Working with a horse named Big on day 3 of Shea Stewart’s level one equine craniosacral course.
I just came back from four days of learning the first level of equine craniosacral work from Shea Stewart. Equine craniosacral therapy is a gentle, hands-on approach to healing that focuses on the craniosacral system, which includes the central nervous system, its membranes, and cerebrospinal fluid, as well as the movements of the bones, sutures and plates of the skull, vertebra, and sacrum. A practitioner uses light touch and mental vision to assess and release restrictions in the horse’s system, aiming to promote the horse’s natural self-healing abilities to improve their overall well-being. It involves great stillness, deep listening and an understanding of the movement of the underlying bones and sutures of the skull.
Shea Stewart is a wonderful teacher and brings her own deeply aware and deeply still way of being to her teaching. I love how she brings her connecting of the dots that matter to her, into her teaching, including quotes from Rick Rubin on listening and the work of Vida Austin on the hidden intelligence of water. If anyone is interested in entering another realm into the horse-human connection, or the universe for that matter, open the door to her classroom. I highly recommend Shea and her brand of equine craniosacral work. Below is a little photo essay about the 4-day craniosacral course I took from her in Fort Worth, Texas
The teaching was wonderful, the students were wonderful, the location was wonderful, and the horses were wonderful, as horses always are. I feel expanded by my experience.
If you are interested in seeing how your horse responds to craniosacral work, you can contact me here.
Shea demonstrating with her painted horse skull that shows all the different bones on the skull and the sutures between them. The mandible, in gray, sits on the table beside her.Shea Stewart and her assistant Shanda Eppinette pause for my photo as they prepare for the afternoon work in the beautifully dragged arena.I work with my first horse Gypsy who is very old and sore. Gypsy enjoys the feel of the frontal/ethmoid contact. Photos of Gypsy left to right as she went from day 1 to 4. You can see in the progression that her eyes become more even and her whole face becomes fuller due to the craniosacral work. I worked with Gypsy on day 1 and 2.You can see a change in Gypsy’s body as well from day 1 to 4.I worked with a horse named Big on day 3. He came in like a race horse going to post but once he felt the energy in the room and the nice feeling I was offering him he settled down and enjoyed the work.You can see a difference in Big’s face from the start of the session to the end. His face is fuller and his eyes are more level at the end.Big’s body on the left at the start of the session and at right at the end.Big has a roll and…Settles in to a better state of relaxation.Diana gets a nice release from Tex.Chiaki who joined the class came all the way from Japan to attend. Here Chiaki works on Captin’s sphenoid. I am practicing the same contact on Gypsy in the background.I worked with Bugsy on the last day. Bugsy was aggressive at the start of the session and would pin his ears, throw his shoulder at me and threaten to bite me. Here I am practicing the crainosacral contacts we were learning telepathically by just thinking about my hands on him. I am also just being very present and aware of him.Eventually Bugsy felt relaxed enough or in need of a release enough to lie down. He was definitely feeling the presence of peace. A little video of Bugsy’s nap during the crainiosacral class. I was so pleased to share the attitude shift that Bugsy had gone through during the class. In the end I could stand in his space without having him appear threatened by it. I think regular crainiosacral work could do a horse like Bugsy wonders.Daisy enjoys Diana’s good far distant intention.You can book an appointment with me if you are interested, as I am going to start integrating some of the craniosacral stuff into my Two Step Way work. To book an appointment you can send me a message on my contact page.
If you are interested in seeing how your horse responds to craniosacral work, you can contact me here.
