It’s a beautiful day here – one of those when the grass is so green and the sky is so blue it makes your teeth hurt. We’ve had tons of rain this past week, which was great since this is the time of year when everyone starts fretting about how dry it is and how bad fire season might be. There is a fresh dusting of snow in the mountains, trees and wildflowers are blooming, and the horses have just about shed out their winter coats. We don’t get a lot of spring days here, but this one is a fine example. I realize this weekend is supposed to be the official summer kick off, but I’m happy being a bit behind that here out west.

Today is feeling beautiful for other reasons too – it’s not often that I am lucky enough to practice yoga and ride in the same day. This morning I had a great ride on my new horse Java; as we go through the process of getting to know one another, the moments we connect are very emotionally fulfilling. I felt so open after being with him that it seemed like the perfect time to get out of the saddle and onto my yoga mat. My breath and heartbeat felt strong, my movements graceful, my mind calm. Now I remember why I started this Cowgirl Yoga thing. The parallels between the two never cease to amaze me. My horse is my moving yoga mat.

On this fall’s Cowgirl Yogatography retreat, we will explore how to connect to horses on a creative level. I can’t wait. We played with this a bit one day last week, and here are some of the gorgeous results (the horse model is Java, don’t you just love his mane mohawk?). Yeehaw & Namaste.

Photos by Larry Stanley