You’re getting ready to ride your horse and you notice that you’re feeling anxious. Maybe those horse riding nerves started as you were driving to the barn. Or even when you were still at home.
You were looking forward to going riding, but now you’re wondering if you should.
Read on if you want to be able to rein in those horse riding nerves so you can stop feeling anxious and enjoy the ride!
What would you say if I told you that you have the ability to change how you’re feeling in just a few minutes?
That you can stop those horse riding nerves and get back that feeling of happy, excited anticipation of riding!
Just follow these seven easy, effective steps to (almost) instantly change how you’re feeling.
7 Steps To Stop Those Horse Riding Nerves
Step 1: Find a quiet, comfortable spot where you can be undisturbed for a few minutes.
Sit or lie down and allow yourself to relax.
Begin taking deep calm breaths. Focus on finding a rhythm that’s comfortable for you.
Just noticing each inhale and exhale.
Step 2: As you're feeling more relaxed and calm, recall a memory of a time when you were feeling some sort of positive emotion.
A positive emotion you would like to have now.
You might want to feel:
- happy
- calm
- excited
- confident
- loved
- energetic
- enthusiastic
For example, you might recall a time when you were laughing hysterically and uncontrollably with friends.
Be sure to recall a memory of a specific experience or event that it is so powerful that it actually brings a smile to your face when you think that time.
Step 3: As you're really focusing on that time now, create a detailed picture of it in your mind's eye.
Just as if you were watching yourself in that moment.
Observe it as if you’re off to the side. It’s as if you’re looking at a picture or a movie of yourself.
If you like, you can float up above and be looking down on the whole scene and on yourself.
The important part is that you are outside of the experience observing it and yourself.
Now bring in as much detail as you can.
Recall what your surroundings were like.
If there were other people or animals there, include them in your mental picture.
And don't worry if you can't get a really clear picture. Just get a sense of what it was like for you to be in that experience.
Step 4: Add even more energy and detail to your picture to make it even stronger.
Notice the facial expressions, body language and posture of yourself and others in that experience.
Are you smiling or laughing? What are you doing?
Bring in as much of those details as you can and really soak up that whole experience.
Step 5: Continue to focus on that picture as you build it with your eyes closed.
Add even more energy to it now by bringing in colour, sounds, even smells.
You can zoom in like you're looking through a camera lens and make it bigger.
Step 6: Hold the memory of this specific event clearly in your mind now.
Really see what you saw. Hear what you heard. Feel what you felt. Feel it emotionally and physically.
Give yourself over to that feeling and to all those feelings until you physically feel them in your body.
When you feel it in your body physically that's when you've truly connected to that memory.
Just sit quietly and enjoy this feeling (or feelings) for a few moments.
Really steep yourself in that emotion - absorbing all that good energy coming from that memory.
Step 7: Focus on your breathing as you take in a few deep calm breaths in a comfortable rhythm.
And then when you're ready, open your eyes and notice how good you feel now.
Whenever you want to feel better emotionally you can just take yourself back to this memory or pick another memory and apply these 7 simple steps.
By practicing this exercise often, you’ll get into the pattern of being able to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, quickly bring that memory into your mind's eye, and be feeling those feelings instantly.
Give it a go and let me know how it works for you.
Cheers, Anne xx
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P.S. Here are 3 ways I can help you enjoy every ride.
- Sign up for my newsletter and get my awesome FREE guide with 7 Mindset Shifts For Horse Riding Confidence! ?https://bit.ly/7mindsetshiftsfree
- Join my FREE Confident Horsemanship Community Facebook Group ?http://bit.ly/2zLEXMc
- Get a FREE chapter of my book Confident Rider Confident Horse - it can really help you build your horse riding confidence ?http://bit.ly/CRCHfreechapter
