Body Mind Therapeutics

04/12/2026

Fantastic day spent with past Olds College students, current students, colleagues, friends and newly met equine professionals learning about Hind Limb Function and Dysfunction!

A one of a kind learning experience we highly recommend from InHandEquineTherapy, the U of C vet med lab and Dr. Sarah Pedersen!

What a great day it was at the University of Calgary Vet Med Lab for Part 2 of Between the Layers of the Horse!

Our deepest thank you to both Dr. Sarah Pedersen of Motion Equine and Sara Skotarek Loch for making these seminars possible and helping us continue to bring education opportunities to the community!

This fantastic group all left with their certificates and a lot of new knowledge. Thank you for spending your day with the Inhand Team!

equinetherapy equinewellness horsecommunity equinecare equinebiomechanics equinelearning horsecourses equinetherapist inhandequinetherapy

04/07/2026

The Silent Language of Healing: What the Nervous System has to do with Healing?

The nervous system acts as the "control center" for your body's healing process, determining whether your body is in a state of repair or survival. It influences healing primarily through two states:
Survival Mode (Sympathetic): Often called the "Gas Pedal," this state is dominated by the "fight or flight" response. When you are in a constant loop of stress and to-do lists, the body cannot focus on healing.
Safety State (Parasympathetic): Known as the "Brakes" or "rest and digest" state, this is the only time the body can effectively repair, digest, and recover. Finding this state is considered the first step to getting better.

Healing a horse’s nervous system through body work and massage involves shifting them from a sympathetic ("fight or flight") state to a parasympathetic ("rest and digest") state, which aids in reducing chronic stress, lowering heart rates, and releasing deep-seated tension.

Dive deeper and learn about all BMT has to offer you, and your 4 legged friends
www.bodymindtherapetics.ca

03/29/2026

We spent the afternoon at the Calgary Stampede grounds catching up with friends, cheering on the competitors, admiring the hard working and beautiful horses and getting pumped up for upcoming performance season in the sports of cutting, reining and working cow horse!! Such a fun day!

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the 2026 Showdown Champions!

Team PINK!!! 🔥 Sponsored by Paramount Limousine

Les Jack- Cutter
Carlene Schmidt- Cowhorse
Sage Sapergia- Reiner

03/26/2026

Reconnect. Realign. Rise.

We welcome you to SVR for our ranch style wellness opportunities! Whether you’re needing emotional wellness, mindset development, somatic awareness or business clarity we offer Online & Onsite options!

At Body Mind Therapeutics, coaching is more than just goal-setting — it’s a space to come home to yourself.

We support individuals through personal and professional coaching that focuses on the connection between your mind, body, and emotional wellbeing. Whether you’re navigating stress, burnout, life transitions, or stepping into a new version of yourself — you don’t have to do it alone.

✨ Our approach blends:
• Mindset and emotional wellness coaching
• Nervous system awareness and regulation
• Embodiment and self-connection practices
• Practical tools you can integrate into daily life

This isn’t about “fixing” you — it’s about understanding you.

A Unique Add-On: Equine (& all the other animals at the ranch 😉) Facilitated Wellness

For those wanting a deeper, experiential layer — we offer the option to incorporate equine-facilitated sessions into your coaching journey.

Horses have an incredible ability to mirror what’s happening internally — offering real-time, honest feedback without judgment.

Working alongside them can help you:
• Build self-awareness and emotional clarity
• Improve boundaries and communication
• Regulate your nervous system
• Develop confidence and presence

No horse experience is needed — just a willingness to be present and curious.

Learn more or book your session:
www.bodymindtherapeutics.ca

03/20/2026

Performance season is just around the corner and it’s time to get your horses on a maintenance plan to keep them healthy, happy and performing at their best this season!

Today we got a fun caption of a couple of the beauties I got to work with today at EB Barrel Horses. Thanks to Ashlyn for playing the role of photographer and videographer for some of the sessions done this week.

And a huge Thank you to Elaina Black, Sheri Bradbury and Ali Sawatzky for trusting me and the BMT team with the performance and wellness of your precious horses! Sheri Rehaluk Bradbury Almeda Sawatzky EB Barrel Horses

03/19/2026

Preparation before movement 💃

The importance of activating the deep prevertebral (muscles closest to the skeleton) before activation of the larger superficial muscles (bit of a long sciencey post but I've tried to keep it simple!).

I am referencing this information from Dr Nichole Rombach on Motor Control Based Rehabilitation for Equine Spine Dysfunction. One of the topics she discussed was the function of the deep prevertebral muscles and their importance in dynamic stability.

Bear in mind a lot of this information is still mostly anecdotal and primarily based on human studies but it is likely that similar principles apply in the horse.

