One of the ways in which we experience the life force is through breathing. Pay attention to your breath right now. Start describing it to yourself—speed, location, depth. Mine is often somewhat short or quick, but I do bring it down into my diaphragm rather than the lungs only. When riding, my breath gets even shorter and probably more shallow. This tells me that I am blocking the opportunity to fully bring in my own life force. How then can I wonder why I am not riding as well as I believe possible? Perhaps the greatest gift I can give my horse friends is to fully bring in the life force, breath, deep into my core and allow for it nourish us both.