In this episode JoAnne Pavin interviews Linda Bruce, a remarkable Equine Gestalt practitioner who uses her deep love for horses to help people heal and grow. In her sessions, she employs Gestalt therapy, which focuses on recognizing and embracing our wholeness and helps clients move through experiences that create pain or blockages. By working with the body's signals and tuning into somatics, clients can experience profound shifts in their lives.
What sets Linda's approach apart is using horses in therapy sessions. These majestic animals are highly attuned to energy and can help balance the process.
Linda's approach also emphasizes the importance of understanding and integrating different parts of ourselves. Whether exploring past relationships or addressing current issues, the therapy sessions are tailored to each client's unique needs. With horses present, the work occurs in the nature-based setting, Soulful Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois, which is incredibly conducive to healing and growth.
For Linda, group therapy is another powerful tool for healing and transformation. She has experience leading open groups and highlights the benefits of connecting with others on a deep level. The retreats she organizes are especially effective, with participants enjoying the beauty of the natural surroundings while working with the horses to address personal issues.
If you're looking for a different kind of therapy to help you grow and heal, Linda's approach to Equine Gestalt therapy might be just what you need. With a deep love for horses and an unwavering commitment to helping her clients, Linda is a gifted practitioner who can help you discover your wholeness and move towards a more fulfilling life.
Stay up to date with Linda and her Retreats and Events at Soulful Prairies.
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Website: https://www.soulfulprairies.com/
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Facebook Linda Kent Bruce Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/linda.k.bruce.9
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-bruce-7a873762/
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SAVE the DATE for The Soulful Renewal Retreat 2024
https://www.joannepavin.com/soulful-renewal-2024.html
***JoAnne Pavin is not a medical or psychological doctor and her recommendations are not a substitute for conventional medicine, diagnosis, or treatment. Any food, herbs, or nutritional advice that are recommended are not drugs and may need professional medical or psychological review before the individual may receive treatment.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to the Nourishme podcast. I'm Joanne Pavin, your host, and if you found yourself here, you're ready to take actionable steps to optimize your health and live a more balanced, productive, and creative life in our tech driven world. We need a reminder to slow down, stop the scroll, and take digital breaks. I'm here to inspire you to step away from your screen, to nourish your self through nature and connection to others, to follow a new algorithm, the rhythm of real life. So let's get started. Hey, listeners, it's Joanne Pavin here, host of the Nourish Me podcast. Welcome back to the show. If you're a new listener, I'm glad you found me. Stick around. We are on the home stretch of 2023. Wow, this year went by like a flash.
(00:56):
And as we sit and reflect and think about how we can live a healthier, more energized, productive life in the new year, we can't overlook what gets in the way of that. It's one thing to set New Year's intentions, resolutions, and the things you want to achieve, but overcoming what's holding you back is often the first step in that process. It can be a physical or mental block, an old pattern that has held us in the same place or the same habit, the same job, the same relationship. And as we set goals for fully living life in the new year, I want to introduce you to a wonderful woman who can help you overcome what's holding you back in a way you'd least expect.
(01:46):
On this podcast, I often talk about how to get off the digital platforms and into nature to embrace life fully and all its glory. Today, I couldn't present a better guest who can assist you in doing that. Her name is Linda Bruce. She is an equine gestalt therapist, and she owns an amazing 80 acre property called Soulful Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois. Today, our conversation surrounds this unique equine therapy and the rapid benefits you can get from engaging in the work. What may take you years of traditional counseling or psychotherapy can take you weeks or a few short months. This very efficient therapy gets to the root issues quickly and helps you release things holding you back from achieving all your precious goals.
(02:41):
And you get to experience the process in nature in one of the most divine surroundings, with the most sensitive, intuitive animals, the gentle soulful Horses of Soulful Prairies. We touch on how you can work with Linda independently, in groups, and through her retreats. And we also touch on the Soulful Prairies property and how you can enjoy the accommodations there. Ensure you listen to the end as she has an upcoming holiday promotion you won't want to miss and save the date for my second annual Soulful Renewal Retreat that I will host at Soulful Prairies again during the fall equinox of 2024. A little bit more about Linda. She has been practicing gestalt in Woodstock, Illinois, for nine years. Linda creates a safe space for individuals to experiment freely, finding their own path to joy and authenticity through the profound process work of Gestalt.
(03:47):
Linda has four children, and before her work in Gestalt therapy, she was a caseworker and an investigator of abuse with the state of Illinois, a police social worker, and an in home counselor for a private agency. She received her undergraduate degree in social work, her Master's degree in counseling, and is duly certified Equine Gestalt practitioner. Her love of learning has brought her to other certifications. Many augmenting her practice as a lifelong horsewoman. With a deep desire to connect people and bring them home to themselves, linda has found her place in the world and wants to help you find yours too. Without further ado, I bring you our conversation.
(04:37):
Good afternoon, Linda.
Good afternoon.
I'm so grateful you're here today. I'm here with Linda Bruce. She is an Equine Gestalt practitioner and she will tell you all about what that means. We know it has to do with horses, right. She has a history in counseling. She has a degree in social work and a master's in counseling. And today we want to explore this unique therapy. And Linda's going to fill us in on all the great things about Gestal and her beautiful property that she's coming in from. Soulful Prairies. We'll touch lightly on Soulful Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois. Why don't you give me how you got into first horses? When did you discover your love for horses?
(05:29):
Yeah, that's been sort of a lifelong I want to say it was probably ten or eleven when I started taking some lessons and that carried through all the way into college and that was all the riding lessons and showing a little bit. At some point in my college years, I stopped riding for a while, but then got back involved in my 20s, took another break when I was having children and then have been ever since involved with them. So just kind of an instant little girl who loved horses from the get go.
(06:05):
And you're originally from Chicago area?
Yeah.
And Arlington Heights, Illinois. And so when did you get your first horse? Or were you boarding horses or did you have horses growing up?
No, I didn't, so I borrowed and stealed. As a little girl, I remember cleaning stalls and working to be able to ride horses and of course my parents supported it also. And then I think the first horse I got was in my forty s, and then my girls started riding and so we ended up with three horses. At some point, kind of around my 40s.
(06:44):
There's still hope for me. I've always wanted a horse. It's like a sports car, right? It's a big investment and a lot of care, but a lot more love you can get from a horse than from a sports car, obviously. And sometimes you probably feel like you like horses more than people, right?
There are days for sure.
(07:05):
Yes, but they're such spiritual animals, aren't they? And they bring such a calm going out to your property. I feel such an immediate drop in my blood pressure. Even though I don't have high blood pressure, I feel like it goes down really low. They just bring a peace. Tell us then what Gestalt Therapy is. Get our listeners up to speed on an overview on Gestalt and by itself and then add in the client.
(07:31):
Absolutely. Yeah. So the premise of Gestalt, and the word even means in German wholeness. The premise is that we are all whole, just as we are, and that we hold our own answers within. I love that there's that saying we're all broken and that's how the light gets in. And I really hold that very differently that I think that I get the essence of that saying. But to me, the idea that we are whole, we're moving through the world whole. And it's not as if we're know there's experiences in our lives that block and create pain and our job is to kind of move through those. So the premise also of Gestalt is very experiential. So not sitting and talking through the belief that if we just continue to tell the same story of our trauma over and over, we're almost re injuring.
(08:25):
And so this is bringing the energy of what we hold in ourselves full circle so that we can actually release it. I believe it really is efficient. So it's not something you have to be in working ten years as you do finish these cycles of energy. It really shift things. And then somatics is another huge part of gishtal. So tuning into our bodies. I believe that when we're young we have that and it's sort of out of us, our teachers, people around us. That's not something that we're taking time to notice. What's going on in your body? What are you feeling? I don't think anyone ever said that to me when I was little.
(09:09):
It's sort of coming back to that and honoring the information our body has for us so that we can learn from it and also move that energy again, that trauma, that pain. The premise is again, that our background affects our current life. So if things trigger us in our daily lifetime, often there's something from our past that's unfinished and until we can bring that all the way full slick cycle around, it'll continue to poke at us and get in the way of kind of living authentically in our lives.
(09:44):
I resonate with that completely. I learned in hypnotherapy that which you focus, you strengthen. So if you keep telling, like you said, the trauma story, then you're going to feel the trauma over and over. I love when I went to your women's group where you had a group therapy, but we won't touch on that yet because I thought it was an amazing experience. Maybe give a little insight into what that might look like without a horse. You're standing, you're moving. Or are you face to face just in chairs with a practitioner? Yeah.
(10:13):
So usually I would start face to face, but pretty quickly, we're moving into something that's experiential. And so if there are no horses, I usually use props I can be anything from. Sometimes I'm out in nature, and I'm using sticks or leave piles of leaves to represent things in the arena. I have hula hoops, and I have heavy chains, and I have dog tunnels, dog training tunnels. So we use all of those in creating that experiential process. Once we bring the horses in they are at free liberty which just means they are there, they can roam and they show up how they want to. So they're not trained, we're not forcing them to do anything, they're showing up in the energy of the experience however they want to. So we do have panels and we can make this big round pen oftentimes.
(11:07):
That's where I work during the winter and in the nicer months. Sometimes we're out in the pastures with all the horses. But the reason we bring horses into it is that they are herd animals and prey animals and highly in tune to energy. And it's really beautiful because in the wild, in order to survive, they have to be aware and tuned in and it's very natural to them. So I talk a lot about if we're in our heads they don't know what that is but if we're below our neck they get that and so they can teach us a lot about that. They're also drawn to energy that feels comfortable experiential process.
(11:51):
Let's say you had one part of your life that felt very out of control or it could be abusive or not good for you, not healthy and maybe another area is representing the joy you feel in a different area of your life they often will land in that area. They are drawn to that energy and throughout the process they do a lot of balancing I believe they can actually balance the energy in our body and I think they do that in the herd. Again to keep the herd healthy. They are balancing each other's energy out on a regular basis and then when they are with us they are also doing that. So we'll see them licking and chewing and yawning which is a releasing of the completely.
(12:37):
I just remember that from experiencing it. But that's so true. Shed light on if someone was really full of trauma would the horse want to be around them?
