Testimony of an equi-coaching experience.
Do you remember a moment in your life that left a lasting impression on you? A moment of which you can say: there was a before, and an after? Well, I want to share one with you, that I experienced a few days ago. I'm going to talk to you about the before, the after, and especially the during.
Before
It all started with a meeting.
"- I am a fan of what speaks to the heart", Aude began by saying, as a preamble to what drives her in her life and in her support practice. I didn't know it yet, but that sentence already contained a promise.
Listening to her talk to me about her bond with her horse, and the experience that a participant in an equi-coaching session could have, I felt the intuition rising within me that this practice could make it possible to touch in myself some deep truths.
With the desire to experience it.
During
Friday morning. Cool weather.
I join Aude and Caracol at the equestrian center.
I feel this touch of curiosity that always drives me when I have new experiences, with the desire to live it intensely. On a personal subject, which I expressed yesterday, in a few words in an SMS to Aude.
I feel relaxed as Aude introduces me to Caracol.
She adds:
"- I already spoke to him about you this morning. He knows who you are and why I need him this morning with you."
So here we are, the horse and I, introduced to each other by a mutual friend! Aude then guides me through a breathing protocol, centering on the present moment, connecting to my theme, at the level of the heart.
Then she leads me to express in the presence of Caracol, with my back turned, the theme and the questions that occupy me.
Then I turn towards Caracol, and there I feel the caress of his smoking nostrils on my cheek. His way of joining me where I am then.
This is the moment when Aude walks away saying:
"- I will now leave you both to discuss as you wish."
So I find myself at the heart of the relationship with the horse. His eye filled with gentleness, his ear stretched out towards me, who whispers my story to him. The strength and empathy emanating from his 700 kilos and his warm coat form a reassuring space. It's all there between us.
Including the truth. The truth that I suddenly feel is obvious. Just.
"- What do you think? I then asked him
- Yes, he told me", nodding his head!
After
As I write these words, I can still feel the impression I had in that moment when he nodded at my story. I won't soon forget. I know that I know.
Looking back now, here are the flavors that stick with me: 🌿 a heart-to-heart relationship: Aude was able to create a meeting between Caracol and me, where it was just the two of us. Equals. In trust. 🌿 a perfect mirror: Aude, by not asking me any questions, neither before, nor during, nor after about the progress of my questioning with Caracol, was able to leave room, without influencing it, for the full power of the horse empathy. Devoid of any form of judgment or subjectivity.
🌿 total security: the confidential space created with the animal allows total privacy, with the horse and with oneself, allowing you to seek the truth wherever it is found. Thank you Aude, the promise written in the watermark of your first words, of the “heart that speaks to the heart” is kept.
Francois Thouret
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