Nichole explained the theory of Dynamic stability which is achieved by a combination of feed-forward ↪ and feed-back ↩actions.

Feed-forward 🧠➡🐎 action is the anticipatory function allowing deep muscles to activate before movement, they 'prepare/stabilise' the body.
Feed-back 🧠⬅🐎action responds to sensory input from mechanoreceptors, nociceptors (pain), proprioceptors and gives feedback to the brain on where the body is, and how movement should be executed.

Feed-forward and feed-back actions must function together 🔄 for optimal movement. Dysfunction may occur when feed-forward activation of the paravertebral muscles doesn't occur, therefore, communication with the feed-back action is lost...therefore stability is lost😵‍💫. When there is a lack of stability, the proprioception mechanism is affected and results in hypo (less) or hyper (more) mobility.

When deep muscles atrophy, superficial muscles tighten to compensate for the lack of stability which should be the primary role of the deep muscles. This is where we may see horses that have overdeveloped superficial muscles, such as the brachiocephalic (underdeck muscles) as they now need to work as stabilisers AND movers, which they are not designed to do (this also has to do with muscle fibre type but I won't delve into that). This is also why these muscles are often sore as they are working over time.

If you're completely lost after all of that🤯, in a nutshell, the deep skeletal muscles are important for stability💪 and need to be activated first in order to complete a larger motion. This can be achieved through slow and specific exercises which I am able to teach you during a session (shift back and rebalance is a common one I teach). Think of it as strengthening the chassis of a car so the wheels can turn and move safely and easily. Below is an image highlighting some of these larger superficial muscles and some of the paravertebral muscles in the neck.

03/18/2026

Yay! I’m super proud of the work we’ve put into making this program what it is today!!

03/16/2026

✨ Exciting News & Big Updates! ✨

For those who know me and my 24 year journey as an entrepreneur in the body work, coaching and wellness space or the team at Body Mind Therapeutics you have seen us around for a long time but possibly as two separate business entities! There has always been the animal wellness side as well as the human wellness services under a different business name.

We’re thrilled to share that our Human Wellness services and Animal Wellness services are now united under one home — Body Mind Therapeutics!

This new website brings together everything we do in one place so it’s easier for our clients, students, and community to explore services that support both human and animal wellness through a body–mind approach.

What you’ll find at Body Mind Therapeutics:

• Mobile & Onsite Equine & Canine Bodywork and Rehabilitation Support

• Rider & Horse Biomechanics and Asymmetry Sessions

• Emotional Wellness, Somatic & Mindset Coaching/Counselling

• Relational Horsemanship and Education

•Equine Facilitated Wellness Coaching

• Workshops, Mentoring, and Learning Opportunities

As many of you know whether you have worked with us for our mobile services (we come to your barn location 🙂) or joined us at Silver Valley Ranch previously for coaching, workshops, animal wellness sessions, rehabilitation programs or equine facilitated wellness our work has always focused on the connection between body, mind, and relationship — whether that’s helping a horse move more comfortably, increase physical performance, supporting a rider’s biomechanics, or helping people work through stress, confidence, or emotional patterns that impact life, business or relationships.

Still here:

• Individual emotional wellness and mindset coaching sessions
•Mobile or onsite animal rehabilitation programs and manual therapy sessions

Coming Soon:

• New workshops and group learning opportunities

• Horses 101 Lesson Series — perfect for anyone who wants to learn about horses, herd dynamics, and simply spend time in the healing presence of the herd

• Horse Owner Massage & Stretching Basics Workshops

• Rider & Horse Biomechanics and Asymmetry Sessions

📅 Online booking will also be launching soon, making it easier than ever to schedule sessions.

We’re incredibly excited about this next chapter and the opportunity to bring both aspects of our wellness services together, continue building a community centered around education, healing, connection, and empowerment for both horses and humans.

🌐 Explore the website:
www.bodymindtherapeutics.ca

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements, team introductions and workshop dates!

We can’t wait to share what’s coming next. 🐴✨

03/10/2026

03/10/2026

https://osteopathymagazine.com/canine-osteopathy-what-a-dog-tells-me-before-i-ever-touch-them/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQdAYRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe2DF6RZxRsl8u66booYdVnoZefBdv0lJrymcYVnWHRpQVLJPOE2lmA-NFF5g_aem_--hTgaG5KpOgjfrydyyBlw

Dogs do not separate structure from function — and neither should we.This article explores a joint-centered philosophy of canine osteopathy, where movement, breathing, nervous system regulation, and behavior are treated as one integrated system.Instead of protocol-driven treatment, this framework ...