#9 Equine Craniosacral and Deep Listening with Maureen Rogers
When the body is deeply listened to, miracles happen. Maureen’s pioneering work applying craniosacral therapy to horses speaks volumes to the “miracles” that happen when the body is truly seen, and deeply listened to. Maureen is a pioneer and leading expert in the field of equine craniosacral therapy. She is the founder of Equine CranioSacral Workshops - an international education program that offers the most extensive program of study. She founded her program in 1999 and has over twenty years of teaching experience. A really big takeaway from this episode is that there are amazing therapies available at our fingertips. Craniosacral being a very profound one. I’m eager to learn more about craniosacral in my continuing education as a bodyworker. And for you listening out there, even if you don’t learn to do cranial yourself, I hope you seek out a practitioner to experience it for yourself, and for your horses. Experience for yourself how the body responds when it is truly, deeply listened to. I believe that’s when “miracles” happen. In this interview we talk about: + The severe whiplash injury that led Maureen to craniosacral as “living in pain wasn’t an option” + How Maureen got back into the horse world, and her experience with a special foal named Willy who inspired her to apply craniosacral to horses + Why craniosacral is especially vital for horses, as they contend regularly with pressure on their head, neck, and in the sensitive structure of their mouth from bridles, bits, nosebands, halters, and dentistry that has ramifications for their whole body + How the tack and equipment we use is second to the hands that use it, but still has the potential to greatly or negatively influence our horse’s physical wellbeing + The common problems that horses being worked in all disciplines of equitation run into, and the compensations that develop due to certain movement patterns + Myths about horse conformation that are rampant in the horse industry + Many issues, lamenesses, and patterns of disharmony that can be relieved or addressed by craniosacral that include, head shaking, navicular, spookiness, chronic pain, headaches, back pain, TMJ issues, head shyness, and more + The importance of educating ourselves and horse guardians to be able to assess imbalances and harness simple tools that can help the horse find balance + How all bodywork is a conversation, not a “fix it” strategy + Why we need more good horse handlers in the world + Maureen’s studies in shamanism and indigenous healing arts balance her knowledge of science and ultimately inform her cranial work + The belief that earning the horse’s trust is at the center of it all Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Equine Craniosacral and Deep Listening with Maureen Rogers’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access to the full behind-the-scenes post, ‘Poll Range of Motion Exercise’ which covers the functional anatomy of the horse’s poll joint, and the exercise I learned to help my training improve so that my horse’s heads were feeling good, balanced, and moving as they were designed to. Links from this episode: Equine CranioSacral Workshops Maureen Rogers on Instagram Horses are the original shamans - Dr. Tracy Rainwaters quote Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen
