Zen & Horseback Riding, 2nd Edition: Applying the Principles of Posture, Breath and Awareness to Riding Horses

Zen and Horseback Riding explains the location, importance and use of the psoas muscles. The psoas muscles are the deep core muscles that link the upper and lower girdles of the body. The psoas muscles are the basis of all efficient body movement and can be used by participants in any athletic activity. They are the missing link a rider must learn to use in order to follow the directions of riding instructors and to feel the horse's movement. By mastering the use of these muscles, a rider will be able to maintain self-carriage, both on and off the horse. The Second Edition of the book contains a foreword by Sally Swift and fourteen additional pages of new information in the Riding section. This new section contains information about tone, engaging the psoas and hyoid muscles, breathing the C, bilateral movement and a formula for achieving stability and lightness in the saddle.

Tom Nagel is an internationally recognized instructor and clinician. He has conducted clinics and trainings, given lectures, and done presentations throughout the United States and in Germany. Tom was the main speaker at the 10th Annual International Centered Riding© Symposium in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was interviewed by Rick Lamb, of the national radio program, The Horse Show and was a keynote speaker at the 2007 Certified Horsemanship Association International Conference in Orlando, Florida. Tom's training background lies outside of horseback riding and his main expertise is in the basic biomechanics of how human bodies work. He has a third degree black belt in Aikido and is an advanced practitioner of Zen Bodytherapy®, a bodywork discipline that combines deep tissue and alignment work. Tom started his Zen training in 1977 and became a certified Zen meditation instructor in 1986. This background gives him a unique perspective in how to help riders use their bodies efficiently first off and then on their horses.