into this deeper knowing of the rhythm and flow of the energy of their own bodies.

Reiki – Many of our certification students are trained in Reiki.  Mary Oliver, our Rhythm and Art Education Coordinator, recommends that you find a qualified Reiki Master for Usui Reiki (teachings of Mikao Usui) that has good reviews.  Some of our students recommend Torsten A. Lange,  The International House of Reiki, and Simply Reiki. 

Eden Energy Medicine

Emotional Freedom Techniques:  EFT Tapping Training Institute

 

NL Content available if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Personal Immersion and NL Intensive touches some of these concepts

Tapping into Peace:  Percussive Tapping Techniques for Self-Regulation and Soothing for NL Members

Chakra Balancing with Michelle Holling-Brooks

 

Yoga

Yoga is an excellent way to support connection to one’s own body and internal experience – it offers rhythmic and intentional movements that explore, soothe, and strengthen.  When conducted in a trauma informed manner, yoga can be very healing for the body and cultivate growth that is beyond or beneath words.

The Trauma Conscious Yoga Institute

Little Flower Yoga:  Mindfulness and Yoga for Children

 

Parts Work

“Parts work” is the idea that every individual is multi-faceted, or contains multiple sides or parts of self.  These parts come alive for different reasons, to serve different purposes, and make up the beautiful and complex nature of being human.  Supporting clients in working with their “parts” destigmatizes and expands the range of human experience, which often allows clients to experience less shame and a more integrated, central sense of self.

Jungian Archetypes also address a similar concept – that the human experience is both collective and individual, we all experience a wide variety of ways of being in the world and identifying too strongly with parts, or rejecting parts, can lead to suffering.

In archetypal work and parts work, the practitioner supports the client in seeking balance, and feeling whole – this is a perspective anyone can operate from to support healing in self and others.

IFS Institute

Life Architect

Pacifica (This one is an M.A. or Ph.D program)

Jungian Archetypes Diploma Course

 

Content available through NL membership if you are interested in exploring this direction:

A journey from Parts to Self with Jenn Pagone

The Journey into Self-Leadership: Integrating the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model with EAS with Jenn Pagone

Working with Regression and Parts Learning Path

 

Psychodrama

Psychodrama is an experiential way of facilitating clients that involves making what is internal become external. Psychodrama supports the processing of memories, intentional acknowledgement of the present, exploration of dreams, engagement with parts and unavailable others, and practicing for the future – which makes it a suitable facilitation approach for a variety of practitioners, and blends well with a variety of other methods. This approach can be done with individuals and groups and involves constructing figurative and literal representations of an image, experience, place, etc so that the “director” and client can walk through the experience together.  

American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy

American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama

Federation of European Psychodrama Training Organizations

 

Polyvagal Theory

Polyvagal theory is an emerging approach that addresses the experience of the nervous system in response to social and environmental cues.  Techniques developed from the theory support practitioners and clients in noticing and regulating nervous system functioning in order to find safety and calm within the body. This groundbreaking theory and its ongoing development will no doubt continue to be cutting edge in the field of health and wellness.


EQUUSOMA

Deb Dana’s Rhythm of Regulation

 

Content available through NL membership if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Doing Attachment-Based Work (in-person and through telehealth)

 

Working with Children and Parents

Children and their parents make up a significant portion of the clientele seeking equine assisted services. Learning to support families in cultivating their own health can be an incredibly satisfying endeavor, with a wide ripple effect. When we understand how the relationship is the vehicle for change, we can positively impact children and their parents no matter our background.

Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)

Being With with Robyn Gobbel

 

Content available through NL if you are interested in exploring this direction:

NL for Young Children and Parents

 

Spiritual Direction

Healing often requires engagement with mind, body, and spirit/soul. There are many ways to become a spiritual mentor to anyone who feels called to the role.

Spiritual Direction International

The Living School is considered a wisdom school so it doesn’t fully fit under this category, but I am placing it here because of the profound manner in which its students seem equipped to guide people in contemplative spirituality.

The Sacred Art of Living A school offering many learning paths in the art of both living and dying.

 

Content available through NL if you are interested in exploring this direction:

Natural Lifemanship for Spiritual Connection

 

Enneagram

The Enneagram is a powerful tool for inner work.  It helps us and our clients understand why we do what we do – the subconscious drives that motivate us and shape our patterns of relating in the world.  The enneagram begins with self- awareness and empowers individuals to take responsibility for their own growth and development, offering choice and leading to healing and greater freedom and integration.

