Philosophy - Dressage Flow

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

A perfect fusion of ‘Dressage’ and ‘Flow’ to improve your riding development

DRESSAGE

dres’-sage
(1): [noun] maneuvers of a horse
in response to body signals of the rider

THE TRAINING of a horse to become the most physically capable that it’s anatomy allows, producing a top athlete within the limitations of the horse’s body. A dressage horse becomes a yogi, a ballet dancer and a bodybuilder, where it can move forwards, backwards, sideways, in pirouetting circles or even on the spot with grace and ease.

FLOW

‘flow
(1): [intrans verb] to engage or move in a stream

FLOW: to move in a graceful motion from one point to the next. There are many aspects of Flow to be considered in Dressage.

MOVEMENT FLOW

Seamless transitions

The easiest to understand, flow from one movement to another movement. A seamless transition from one gait or speed to another one — whether it is faster, or slower, more exaggerated leg movement, or change in direction sideways.

ENERGY FLOW

Recycling Equine Energy

Flow of energy from horse to rider and back to the horse again. Similar to a game of tennis where the ball travels back and forth between players. The rider’s legs activates the hind end of the horse which generates energy that travels through the horse’s body forward and upward until it reaches the bit where the rider ‘returns the tennis ball’ or recycles the energy back to the horse again.

MIND FLOW

Occupandi Temporis
(seize the moment)

Be in the moment. The final concept of DressageFlow is by far the most important as well as the most difficult to convey—the sports psychology concept of ‘flow’. When you experience a state of flow; time stops, all difficult skills become easy, you feel a sense of completely engrossing joy, where the world around you melts away. In layman’s terms it is often referred to as being ‘in the zone’.