INFERNO'S JOURNEY
The Connection Between Body, Breath, Brain and Behavior
By: Allecia Maine, USA
PC: George Brauneis
Some horse people, even good riders and trainers, often have a fear of horses. And in that fear, they limit their breathing which shuts down their body. This then limits the horse’s breathing and shuts down their body. Then both human and horse exhibit unnatural behavior. One deep breath shared between both can create relaxation and promote a state of instant grace.
We all live in bodies. All bodies need breath. Breath affects every aspect of how our body and brain function and thus determines how we behave.
I observed this connection decades ago as a Professional Fitness Trainer. It was further deepened in my 28 years as a student of the internal martial art of Qi Gong. But it was most completely understood when I began working with horses both domestic and wild.
This article will walk us through a deep understanding of the Body, Breath, Brain and Behavior equation that is foundational to a horse’s ability to function at their optimal behavioral level. In addition, we will look at some examples of how horses are assisting humans in understanding the same about ourselves.
To best accomplish this, let me introduce you to Inferno, a recently captured off the range wild mustang who was very angry. He was exhibiting several rather dangerous behaviors, not that anyone could blame him. He was charging, striking and untouchable.
Some of the work I do is to assist horses with balancing their body alignment and this is generally done from a distance. After checking Inferno’s body alignment remotely, it was clear that he was in a lot of pain from having smashed his head into something that misaligned his entire cranium. This was in turn limiting his breathing and thus creating overcompensation in his behavior to protect himself. If he could keep people away from him, no one could hurt him anymore. By sharing Inferno’s experience, we can interweave parallels to our human experience with the Body, Breath, Brain and Behavior model.
I observed this connection decades ago as a Professional Fitness Trainer. It was further deepened in my 28 years as a student of the internal martial art of Qi Gong. But it was most completely understood when I began working with horses both domestic and wild.
This article will walk us through a deep understanding of the Body, Breath, Brain and Behavior equation that is foundational to a horse’s ability to function at their optimal behavioral level. In addition, we will look at some examples of how horses are assisting humans in understanding the same about ourselves.
To best accomplish this, let me introduce you to Inferno, a recently captured off the range wild mustang who was very angry. He was exhibiting several rather dangerous behaviors, not that anyone could blame him. He was charging, striking and untouchable.
Some of the work I do is to assist horses with balancing their body alignment and this is generally done from a distance. After checking Inferno’s body alignment remotely, it was clear that he was in a lot of pain from having smashed his head into something that misaligned his entire cranium. This was in turn limiting his breathing and thus creating overcompensation in his behavior to protect himself. If he could keep people away from him, no one could hurt him anymore. By sharing Inferno’s experience, we can interweave parallels to our human experience with the Body, Breath, Brain and Behavior model.
Body
No doubt we can all agree that we have to have a body to live here on Earth. Whoever created us all was pretty brilliant and left out no detail. From a strict anatomy standpoint, every species has a very unique design to their body. The bodies of a species will contain the exact same number of parts, as well as be configured in the exact same way.
Horses are one of the largest land mammals on our planet. They are also one of the most sensitive creatures whose body alignment can go out of whack quite easily. While they can compensate for that misalignment it can create subtle or major shutdowns in how they breathe and move which can affect how their brain processes information and subsequently how they behave.
Inferno was a completely wild animal living off the land in the Utah desert. He ran, played, fought, and was raised to become a stallion who could take care of his mares. During his capture, he experienced physical, emotional, psychological, and soul terror. He was chased over harsh terrain that should never be taken at a run, chased into a chute, where he smashed his face as he ran, and crammed into a small pen with dozens of other Mustangs.
He was twisted and torqued in his head and face when I checked on him remotely. He could not see straight on because his cranial bones were out of alignment and his eyes were not tracking properly. His body was misaligned in his cervical area, midback, shoulders and lower back. He could not take a deep breath because his diaphragm was twisted. Combine that with his lack of clear vision, when he was around humans, he felt he needed to do anything he could to keep them away, as they were a challenge to his sense of safety.
Imagine a circus tent. It has wires that must have the precise amount of pressure on them to hold up the tent efficiently and effectively. If the wires are off-balance there is a far greater risk of the tent collapsing.