Yeah, it's not that I believe it's if we're very in our heads and we're thinking everything through and we're very logical they don't know what to do with that. I think that horses are drawn to authenticity and so if we are faking it or very heady less able to connect to that trauma to me or big emotion. They just notice the imbalance and balance us or work to help balance us. Yeah, it's not that they don't want to be with us. In fact they are more able to connect to that energy of true authentic feeling.
(13:29):
Yeah. And I noticed that when you were talking about feelings, like for instance, when you had the client there that you were working with tonight that were working, you were talking about parts. So can you shed light on the different parts because everyone has different experiences in their physical body and their memory and everything. And so is that significant? When you talk about parts, like you'd say there's a part of you that experienced this, there's a part of you. Do you typically use that in the gestalt or is that just your approach?
(14:01):
No, actually we do. Parts of self are huge and I believe we lay down a lot of patterns with parts when we're little to protect and defend and to stay safe. And so we will look at what parts show up. When you get into confrontation with someone, what parts of you show up do you defend? Those are all parts of who we are. And we also have access to so many other parts and so many other ways of doing things. So we can pull in a new part right, and try that. But the old pattern that we know well we continue to use until awareness shows up and we can say, hey, I'm going to try this a little.
(14:49):
Differently and we shine light on it like a flashlight. That's really good. So most of these experiences, let's try to get some of the psychological background. Are these parts developed by a certain age? Like say they say by the age eight your brain is at a certain level or by the age of twelve, how you're going to react in relationships? I'm just throwing stuff out there. But is there certain ages that we create our parts or are they ongoing?
(15:16):
I believe they're ongoing and I think there's many significant ages that different things are established within our kind of personalities. And I guess as adults I believe that we fall back on some old patterns that are they're not useful, but they're familiar. And so we're not even in the same environment that were when were young. But our bodies remember that's. That kind of body keeps the score. Our body remembers everything. Right. So we continue to fall back on patterns that were useful when were eight. Even as adults, when our environment has completely changed, we need to bring an awareness around that so that we can shift it and show up differently in a way that is more productive for our lives and feels good in our skins.
(16:15):
Our layers. Yeah, no that's really helpful because since we're ever changing right, you're helping then if I understand this correctly, you're helping just move those old patterns out with your gestalt, but then with the horses, they're actually more attuned to those different parts and coming in to help shift that energy. Would that be a good explanation?
(16:40):
I think when I start with someone, I really want oftentimes there's something on someone's mind, right? There's a reason they come, and it's often connected to a million other little pieces. So I want to just start wherever that person is at. So if they had a conflict with someone at work and it triggered something in them, let's look at that and dive into that on our very first session. And maybe it connects back to some behaviors of their dad, or maybe we get to that. I believe it's all connected, right? But I tend to just start right where that person is. And then as we work together, over time, we get into deeper layers. And I think those all affect how we show up each day. I don't know if I'm I feel like I'm trying to be clear.
(17:34):
No, you're good. You are. You're being completely clear for an individual session. Like, you're going to write where the person is at and you're working, obviously, like you said, experiential. So you're not sitting with the person the whole time. You're actually bringing them into nature. You're bringing them into the arena with the horses, and then you're allowing those things to come up. For example, I know you have client confidentiality. Obviously you're not going to speak about a particular client. But in general, if I came to you and my father didn't approve of me, and I was down on all of my successes because I never felt like I was good enough, and I came to you with a lot of other issues that were addictions and things that I did to cover up that hurt that I wasn't approved by my father.
(18:23):
Then you would just come in and I would say, well, I'm working through some of these addictions. And how would you then uncover maybe that it was my father?
Yeah. So I really am always kind of feeling out where the person is at and how quickly they can move. Some people are a little more hesitant, and I get that it takes time to build trust. And I would say that addictions, I don't know. But let's go back to the example of, like, you're having issues with your male boss. In reality, you did have a poor relationship with your dad, and somehow there's a connection there. We would start working on looking at that relationship with your boss and what is it that is triggering? And with time, we would probably a lot of times what I'll say to someone is, okay, your boss is triggering you. We're using that example. When do you remember feeling like that before? And then someone might say, oh, a month ago. Okay, keep going back in time.
(19:27):
When do you remember that? First time and sometimes will remember, like when I was eight, I remember that my dad would never give me a voice. We'd get into an argument and he would take over the conversation and he would never really deeply listen to me. And when people do that to me now, it really sets me off. And so from there, we would go into an experiential process, perhaps with the dad being part of that. If that felt like too much, too fast, we'd slow it down and look at it. I think many angles you can come at an issue from, yeah, what is.
(20:06):
The horse doing while you're working this with a client? Can you give like a picture so that they can picture what the horse is doing?
Yeah. So, again, oftentimes we're in a round pen, which is just panels that make up a round circle, and the horse is in there with us and they're again free to do whatever they like. They're very interested about the energy. And so I have a really great example how they even guide me sometimes. I had a group of women out, small group of women, doing a retreat here, and I was working with this younger gal and were working with the energy of her mom and dad and some of the struggles. So she was sitting in a chair and we had two chairs that were empty that represented her parents, and there was a lot of strife and struggle between her and her mom. And so we sort of saw that.
(20:56):
And then I was trying to gauge what was going on with her and her dad. Sometimes you really feel like there's just a lot of resistance there and the relationship is not good and not healthy. But Charlie, my horse, came over as were talking and stood between those two chairs, and I interpreted, actually, to the side, so not blocking the line between this gal and her dad, the chair with the energy of her dad in it. But the horse stood kind of connecting, and it felt very obvious to me that he was saying, this is a connected relationship. There were issues for the gal, but that was a big cue for me to say this is a worthwhile space for her to stay in and sort of figure out what needs to happen so that they can have a relationship.
(21:50):
There are times when it's very clear that a relationship is super abusive and there's no value in staying the course with it. And I've seen a horse stand between and that's sort of a block. So I try to pay attention to what the horse is doing to sometimes guide me, but they'll also step in and drop their nose right at your heart. And I think of chakra struggling, expressing themselves, and that to me, a lot of people might notice it initially, but it's a balancing and a drawing attention to. And you can feel some subtle releases in your body if you're open to that.
(22:32):
Exactly. No, I love it. Okay, so let's stop on the horses. Are there particular horses that do better at this work?
Yeah, I have a couple of favorites that I know will always work, and sometimes I think they can all do it. I think any horse can do it. They're just like humans, right. And some of them are more connected to different types of things. But I have some really constant horses that I rely on, and part of it is comfort with the client. Some of them are demonstrative, and it's a little too much, especially if someone's new to it. So sometimes I do go out in the pasture and kind of see who comes up to me and is sort of volunteering. It depends, again, on the client. If I know this person's new to it and needs a gentle kind of a gentle spirit, I go to Charlie a lot and then you know Keebler.
(23:28):
Keebler?
Yeah. They're really great on other levels. And they all have I believe each horse has their own specialty, some of them. For the client, it's a little more rewarding. I still believe that the other horses are working. It just sometimes you can't see it as much or it's subtler. They all have their know I experienced.
(23:53):
Keebler and he was just so sensitive to everything that was going on in the group. And is he one of your more sensitive? I know horses are sensitive in general, but is there some that are more sensitive? He just was so tuned in. Are all of them like that?
You know what? I think it's a little bit of everything. Some horses are very shut down. If they've been in a training situation nonstop and they've not been allowed to express themselves, they're going to have a hard time. I've seen that out here. A horse has come from the show world. They don't believe that their opinion matters, and they're kind of shut down in that area. We as humans kind of do that to them on some levels. And I think with time with the herd and in nature, they reconnect to that. Again, all different. And they also have good days and bad days. They have days where they come in and they're ready. And I've had days when Keebler is winning to his friends out in the.
(24:49):
Past year, and I'm like, we're working over.
Yeah, just like I don't want to distracted.
Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. So let's go to then the group, because individually I know that you can go really deep. There's a trust then, because there isn't other individuals involved. And you have the option where you can work with couples. Right. The couple's work is in the same way. You're just kind of maneuvering the horse depending on what the couples want to talk about.
(25:19):
Yeah. So the couple work to me, which is really I think, kind of different than traditional therapy is. For me. It's really about the two people getting to know each other better and understanding the things that came to be from their childhood. Usually the things that are setting them off as a couple are very related to what they received a lot of as a child, what they didn't receive as a child. And so I always say, if we're relatively healthy, we find the perfect partner who will sort of push on our buttons to heal ourselves.
(26:00):
Beautiful.
I think that if we haven't done any work and we have had a lot of trauma, it's hard for a relationship to work, but our general nature is to continue to find people who trigger us in that space of healing. Like, I want to figure out this thing from childhood that I couldn't understand and heal as a kid, so I'm going to find someone who will bring it out in me, which seems exactly backwards and upside down. Those are very much about getting to know each other on a deeper level. And the couple's work. And I used to do one offs. Now I pretty much want to do intensives.
(26:43):
If a couple wants to come, I prefer to have them come, stay on the property and work with me, stay two nights and work with me five times moving through the work and they're leaving with a lot of information about each other and it really is powerful.
Yeah. And you're getting there a lot quicker than if, say, they were to go to therapy separately and talk to a therapist and talk about all the things that they can't stand about each other and not really be in the space where they can feel the energy and have you guide them with that energy and the things from their childhood. That's brilliant. Yeah. Do you want to add something?
(27:20):
No, I was just going to say you had asked me too, like, how long does this take? So if an individual comes in, it really depends. I think there are people who might work with me for three, four months every other week. I also have people come in who are pretty in a pretty bad place and they're uncomfortable enough to say I want to work. I have one woman who I just adore. She's been with me a year and a half about with a lot of trauma, and she was ready. So she came and did a couple of sessions with me.
(27:55):
Then she came on property and stayed again for two nights and did intensives, which is really like you work in the morning, you take a break for lunch, you work in the afternoon, you have the evening to be on the property and just relax and then we do it again the next day. And then she has worked with me very regularly and just now she's beginning to spread out the sessions where it's more like once a month or once every three weeks. So to me that's someone who has a lot of history and a lot to work through and within a year and a half we're coming to a place where it's really slowing down. And that to me would be the ideal thing. Someone who's coming with some issues, but not deep trauma.
(28:41):
I believe we can work through that in three or six months, hitting it every other week or whatever works for.
Someone'S schedule touch on because it's such a big release or you're getting to so much like say in a weekend, what are the things that then come up? Like when they leave your property? Because I know that even in body work, if somebody's getting really deep sessions and releasing things from the energy fields, they might go through a period of anger or frustration or let down a breakdown. There's a lot of things that happen to the nervous system just in that respect. What kind of things come up? Is it the same? Like if you send somebody away and you've been working deeply, should they be aware that there's going to be other energetic releases after you work with them?
(29:29):
Yeah, I think there can be. I mean, some people will the next day have a lightness that comes because they literally left release this energy. And so I always say, pretend like you had a massage tonight and be really good to yourself, like take a hot bath and time to be with yourself. And then more often than not, I think there's a lightness that comes, they've let go and there's more space in their body and they feel different. But of course, there can be times when some hard pieces that come afterwards and we set up another session and look at that. I really am when I have clients, I'm like all in. So if you need a call or you need just to share what you're experiencing for ten minutes, usually don't just have one session and then bye.
(30:22):
I feel vested in let's work together as we need to going forward. And you drive the pace of that and I'm here.
No, for sure. And the transformation doesn't happen if you're just doing a one off. I mean, I relate it again to like if I'm working on somebody in massage and they have issues with their shoulder or they have issues with muscles that have been injured, you need time for transformation to occur. And so obviously there's a commitment and investment to then go into this where it's not just going to happen overnight. But of course, in modern society, everybody wants a quick fix, right? They want to do stuff fast. But with any healing work, it takes time. Do you want to add anything to the couples before? I want to go into this group, touch on what I experienced in the group and then have you shed some light on that? Because. There was different parts over that.
(31:13):
And I thought it was beautiful how you worked the group session, which was twelve of us were there. Do you want to share about what that is that you offer?
Yeah. So I do open sessions where people can just drop in on a regular. I just started a closed group, which I'm really excited about, and that is very similar to the open group, except for it's the same people that meet over and over. So there's a deep trust that comes from that. The work is beautiful because the participants really start to get to know each other and also get to know the body of work of gestalt and support in a really cool way. So the group you were at was an open drop in group.
(31:58):
Twelve women, right. You limit it to twelve and that's just women. It can it be women and men, or is it just women?
It's women. That group is women. I tried a men and women's group and I got men the first because I kind of reached out and then I didn't have that follow up and I think it's awkward. Then I also felt like, well, what if one man shows up and it's eleven women and one male? That's going to be awkward, maybe for him. So right now I don't have men in groups, but boy, I'd love to start an only men's group or a mixed group. Yeah. So I've been running these open groups for a long time. It's a way to dip your toe into the gestalt. And to me, the beauty of groups, it's so funny. I always say I'm a little introverted, so when I first was like, my mentor is like, you got to go do groups.
(32:43):
And I'm like, oh no, I don't want to do groups. And now I'm a junkie. When you have other humans supporting and also, as you know, with the gestalt, the people in the group become part of the experience and the experiential process. So often I'm setting people in positions so that they're holding space and also representing energy. Now when I'm working with someone individually, sometimes I'm like, darn it, I wish I could have five people come in real quick here and help me out. So there's so much beauty that comes out of these groups. And the retreat I had this fall, that group, sometimes the groups are just amazing and they just connect on this deep level. I've even had it at the open group, the drop in group.
(33:29):
There's some deep connection within that two and a half hours, and people continue to stay in touch and so that becomes sort of part of the connection of Soulful Prairies. It's not just me, it's me holding the space and bringing the people together. And then they are healing each other. And even after groups spending time with each other, I think the group work is just sort of breathtaking and beautiful and it is.
(33:59):
And I want to share just a visual of it because I had no idea what to expect. And like you said, the different energies that you like to have represented there. I just want to give the listeners just an overview because they might feel intimidated not sure what to expect. And I know that everybody's in a different place. Like, I even invited some women to attend with me, and they're like, I'm not sure they weren't ready because they were like, I don't know. Is it like an AA. I'm not trying to compare it, but when you go to a group therapy type of thing yeah. They're like, what am I revealing? What do I have to share? Again, it's just everyone has a different comfort level.
(34:37):
Not I'm not relating it to AA, but even though AA is a wonderful program, when I showed up in the arena that evening and you do such a fantastic job, so you're an expert in this area of English because there was nothing left unturned. You were sensitive enough to be that warm, open therapist, but also a practitioner, like you like to be called, but the professionalism to keep it all on time. Right? Because I thought, how are you going to get to this person's stuff in this short period of time? But magically, it was timeless. Right? You made it all happen in that frame, in our linear time. But it seemed like, oh, my gosh, were there a long time because were so in it. And you kept the process from us introducing ourselves, and you had us choose something that was symbolic card.
(35:29):
And then you had us also with that animal that was so special, your elephant, right? You still have your elephant. I don't know what you call him. And that is a comforting thing just to have to welcome everybody to get to know each other. But we're not sitting there unloading the stories that sometimes people don't want to have time to listen to. And there was none of that. It would seem that you were so excellent in your facilitation that everybody got to feel each other's energy with the purpose of then working with the horses. And you had chosen that night. It just happened to be some woman that really needed some deep work. But obviously she had already had therapy, and so she was really in tune with working with counselors and therapists. She had not been to the group yet.
(36:12):
And when were in the arena, you setting her up to help work with her issue. You had the chairs there in the arena, and then you had all of us there and you were using us, having us represent different energies. Right. Like you said, like maybe joy or inspiration and some other words that come up. I'm at loss right now, but it could be what fear or anger that's.
(36:37):
Completely coming from the client. So if I'm remembering the evening correctly, I think she had a part of her that felt very ugly, but she used the words, the parts of her that support that ugly part, and then she had the pieces in between, and then she had parts of her that supported that present day her that is pretty intact. And so those words can be I mean, I think they were ugly and disgusting, and then others were joy and connection and very contrasted. Right. But those always come from the client. I would never want to personally put those words out there for someone else that's theirs to find their way with.
(37:26):
Right. And now I'm just remembering all that. That is right, because she had the two parts of her, and they were chairs that were opposite, and you had her sit in one chair and be that part that was ugly and have the beautiful whole part talk to the ugly part. So you had her doing this, but at the whole time, the horse is there, Keebler's there circling. And he sort of had these moments where he would nudge somebody and he would be signaling, like he would come up and he know do his and he'd get that signal to somebody to move closer. And then he also had that where you had us all connect at one point with our hands, we all connected a chain, and it was beautiful because you were outside of that chain.
(38:11):
And at the ending moments of this completion, he came up behind you and he pushed you. He wanted you in the circle. We all sort of thought, that's beautiful. I think there was, like a with all of us, and so we connected you in. But then there was a couple more points that you made with the client. And at the very end where we felt like were complete, then he came and he brought his body to connect all of us in the center. He just brought his whole entire body and was there in the middle, like, you've done it. We're done now we're whole. And then it was like, okay. And you thought, yeah, okay. And everybody felt like, yeah, this is complete.
(38:53):
And I feel like the client had released a lot, and she felt good, she felt light, and then we all were like, oh, my gosh. And she did that all by 09:30 p.m., and it was all done. We didn't know where were. We were out in this universe, but then we reigned together, and that was really powerful. I'm retelling this because I feel that anybody out there who has any interest, it's a comforting experience and so magical and just even there was somebody who was definitely afraid of horses. She integrated herself just wonderfully with the group, right?
(39:29):
Yes, she did. Yeah. I love that you say people are like, well, I don't know if it's fear, or I'm going to have to reveal everything. And what I do want people to know, if anyone watching wants to come to a group, is we're never going to push you. We start in a circle and talk, as you were mentioning, and it's an opportunity to share anything. So some people say, it's my grandson's birthday, and I'm super excited. That's fine. And other people are, I'm in the middle of a divorce, and my life feels like it's falling apart. So you get all levels, and it really is not about, oh, well, that person didn't reveal as much, so they're out. We just want everyone to show up wherever they are and at whatever comfort level they're at.
(40:14):
And so with time, as you come to the groups, often there is more opening up. Or some people come the first night, and they so desperately need to share. We learn from each other in the circle. Right. We all identify with some piece of someone else's story. And then as we move into the piece of work so often, then from that circle, there's a few people who it's really obvious they're in a hard spot, and that's the way I choose someone to work with. And then they are the main client. And from there, the group supports. But everybody, again, which I'm sure you can attest to Joanne, everybody gets something out of it.
(40:56):
Totally.
Holding space for someone else is so rewarding, and we're always going to identify with a piece of somebody else's work. We call it borrowed benefit in my world. And so it's so powerful, but nobody's going to be forcing you and saying that wasn't deep enough. You have to share something worse than that.
(41:18):
No. Right. And I felt blessed, although I was learning from that client just because she had something happen to her as a teenager, and it was an ugly part of her. And then I immediately transported to the time when I was 13 thinking of the ugly moment that happened to me. And I was then relating in my own mind, thinking about, oh, there's that ugly part of me that I was sort of putting myself in that same space that you had her there. And I healed a part of myself that evening without even having to say anything because I could relate to that part. And of course, there's other parts that people could relate to that wasn't that 13 year old, but that was really beneficial for me.
(42:00):
I walked away thinking, okay, well, then I can look at that now, knowing the techniques you use analyze and release and shine light on, it like you're saying you're shining light on these areas so that they can heal. And so that was beautiful. For time constraints. Let's tie this up. Let's review. You have the opportunity for people to work one one with you intensive form out at the Sofa Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois, which is a beautiful property, we'll touch on that. But they can come out there. You're not coming to them. This is a place that they have to travel to work with you because you need the horse.
(42:39):
I do zoom and I think those yeah, they can beneficial. I like to tie them in with farm visits so we might alternate if someone lives further away or we might do a handful of zooms and then you come for an intensive or come for a session so we can create whatever. And then the intensives to me again, whether it's couples or individuals are my favorite because I see people's movement. It's big and it's beautiful. And you get to stay on site and experience the ground. So when you're time to process I feel like sometimes people come out here and they do a session and then they're like back to work or they're back with their kids and they don't get time to just sort of sit with what happened and process it.
(43:23):
And so walking the paths here, playing with the pig or the goats, it's so good. Yeah, and enjoy when you're working with.
Couples like you had mentioned, they can come to the cabin, they can work with you that way. And then you have the group format, which is a once a month closed and open group.
Yeah, and I have that one that I began and I have another that's half full. We're going to start more around February, so it's open to anybody who's interested. Or the idea of staying with the same people regularly feels good. And then we didn't touch on this and I do some of it. Corporate day retreats.
(44:04):
Yes.
And then also I've worked with not for profits. So it can be a day of relaxing and being with nature. It can also be a day of getting to know each other, a team getting to know each other or problem solving around something that's sort of nudging at the team at the moment. So I always do totally customized and we talk ahead of time and whatever feels right for the day. So those are also something I do. And then my regular retreats. So I have retreats. That I do here at Soulful Prairie's. And then, as we talked about earlier, California. I'm at a sanctuary. It's not a riding retreat, it's 500 horses on 4000 acres. And we spend time out with the horses, observing and it's beautiful. And then I also do a retreat, two retreats in Montana each year.
(44:59):
I think this year will be my 13th and 14th and that is riding and gestalt. So the mornings are usually a gestalt group and the afternoons are riding. So it's a really beautiful way to kind of marry the work that is unsettling on some levels and then going out the rhythm of riding a horse and being in nature kind of grounding us again. So that's a beautiful experience too.
(45:23):
Oh, I love that. And these are all on Linda's website. The links to all of your stuff will be in the show notes. So when people are listening and they want to go to find out about any of these retreats, it will be in the show notes and where to follow Linda, et cetera. But let's finish up with the property because it's such a magical place. I feel like it's just a little piece of heaven on earth, and I know it's been a journey to get it to where it's at. So can you just share a little bit about how you got to the Soulful Furry? You can share anything you'd like about how you came to find this property, and it's on her website. The story is a beautiful story. When I first read her about page, I was brought to tears.
(46:11):
The struggle that you had to bring it up to where it is today. So, yeah, maybe give your insight on how you came to define sulfur priorities.
Yeah, thanks. It's funny, were looking for property when the economy was sort of in pieces and stumbled on this. And I loved it, and it was an absolute mess. It was just not in good shape. But there was something about it that really drew me to it. And we didn't end up getting it that first time when were close to almost buying it. And a year later, it was bank owned at that time, and still a year later, it hadn't sold. And the bank came back to us and said, we really want to get rid of this piece of property in this year. And it was like November. And I came back here and I was like, I don't know why I still love that darn piece of property. So we ended up purchasing it and it really just unfolded.
(47:08):
I feel like a lot of people are like, did you have a plan? Not really. I knew we wanted to have a barn. I wanted the horses to be able to live as naturally as they could on an 80 acre parcel.
Beautiful.
Yeah. So it was one of those sort of I was drawn to it and drawn back to it, even. And then the unfolding of how to create space that felt comfortable and warm, and I love all that. So we've used salvage and refurbished things, and I'm a garbage picker and a garage sailor, so I brought all those elements in and I think the little details, people really enjoy that. And there is something that feels cozy and safe here. One of the compliments I get a lot and I love is that when I drive through the gates of Soulful Prairies, I feel completely different. And I think, gosh, that doesn't mean it has to be the gestalt or the horses. It's just something about the land. And I believe that, too, that there's something about this piece of property that really holds people.
(48:15):
Definitely does. And it does.
Obviously.
You told me a couple of times in our conversation that you didn't really have a plan. We were just kind of figuring it out along the way and that your husband gave you full reign or wings to fly.
Right.
And there are these beautiful angel wings. If you go to visit Soulful Prayers, you'll see these beautiful did you paint the angel wings on the barn? My daughter I think those are beautiful. And I love I had some fun on the wings when I was out there in the retreat. But you kind of just had this kind of free flowing, like, being led. Right. You obviously didn't have a business plan. You'd kind of rehabbed buildings along the way, or did you have a business plan?
(48:59):
No, didn't have a business plan, actually, one now for the first time ever.
Love that.
Yeah. My joke is kind of like, oh, selfful prairies tells me what to do. I don't tell selfful prairies what to do and kind of joke like, it blew down a building for us, and so like, oh, okay, I guess we're not doing that quite like that. So no. I do feel like obviously some of it's my creativity that drives it, but I do feel like it just is sort of like 1ft in front of the other. Now. This feels right, and this feels right, and I feel like it's more like the land telling me what to do than vice versa. Yeah, I feel like, honored to be sort of the caretaker of the property for this time.
(49:45):
And I love that you have a lot of people who are passionate about the property, who are volunteers at the property, who want to be connected to it because it is regenerative. Like, you're regenerating the land there, like, it was abandoned. Right. And you have animals now there that are grazing, and you have somebody who's farming on the land. Right. You had somebody come who was a farmer last year who was growing crops, so there's that aspect to it. And then you have this community sort of building where people can host events. I hosted an event there, and I hope to do one this coming year. It's just a beautiful place to bring community, but to share the message of regeneration and your passion for environment, your big recycler, everything is just really eco friendly.
(50:35):
Like, you promote that, and I think people get like, oh, wow, we don't need bottled water. We can drink from the table. We don't need plastic water. But yet there's, like, a sense of this. It's not like you're roughing it at your place. It's beautifully decorated. I'm giving the listeners a picture they can go on your website and see, but it's beautifully decorated. It's extremely clean, and it's like this little touch of the Four Seasons out in the middle of the farmlands right. To me, that's how I would describe it, because the rooms are beautiful, the touch, the art that surrounds it, all of your creativity, you can feel. And it's an overstimulation for me because I love taking in all the things that are there, especially the animals. The animals bring that divine touch to it.
(51:24):
So I say that this is just a wonderful place, and you are the icing on the top of this beautiful place because you are like the queen of this place, sharing the healing touch. The healing touch for humans and animals together. And I think that people in our time now that we're so wrapped up in sitting in front of a computer screen and on our digital platforms, all that this is the next phase, this is the phase we need to bring people back into, is back to nature. You're pioneer. No pun like you're the pioneer woman out there riding your horse, but you're pioneering something that's extremely needed in society today with getting people out of their offices and onto the prairie.
(52:11):
Yeah, I hope so. Yeah. While we're kind of going down what's at the property, too? Just to mention, the cabin brought up. That's an 1830s cabin here that anyone can rent. You don't have to come here and dugish Dal, as much as I'd love to. Yeah, that's available. And we have paths on the property. We have a labyrinth. We have hammocks and swings and yeah. To step away for a couple of days from your computer and your phone and just sort of be on a farm. Good for the soul, for sure.
(52:44):
Oh, it's extremely nourishing. And no pun intended for the Nourish Me podcast, but it's extremely nourishing for your mental, your emotional, your spiritual, a full body nourishment just going there. And even if you were just to stand with the horses and just be with the horses, that's mean I know whenever I come out to see you, can I spend a little horse, you know, hang out and pet the horse? I love that you shared your work today. I want to tell the listeners to go to the show notes they can link up with Linda. You want to tell them where your most prominent place on the web is. I know it's your website, but the best place for people to see you or you're most active, what are those platforms?
(53:28):
Yeah, I would say Instagram, Facebook, and the website has just all the information that you would need, so those are probably the three best places to connect to. Yeah.
Okay.
That's my Linda Kent bruce which is my personal Facebook. Happy to have people on there, too, because sometimes I'm posting differently on Sofa Prairies versus that.
(53:49):
So your personal yeah. Yeah. Okay, that's great. So we'll have all those in the show Notes and anything that's coming up now. This is coming to the end of 2023, but is there anything special that you want to broadcast out there for 2024.
We really do. I always say things slow down here at Sulfur Perries in the winter, and that feels good. So through the holidays and even February is pretty quiet, and things then start to ramp up again. We're excited because we do have our calendar pretty much laid out. And so by December 6, we are going to have all our events and retreats, and everything will be up. And some of them are already there. I would say jump in. I feel like there's a momentum and we've been busy. And so if there's something that grabs you, go ahead and jump in. And we're also going to do a little three day sale with our gift cards on December 6, 7th and Eigth.
(54:42):
And it's like, buy 100, get 25 free, and then it's buy 100, get 20 free, and then it's by 100 and get 15 just three days. So you got to pay attention for that one. So, yeah, just lots of great things, some similar, a few new you know what I'm excited about that I've wanted to do? Every year we do a pasture release in the spring. And so the horses, we get them adjusted to the grass gradually because the grasses are rich in the spring. So we take them off a dry lot and put them on the grass and pull them off. And then we go longer and longer. And then eventually they're out on the grass regularly, and then we open our back pasture and they are so excited to get on this big area.
(55:24):
And so when they go, they race through this area and come out into this big pasture. And that's we have a pasture deck out there. And so this year I'm going to do the release with breakfast. And so it has nothing to do with gestalt, but I just think it'd be fun. And then the following week, and we did this last year kind of spontaneously, we're going to do a human mare release, which will just be kind of a silly, fun thing, but we had so much fun. So I had a volunteer group out here and we decided, well, the mares, the human mares need to be released in the back pasture. So they started where the horses and they came galloping out and they rolled in the grass. We have a video of it. It's so funny.
(56:06):
And then I think we'll have a bonfire and a glass of wine together. So those are the two new things I know we're doing for sure, which, again, have nothing to do with gestalt, but are about joy and joy, which is important to me, too.
Yeah. And then just connecting back to nature, resonating with it, just being one with it. I'm your new biggest fan ever since I met I don't know, I think it was just what? Last spring I met you. But I think everything you do is just fabulous.
(56:38):
I want to say I'm so grateful to have met you and honored. I know these podcasts take time and effort, and I feel very honored that you asked me to be part of it and appreciate it.
