Tai chi (taiji) is a recognized form of integrative and complementary medicine. This class promotes health and well-being by teaching how to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety through the practice of moving meditation. The course also includes a journal club segment to study the peer-reviewed research on the health benefits of tai chi and qigong.
Medicine and Horsemanship is a medical school elective for healthcare students, physicians, nurses, and other patient care providers from Stanford and outlying areas. Learn effective communication, team work, leadership & followership, and self-care skills with magnificent, gentle horses. Business, law, and engineering students have also attended and are welcome. See Medicine & Horsemanship Program Page for additional information.
Do you wonder what it means to be "healthy as a horse"? This 4-week course uses the horse-human relationship to enhance our ability to breathe deeply and relax, to regulate our emotions, and to reduce stress. Horses help us develop these skills through their magnificent strength and grace and through their ability to be in the Now, immediately releasing traumatic incidents. They teach us to use all our senses plus breath and movement to release stress, heal, and invigorate the body.
Using techniques from mindfulness meditation, tai chi, qigong, yoga, Reiki, and nature-based therapy, you will learn to ground, center, and relax by touching and breathing with horses. The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi cites medical studies showing the value of tai chi and qigong on long-term stress reduction and improvement in cognitive function. Horse-assisted somatic, meaning of the body, learning, in combination with daily practices offered in class will help you establish a lasting and healthy integration of your physical movements and senses with your intellect, emotions, and intuition.
Weeks 1-3 are playing with horses on the ground. The last class is an optional meditation ride performing qigong on horseback. No previous horse experience needed.
Suggested reading: Equine-imity & Stress Reduction and Emotional Self-Regulation in the Company of Horses.
Tai chi (taiji) is a recognized form of integrative and complementary medicine. This class promotes health and well-being by teaching how to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety through the practice of moving meditation. The course also includes a journal club segment to study the peer-reviewed research on the health benefits of tai chi and qigong.