Co-Regulation, What is it and how horses can help humans reset our nervous systems
Mar 16, 2023
“People won’t remember what you said, they won’t remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel”.
~ Maya Angelou
As I have heard several different definitions for co-regulation, I want to make sure you know the definition I am working off of.
Co-regulation is the way one nervous system influences another nervous system.
Your first thought may be, what does that even mean??
And that is fair, because co-regulation isn't something you do consciously, it is your bodies natural instinct to be in balance. Therefore, it is to be felt not thought.
Co-Regulation is something that you feel. And for those who may have grown up in less than peaceful environments, are under extreme stress, recovering from addiction, or trauma. You may have had very little balanced co-regulation in your life.
Many times you may become the chameleon in the room, who can shift energy easily to try to stabilize the room.
OR
You are simply so exhausted from feeling ALL the energy around you, you lose patience at the smallest disturbance.
Both will lead you to exhaustion, as they are not efficient, and leave you depleted of energy for yourself.
The good news is it's never too late to find that internal balance your system has been reaching for.
The journey is not fast acting, but the changes will help set your system up in a way that it may have never felt before.
So What about Horses?
This is where we mix science in with magic. Even with my medically geared mindset, this does put me in awe of horses and other equines.
Horses are prey animals. This means they are lower on the food chain and are at greater odds of being dinner for a predator.
Their nervous systems are organized to a resting balance lower level than ours. The typical heart rate for a horse, who is content and healthy, is 28bpm to 40 bpm.
This is all done to conserve energy in case they need it for survival later.
A humans nervous system, is actually geared the opposite. Humans are predators, we are always seeking and hunting. This of course has changed over time, however one could argue that we are still constantly seeking and hunting, just not for food.
Our nervous systems resting balance is much higher than a horses.
Now add on the effects of trauma and/or stress.
Our nervous systems are running at an all time high! With little of us knowing how to actually regulate ourselves.
By partnering with horses in this manner, you can slowly begin to FEEL your system relaxing. Which will give you a new baseline for how you want to expend your energy, how you want to FEEL.
The word partnering here is very intentional. Horses are incredibly sensitive animals and they should have a choice in this activity.
If you would like the free PDF to get. you started on Co-Regulating with horses, check on the link below.
This is the base of my equine wellness program Finding Peace in the Paddock™.
By surrounding our group with content, peaceful horses, and having specific activities that follow, we are able to help people rest and repair.
And it works!! If you want to see the the research check it out here:
Peace & Love
Melissa
