I watched a friend doing the Masterson Method's 'Bladder Meridian' technique on Aragorn this afternoon. He had tweaked something in his back and he was sore in the left lumbar area. Georgie was very patient and persisted gently in bringing his awareness to the uncomfortable areas. He attempted to ignore what she was doing by being very busy - walking around, sticking his head over the stable door, sniffing the floor, looking for specks of hay - anything and everything to avoid processing what he was feeling. She stayed with him calmly until things changed. He quietened, became focused and intent. His eyes softened, his head dropped, his breathing deepened. Then his lips began to wobble, and within a short while he began to lick and chew.
The real key to success with the Bladder Meridian technique is time. As Georgie moved her hand along the meridian, she watched for responses from the horse and stopped whenever she found one. She waited and waited and for a long while nothing much seemed to happen. But gradually, as Ari's attention was drawn to areas of tension by Georgie's hand, his responses became more and more visible - blinking, breathing deeply, snorting, fidgeting, scratching his sides, hindquarters and poll, shifting weight from one hind leg to the other and eventually, culminating in a series of yawns. By the time Georgie had done both sides from poll to ting point, we could see how the muscles along his spine were softening and relaxing.
I was struck, yet again, by how much is achieved with what seems to be so little. We humans tend to want action. We like to 'do stuff'. But the Bladder Meridian is about 'being' - being present, connected, together - and waiting. The challenge for us lies in throwing away the agenda and letting things happen at the horse's pace.
You can read about the Bladder Meridian technique here: