There are many similarities between practicing yoga and riding a horse, which is how Cowgirl Yoga, a merging of horses and yoga, came about. Despite the similarities, there is one very, very big difference between yoga and riding: when you practice yoga you are on your mat, an inanimate object; when you ride a horse, you are on a living being that possesses its own feelings, intuition and instinct. Most of the time you can be pretty sure your mat is not going to fly out from under you — this doesn’t necessarily hold true for the horse.

Read on for more of my musings on yoga and horses on the Athleta Chi: Breathe. Feel. Trust. Giddy up. And the July Cowgirl Yoga is rapidly approaching, would love to have you join us!
Pictured: Cowgirl Yoginis doing Saddle Camels.