Healing with Horses on Maui
Equine Assisted Therapy Launches New Therapeutic Program and Community Demo Days
“Horses are mirrors to your soul. Sometimes you might not like what you see. Sometimes you will”. -Buck Brannaman (the “Horse Whisperer”)
Horses are very large animals that are also teachers and powerful personal growth partners. They operate like a mirror does, reflecting back what you need to see about yourself. Sometimes the mirror reflects your shadow and other times it reflects your success and happiness.
I drove up to Kula for my equine therapy session without any expectations. My only instruction was to wear covered shoes and bring something I would like to work on. I decided to use “bullying” as my focus for the therapy, specifically my role as a parent when my child is experiencing “bully” behavior. I wanted to have clarity on how best to support my child and myself.
I met Amardeepa the licensed mental health professional, and Toni, the equine specialist at the ranch. They introduced me to Rico, the horse we would be working with. His size and power struck me immediately. All of the exercises are done on the ground, and no previous understanding of horses is required.
Just being in the presence of a horse felt healing. I can’t say I know exactly why or how it works, but I left amazed by what I saw, what it brought up in me, what I released and what I added to my self-awareness.
I could relate to the horse as a prey animal, sensing and scanning the environment for potential dangers. This very large animal was so sensitive and vulnerable. I experienced powerful lessons on boundaries, rejection, communication, authenticity, and leadership.
Amardeepa and Toni would check in with me throughout the session, but allowed me to have my experience and did not analyze or interpret what was happening between the horse and I. This was freeing and helped me to receive clarity about my situation intuitively. It was a beneficial and eye-opening experience.
Equine Assisted Therapy of Maui opens its therapeutic services to the community this Winter and is offering community demonstration days once a month during November/December/January. The team works under the EAGALA model, the global standard for equine assisted psychotherapy (www.eagala.org). Benefits include healthier: communication, relationships, confidence, boundaries, attention, self-worth, problem-solving and leadership. Previous horse experience is not required. A portion of session proceeds goes to Maui Youth Ranch, a rescue facility for abused and neglected horses.
To register for a community demo day or more information, contact Amardeepa:
808-740-1529 or email [email protected]
www.AmardeepaTherapy.com/equine
2055 Naalae Rd, Kula
