Satori Center

Your Kidneys, Bladder, and Riding!
Introductions #2

In my Body-Mind-Centering classes, I am learning a deeper appreciation of the systems of the body.  In the most recent class I attended, we explored the kidneys and bladder.  Here's an introduction to the Bladder and Ureters:

Artwork: Kidney and Bladder by Erica J Chen

Along with the kidneys, two other parts to consider are the bladder and the ureters. 

In some ways, the bladder is easier to find!  Still, placing a hand on the front of the lower abdomen will assist with becoming aware of the location.  A usual place to find the bladder is just in front of the plumb line, neither to the left nor the right.

The exploratory questions are similar: 

• With my growing ability to sense inside myself, how heavy or light does my bladder feel?  Is it dense and downward moving?  Is it airy and buoyant?  Is it expanding or shrinking?  
• With my growing ability to sense inside myself, what texture would my bladder have?  solid?  hollow?  expandable? 
• With my growing ability to sense inside myself, is it higher or lower than where I first thought it might be?  On my midline?  A little to the side?  High/Low/Lopsided/Even?  Where does it want to go?
• If I were able to 'see' my bladder, would there be colors associated with it?
• If I let my bladder initiate movement, what would it do?

Pictures give you an idea; your body can be doing something else entirely!

The tubes connecting your kidneys to your bladder are the ureters -- and you can facilitate a connection with them by placing one hand on the bladder and the other on a kidney.  By this time, you may have discovered questions that make sense to you that assist you with your explorations.  Some questions might also be:

• What path does this ureter take?  (is it like the other one in any way?) 
• How uniform is the width inside along the length of the ureter?  the thickness of the container?
• How is the flow from the kidney to the bladder?

Again, this can all be done off the horse or on.  When I'm on the horse, I stay in the walk and I pick a day where I'm truly not interesting in getting anywhere or achieving anything.  I want to be in a space where I'm open to new information and can reflect a lot.

Although I couldn't find a picture, these structures remind me of an old-fashioned t.v. antenna with tinfoil flags attached to the ends.

have fun!  ask questions of yourself!  listen to the answers of your body.

And if you find this interesting, there is more where this came from! 

L

Are you looking for something more in your riding?  Something that really connects the inside and the outside? Sometimes a hands on experience can do a lot to clarify something written.
I've studied horse and human anatomy for twenty five years.  I started with Centered Riding and that is solidly based upon how bodies work and how brains process information.  I know Alexander, Feldenkrais, Trigger Point, myofascial, Ortho-bionomy, how to develop resistance training programs, and more recently I am incorporating concepts from Body-Mind-Centering.  I've done yoga for more than forty years, studied (and used) the chakra and meridian systems for over twenty.  Sometimes I don't go into theory because in the middle of a lesson it would detract from the practical learning of how to ride, but I do clinics where I share this information along with how to incorporate it into your training program.  And if you really don't mind listening to me yak forever, I can easily do that during a lesson, too.  It's just most folks want to ride!