The snow from Monday had melted, and the ground at the riding arena turned into a mushy mess. Amidst this, I had to ride.
Of course, I have ridden under various conditions before. There were lessons where a mild rain at the beginning turned into a downpour, but we continued.
So, riding on a muddy track wasn't surprising. However, it seemed the horses disliked the muck as well,
and wouldn't go as fast as I wanted. A slower speed, it turns out, could actually make riding more dangerous, and the instructor kept telling me to pick up the pace.
While paying attention to keeping an inward posture, I gradually increased my speed.
I didn't feel much difference, but apparently, my bounce was bigger than usual.
I was advised to push my energy downwards.
The instructor pointed out that I should shift the strength from around my stomach to my lower abdomen.
This must be related to the breathing technique of focusing energy on the dantian. Interesting.
The connection between breathing techniques and horse riding intrigued me.
To lower my energy, first, I had to exhale and then concentrate that energy into my lower abdomen...
If my right leg couldn't advance forward, at least I tried lowering my armor and stretching my leg diagonally from my hip.
Seemingly, my disjointedness resulted in a bouncy ride on the muddy track.
Despite the lack of cohesion, achieving unity seemed incredibly difficult.