Our bodies are like these circus tents. If we have structural damage the wires cannot support the tent and we are unable to perform optimally. Once I was able to assist Inferno in unwinding these tight places in his body, not only did he look different, almost immediately his entire demeanor changed. He was now able to see more clearly, and he was finally able to take a deep breath. This in turn, relaxed his entire nervous system.
No doubt we can all agree that we have to have a body to live here on Earth. Whoever created us all was pretty brilliant and left out no detail. From a strict anatomy standpoint, every species has a very unique design to their body. The bodies of a species will contain the exact same number of parts, as well as be configured in the exact same way.
Horses are one of the largest land mammals on our planet. They are also one of the most sensitive creatures whose body alignment can go out of whack quite easily. While they can compensate for that misalignment it can create subtle or major shutdowns in how they breathe and move which can affect how their brain processes information and subsequently how they behave.
Inferno was a completely wild animal living off the land in the Utah desert. He ran, played, fought, and was raised to become a stallion who could take care of his mares. During his capture, he experienced physical, emotional, psychological, and soul terror. He was chased over harsh terrain that should never be taken at a run, chased into a chute, where he smashed his face as he ran, and crammed into a small pen with dozens of other Mustangs.
He was twisted and torqued in his head and face when I checked on him remotely. He could not see straight on because his cranial bones were out of alignment and his eyes were not tracking properly. His body was misaligned in his cervical area, midback, shoulders and lower back. He could not take a deep breath because his diaphragm was twisted. Combine that with his lack of clear vision, when he was around humans, he felt he needed to do anything he could to keep them away, as they were a challenge to his sense of safety.
Imagine a circus tent. It has wires that must have the precise amount of pressure on them to hold up the tent efficiently and effectively. If the wires are off-balance there is a far greater risk of the tent collapsing.
Our bodies are like these circus tents. If we have structural damage the wires cannot support the tent and we are unable to perform optimally. Once I was able to assist Inferno in unwinding these tight places in his body, not only did he look different, almost immediately his entire demeanor changed. He was now able to see more clearly, and he was finally able to take a deep breath. This in turn, relaxed his entire nervous system.
Breath
Every life form on Earth must breathe in order to live here. As little ones, be it horse or human, we are designed to have a natural breathing pattern that allows us to take the maximum amount of breath into our lungs and exhale the maximum amount out. But life kicks in and we grow, and we encounter body shifts from learning to walk, play, run, and sometimes have accidents or emotional traumas. These can place our body out of whack and compromise not only our body alignment but our breathing as well. And when our breathing is limited, it will play a significant role in how our brain chemistry flows, which will affect our behavior.
Inferno’s restriction in his breath was keeping his body and nervous system in a state of hyper-arousal. He did not want to be like this, but he was unable to release his limited breathing until the restrictions in his body were turned loose, which allowed his brain to function better. All in less that 60 minutes.
Brain
Horses have brains that are different from humans. Yet at a certain cellular level there is very little difference in how our bodies function and operate in their role of releasing proper brain chemicals. When our bodies are out of alignment, we experience a state of compromised breathing. This results in a corresponding reduction in brain chemicals firing properly and reaching where they need to go. The energy flowing through the body now faces narrower pathways to move through, due to restriction.
Inferno’s body was experiencing multiple restrictions which affected how his breath and brain chemistry were flowing. This created an inability for him to function at his ideal behavior level due to not receiving the cellular nourishment needed to deal with his situation. This inability required much more focus and presence from him to feel safe in his body around humans.
Once these restrictions were addressed and released, he not only looked like a completely different horse, but he began behaving differently almost instantly.
He was still cautious about humans, but it was much easier for him to feel safe in his body. He was much more willing to engage in a relationship with a human once all that interference was released, and he could take a deep breath into a body that was in proper alignment. He could now be present for the interaction rather than in fear that he had to overcompensate because he could not see well enough to protect himself.
This one shift alone saved months’ worth of trying to connect with a wild horse who did not feel safe. As a result, his breakthrough produced a quantum leap in his feeling secure and present in his body, which led to a more natural and safe progression for both horse and human.
