As usual, I drove along the Joban Expressway to the Mito Riding Club.
During the riding lesson, we repeated transitions between the trot and walk, probably to help loosen up my stiff body.
Sure enough, the instructor told me to stop. "Lift your legs off the horse, and rotate your hips. Then, rotate your ankles," I was instructed.
"Keep your ankles away from the horse's body and only touch the horse when starting," I was told. "Also, try to match the horse’s rhythm as you canter."
Although I had some piano training and an average sense of rhythm, I realized I was not quite in sync with the horse’s rhythm.
Moreover, I was instructed, "Breathe slowly and deeply, exhale completely, then slowly inhale again."
This was exactly like the breathing exercises I do daily. Before doing these breathing exercises,
I perform stretches to soften my hip and ankle joints, and these were just the same.
Are the same practices necessary for both breathing exercises and horseback riding?
Breathing = Horseback Riding
Tonight, I will start taking my breathing exercises more seriously. I feel that doing so will definitely, likely, absolutely help improve my riding skills.
Is this just my imagination, or perhaps a misconception?
I'm not sure, but I plan to earnestly try this for six months, as I suspect the results will show by then.