Well, I'm so grateful. So thanks for showing up today and everything. Soulful Prairies@soulfulprairies.com, and you can find that all in the show notes. And I want to say one last thing. I love to be nourished many ways, but I also like to ask my guests, what is your favorite way to be nourished? And that can be physically, mental, emotionally, or spiritually?
(57:15):
That's great. I would probably say yeah, spiritually. You said physically, mental, emotional, spiritual. I'd be torn emotional, spiritual, which feel very connected to me. Feel very but that's probably my favorite.
Well, and it is because you have those big angel wings there come full circle. You've got those angel wings, and that's beautiful. And you're guiding people to their health, and so that's beautiful.
(57:49):
So.
Thank you, Linda. Thank you so much. And I look forward to talking to you again.
Okay, sounds good. Thanks.
For listening. And if you feel inclined to nourish this podcast, please leave a five star review wherever you listen to podcasts.
Welcome to the Nourishme podcast. I'm Joanne Pavin, your host, and if you found yourself here, you're ready to take actionable steps to optimize your health and live a more balanced, productive, and creative life in our tech driven world. We need a reminder to slow down, stop the scroll, and take digital breaks. I'm here to inspire you to step away from your screen, to nourish your self through nature and connection to others, to follow a new algorithm, the rhythm of real life. So let's get started. Hey, listeners, it's Joanne Pavin here, host of the Nourish Me podcast. Welcome back to the show. If you're a new listener, I'm glad you found me. Stick around. We are on the home stretch of 2023. Wow, this year went by like a flash.
(00:56):
And as we sit and reflect and think about how we can live a healthier, more energized, productive life in the new year, we can't overlook what gets in the way of that. It's one thing to set New Year's intentions, resolutions, and the things you want to achieve, but overcoming what's holding you back is often the first step in that process. It can be a physical or mental block, an old pattern that has held us in the same place or the same habit, the same job, the same relationship. And as we set goals for fully living life in the new year, I want to introduce you to a wonderful woman who can help you overcome what's holding you back in a way you'd least expect.
(01:46):
On this podcast, I often talk about how to get off the digital platforms and into nature to embrace life fully and all its glory. Today, I couldn't present a better guest who can assist you in doing that. Her name is Linda Bruce. She is an equine gestalt therapist, and she owns an amazing 80 acre property called Soulful Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois. Today, our conversation surrounds this unique equine therapy and the rapid benefits you can get from engaging in the work. What may take you years of traditional counseling or psychotherapy can take you weeks or a few short months. This very efficient therapy gets to the root issues quickly and helps you release things holding you back from achieving all your precious goals.
(02:41):
And you get to experience the process in nature in one of the most divine surroundings, with the most sensitive, intuitive animals, the gentle soulful Horses of Soulful Prairies. We touch on how you can work with Linda independently, in groups, and through her retreats. And we also touch on the Soulful Prairies property and how you can enjoy the accommodations there. Ensure you listen to the end as she has an upcoming holiday promotion you won't want to miss and save the date for my second annual Soulful Renewal Retreat that I will host at Soulful Prairies again during the fall equinox of 2024. A little bit more about Linda. She has been practicing gestalt in Woodstock, Illinois, for nine years. Linda creates a safe space for individuals to experiment freely, finding their own path to joy and authenticity through the profound process work of Gestalt.
(03:47):
Linda has four children, and before her work in Gestalt therapy, she was a caseworker and an investigator of abuse with the state of Illinois, a police social worker, and an in home counselor for a private agency. She received her undergraduate degree in social work, her Master's degree in counseling, and is duly certified Equine Gestalt practitioner. Her love of learning has brought her to other certifications. Many augmenting her practice as a lifelong horsewoman. With a deep desire to connect people and bring them home to themselves, linda has found her place in the world and wants to help you find yours too. Without further ado, I bring you our conversation.
(04:37):
Good afternoon, Linda.
Good afternoon.
I'm so grateful you're here today. I'm here with Linda Bruce. She is an Equine Gestalt practitioner and she will tell you all about what that means. We know it has to do with horses, right. She has a history in counseling. She has a degree in social work and a master's in counseling. And today we want to explore this unique therapy. And Linda's going to fill us in on all the great things about Gestal and her beautiful property that she's coming in from. Soulful Prairies. We'll touch lightly on Soulful Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois. Why don't you give me how you got into first horses? When did you discover your love for horses?
(05:29):
Yeah, that's been sort of a lifelong I want to say it was probably ten or eleven when I started taking some lessons and that carried through all the way into college and that was all the riding lessons and showing a little bit. At some point in my college years, I stopped riding for a while, but then got back involved in my 20s, took another break when I was having children and then have been ever since involved with them. So just kind of an instant little girl who loved horses from the get go.
(06:05):
And you're originally from Chicago area?
Yeah.
And Arlington Heights, Illinois. And so when did you get your first horse? Or were you boarding horses or did you have horses growing up?
No, I didn't, so I borrowed and stealed. As a little girl, I remember cleaning stalls and working to be able to ride horses and of course my parents supported it also. And then I think the first horse I got was in my forty s, and then my girls started riding and so we ended up with three horses. At some point, kind of around my 40s.
(06:44):
There's still hope for me. I've always wanted a horse. It's like a sports car, right? It's a big investment and a lot of care, but a lot more love you can get from a horse than from a sports car, obviously. And sometimes you probably feel like you like horses more than people, right?
There are days for sure.
(07:05):
Yes, but they're such spiritual animals, aren't they? And they bring such a calm going out to your property. I feel such an immediate drop in my blood pressure. Even though I don't have high blood pressure, I feel like it goes down really low. They just bring a peace. Tell us then what Gestalt Therapy is. Get our listeners up to speed on an overview on Gestalt and by itself and then add in the client.
(07:31):
Absolutely. Yeah. So the premise of Gestalt, and the word even means in German wholeness. The premise is that we are all whole, just as we are, and that we hold our own answers within. I love that there's that saying we're all broken and that's how the light gets in. And I really hold that very differently that I think that I get the essence of that saying. But to me, the idea that we are whole, we're moving through the world whole. And it's not as if we're know there's experiences in our lives that block and create pain and our job is to kind of move through those. So the premise also of Gestalt is very experiential. So not sitting and talking through the belief that if we just continue to tell the same story of our trauma over and over, we're almost re injuring.
(08:25):
And so this is bringing the energy of what we hold in ourselves full circle so that we can actually release it. I believe it really is efficient. So it's not something you have to be in working ten years as you do finish these cycles of energy. It really shift things. And then somatics is another huge part of gishtal. So tuning into our bodies. I believe that when we're young we have that and it's sort of out of us, our teachers, people around us. That's not something that we're taking time to notice. What's going on in your body? What are you feeling? I don't think anyone ever said that to me when I was little.
(09:09):
It's sort of coming back to that and honoring the information our body has for us so that we can learn from it and also move that energy again, that trauma, that pain. The premise is again, that our background affects our current life. So if things trigger us in our daily lifetime, often there's something from our past that's unfinished and until we can bring that all the way full slick cycle around, it'll continue to poke at us and get in the way of kind of living authentically in our lives.
(09:44):
I resonate with that completely. I learned in hypnotherapy that which you focus, you strengthen. So if you keep telling, like you said, the trauma story, then you're going to feel the trauma over and over. I love when I went to your women's group where you had a group therapy, but we won't touch on that yet because I thought it was an amazing experience. Maybe give a little insight into what that might look like without a horse. You're standing, you're moving. Or are you face to face just in chairs with a practitioner? Yeah.
(10:13):
So usually I would start face to face, but pretty quickly, we're moving into something that's experiential. And so if there are no horses, I usually use props I can be anything from. Sometimes I'm out in nature, and I'm using sticks or leave piles of leaves to represent things in the arena. I have hula hoops, and I have heavy chains, and I have dog tunnels, dog training tunnels. So we use all of those in creating that experiential process. Once we bring the horses in they are at free liberty which just means they are there, they can roam and they show up how they want to. So they're not trained, we're not forcing them to do anything, they're showing up in the energy of the experience however they want to. So we do have panels and we can make this big round pen oftentimes.
(11:07):
That's where I work during the winter and in the nicer months. Sometimes we're out in the pastures with all the horses. But the reason we bring horses into it is that they are herd animals and prey animals and highly in tune to energy. And it's really beautiful because in the wild, in order to survive, they have to be aware and tuned in and it's very natural to them. So I talk a lot about if we're in our heads they don't know what that is but if we're below our neck they get that and so they can teach us a lot about that. They're also drawn to energy that feels comfortable experiential process.
(11:51):
Let's say you had one part of your life that felt very out of control or it could be abusive or not good for you, not healthy and maybe another area is representing the joy you feel in a different area of your life they often will land in that area. They are drawn to that energy and throughout the process they do a lot of balancing I believe they can actually balance the energy in our body and I think they do that in the herd. Again to keep the herd healthy. They are balancing each other's energy out on a regular basis and then when they are with us they are also doing that. So we'll see them licking and chewing and yawning which is a releasing of the completely.
(12:37):
I just remember that from experiencing it. But that's so true. Shed light on if someone was really full of trauma would the horse want to be around them?
Yeah, it's not that I believe it's if we're very in our heads and we're thinking everything through and we're very logical they don't know what to do with that. I think that horses are drawn to authenticity and so if we are faking it or very heady less able to connect to that trauma to me or big emotion. They just notice the imbalance and balance us or work to help balance us. Yeah, it's not that they don't want to be with us. In fact they are more able to connect to that energy of true authentic feeling.
(13:29):
Yeah. And I noticed that when you were talking about feelings, like for instance, when you had the client there that you were working with tonight that were working, you were talking about parts. So can you shed light on the different parts because everyone has different experiences in their physical body and their memory and everything. And so is that significant? When you talk about parts, like you'd say there's a part of you that experienced this, there's a part of you. Do you typically use that in the gestalt or is that just your approach?
