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Published in 1985, Centered Riding quickly became one of the best-selling equestrian books of all time. Sally Swift developed her instructional approach from personal experience as a rider, instructor and beneficiary of several body-awareness methods used to counteract the lateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis) that first affected her in 1921 when she was 8 years old. Although Centered Riding enthusiasts regret that Swift waited until retirement age to develop and publish her insights, Swift herself suspects that the equestrian world wasn't ready for her concepts before the 1980s, when she happened to return to instruction. Nearly 20 years in the making, Centered Riding 2: Further Exploration complements the original work by incorporating new ideas based on Swift's subsequent years of hands-on experience in helping riders gain better control over their bodies and improve communications with their horses. This excerpt addresses the Four Basics and "grounding." These foundation concepts of Centered Riding apply to all riding disciplines and all levels of accomplishment--and, Swift has observed, to life outside the riding ring, as well.
All of Centered Riding work stems from the concepts of its Four Basics--centering, breathing, soft eyes and building blocks--plus grounding. Living in our hurried, hectic, pressured society exacerbates the tendency to interfere. The lack of any one of these Four Basics and grounding can cause interference. If you lose one of these basics you may find yourself tense, with hard eyes and rigid joints, or you may be breathless and out of balance. Though trying to decide which basic comes first can produce a bad case of "the chicken and the egg," it is usually best to find your center and understand the concept of centering before establishing the other basics.
Basic #1: Centering
The Four Basics provide an armament of awareness through which you can more easily find your center. They work together in a way that allows the center to perform freely, and, in turn, your center can bring the other basics into line and allow your body to operate in a natural and fluid way.
You can find your center easily by placing your thumb over your navel and spreading your hand below it so your little finger rests on your pubic arch. Your center will lie behind the palm of your hand. Put your other hand over the top of your sacrum (the part of the vertebral column that is directly connected with the pelvis) where the fifth lumbar vertebra rests on it. Your center lies between your hands in an area containing a large nerve center, which controls the entire body. When you perform an activity, your brain controls your intent and gives the larger directions, but the details of how you do it--the coordination that is needed to perform the movement of your intent--comes from your center. If the desired movement is to be performed efficiently you must allow your center to direct the coordination with what I call Clear Intent, a precise, positive understanding and a picture of what you want. All too often, the way in which we use our bodies and brains interferes with this coordination.
As you find your center between your hands, let yourself simply be aware of the area of your center. I usually sense the center as a ball floating in a liquid of any consistency. Sometimes it is small but heavy like a tai chi ball. Other times I imagine the ball as large as a softball. Any size, texture or density that fits your fancy will do. Other people are not as comfortable with the concept of the center as a ball and conceive of it, instead, as a mass of energy in the upper pelvis or even a sun with rays. Any of these images will serve the purpose of helping to find your center. I call this "finding the ball in your center" and, in Centered Riding vocabulary, refer to it quickly as "the ball." This is how you center yourself.
Not long ago, Saundra, a friend, student and now a Centered Riding instructor, told me about an incident that high-lighted how centering can coordinate our efforts. After a long day of teaching Centered Riding, Saundra was pressed by friends to go bowling with them. She really wanted to go home, did not know how to bowl and had absolutely no interest in learning to bowl. Yet, there she was in the bowling alley, sucked in by her jovial friends. One friend insisted that Saundra try her hand at the sport and showed her how to hold the ball and swing her arm. Each time Saundra took her turn, the ball shot out of her hand and sputtered down the gutter, a total loss. Finally, the friend suggested, "Use your center, Saundra."
