Riding in Iceland with Women’s Quest
Iceland was the exact experience I needed this summer! It was truly divine timing. Finally have the space to write about it.
It wasn’t what I expected, but I received the gifts that I needed in that moment to be able to change my life moving forward. I was given a clear sense of what a change in environment could do for me as a whole being, and gave me insight for how I need to shift my life moving forward to be a healthier, happier human being. I felt so nourished by the horses, the healing waters, the neverending sunlight of the summer, the magical energy and portals you can feel throughout the country, the people and the volcanic earth!
I had wanted to do this trip since Colleen Cannon told me about it, but I didn’t really know why. I just knew I was supposed to go there, and I trusted that. The Women’s Quest trips over the last few years have been so nourishing for my soul, because they have helped me create some necessary time and space to pause and recalibrate. Iceland highlighted that for me more than anything, because it was so easy to be there. I still did my daily embodiment practices and things that I do every day to take care of myself. The difference was that it didn’t just feel like I was maintaining a status quo. I was feeling more free and capable and unencumbered the longer the trip went on. Even though my physical body was feeling a little bit more exhausted from the riding, there were many facets of me that were being fed and nourished in a way I hadn’t been able to to access in the last year due to the deep loss of Hawkeye not being present in his physical body anymore and the immensity of other events that happened. This trip was a way to heal and create awareness, to know how to be able to show up the way I want to, and remember that it’s possible.
In Iceland I was shown that this new level of ease within was possible and that I had more capacity for life than I knew. The horses were especially good guides and one variable that contributed to this week being so impactful was that my only responsibility for a week and a half was just don’t fall off a horse. I know that’s not how everyday life works, at least not mine, but what it showed me was that when I simplified the requirements I asked of myself and was in a different environment/community that supported ease, I could feel healthier and happier. I could be myself without having to try.
I did a lot of prep for the trip, physically, mentally and emotionally, because I knew that it might be challenging due to my body’s extra needs. I needed and wanted to have a certain fitness level for riding. I hadn’t ridden consistently since I injured my back in 2007, and what this showed me was that I’m still capable. I was able to ride horses that I would never have given myself permission to ride at this point in my journey. I did it, and it was a lot of fun, and I was able to connect with them in this really beautiful, deep way, while going through this very intense experience with them. They taught me so much!
The horses of Iceland showed me that their herds are like an organism and that they are in deep relationship with the land where they live. They have this beautiful herd dynamic that is oscillating and breathing together. Sometimes we got to be part of the herd, and sometimes the herd was on its own, and we’re observing it. And that had a profound impact on all of us on the trip. They informed our nervous systems from the place of a herd versus an individual, and really highlighted the importance of community and that we need to be surrounded by those that love us and allow us to show up as our full selves without judgment. Our group was so influenced by this energy the horses were exuding. We had the most amazing group on this trip. Everybody was so loving and kind to one another and the more time we had with the horses we became like the herd because the horses invited us into their world. They showed us how to be. They showed us how to connect. We were so deeply supported by the horses, the land, the fairies and the life forces that course through this amazing place. I am so grateful our group was very willing to be in that space of curiosity and connection.
It’s been about two months since I got home from Iceland but I can still feel its energy and healing waters coursing through me. It is truly a magical place that I will always hold deep in my heart! Thank you to all that made it so special!