(14:01):
No, actually we do. Parts of self are huge and I believe we lay down a lot of patterns with parts when we're little to protect and defend and to stay safe. And so we will look at what parts show up. When you get into confrontation with someone, what parts of you show up do you defend? Those are all parts of who we are. And we also have access to so many other parts and so many other ways of doing things. So we can pull in a new part right, and try that. But the old pattern that we know well we continue to use until awareness shows up and we can say, hey, I'm going to try this a little.
(14:49):
Differently and we shine light on it like a flashlight. That's really good. So most of these experiences, let's try to get some of the psychological background. Are these parts developed by a certain age? Like say they say by the age eight your brain is at a certain level or by the age of twelve, how you're going to react in relationships? I'm just throwing stuff out there. But is there certain ages that we create our parts or are they ongoing?
(15:16):
I believe they're ongoing and I think there's many significant ages that different things are established within our kind of personalities. And I guess as adults I believe that we fall back on some old patterns that are they're not useful, but they're familiar. And so we're not even in the same environment that were when were young. But our bodies remember that's. That kind of body keeps the score. Our body remembers everything. Right. So we continue to fall back on patterns that were useful when were eight. Even as adults, when our environment has completely changed, we need to bring an awareness around that so that we can shift it and show up differently in a way that is more productive for our lives and feels good in our skins.
(16:15):
Our layers. Yeah, no that's really helpful because since we're ever changing right, you're helping then if I understand this correctly, you're helping just move those old patterns out with your gestalt, but then with the horses, they're actually more attuned to those different parts and coming in to help shift that energy. Would that be a good explanation?
(16:40):
I think when I start with someone, I really want oftentimes there's something on someone's mind, right? There's a reason they come, and it's often connected to a million other little pieces. So I want to just start wherever that person is at. So if they had a conflict with someone at work and it triggered something in them, let's look at that and dive into that on our very first session. And maybe it connects back to some behaviors of their dad, or maybe we get to that. I believe it's all connected, right? But I tend to just start right where that person is. And then as we work together, over time, we get into deeper layers. And I think those all affect how we show up each day. I don't know if I'm I feel like I'm trying to be clear.
(17:34):
No, you're good. You are. You're being completely clear for an individual session. Like, you're going to write where the person is at and you're working, obviously, like you said, experiential. So you're not sitting with the person the whole time. You're actually bringing them into nature. You're bringing them into the arena with the horses, and then you're allowing those things to come up. For example, I know you have client confidentiality. Obviously you're not going to speak about a particular client. But in general, if I came to you and my father didn't approve of me, and I was down on all of my successes because I never felt like I was good enough, and I came to you with a lot of other issues that were addictions and things that I did to cover up that hurt that I wasn't approved by my father.
(18:23):
Then you would just come in and I would say, well, I'm working through some of these addictions. And how would you then uncover maybe that it was my father?
Yeah. So I really am always kind of feeling out where the person is at and how quickly they can move. Some people are a little more hesitant, and I get that it takes time to build trust. And I would say that addictions, I don't know. But let's go back to the example of, like, you're having issues with your male boss. In reality, you did have a poor relationship with your dad, and somehow there's a connection there. We would start working on looking at that relationship with your boss and what is it that is triggering? And with time, we would probably a lot of times what I'll say to someone is, okay, your boss is triggering you. We're using that example. When do you remember feeling like that before? And then someone might say, oh, a month ago. Okay, keep going back in time.
(19:27):
When do you remember that? First time and sometimes will remember, like when I was eight, I remember that my dad would never give me a voice. We'd get into an argument and he would take over the conversation and he would never really deeply listen to me. And when people do that to me now, it really sets me off. And so from there, we would go into an experiential process, perhaps with the dad being part of that. If that felt like too much, too fast, we'd slow it down and look at it. I think many angles you can come at an issue from, yeah, what is.
(20:06):
The horse doing while you're working this with a client? Can you give like a picture so that they can picture what the horse is doing?
Yeah. So, again, oftentimes we're in a round pen, which is just panels that make up a round circle, and the horse is in there with us and they're again free to do whatever they like. They're very interested about the energy. And so I have a really great example how they even guide me sometimes. I had a group of women out, small group of women, doing a retreat here, and I was working with this younger gal and were working with the energy of her mom and dad and some of the struggles. So she was sitting in a chair and we had two chairs that were empty that represented her parents, and there was a lot of strife and struggle between her and her mom. And so we sort of saw that.
(20:56):
And then I was trying to gauge what was going on with her and her dad. Sometimes you really feel like there's just a lot of resistance there and the relationship is not good and not healthy. But Charlie, my horse, came over as were talking and stood between those two chairs, and I interpreted, actually, to the side, so not blocking the line between this gal and her dad, the chair with the energy of her dad in it. But the horse stood kind of connecting, and it felt very obvious to me that he was saying, this is a connected relationship. There were issues for the gal, but that was a big cue for me to say this is a worthwhile space for her to stay in and sort of figure out what needs to happen so that they can have a relationship.
(21:50):
There are times when it's very clear that a relationship is super abusive and there's no value in staying the course with it. And I've seen a horse stand between and that's sort of a block. So I try to pay attention to what the horse is doing to sometimes guide me, but they'll also step in and drop their nose right at your heart. And I think of chakra struggling, expressing themselves, and that to me, a lot of people might notice it initially, but it's a balancing and a drawing attention to. And you can feel some subtle releases in your body if you're open to that.
(22:32):
Exactly. No, I love it. Okay, so let's stop on the horses. Are there particular horses that do better at this work?
Yeah, I have a couple of favorites that I know will always work, and sometimes I think they can all do it. I think any horse can do it. They're just like humans, right. And some of them are more connected to different types of things. But I have some really constant horses that I rely on, and part of it is comfort with the client. Some of them are demonstrative, and it's a little too much, especially if someone's new to it. So sometimes I do go out in the pasture and kind of see who comes up to me and is sort of volunteering. It depends, again, on the client. If I know this person's new to it and needs a gentle kind of a gentle spirit, I go to Charlie a lot and then you know Keebler.
(23:28):
Keebler?
Yeah. They're really great on other levels. And they all have I believe each horse has their own specialty, some of them. For the client, it's a little more rewarding. I still believe that the other horses are working. It just sometimes you can't see it as much or it's subtler. They all have their know I experienced.
(23:53):
Keebler and he was just so sensitive to everything that was going on in the group. And is he one of your more sensitive? I know horses are sensitive in general, but is there some that are more sensitive? He just was so tuned in. Are all of them like that?
You know what? I think it's a little bit of everything. Some horses are very shut down. If they've been in a training situation nonstop and they've not been allowed to express themselves, they're going to have a hard time. I've seen that out here. A horse has come from the show world. They don't believe that their opinion matters, and they're kind of shut down in that area. We as humans kind of do that to them on some levels. And I think with time with the herd and in nature, they reconnect to that. Again, all different. And they also have good days and bad days. They have days where they come in and they're ready. And I've had days when Keebler is winning to his friends out in the.
(24:49):
Past year, and I'm like, we're working over.
Yeah, just like I don't want to distracted.
Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. So let's go to then the group, because individually I know that you can go really deep. There's a trust then, because there isn't other individuals involved. And you have the option where you can work with couples. Right. The couple's work is in the same way. You're just kind of maneuvering the horse depending on what the couples want to talk about.
(25:19):
Yeah. So the couple work to me, which is really I think, kind of different than traditional therapy is. For me. It's really about the two people getting to know each other better and understanding the things that came to be from their childhood. Usually the things that are setting them off as a couple are very related to what they received a lot of as a child, what they didn't receive as a child. And so I always say, if we're relatively healthy, we find the perfect partner who will sort of push on our buttons to heal ourselves.
(26:00):
Beautiful.
I think that if we haven't done any work and we have had a lot of trauma, it's hard for a relationship to work, but our general nature is to continue to find people who trigger us in that space of healing. Like, I want to figure out this thing from childhood that I couldn't understand and heal as a kid, so I'm going to find someone who will bring it out in me, which seems exactly backwards and upside down. Those are very much about getting to know each other on a deeper level. And the couple's work. And I used to do one offs. Now I pretty much want to do intensives.
(26:43):
If a couple wants to come, I prefer to have them come, stay on the property and work with me, stay two nights and work with me five times moving through the work and they're leaving with a lot of information about each other and it really is powerful.
Yeah. And you're getting there a lot quicker than if, say, they were to go to therapy separately and talk to a therapist and talk about all the things that they can't stand about each other and not really be in the space where they can feel the energy and have you guide them with that energy and the things from their childhood. That's brilliant. Yeah. Do you want to add something?
(27:20):
No, I was just going to say you had asked me too, like, how long does this take? So if an individual comes in, it really depends. I think there are people who might work with me for three, four months every other week. I also have people come in who are pretty in a pretty bad place and they're uncomfortable enough to say I want to work. I have one woman who I just adore. She's been with me a year and a half about with a lot of trauma, and she was ready. So she came and did a couple of sessions with me.
(27:55):
Then she came on property and stayed again for two nights and did intensives, which is really like you work in the morning, you take a break for lunch, you work in the afternoon, you have the evening to be on the property and just relax and then we do it again the next day. And then she has worked with me very regularly and just now she's beginning to spread out the sessions where it's more like once a month or once every three weeks. So to me that's someone who has a lot of history and a lot to work through and within a year and a half we're coming to a place where it's really slowing down. And that to me would be the ideal thing. Someone who's coming with some issues, but not deep trauma.
(28:41):
I believe we can work through that in three or six months, hitting it every other week or whatever works for.
Someone'S schedule touch on because it's such a big release or you're getting to so much like say in a weekend, what are the things that then come up? Like when they leave your property? Because I know that even in body work, if somebody's getting really deep sessions and releasing things from the energy fields, they might go through a period of anger or frustration or let down a breakdown. There's a lot of things that happen to the nervous system just in that respect. What kind of things come up? Is it the same? Like if you send somebody away and you've been working deeply, should they be aware that there's going to be other energetic releases after you work with them?
