Hello welcome to the first episode of the equestrian tai chi podcast, where we’ll be talking about equestrian tai chi, the energy of ourselves, and horses and Nature in relation to Taoism.
Thank you for joining me for this first episode which is about the balancing power of Yin Yang – one of the reasons why riding is so therapeutic for us, and it’s background.
my name is jenny Pim, I’m your host and I’m the founder and creator of etc.
Something that can add to make riding a therapeutic experience for us is the constant motion of the horse. and the flow of energy that this motion creates in us as we’re being carried along by the horse.
The action that the horse makes with his legs and with his head moving up and down as he walks along, creates flows of energy in us in different parts of our body.
Every step the horse takes has a yin part and a yang part,
it has the stepping forwards, reaching out part, this would be the yang part the more active part, and then the gathering up to get ready to reach forwards again would be the yin part.
The movement of his head has a yin part and a yang part too as it moves in harmony with the rhythm of the horse’s footsteps.
and when we sit on the horse as he walks along these movements create circular flows of energy in us.
These interconnected circular flows have a yin part and a yang part too, as they are created by and correspond to the yin and yang actions of the horse.
The constant interchange from yin to yang and yang to yin within these flows is balancing for us.
And as our physical body is balanced, it has a calming effect on the energy of our emotions and thoughts. it has a holistic effect.
As well as this, there is a dynamic interchange of energy from us to the horse and from the horse back to us.
All of this, the company of the horse, combined with being outdoors in the fresh air and absorbing the energy of nature, makes riding a therapeutic experience.
The theory of Yin Yang can be applied to many things, to our walk, the horses walk, But what is the philosophy of yin yang and where did it come from.
Yin Yang is the fundamental principal of Tai Chi, and it is the basis for all Taoist philosophy.
According to Taoist philosophy, wu ji is the primordial undifferentiated nothingness from which everything comes, it has the potential for all creation.
Though Wu Ji has the potential for all creation, it does not have the ability to actually create itself. it needs an energy to create
and this creative energy is tai chi
Once something is created by the energy of tai chi, it splits the oneness, and things become yin or yang, but yin never separates from yang and yang never separates from yin. they are different expressions of the energy.
The Chinese internal martial art tai chi, which is mainly know and practiced nowadays for it’s therapeutic benefits, takes it’s name from this creative energy of tai chi.
The Art of tai chi, is about changing constantly from yin to yang and yang to yin.
each movement in tai chi has a yin aspect and a yang aspect. The Tai Chi symbol or the Yin Yang symbol is one of the oldest symbols in the world within the white bit there is a black dot and within the black bit there is a white dot. these show us to avoid extremes, the widest bit of each colour in the yin yang colour symbolises that when something has become of much of itself as it can it gradually decreases and changes to it’s complimentary opposite. once it completes itself it changes to the other.
We can relate this to the horses walk. the white part of the symbol is yang, and this would correspond to the reaching out part of the step.
then the black part of the symbol is yin and it would relate to gathering up part of the step.
The yin yang or tai chi symbol, symbolises the concept that the world is made of complementary interdependent opposites, one cannot exist without the other.
It is the interplay between these two complimentary opposites that is the basis of all creation. We know these opposites so well, night/day summer/winter, inhale/exhale open/close. Our blood vessels open and close, our horses blood vessels open and close, our hearts beat with this opening and closing pulsing.
the universe has a natural pulsing it is the nature of everything to pulse.
The theory of yin yang teaches us that change is natural, everything changes, and it’s important for us to be able to go with change and not resist it. when we learn tai chi we embody this knowledge in us. taoism is about not just knowing things with your mind, but experiencing them with your body, by knowing something with your mind and also experiencing it your body, it becomes deeply understood and inherent in you.
the yin yang rhythm of the horses walk has a natural balance that helps us to reconnect to ourselves, and to the rhythm of the pulse of the universe.