EQUUS EFFECT and SOMATIC ENNEAGRAM invite you to a four-day retreat to explore the impact of working with horses and the Somatic Enneagram. This extraordinary offering is designed to reveal and resolve barriers to grounded presence and emotional regulation, and to expand the space between stimulus and response.

The dramatic polarization of perspectives here and in other parts of the world have overburdened many people’s nervous systems and left us with a sense that we have no choice but to react rather than respond to situations – many of which are way beyond our control. 

The issues of agency, autonomy and about  what we react to and what we don’t.  

Sometimes the nervous system forgets what safety feels like.

We spend energy on stories and defense-based reactions to potential and symbolic threats.  We project, regret, withdraw and second guess our choices because we find powerlessness intolerable.   

We need to stay in the game as well as develop our ability to make the best use of the ‘time between points’. That’s the difference between the capacity to remain present in the face of the hard parts and the skills and practices we have in place that support our ability to bounce back. 

Enter horses. They’re big.They’re honest.Their hearts are coherent. Horses require emotional honesty from us because they resonate, connect, and collaborate through trust.

They are always 100% present so they are great models of how we can be more so. 

They also bring up exactly what we need to work on in a most engaging and insightful way.

The Somatic Enneagram uses type-based defense mechanisms as catalysts for building capacity to adapt and meet life’s challenges  as a catalyst for change. 

Join us to identify defenses and track as well as move through the barriers to our aliveness in real time—all with expert guidance and support from Marion Gilbert, Jane Strong, and Jane’s magnificent herd of ‘equine coaches’.