The Enneagram Institute

The Narrative Enneagram

Chestnut Paes Enneagram Academy

Integrative 9 Enneagram Solutions

The Enneagram Prison Project

Unbridled Change Enneagram Series

 

Master the Fundamentals

The Fundamentals of NL is the best place to start for those who have a clear sense of the service they provide, and for those who are still refining their service or scope of practice.  This training provides foundational knowledge, skills and hands-on experience to help you take the next step.  If you’re ready to incorporate horses into your work in a trauma-informed and relationally focused way, NL will meet you where you are on your journey.

The Fundamentals of NL is the first step on the NL Certification path and is only offered a couple times a year.  Our final cohort for 2025 begins in September. Join us!

*Check out ALL of our 2025 training opportunities, here!*

 

 

Sacred Landscapes: The Expanse That Can Be Seen

Sacred Landscapes: The Expanse That Can Be Seen

by | Jun 27, 2023 | Equine Assisted Trainings, Natural Lifemanship Events

I have been perusing this year’s Sacred Landscapes conference schedule that is under construction, and all I can say is WOW!

What a fantastic and eclectic group of presenters, not to mention thoughtfully curated material and experiences!! This is a lineup not to be missed.

Something really stood out to me as I was exploring the different presentations we have on the schedule – our theme of Sacred Landscapes has really drawn out presentations that use a wider lens to understand healing work.

It makes sense. The idea of landscape encompasses SO much.

 

It is the scenery that surrounds us, the view we see no matter where we are, the terrain we travel from one place to the next.

 

Even the definition of the word landscape – “The expanse that can be seen” – taps into a felt sense of what we are trying to offer. I love that word – EXPANSE. Can you feel your lungs fill with air when you read it? EXPANSE. To expand. To grow and stretch and ultimately, to CONNECT.

 

When we expand, we come into contact with all of life

 

What is so exciting about our Sacred Landscapes conference is that our lineup of presenters heard “landscape” and immediately understood the assignment.  We are talking about Space. Views. Presence. Experience. And we are hopefully expanding your view of what it means to do relational healing work.

Because of course, above all, connection and interconnectedness makes all the difference.

So what, exactly, do I mean when I say we are taking a landscape perspective when it comes to continuing education with Natural Lifemanship?

 

Spaces & Places

 

Of course, it means land, literally…the relationship we have with spaces and places where we do this work. Like my keynote, Healing Relationships with Space and Place: Engaging with the environment to foster transformation; and Jane Faulkner’s Exploring a Relationship to Self, Country, and Other. As well as Nature Connected Play Therapy: The Implementation of Play while Honoring the Power of a Natural Setting with Animal Connections by Emily Schmidt.

 

Inner Landscape

 

But also we will have presentations that explore inner landscapes – who you are and how you show up. Like this presentation by Jenn Pagone, Expanding our Internal Landscapes through Relational Consciousness with IFS Equine Engaged Psychotherapy, and this one by NL trainers Kathleen Choe and Laura McFarland, Exploring the Inner Landscape with Embodied Practices: Discernment and the Enneagram.

And then, we will explore how our bodies are a part of our internal landscape, like our keynote from Mark Taylor, Moving Through Space: What Can We Learn from Observing Movement in Session? and this presentation by Kathy Taylor (no relation!), Moving in Three Dimensions: A simple framework for using your body to establish, maintain and nurture connection while working with clients and horses. As well as this delicious presentation, Connected Nutrition:  The Gut is our “Second Brain” with NL Trainer Gabby Remole.

And, how do we impact the landscape of healing work, particularly through our horses? Here is a great one by NL Trainers Rebecca Hubbard and Reccia Jobe, The Human-Equine Relational Landscape: How practitioner treatment and interactions with equines impact the healing landscape, and another by Tim and Tanner Jobe, called Getting Along: Facilitating Healthy Relationships Within Your (Horse) Herd!

What I’ve mentioned here are just a few of the many, many speakers and topics we are so thrilled to share with you. Can you tell I am excited?

Sacred Landscapes aims to be a nourishing, grounding, collective experience that will shift you on both a higher and deeper level. We’re growing roots and spreading our branches.

This conference is not about task. It is about our internal and external connections – and we cannot wait to share it with you!

To register for Sacred Landscapes and view all themes, speakers and topics (32 topics thus far!), visit naturallifemanship.com/sacred-landscapes.

 

 

The Impact of Rhythm in Trauma Informed Care

The Impact of Rhythm in Trauma Informed Care

by | Jan 9, 2023 | Applied Principles, Basics of Natural Lifemanship, Equine Assisted Trainings, Personal Growth

By Kate Naylor and Bettina Shultz-Jobe

 

A heartbeat. Waves rolling in and out on a sandy beach. The rising and setting of the sun. 

The aroma of your favorite meal. A long walk to clear your head. That sense of joy that comes from swinging on a swing. 

Your partner walking in the door at 5 o’clock every day and offering that same greeting they always do. The connection that follows a relational repair. The sound of horses munching on grass. 

This is rhythm.

Our bodies and minds crave rhythm. It exists both figuratively and literally in our daily lives, and offers us repeated experiences of predictability in our environments, our relationships, and in our bodies. 

Not surprising then, rhythm is one of the three necessary components of trauma informed care as outlined by Dr. Bruce Perry and many other experts in the field of trauma and attachment.  Others like Bonnie Badenoch, Dan Siegel, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Pat Ogden, and Bessel van der Kolk emphasize the importance of rhythm in our lives. 

Without rhythm, we miss an integral part of the healing puzzle. In fact, we cannot offer Trauma Informed Care without it. 

We also experience plenty of moments that are filled with a lack of rhythm, a lack of predictability – times of sensory, environmental, or relational chaos. These moments have an impact on us too. 

 

The practice of creating rhythm in relationships

Recognizing literal and figurative rhythms allows us to use them to enhance our programs, our work with clients, and our own healing work. 

Join us for the Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship to:

  • Better understand how sensory rhythm is always affecting us, even in the very beginnings of life
  • Rhythmically connect with our bodies and the world around us to regulate the nervous system 
  • Experience how much the rhythm of our movements matter (especially around horses!)
  • Learn the components of rhythmic environments 
  • Feel how to BE in rhythmic relationships with humans, horses, and other animals 

… and how to creatively bring more intentional rhythm into your sessions for effective (and fun!) therapeutic work.

 

The benefits of rhythm

With more rhythm, you can expect a more regulated mind and body – setting you up for more client progress and less professional burnout. 

Pssst…in the Fundamentals, you will also come to understand the other two necessary components of effective trauma informed care!

Improve professional competency, enhance your work, and engage clients in lasting change – with the Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship.

 

 

What are the Natural Lifemanship Connection Kits and are they for me?

What are the Natural Lifemanship Connection Kits and are they for me?

by | Nov 18, 2022 | Equine Assisted Trainings, Natural Lifemanship Events, The Latest in Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning

You may have heard of the Natural Lifemanship Connection Kits and you may be wondering what, exactly, they are, what purpose they serve, and for whom.

 

We created the Connection Kits to fill a need in our community of equine-assisted practitioners – a need that emerged again and again during the course of consultations. As is often the case with useful tools, our Connection Kits have been discovered by many folks outside of the EAS community as well, including school counselors, therapists who work in a more traditional setting, and even clients! 

 

Built with a purpose

Our co-founder, Bettina Shultz-Jobe, found herself describing the ways she incorporates rhythm to build regulation and relationship within and between humans and horses during sessions. She would refer to various tools she would use for that purpose as well as concrete activities, and she would always explain the science that supports the activities and, in fact, everything we do in NL. 

 

She came to realize that one of the biggest ways that we could support our community is by packaging these tools and resources into ready-made kits accompanied by instructional courses that explain how and why we use the tools to promote regulation, healing, growth, and connection for our clients and our horses, whether we are working inside or outdoors.

 

So, we created the kits! We incorporated our knowledge of science, healthy brain development, and the power of the horse-human relationship with easy-to-use tools that help organize, integrate, and regulate the brain and body and build deeper connections. We call these tools, the Natural Lifemanship Connection Kits – Tools Designed to Enhance Your Equine-Assisted Practice.

 

These kits provide you with the same tools our expert professionals use at Natural Lifemanship, and hours of guided education including video demonstrations with our beloved horses, to ensure the tools are used safely and effectively. Most tools can be used in a traditional office setting, outside in nature, and with or without horses.

 

Who uses the Connection Kits? How do I know if they are for me?

 

If you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, then the Connection Kits are for you!

 

Are you:

  • A professional who provides equine-assisted services?
  • A parent of school-aged children?
  • A teacher?
  • A mental health professional?
  • A helping professional who works with people who have experienced trauma?
  • Someone who works with youth?
  • Someone who works with seniors?
  • Interested in learning how to regulate your own nervous system and how to help others regulate theirs?
  • Interested in understanding the science behind the techniques?

 

Do you:

  • Appreciate having tools and concrete activities ready and available to use when working with others?
  • Appreciate the convenience of video instruction so you can learn on your own schedule?
  • Value the ability to earn CE credits (from NBCC)?
  • Know somebody who fits any of the descriptions listed here and want to give them an absolutely amazing, one-of-a-kind holiday gift – the kind of gift that keeps on giving?

 

If this sounds familiar, then NL’s Connection Kits are for you.

 

Which Kit is Right for Me?

Really, each kit has something unique to offer. It may be helpful to hear a little about how some of our customers have used the kits and for what purposes.

 

Essential Connection Kit

The Essential Connection Kits are the most inclusive, containing many different tools and activities to regulate each region of the brain and to promote connection. This kit comes with 16 hours of instructional videos delivered in a course that offers 11.5 CE Credits. 

 

The Essential Connection Kit is transportable, too! It comes neatly organized and packaged in a tote that you can take with you and use in an office, a school, and even outside. 

 

This kit has been most popular with the equine-assisted practitioners (both therapists and coaches) who use our model. It has also been very popular with school counselors. We’ve had several districts buy one for each of their counselors to use with their students. Some counselors have also shared their kits and their knowledge of how to use them with the teachers at their schools. One school counselor reported that she has used the kit for her therapy groups at school, teaching regulation skills throughout the year. 

 

The Essential Connection Kit activities can fit very easily into a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program if teachers and counselors choose to use it this way, as it promotes knowledge and skills related to how the brain works and bottom-up regulation. 

 

Drum Connection Kit

The Drum Connection Kit comes with a Remo Bahia Buffalo Drum and nearly 5 hours of video instruction (and 4.5 CE credits) demonstrating ways to incorporate drumming to regulate the brain. 

 

If all you want is the drum, we encourage you to head on over to Remo to purchase it. However, if you want the drum AND the online course with CE credits, you’ll want to buy it from us. Lots of folks have purchased this kit, including equine professionals and coaches. If you want to incorporate drumming into your work, the NL Drum Connection Kit makes it super simple.

 

Rhythm Bell Connection Kit

The Rhythm Bell Connection Kit is, surprisingly, the number one kit that is purchased by clients because they love them so much. 

 

When therapists and other practitioners use the Rhythm Bells in sessions, clients fall in love with them because they are such a great regulation tool. They also really help people come into connection. For this reason, we’ve used them a lot in mounted work and have created multiple ways that these handcrafted bells can attach to the client’s clothing and the horse’s mane or saddle. 

 

Another surprising fact is how many of our therapists like to use the bells in an office setting. We even have one client who wears these while walking during telehealth sessions. The Rhythm Bell course offers 2.5 CE credits.

 

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Connection Kit

Finally, the Do-It-Yourself Connection Kit is also a great option, especially if you already have a collection of tools similar to the ones we package. The DIY Connection Kit gives you ALL of the downloadable instructions and resources you need to build your own Essential Kit. It includes the course and all the videos. It also includes the Drum Connection Kit course. It does not include any of the physical items that are demonstrated, but it gives you the information you need to purchase your own. 

 

Because it includes both the Essential and the Drum Kit courses, the DIY Kit offers a total of 16 CE credits. It also is available to NL Members at a very steep discount.

 

How much do our customers love these kits? We’ll let them tell you in their own words.

 

The drum kit absolutely drives home the concept of bottom up regulation. After this course, I feel like I can confidently take these activities into my work with clients. Thank you! 

– Ashley M Stavig

 

I love using the drum and bell kits with clients who have trauma. These are fundamental tools that give clients a ‘language’ (sound, movement) that makes sense of their world.  These tools help me see, without the pressure of words, the client’s trauma.  Essential for trauma work!! 

– Jan Stump, MSW PEACE Ranch

 

I was able to understand the science behind the tools in each box [of the Essential Connection Kit]. I was able to see how to practically use the tools in a therapeutic setting. 

– Christi Lundby, LPC-S, LCDC

 

Practicing walking with the bell and riding with the bell on me and my horse gave me an understanding of how my body is responding that is beyond anything I have ever felt before.  It is not the regulation that was most important; it is the integration.  Amazing. 

– Marilee Donovan Dual Certified in NL

 

The Drum Connection Kit Course was both educational and fun.  It was not only full of pertinent information, but it was easy to follow with demonstrations that I can use right away in my program. I loved learning how the progression of activities using the drum achieved full brain engagement.  It was easy to follow and fun to watch. 

– Claudia Alesi, Certified Equine Assisted Coach

 

It [essential connection kits] was all valuable.  I appreciated the raccoon circle because I have a family that is struggling and I believe this will help show how important it is to connect and work together. 

– Anonymous Customer

 

I have been a therapist for over ten years. Natural Lifemanship is the best therapeutic model that I have integrated into my practice. NL has provided me with the science and practical instruction to immediately improve my skills as a therapist with an equine partner or without. A sound principle is a sound principle resonates with me in all client/therapist relationships. 

– Christi Lundby, LPC-S, LCDC

 

I do not generally respond to music and drumming is sometimes annoying, so I was not prepared to be amazed by the benefits of the bells.  I wear a bell each morning when I go to turn the horses out and often I wear a bell when cleaning the barn and feeding.  It is a mindfulness practice above all others.  I had to work initially to have a rhythm but once found it is comforting and rewarding.  Riding my horse with the bells generates another level of connection and we have a great connection already.  Now when the horses hear me coming with the bell on they often come up and touch the bell on my clothing to say good morning.  I would recommend this to any NL professional to deepen their own understanding of their body and of connection and integration. 

– Marilee Donovan, Dual Certified in NL

 

I loved everything about the [Essential Connection Kit] course, very helpful and that it’s not just for psychologists but for teachers, parents, foster parents,  equine professionals,  etc. 

– Anonymous Customer

 

Natural Lifemanship never ceases to amaze me with their dedication to incorporating both the art and science of connection, and the way this leads to healing and growth! 

– Melissa McMullen, LSW, Equine Therapist at One Heart Stables with the Christian Children’s Home of Ohio

 

I am just beginning to learn about Natural Lifemanship, so everything [in the Essential Connection Kit] was valuable to me.  It was very educational.  I really love the demonstrations.  They are easy to follow and I can’t wait to use them in my program. 

– Claudia Alesi, Certified Equine Assisted Coach

 

We LOVE our Connection Kits and are so delighted that our community loves them, too. We love hearing about the creative ways people are putting these kits to use, and of course how they are working out. 

 

If you already own a Connection Kit, please join our Connection Kit forum in our community so you can share ideas and resources with other Connection Kit owners.

 

Have questions about the Connection Kits? Leave them below and our team will get back with you.

 

A New and Improved Membership Means a Better Prepared You

A New and Improved Membership Means a Better Prepared You

by | May 9, 2022 | Equine Assisted Trainings

You’ve likely heard the exciting news! The Natural Lifemanship Institute has evolved its brand and is subsequently transforming to better meet the needs of our growing community of professionals. 

We hope this includes you. 

Learn more about our evolution, what our new NL membership includes, and how you can grow your impact by becoming part of something bigger. 

 

The Evolution of Natural Lifemanship and What It Means for You

 

While the Natural Lifemanship model began developing in 1986, we still believe there is much more to learn and explore. Just as the mental health needs of people around the world are constantly changing based on the various and often unexpected fears and struggles we experience, we too must remain ever-evolving. 

Therefore, we decided that it was time to pave a clearer and more direct path for professionals from different walks of life to pursue a principle-based approach to working with clients, horses, and discovering themselves. 

Our metamorphosis gives you the opportunities to access tons of career-changing education and resources, trainings designed to support your personal and professional paths, and the opportunity to experience a transformation yourself. 

As Equine Assisted Services professionals and a community of helpers and healers, we invite you to walk with us. 

 

A Closer Look at Natural Lifemanship Membership

 

In the same way the Natural Lifemanship brand evolved, so too did the NL membership plan, which now provides you with a larger and more comprehensive toolbox to support both your life and practice. 

With the new all-inclusive membership plan, you get discounts on exclusive online courses, Building Your Resilience offerings, and events including our highly-anticipated annual conference.  A variety of FREE online events are available each month for NL members.  Plus, you get hundreds of hours of FREE online learning and opportunities to speak with NL founders (including me!) and trainers each month. 

Our choice to focus on just one membership plan allows us to ensure that each and every member gets the highest level of educational resources and training available. That means YOU have more access to the learning materials that will improve the ways in which you interact with horses and clients. 

To put it simply, we wanted to give you more—and now we’re doing just that. 

 

How the New and Improved Membership Benefits You

 

What can you expect when you become an NL member and take advantage of the member benefits? If you ask other NL members, you’ll hear similar responses. 

“ A toolbox of regulation and relationship skills, a depth and breadth of knowledge.” 

“Improve not only your professional development but your personal growth as well.” 

“Changes you’ll witness in yourself, your horses, your families, and of course, your clients.” 

“An incredible group of people willing to dive in, to grow as individuals and professionals.”

While the overall price of membership slightly increased (for some of you), the impact you’ll experience from joining our growing community of EAS professionals and walking with our NL team will far exceed your expectations.

 

Want to get a free membership? 

 

The best way (and highly recommended) to take advantage of the NL trainings and resources is to pursue NL certification, which includes NL membership. Our certification is unlike other EAS certification programs in that it requires a long-term commitment to your personal growth, your professional practice, and the sustainability of your business.

We believe it takes valuable time and mentorship to effectively integrate Natural Lifemanship’s *TI-EAT, **TF-EAP, or ***TI-EAL into your work with clients, so we offer the very best of our knowledge and expertise as well as our guidance and full support. 

By walking the path to NL certification, you access all the benefits of NL membership along with a transformative experience that will shift the trajectory of your work and evolve your life and practice. 

Licensed professionals *TI-EAT Trauma-Informed Equine Assisted Therapy
Licensed mental health professionals **TF-EAP: Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
Coaches and others in the healing professions ***TI-EAL: Trauma-Informed Equine Assisted Learning

Read more about our terminology here.

 

Here’s How You Take Advantage and Grow Your Toolbox

 

If you have yet to become an NL member and wish to join, you can go here to sign-up. 

Or, if you are interested in pursuing NL certification, accessing NL membership for free, and evolving your life and practice, you’ll find everything you need to get started here. 

 

Become Part of Our Growing Community

 

We are more than an organization that equips professionals from various walks of life to help people heal, grow, and recover from trauma. We are also a community—and we want to welcome you in.  

Having worked in this field for more than 35 years, our NL team understands the importance of growing to meet the ever-evolving mental and emotional needs of those we serve. Our clients grow because we grow. 

When you become part of our NL community, you not only access the decades of experience and knowledge we’ve gained, you also learn from other professionals who walk a similar path. Together, we are working to help change lives using the unique principles of connection and relationship we developed many years ago. We strongly believe that where one can make an impact, many can change the world. 

Join us as we continue to challenge ourselves, our communities, and the mental health and wellness profession. Join the many, and together let’s change the world.

Paving a Path to Embodiment

Paving a Path to Embodiment

by | Mar 1, 2022 | Applied Principles, Equine Assisted Trainings, Personal Growth

                    “Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk”

“Practice what you preach”                                       

“Say what you mean and mean what you say”

                                                                      “Actions speak louder than words” 

“Put your money where your mouth is”

 

Idioms about the importance of being congruent in both speech and behavior abound.  

Our spoken words, no matter how sincerely we mean them, become untrustworthy when they are not supported by our actions.  

Similarly, our actions feel incongruent and insincere when they are not consistent with our intention and motives.  We have all been on the receiving end of an interaction that appeared or seemed intended to be helpful or friendly, but instead felt empty at best and manipulative or exploitative at worst.  Both our actions and our words, no matter how well intentioned, can leave us feeling confused and disconnected from each other if they are not congruent with our internal state of being, and can result in relational rupture.
 

Embodiment Defined 

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “embody” in this way: to be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to (an idea, quality, or feeling).  

Embodiment entails a sense of internalizing and integrating a way of being in the world that moves beyond our way of doing or behaving.  Beyond acting as guidelines for behavior, embodied principles and beliefs become woven into the fabric of our identity and sense of self, and flow naturally into the ways in which we connect with self and others, both human and animal, and the larger world, including nature and our conceptualization of the divine.  

We can sense the difference when someone is “acting kind” as opposed to “being kind.”  Kind acts can be done for a variety of both honorable or self-serving motives. However, experiencing true kindness from someone who embodies the truth of their character in serving and caring for others because this is who they are engages our limbic system in an entirely different way and offers a rich relational opportunity for connection on a level so deep and healing that it is felt at a cellular level.  

This kind of connection requires genuine presence, being in this moment and being with yourself and the one who is in front of you. We try in various ways to derive “being” from “doing,” but “doing” actually flows from our “being.”  

WHO we are shows up in WHAT we do and HOW we do it.  

 

A society of task managers

In our task-focused, accomplishment-driven society, our obsession with productivity and output leaves little room for the rich, satisfying, deeply healing experiences of connection that are only possible when we slow down and focus our complete attention on this interaction at this moment with this being, whether horse or human.  

When I work with a client in the round pen who is asking for their horse’s attention while preoccupied with the outcome, so focused on the task of getting the horse to look at them, or turn and walk to them that they have reduced the interaction to a project whose success is measured by achieving a certain behavior, the principle of embodied connection is completely lost in the transactional nature of this exchange.  

When the client shifts to a more genuine, present state, connecting with their deep longing to be seen and felt and valued, and sees and feels and values their horse as well, the change in energy is palpable.  The quality and depth of the connection available in this type of relational exchange defies language, as it is felt on a somatic level between the two as an energetic exchange.
 

Embodiment requires breathing and processing space. . .

 As a trauma survivor, I learned to “behave” appropriately in relational interactions by accurately assessing expectations and how to meet them in order to avoid rejection and abandonment.  When I was first introduced to the Natural Lifemanship model of Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, I approached it the way I did everything I wanted to learn about: in a cognitive manner.  I studied the model, memorized the principles and then practiced applying them in the round pen with horses in a task-focused, outcome driven way.  

It soon became clear to me that I could ask a horse to attach and detach from me without any true connection whatsoever.  I did not feel the warmth in my chest, or energetic exchange between myself and my horse that other people described when their horse connected with them.  I spent hours in the round pen practicing making requests for interaction and felt despair about ever moving beyond the behavioral stage of it “looking right” without it ever “feeling right.”

Then I took the Natural Lifemanship Intensive Training, which focuses even more on embodying the relational principles of this model.  I learned that the healing work we do with humans and horses is a way of “being” in the world, not only a way of  “doing.”  Embodiment requires breathing and processing space, which is why Natural Lifemanship trainings are designed in a combined video and live learning format that offers not only plenty of time to learn and master essential principles but also skilled and knowledgeable instructors to guide your learning by giving personalized feedback on the specific ways to practice these principles.  

To read more about my experiences early on with Natural Lifemanship read here.
 

The secret to success

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000 hour rule” in his book, Outliers, based on a research study that found it takes about 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials like playing the violin or learning computer programming.  A surprising nuance in this discovery revealed that it is not simply the amount of hours spent practicing but how you practice and who guides you in deciding what to focus on during that practice time that determines the level of success achieved.  This idea of “deliberate practice” under the guidance of a skilled teacher who is able to assess each student individually and outline specific steps to help them improve then tailors the time spent to focus on what would be most helpful for that student’s growth and development.  

How you use your practice time and who guides you is what matters most.  

I spent hours in the round pen doing the same thing over and over, getting the same results, until I received the personalized attention and guidance I specifically needed to let go of my task driven focus and learned to embrace and embody the principles and nuances of true, heart-felt connection.  I discovered the power of presence from trainers who embodied this with and for me so I could hone in on what was missing in my learning and start practicing in a way that actually led to transformational change. 
 

How the NL Intensive training can help you embody connection

The Intensive Training is set up to enhance your learning with guidance and support specifically tailored to the areas you want and need to grow.  It helped me refine my understanding of connection in relationship and led to powerful shifts in my perspective on my relationship with self and others, both horse and human.  

This is a powerful opportunity to take the next step in your journey of personal and professional growth!
 

Practice Embodied Connection at Home

To practice feeling a sense of embodiment through connection, try taking a walk with a trusted person.  Orient to your environment and do some mindfulness and grounding to become fully present in your body as you walk beside each other.  Then start to notice if you can fall “in sync” with your partner, matching their stride by sensing their movement without looking at them.  

Take turns lengthening your stride, speeding up and slowing down, and changing direction.  Can you feel these shifts without looking at your partner’s legs or body with your eyes?  Can you sense the energetic exchange between the two of you as you become entrained in your motion and your connection deepens through this rhythmic shared movement?  Be playful with it!  You can also try this with your horse or dog.

Want to learn more?  Attend our upcoming webinar on embodiment and sign up for the Natural Lifemanship Intensive Training!  Keep growing and learning with us.  

We look forward to seeing you!

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