(29:29):
Yeah, I think there can be. I mean, some people will the next day have a lightness that comes because they literally left release this energy. And so I always say, pretend like you had a massage tonight and be really good to yourself, like take a hot bath and time to be with yourself. And then more often than not, I think there's a lightness that comes, they've let go and there's more space in their body and they feel different. But of course, there can be times when some hard pieces that come afterwards and we set up another session and look at that. I really am when I have clients, I'm like all in. So if you need a call or you need just to share what you're experiencing for ten minutes, usually don't just have one session and then bye.
(30:22):
I feel vested in let's work together as we need to going forward. And you drive the pace of that and I'm here.
No, for sure. And the transformation doesn't happen if you're just doing a one off. I mean, I relate it again to like if I'm working on somebody in massage and they have issues with their shoulder or they have issues with muscles that have been injured, you need time for transformation to occur. And so obviously there's a commitment and investment to then go into this where it's not just going to happen overnight. But of course, in modern society, everybody wants a quick fix, right? They want to do stuff fast. But with any healing work, it takes time. Do you want to add anything to the couples before? I want to go into this group, touch on what I experienced in the group and then have you shed some light on that? Because. There was different parts over that.
(31:13):
And I thought it was beautiful how you worked the group session, which was twelve of us were there. Do you want to share about what that is that you offer?
Yeah. So I do open sessions where people can just drop in on a regular. I just started a closed group, which I'm really excited about, and that is very similar to the open group, except for it's the same people that meet over and over. So there's a deep trust that comes from that. The work is beautiful because the participants really start to get to know each other and also get to know the body of work of gestalt and support in a really cool way. So the group you were at was an open drop in group.
(31:58):
Twelve women, right. You limit it to twelve and that's just women. It can it be women and men, or is it just women?
It's women. That group is women. I tried a men and women's group and I got men the first because I kind of reached out and then I didn't have that follow up and I think it's awkward. Then I also felt like, well, what if one man shows up and it's eleven women and one male? That's going to be awkward, maybe for him. So right now I don't have men in groups, but boy, I'd love to start an only men's group or a mixed group. Yeah. So I've been running these open groups for a long time. It's a way to dip your toe into the gestalt. And to me, the beauty of groups, it's so funny. I always say I'm a little introverted, so when I first was like, my mentor is like, you got to go do groups.
(32:43):
And I'm like, oh no, I don't want to do groups. And now I'm a junkie. When you have other humans supporting and also, as you know, with the gestalt, the people in the group become part of the experience and the experiential process. So often I'm setting people in positions so that they're holding space and also representing energy. Now when I'm working with someone individually, sometimes I'm like, darn it, I wish I could have five people come in real quick here and help me out. So there's so much beauty that comes out of these groups. And the retreat I had this fall, that group, sometimes the groups are just amazing and they just connect on this deep level. I've even had it at the open group, the drop in group.
(33:29):
There's some deep connection within that two and a half hours, and people continue to stay in touch and so that becomes sort of part of the connection of Soulful Prairies. It's not just me, it's me holding the space and bringing the people together. And then they are healing each other. And even after groups spending time with each other, I think the group work is just sort of breathtaking and beautiful and it is.
(33:59):
And I want to share just a visual of it because I had no idea what to expect. And like you said, the different energies that you like to have represented there. I just want to give the listeners just an overview because they might feel intimidated not sure what to expect. And I know that everybody's in a different place. Like, I even invited some women to attend with me, and they're like, I'm not sure they weren't ready because they were like, I don't know. Is it like an AA. I'm not trying to compare it, but when you go to a group therapy type of thing yeah. They're like, what am I revealing? What do I have to share? Again, it's just everyone has a different comfort level.
(34:37):
Not I'm not relating it to AA, but even though AA is a wonderful program, when I showed up in the arena that evening and you do such a fantastic job, so you're an expert in this area of English because there was nothing left unturned. You were sensitive enough to be that warm, open therapist, but also a practitioner, like you like to be called, but the professionalism to keep it all on time. Right? Because I thought, how are you going to get to this person's stuff in this short period of time? But magically, it was timeless. Right? You made it all happen in that frame, in our linear time. But it seemed like, oh, my gosh, were there a long time because were so in it. And you kept the process from us introducing ourselves, and you had us choose something that was symbolic card.
(35:29):
And then you had us also with that animal that was so special, your elephant, right? You still have your elephant. I don't know what you call him. And that is a comforting thing just to have to welcome everybody to get to know each other. But we're not sitting there unloading the stories that sometimes people don't want to have time to listen to. And there was none of that. It would seem that you were so excellent in your facilitation that everybody got to feel each other's energy with the purpose of then working with the horses. And you had chosen that night. It just happened to be some woman that really needed some deep work. But obviously she had already had therapy, and so she was really in tune with working with counselors and therapists. She had not been to the group yet.
(36:12):
And when were in the arena, you setting her up to help work with her issue. You had the chairs there in the arena, and then you had all of us there and you were using us, having us represent different energies. Right. Like you said, like maybe joy or inspiration and some other words that come up. I'm at loss right now, but it could be what fear or anger that's.
(36:37):
Completely coming from the client. So if I'm remembering the evening correctly, I think she had a part of her that felt very ugly, but she used the words, the parts of her that support that ugly part, and then she had the pieces in between, and then she had parts of her that supported that present day her that is pretty intact. And so those words can be I mean, I think they were ugly and disgusting, and then others were joy and connection and very contrasted. Right. But those always come from the client. I would never want to personally put those words out there for someone else that's theirs to find their way with.
(37:26):
Right. And now I'm just remembering all that. That is right, because she had the two parts of her, and they were chairs that were opposite, and you had her sit in one chair and be that part that was ugly and have the beautiful whole part talk to the ugly part. So you had her doing this, but at the whole time, the horse is there, Keebler's there circling. And he sort of had these moments where he would nudge somebody and he would be signaling, like he would come up and he know do his and he'd get that signal to somebody to move closer. And then he also had that where you had us all connect at one point with our hands, we all connected a chain, and it was beautiful because you were outside of that chain.
(38:11):
And at the ending moments of this completion, he came up behind you and he pushed you. He wanted you in the circle. We all sort of thought, that's beautiful. I think there was, like a with all of us, and so we connected you in. But then there was a couple more points that you made with the client. And at the very end where we felt like were complete, then he came and he brought his body to connect all of us in the center. He just brought his whole entire body and was there in the middle, like, you've done it. We're done now we're whole. And then it was like, okay. And you thought, yeah, okay. And everybody felt like, yeah, this is complete.
(38:53):
And I feel like the client had released a lot, and she felt good, she felt light, and then we all were like, oh, my gosh. And she did that all by 09:30 p.m., and it was all done. We didn't know where were. We were out in this universe, but then we reigned together, and that was really powerful. I'm retelling this because I feel that anybody out there who has any interest, it's a comforting experience and so magical and just even there was somebody who was definitely afraid of horses. She integrated herself just wonderfully with the group, right?
(39:29):
Yes, she did. Yeah. I love that you say people are like, well, I don't know if it's fear, or I'm going to have to reveal everything. And what I do want people to know, if anyone watching wants to come to a group, is we're never going to push you. We start in a circle and talk, as you were mentioning, and it's an opportunity to share anything. So some people say, it's my grandson's birthday, and I'm super excited. That's fine. And other people are, I'm in the middle of a divorce, and my life feels like it's falling apart. So you get all levels, and it really is not about, oh, well, that person didn't reveal as much, so they're out. We just want everyone to show up wherever they are and at whatever comfort level they're at.
(40:14):
And so with time, as you come to the groups, often there is more opening up. Or some people come the first night, and they so desperately need to share. We learn from each other in the circle. Right. We all identify with some piece of someone else's story. And then as we move into the piece of work so often, then from that circle, there's a few people who it's really obvious they're in a hard spot, and that's the way I choose someone to work with. And then they are the main client. And from there, the group supports. But everybody, again, which I'm sure you can attest to Joanne, everybody gets something out of it.
(40:56):
Totally.
Holding space for someone else is so rewarding, and we're always going to identify with a piece of somebody else's work. We call it borrowed benefit in my world. And so it's so powerful, but nobody's going to be forcing you and saying that wasn't deep enough. You have to share something worse than that.
(41:18):
No. Right. And I felt blessed, although I was learning from that client just because she had something happen to her as a teenager, and it was an ugly part of her. And then I immediately transported to the time when I was 13 thinking of the ugly moment that happened to me. And I was then relating in my own mind, thinking about, oh, there's that ugly part of me that I was sort of putting myself in that same space that you had her there. And I healed a part of myself that evening without even having to say anything because I could relate to that part. And of course, there's other parts that people could relate to that wasn't that 13 year old, but that was really beneficial for me.
(42:00):
I walked away thinking, okay, well, then I can look at that now, knowing the techniques you use analyze and release and shine light on, it like you're saying you're shining light on these areas so that they can heal. And so that was beautiful. For time constraints. Let's tie this up. Let's review. You have the opportunity for people to work one one with you intensive form out at the Sofa Prairies in Woodstock, Illinois, which is a beautiful property, we'll touch on that. But they can come out there. You're not coming to them. This is a place that they have to travel to work with you because you need the horse.
(42:39):
I do zoom and I think those yeah, they can beneficial. I like to tie them in with farm visits so we might alternate if someone lives further away or we might do a handful of zooms and then you come for an intensive or come for a session so we can create whatever. And then the intensives to me again, whether it's couples or individuals are my favorite because I see people's movement. It's big and it's beautiful. And you get to stay on site and experience the ground. So when you're time to process I feel like sometimes people come out here and they do a session and then they're like back to work or they're back with their kids and they don't get time to just sort of sit with what happened and process it.
(43:23):
And so walking the paths here, playing with the pig or the goats, it's so good. Yeah, and enjoy when you're working with.
Couples like you had mentioned, they can come to the cabin, they can work with you that way. And then you have the group format, which is a once a month closed and open group.
Yeah, and I have that one that I began and I have another that's half full. We're going to start more around February, so it's open to anybody who's interested. Or the idea of staying with the same people regularly feels good. And then we didn't touch on this and I do some of it. Corporate day retreats.
(44:04):
Yes.
