As big as the concept of time is, there are just as many underlying issues, remedies and strategies to help you control it. Instead of the continual ticking of the clock, what if we approached our days with the idea of rhythm?
A piece of music has harmony and melody and we use a metronome to keep us in rhythm. A horse also moves in rhythm and we use a metronome to measure the rhythm of the various gaits of a horse; walk, trot and canter.
A horse’s natural rhythm is the very first thing established in the scale of training in dressage. It is determined by the way a horse moves naturally, which is a function of his confirmation and health and is improved upon with regular training, making it easier and easier for the horse to perform more complex movements. Every horse is different and the rider and trainer must discover this natural rhythm for the horse to develop into his full capability.
The rhythm varies from gait to gait, slower in the walk, 1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4. Quick and staccato like in the trot 1,2. 1,2. 1,2. 1,2. The canter is three beat 1,2,3. 1,2,3. 1,2,3. 1,2,3. Like a waltz. Can you hear the rhythm?
In training the horse we do not stay in just one gait or just one rhythm. If we trotted all day, we would overly fatigue the muscles and cause wear and tear on the joints. Instead we vary our work from gait to gait providing breaks with a long rein and a stretch in an active walk.
We also vary our work days and provide rest days so the horse has time to recover and develop muscle to support higher and higher levels of work. Sounds like how any athlete trains, yes?
You aren’t any different from an athlete in your daily work life. If we are measured by the clock, tick, tick, tick, tick or 1,2. 1,2. 1,2, then we remain in a continual gait, over taxing muscles and causing undue wear and tear. What could happen if you found your natural rhythms instead of being measured by the artifice of the clock? Finding your rhythms allows for full development and maximum performance, swinging through life, able to recover from the stumbles we will all make and the obstacles that appear on our way.