Letting Go and Learning To Smile With All Four Cheeks - Interview With June Burgess

Jo & JJ Go Mental

We may see horses as just cute animals grazing across the farm, but they are really incredible teachers, full of wisdom and life lessons about living in the moment and letting go of the past. This week, Jo and J.J. are joined by June Burgess, Equine Coach, Business Director, and Entrepreneur. She talks about how she began her Equine Assistance Workshops and why working with horses can be so powerful for our mental health. Jo shares her own experience in learning to relax around the horses and how that mirrored so much about business and the need for perfectionism. June shares some amazing stories of working with veterans suffering from PTSD and CEO’s of large companies, and how they both had transformations after working with horses.

Takeaway:

[3:48] In her work, June can tell a lot from someone by how they interact with horses. Horses are masters in responding to dangerous situations, galloping away, and then going back to grazing once the danger has passed. Horses also conserve their energy instead of letting the past or anxiety about the future consume them.

[7:24] Horses are simple in their responses and they don’t care about politeness. A horse will tell you quickly if they need space or if you are not respecting their boundaries. This feedback is priceless for people to learn interpersonal dynamics without having to interact with other humans.

[9:39] June has a fascinating background, from competing internationally to building a 132 room five star hotel in Belfast, and acting as the director in numerous successful companies. This corporate background helped her fully understand the need of leaders and managers to get the proper training to deal with the stress that comes from financial burdens and work pressures. It taught her that you can not work with horses and have your head somewhere else, but rather fully be immersed in the present moment.

[16:34] June discusses her work with veterans and helping them manage the very painful symptoms of PTSD. They began to trust the process and the horses, and found that building rapport with these animals could help them take baby steps to trusting the outside world. Even if it took dozens of times to try again, the horses were always there waiting to help.

[25:21] Jo talks about the pressure she put on herself to work with horses the right way, and how the horse responded by leaning away from her in the pen. By letting go of the pressure and the attachment to a certain outcome, she could physically relax a little and the horse picked up on this and reflected back a calmer and more trusting energy.

[29:42] As humans, we often argue for behavior we know doesn’t work because we are too afraid of letting go of control. J.J. talks about seeing clients cling on to something they know won’t work just to not feel scared or threatened. This ties into horses because the more we can drop the need for control, the more we can connect with a horse’s heart and mind the more they choose to follow instead of back away or resist.

[39:34] We spend so much of our days clenched and tightened. June helps people learn to relax their body and smile with “all four cheeks”. Jo shares how post burnout, she saw how disconnected she was from the neck down. Reiki helped her unblock some of the stuck energy and tune in to where she felt most tense.

[45:42] Instead of validating the fear and letting it go, no one wants to admit they are scared. Horses can completely pick up on this and when we are being inauthentic. J.J. says how teenagers are also an example of pure and natural energy that isn’t afraid to call it like they see it.

Connect With Us:

Joanna Denton | Dr. J.J. Kelly

June Burgess

Smiling With Four Cheeks

Horse Workshops with June