“Women’s empowerment means stronger communities and stronger economies. It means an entire population will flourish – not just one segment.” – Marissa Sandler

It has become increasingly evident that the more balanced a society is the more successful and harmonious it is. The effort to re-empower women has a long history and is boldly evident today. Women’s empowerment doesn’t just benefit women, it benefits the entire human race.

When people are empowered, they are able to contribute their best to the rest of the world.  Being empowered isn’t just about social equality, although that’s a huge part of it. It’s also about personal empowerment. Looking around us and recognizing those who have been empowered can help us find that strength and power within ourselves.

What does an empowered woman look […]

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“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”  –John Maxwell

A leader in any social dynamic is the inspiration and director of the action. She or he is the one that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills to motivate the group towards a common goal.

In a herd of horses, the lead mare is generally an older mare that has gained the wisdom and experience needed to provide for the health and safety of the herd. She is respected for her abilities — such as being a peacemaker when fights break out or her assertiveness when establishing dominance.  Dominance in this sense is not related to the physical stature or aggressiveness of a horse; the alpha female it is not the “biggest and the baddest” horse in the herd. Rather, she has demonstrated her worthiness to lead the herd through wisdom, clear communication, […]

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Marla’s* work with our big bay gelding, whom she named “Jim*” (because he reminded her of her husband), is a perfect example of bringing love and clarity together. 

Marla was annoyed at “Jim’s” intrusive and demanding attempts to get affection.  He continually pushed his big body into her and tried to nibble on her jacket.  In response, Marla would either get frustrated and walk away or ask him to move…but when he didn’t actually move away she’d start petting him.  She was afraid that he would be hurt and angry if she really asked him to move.

As you can imagine, “Jim” was often confused and frustrated, he figured that the best way to get some affection from Marla was to keep bugging her until she gave in. Recognizing how often this dynamic […]

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The first step of maintaining balance is noticing when you’re not in it!

When people think of horses and balance, usually the first thing they think of is riding a horse and keeping your balance, but horses can make us aware of a much deeper connection to balance, the balance within ourselves.

Mike* was a writer who hadn’t written anything in a while. He wasn’t feeling inspired and he was just all around down and depressed.  One day he decided to take a risk and see if we could help him get out of the slump he’d been in for over a year.

Mike found himself drawn to our golden horse whom he named “Goldie”.   In one session, we set up an obstacle course and had Mike […]

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“When we stand in Balance, we have the awareness, resilience, and flexibility needed to make the world a better place.”  – Dr. Val, Stand InBalance

Living a balanced lifestyle is a key component to a peaceful, happy and healthy life. When we’re out of balance, life can seem chaotic, exhausting or out of control. When we’ve found balance, we feel more grounded, calm, comfortable and are able to think with clarity, act with intention and achieve our goals with success.

However, finding and maintaining balance is an ongoing process. Once you’ve found that sweet spot it doesn’t just stay that way without a lot of attention. As life moves on, factors change, new information and experiences are thrown into the mix and balance needs to be found once again, and again, and again.  Often, we may not even notice that we’ve […]

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