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Discovering natural, caring leadership with horse therapy

A day with horses reminds nurse leaders to breathe and cultivate self-awareness. Pictured, nurse leaders and horse therapy facilitators get in tune with horse energy during a silent meditation at The Pony Express ranch near Santa Rosa, California.

The group lines up for a picture.

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A group of nurse leaders from across Kaiser Permanente spent a day learning new caring science leadership techniques.

Being a good leader sometimes requires a cue from the horse world.

For the last 6 years, Kaiser Permanente Northern California nurse leaders have re-visited self-awareness, emotional regulation, and non-judgmental leadership through a 2-day program called Equine Assisted Experiential Learning.

Eleven nurse leaders from the region recently gathered at The Pony Express ranch near Santa Rosa, California with the EquuSatori Center for a day of learning how horses and HeartMath can make them better leaders. This program is most often every month.

“Horses tend to be calm and regulated in their bodies and energy most of the time. By observing them, humans can learn to slow down and get regulated themselves and transfer that to their work as leaders and as care takers,” said Linda Aldrich, owner of The Pony Express ranch, which hosted one of the recent sessions.

Felicia Fakayode, RN, who works in Oakland supportive care services, came away with a renewed sense of calm.

“This is reminding me to take care of me,” said Fakayode. “I feel right now that nothing is bothering me. That’s big, especially when I feel like I’m responsible for everything all the time. This is really nice.”

 

 

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