Every life form on Earth must breathe in order to live here. As little ones, be it horse or human, we are designed to have a natural breathing pattern that allows us to take the maximum amount of breath into our lungs and exhale the maximum amount out. But life kicks in and we grow, and we encounter body shifts from learning to walk, play, run, and sometimes have accidents or emotional traumas. These can place our body out of whack and compromise not only our body alignment but our breathing as well. And when our breathing is limited, it will play a significant role in how our brain chemistry flows, which will affect our behavior.
Inferno’s restriction in his breath was keeping his body and nervous system in a state of hyper-arousal. He did not want to be like this, but he was unable to release his limited breathing until the restrictions in his body were turned loose, which allowed his brain to function better. All in less that 60 minutes.
Brain
Horses have brains that are different from humans. Yet at a certain cellular level there is very little difference in how our bodies function and operate in their role of releasing proper brain chemicals. When our bodies are out of alignment, we experience a state of compromised breathing. This results in a corresponding reduction in brain chemicals firing properly and reaching where they need to go. The energy flowing through the body now faces narrower pathways to move through, due to restriction.
Inferno’s body was experiencing multiple restrictions which affected how his breath and brain chemistry were flowing. This created an inability for him to function at his ideal behavior level due to not receiving the cellular nourishment needed to deal with his situation. This inability required much more focus and presence from him to feel safe in his body around humans.
Once these restrictions were addressed and released, he not only looked like a completely different horse, but he began behaving differently almost instantly.
He was still cautious about humans, but it was much easier for him to feel safe in his body. He was much more willing to engage in a relationship with a human once all that interference was released, and he could take a deep breath into a body that was in proper alignment. He could now be present for the interaction rather than in fear that he had to overcompensate because he could not see well enough to protect himself.
This one shift alone saved months’ worth of trying to connect with a wild horse who did not feel safe. As a result, his breakthrough produced a quantum leap in his feeling secure and present in his body, which led to a more natural and safe progression for both horse and human.
Behavior
You cannot have a behavior unless you have a body. And how your body is aligned affects how you breath, which affects how your brain secretes chemicals. This in turn determines how you behave.
Inferno’s behavior was able to shift almost instantly from defensive and dangerous to grounded and more trusting. His relationship with his human progressed in a matter of a week, rather than months as soon as his body was properly aligned. His breathing was able to deepen, and his brain chemistry was freed to function at more normal levels.
For most horses and humans, even though our physical anatomy is a bit different, at the functional level we operate almost identically in our nervous systems.
Learning from horses, who are pretty much incapable of producing a Placebo Effect is eye opening. To observe this Body, Breath, Brain, and Behavior connection is to observe a brilliant model for understanding this pathway in humans too. Humans tend to look at ideal brain chemistry function from a neuroscience research foundation. Perhaps the horses are showing us that our body alignment and breathing play a crucial role in how to optimize our performance and brain function. We can do this making sure our body is properly aligned to enhance our breathing.~*~
You cannot have a behavior unless you have a body. And how your body is aligned affects how you breath, which affects how your brain secretes chemicals. This in turn determines how you behave.
Inferno’s behavior was able to shift almost instantly from defensive and dangerous to grounded and more trusting. His relationship with his human progressed in a matter of a week, rather than months as soon as his body was properly aligned. His breathing was able to deepen, and his brain chemistry was freed to function at more normal levels.
For most horses and humans, even though our physical anatomy is a bit different, at the functional level we operate almost identically in our nervous systems.
Learning from horses, who are pretty much incapable of producing a Placebo Effect is eye opening. To observe this Body, Breath, Brain, and Behavior connection is to observe a brilliant model for understanding this pathway in humans too. Humans tend to look at ideal brain chemistry function from a neuroscience research foundation. Perhaps the horses are showing us that our body alignment and breathing play a crucial role in how to optimize our performance and brain function. We can do this making sure our body is properly aligned to enhance our breathing.~*~
"Inferno was a completely wild animal living off the land in the Utah desert. He ran, played, fought, and was raised to become a stallion who could take care of his mares." Allecia Maine
