The Denim ‘n Dirt Blog

Is this a feeling you ever feel? Life may feel empty, hollow-without meaning? Hopelessness can set in…

If you experience this sense of “emptiness” on any on-going basis, consider making an appointment with a mental health professional. Fatigue, loss of meaning, loss of pleasure, hopelessness, low self esteem, irritability, sleep or eating problems are all signs of depression. In this “day and age”, no one need to suffer from depression any longer. There is HELP available and YOU can feel better when seek the help you need.

At Denim ‘n Dirt, we are here to help. Let this year be a positive and healing year for you.

Wow, almost another year? This has been a very “growing year” for us! Our equine experiences have continued to astound us as we watch someone say the word “bully” and right before our eyes, the larger horse bites the much smaller horse’s neck! This is just one of the many EAP deeply moving and mysterious moments we have all witnessed together. Much will stay the same for us-superior service to our clients, patients and community. And there will be “change” ahead. We will serve new people this coming year and all be “changed” as a result. Change and growth CAN BE synonyms!

So what is the difference between growth, learning and healing?

At Denim ‘n Dirt, we think of these words as synonyms! If you suffer from trauma, depression, anxiety or just want to get your team functioning better-we expect to help you “learn” which leads to “growth”-the important element of HEALING.

Dysfunction shows up in our lives in all sorts of ways! Our bodies can be dysfunctional. Our brains can be dysfunctional. Our emotional lives can be dysfunctional. Our families, companies and communities can be dysfunctional. To move dysfunction to FUNCTION more “effectively” (i.e., BETTER), we have to go through learning and growth to heal the dsyfunction.

Welcome to one of our “equine assisted” classes!

Are you aware of that “wise old sage” inside of you? Or is he/she buried deep within and hard to access? At Denim ‘n Dirt EAGL, we believe everyone has a wise old sage. Our equines can help you access this part of yourself!

The process of forgiving is one of the most difficult “emotional-spiritual learning tasks” that we encounter. And unfortunately, we all have plenty of opportunities to “grow into” this learning task! Indeed, for us humans, forgiveness can be a long a PROCESS. Even though the process has distinct phases, it is not a linear experience at all. It takes TIME and one MUST go through the phases of experiencing and naming a variety of feelings as one relates to the “wound.”. In going through the grief that precedes forgiveness , the “wound” is brought to consciousness, processed and “digested”-what is not needed for the person to heal will be eliminated. Healing and forgiveness go hand in hand.

Forgiveness toward ourselves is connected to how we forgive others-

When we forgive, we do not condone someones “bad behavior” or even our own “bad behavior.” Forgiveness does not necessarily lead to trust. It is a way of unburdening ourselves of resentment, bitterness and negative anger. These painful feelings embody the experience of depression which is known to cause all sorts of other physical illnesses and relational dysfunctions. For our optimal emotional and physical health, the emotional-spiritual process of forgiveness is mandatory.

In order to forgive, we need compassion. We are all “broken” and we all make lots of errors along our way! Forgiving leads to healing. Let’s start today to be compassionate to ourselves as we travel along our life journey. No more judgements and self-shaming…come work with the Denim ‘n Dirt team…We can help.

Luckily for us at Denim ‘n Dirt, we found out about these magnificent animals who have served the world in so many capacities for thousands of years! On the back of the donkey, many a cities have been built-even to this very day. They have been loyal workers helping women and children with all their tasks throughout third world countries. And guess what?

We have discovered that donkeys are super therapy animals. They manifest many qualities that we all seek to possess-loyalty, affection, intelligence, kindness, protectiveness, fun-loving, playfulnesss, calmness, keen attentiveness, confrontational as need be, social, cautious at times, super memories, require respect (and stoic to a fault-not ideal!). We love our donkeys and are delighted to have them as our co-therapists!

Horses KNOW when they are in a SAFE environment. Children and equines are typically very trusting if their early environment have been “trustworthy.” If they are treated well-they trust you. This picture says it all.

If you find yourself generally “not trusting”, you have not been treated well enough in your past. Horses and people are “herd” animals and rely on their early intimate relationships to form a sense of well-being and trust. The emotional health of the human and equine herd is critical to the well-being of all members in the herd. What was your family like? Did you learn the fundamentals of BASIC TRUST in your family? How healthy was the herd you grew up in?

Our work at Denim ‘n Dirt is all about creating an environment to help others “heal their wounds” from early “less than optimal environments” as well as teaching our patients about “reading the cues” to assess who is trust worthy and who is not. What do you see in this picture? Who is trusting who and why?

Here at Denim ‘n Dirt EAGL we VALUE the inner life of each individual. We believe that the “inner life” directs the “outer life” which is composed of relationships to self, others and even our work lives. Our inner lives” affect EVERYTHING we experience. It is our goal to help each person to explore their inner landscape-thoughts, feelings, values, decision making dynamics, spirituality, personal well-being needs, individual, families, couples and group dynamics. This is “arena of life” we work in with our patients. Meaningful emotional growth is our goal for each and every client.

The arena work gives everyone ample opportunity to experience insight, emotional development and creative problem solving through metaphor and action. I wonder how these kids are feeling? Do you think they are experiencing TRUST? Perhaps they are gaining CONFIDENCE? Do you see them expressing their curiosity?

What are these kids learning during this session? How do you think the horse is feeling? What non-verbal cues do you see happening in this picture? How is everyone feeling and why? One thing I see as a clinician is that these kids feel “very safe in their world.” Good going Mom and Dad!

Equines have no “commitment” issues. They do what they are “supposed to do”-like guarding their herd, nurturing their babies. They do not complain and whine like us humans tend to do. They live “radical acceptance” to their tasks. Can we be more like equines?

These are some our our most fruitful sessions-the horses, for whatever mysterious reasons, seem to “act out” or trigger whatever it is that we need to be aware of-it really happens...come out and join us for a session to find out for yourself!