And then also I've worked with not for profits. So it can be a day of relaxing and being with nature. It can also be a day of getting to know each other, a team getting to know each other or problem solving around something that's sort of nudging at the team at the moment. So I always do totally customized and we talk ahead of time and whatever feels right for the day. So those are also something I do. And then my regular retreats. So I have retreats. That I do here at Soulful Prairie's. And then, as we talked about earlier, California. I'm at a sanctuary. It's not a riding retreat, it's 500 horses on 4000 acres. And we spend time out with the horses, observing and it's beautiful. And then I also do a retreat, two retreats in Montana each year.
(44:59):
I think this year will be my 13th and 14th and that is riding and gestalt. So the mornings are usually a gestalt group and the afternoons are riding. So it's a really beautiful way to kind of marry the work that is unsettling on some levels and then going out the rhythm of riding a horse and being in nature kind of grounding us again. So that's a beautiful experience too.
(45:23):
Oh, I love that. And these are all on Linda's website. The links to all of your stuff will be in the show notes. So when people are listening and they want to go to find out about any of these retreats, it will be in the show notes and where to follow Linda, et cetera. But let's finish up with the property because it's such a magical place. I feel like it's just a little piece of heaven on earth, and I know it's been a journey to get it to where it's at. So can you just share a little bit about how you got to the Soulful Furry? You can share anything you'd like about how you came to find this property, and it's on her website. The story is a beautiful story. When I first read her about page, I was brought to tears.
(46:11):
The struggle that you had to bring it up to where it is today. So, yeah, maybe give your insight on how you came to define sulfur priorities.
Yeah, thanks. It's funny, were looking for property when the economy was sort of in pieces and stumbled on this. And I loved it, and it was an absolute mess. It was just not in good shape. But there was something about it that really drew me to it. And we didn't end up getting it that first time when were close to almost buying it. And a year later, it was bank owned at that time, and still a year later, it hadn't sold. And the bank came back to us and said, we really want to get rid of this piece of property in this year. And it was like November. And I came back here and I was like, I don't know why I still love that darn piece of property. So we ended up purchasing it and it really just unfolded.
(47:08):
I feel like a lot of people are like, did you have a plan? Not really. I knew we wanted to have a barn. I wanted the horses to be able to live as naturally as they could on an 80 acre parcel.
Beautiful.
Yeah. So it was one of those sort of I was drawn to it and drawn back to it, even. And then the unfolding of how to create space that felt comfortable and warm, and I love all that. So we've used salvage and refurbished things, and I'm a garbage picker and a garage sailor, so I brought all those elements in and I think the little details, people really enjoy that. And there is something that feels cozy and safe here. One of the compliments I get a lot and I love is that when I drive through the gates of Soulful Prairies, I feel completely different. And I think, gosh, that doesn't mean it has to be the gestalt or the horses. It's just something about the land. And I believe that, too, that there's something about this piece of property that really holds people.
(48:15):
Definitely does. And it does.
Obviously.
You told me a couple of times in our conversation that you didn't really have a plan. We were just kind of figuring it out along the way and that your husband gave you full reign or wings to fly.
Right.
And there are these beautiful angel wings. If you go to visit Soulful Prayers, you'll see these beautiful did you paint the angel wings on the barn? My daughter I think those are beautiful. And I love I had some fun on the wings when I was out there in the retreat. But you kind of just had this kind of free flowing, like, being led. Right. You obviously didn't have a business plan. You'd kind of rehabbed buildings along the way, or did you have a business plan?
(48:59):
No, didn't have a business plan, actually, one now for the first time ever.
Love that.
Yeah. My joke is kind of like, oh, selfful prairies tells me what to do. I don't tell selfful prairies what to do and kind of joke like, it blew down a building for us, and so like, oh, okay, I guess we're not doing that quite like that. So no. I do feel like obviously some of it's my creativity that drives it, but I do feel like it just is sort of like 1ft in front of the other. Now. This feels right, and this feels right, and I feel like it's more like the land telling me what to do than vice versa. Yeah, I feel like, honored to be sort of the caretaker of the property for this time.
(49:45):
And I love that you have a lot of people who are passionate about the property, who are volunteers at the property, who want to be connected to it because it is regenerative. Like, you're regenerating the land there, like, it was abandoned. Right. And you have animals now there that are grazing, and you have somebody who's farming on the land. Right. You had somebody come who was a farmer last year who was growing crops, so there's that aspect to it. And then you have this community sort of building where people can host events. I hosted an event there, and I hope to do one this coming year. It's just a beautiful place to bring community, but to share the message of regeneration and your passion for environment, your big recycler, everything is just really eco friendly.
(50:35):
Like, you promote that, and I think people get like, oh, wow, we don't need bottled water. We can drink from the table. We don't need plastic water. But yet there's, like, a sense of this. It's not like you're roughing it at your place. It's beautifully decorated. I'm giving the listeners a picture they can go on your website and see, but it's beautifully decorated. It's extremely clean, and it's like this little touch of the Four Seasons out in the middle of the farmlands right. To me, that's how I would describe it, because the rooms are beautiful, the touch, the art that surrounds it, all of your creativity, you can feel. And it's an overstimulation for me because I love taking in all the things that are there, especially the animals. The animals bring that divine touch to it.
(51:24):
So I say that this is just a wonderful place, and you are the icing on the top of this beautiful place because you are like the queen of this place, sharing the healing touch. The healing touch for humans and animals together. And I think that people in our time now that we're so wrapped up in sitting in front of a computer screen and on our digital platforms, all that this is the next phase, this is the phase we need to bring people back into, is back to nature. You're pioneer. No pun like you're the pioneer woman out there riding your horse, but you're pioneering something that's extremely needed in society today with getting people out of their offices and onto the prairie.
(52:11):
Yeah, I hope so. Yeah. While we're kind of going down what's at the property, too? Just to mention, the cabin brought up. That's an 1830s cabin here that anyone can rent. You don't have to come here and dugish Dal, as much as I'd love to. Yeah, that's available. And we have paths on the property. We have a labyrinth. We have hammocks and swings and yeah. To step away for a couple of days from your computer and your phone and just sort of be on a farm. Good for the soul, for sure.
(52:44):
Oh, it's extremely nourishing. And no pun intended for the Nourish Me podcast, but it's extremely nourishing for your mental, your emotional, your spiritual, a full body nourishment just going there. And even if you were just to stand with the horses and just be with the horses, that's mean I know whenever I come out to see you, can I spend a little horse, you know, hang out and pet the horse? I love that you shared your work today. I want to tell the listeners to go to the show notes they can link up with Linda. You want to tell them where your most prominent place on the web is. I know it's your website, but the best place for people to see you or you're most active, what are those platforms?
(53:28):
Yeah, I would say Instagram, Facebook, and the website has just all the information that you would need, so those are probably the three best places to connect to. Yeah.
Okay.
That's my Linda Kent bruce which is my personal Facebook. Happy to have people on there, too, because sometimes I'm posting differently on Sofa Prairies versus that.
(53:49):
So your personal yeah. Yeah. Okay, that's great. So we'll have all those in the show Notes and anything that's coming up now. This is coming to the end of 2023, but is there anything special that you want to broadcast out there for 2024.
We really do. I always say things slow down here at Sulfur Perries in the winter, and that feels good. So through the holidays and even February is pretty quiet, and things then start to ramp up again. We're excited because we do have our calendar pretty much laid out. And so by December 6, we are going to have all our events and retreats, and everything will be up. And some of them are already there. I would say jump in. I feel like there's a momentum and we've been busy. And so if there's something that grabs you, go ahead and jump in. And we're also going to do a little three day sale with our gift cards on December 6, 7th and Eigth.
(54:42):
And it's like, buy 100, get 25 free, and then it's buy 100, get 20 free, and then it's by 100 and get 15 just three days. So you got to pay attention for that one. So, yeah, just lots of great things, some similar, a few new you know what I'm excited about that I've wanted to do? Every year we do a pasture release in the spring. And so the horses, we get them adjusted to the grass gradually because the grasses are rich in the spring. So we take them off a dry lot and put them on the grass and pull them off. And then we go longer and longer. And then eventually they're out on the grass regularly, and then we open our back pasture and they are so excited to get on this big area.
(55:24):
And so when they go, they race through this area and come out into this big pasture. And that's we have a pasture deck out there. And so this year I'm going to do the release with breakfast. And so it has nothing to do with gestalt, but I just think it'd be fun. And then the following week, and we did this last year kind of spontaneously, we're going to do a human mare release, which will just be kind of a silly, fun thing, but we had so much fun. So I had a volunteer group out here and we decided, well, the mares, the human mares need to be released in the back pasture. So they started where the horses and they came galloping out and they rolled in the grass. We have a video of it. It's so funny.
(56:06):
And then I think we'll have a bonfire and a glass of wine together. So those are the two new things I know we're doing for sure, which, again, have nothing to do with gestalt, but are about joy and joy, which is important to me, too.
Yeah. And then just connecting back to nature, resonating with it, just being one with it. I'm your new biggest fan ever since I met I don't know, I think it was just what? Last spring I met you. But I think everything you do is just fabulous.
(56:38):
I want to say I'm so grateful to have met you and honored. I know these podcasts take time and effort, and I feel very honored that you asked me to be part of it and appreciate it.
Well, I'm so grateful. So thanks for showing up today and everything. Soulful Prairies@soulfulprairies.com, and you can find that all in the show notes. And I want to say one last thing. I love to be nourished many ways, but I also like to ask my guests, what is your favorite way to be nourished? And that can be physically, mental, emotionally, or spiritually?
(57:15):
That's great. I would probably say yeah, spiritually. You said physically, mental, emotional, spiritual. I'd be torn emotional, spiritual, which feel very connected to me. Feel very but that's probably my favorite.
Well, and it is because you have those big angel wings there come full circle. You've got those angel wings, and that's beautiful. And you're guiding people to their health, and so that's beautiful.
(57:49):
So.
Thank you, Linda. Thank you so much. And I look forward to talking to you again.
Okay, sounds good. Thanks.
For listening. And if you feel inclined to nourish this podcast, please leave a five star review wherever you listen to podcasts.
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