For many people, winter weather encourages, sometimes demands, rest and reflection. But in the Arizona desert, the cerulean blue skies and expansive, primeval landscapes encourage exploration, inspiration, and renewal. Over the last eight years, Eponaquest at Eagle Way has become an oasis for adventurous spirits from around the world who not only seek to escape gray skies and numbing temperatures; these people also want to exercise, enhance and align body, mind, and spirit through workshop offerings at this scenic and intimate horse facility.
“Of all the places my horses and I have had the pleasure of calling home over the last two decades, this little ranch at Eagle Way has the most impressive views, especially at sunset,” says Eponaquest founder and bestselling author Linda Kohanov. “Many of our clients come back annually, in part to experience the magical effects the desert itself has on them. I for one, never get tired of the views. Starting in late May, when the desert feels more like a sauna, I travel extensively. But from October to April, the rarefied air and the mind-expanding landscapes are so healing that it’s hard for anyone to entice me further afield than the desert trails around my home. I’d be a recluse if it wasn’t for the people who come to study with us, and it is truly an honor to work with them in this special place.”
Next summer, Linda will be touring in Europe and Australia (details to come soon), but working at her home base with the experienced Eponaquest herd offers learning opportunities that she cannot recreate anywhere else. “While I love to travel and meet new horses and people,” Linda says, “there are some limitations to how deep I can take participants at these guest facilities. Collaborating with my own herd allows me to choose horses who I know can deeply support and/or safely challenge people and therefore efficiently teach more advanced skills that I cannot cover in the introductory workshops I’m pleased to do in other cities.”
A pioneer in the field of equine-facilitated learning, Linda specializes in teaching advanced human development skills to people who really want to excel in life, both personally and professionally. (No equestrian experience, or even previous interest in horses, is necessary. All activities with the horses are on the ground.)
The following is a list with brief descriptions of Linda’s upcoming winter workshops. (Click on the links for more extensive descriptions of each seminar.) Those who register by December 10, 2017 can receive a 10 percent discount by contacting Eponaquest office manager Sue Smades directly at info@eponaquest.com or 520-455-5908.
January 12 through 15
This seminar is for anyone who wants to learn new ways to transform interpersonal conflict, power struggles, bullying, and other challenges at home, school, and work, as well as in political, religious, or social activism contexts. You’ll learn to engage compassionately with others while holding them accountable for unproductive behavior, creating constructive alternatives to interactions that normally result in shame, blame, and retaliation. And you’ll learn how to negotiate blocks to success while keeping your heart and mind open, allowing you to tap the power, vision, and courage to follow your dreams.
February 24 through 27
Beyond Words: The Art and Science of Sentient Communication™
This innovative experiential learning workshop brings together the latest research on mind-body science and the healing power of the human-animal bond with specific techniques for reducing stress, enhancing health, and cultivating meaningful, mutually supportive relationships with people and animals. Linda Kohanov offers her latest distillation of 20 years of research developed through writing five books, surveying and collaborating with leading professionals in multiple fields, and leading hundreds of workshops worldwide. The four-day Beyond Words seminar debuts key principles and a sequence of experiential learning activities designed to exercise what she calls Sentient Communication™.
Sentient Communication shows people how to elevate instinctual impulses and physiological processes to a language combining purposeful changes in breathing and heart rate, with a finely tuned awareness of emotional cues, body posture shifts, energetic awareness, and intuitive insights that participants learn to consciously respond to rather than unconsciously react to. Among many other benefits, this translates into the ability to calm yourself and others, diffuse aggression, gain cooperation, and motivate groups to take productive action.
Special guest Ann L. Baldwin, Ph.D. will share her influential research on the physiology of horse-human interactions, heart health, biofeedback, and energy healing. The workshop is ideal for healthcare professionals, counselors, equine-facilitated therapy practitioners, parents, teachers, leaders, horse trainers, and animal rescue-workers who would like to learn skills to promote individual well-being, foster stronger personal relationships, boost professional effectiveness, and enhance interspecies intercommunication.
March 3 through 5
In this three day, in-depth workshop, Linda Kohanov combines tools from her two latest works, The Power of the Herd and The Five Roles of a Master Herder. Participants will receive copies of both books, and practice skills featured in each through a powerful combination of equine-facilitated learning activities and step-by-step processes that help people take these principles back to the human world.
Practicing with Eponaquest’s herd of experienced teaching horses offers a unique opportunity to learn how to work with different personalities, from the gentle and cooperative to the shy and highly sensitive to the more challenging dominant horses who demand a refined and committed use of power. Participants will learn how to enhance the Five Roles of a Master Herder through the use of several key skills featured in the 12 Power of the Herd Guiding Principles. These innovative models—based on an ancient source of wisdom—offer a much-needed perspective on how free, empowered people can navigate continuously changing social and economic climates.
All photos that appear in this newsletter taken at Eponaquest at Eagle Way by Linda Kohanov.