“Deep work” in Pilates — and the astounding results it brings — makes “pain” well worth the gain.

Smart-Midlife-Horses_pixlr206x2501-123x150 — Click on the cover to order now!

This came in last week via email (posted with permission—thanks Cassandra!) in response to my post about my morning-after-Pilates misery. Now, before we even get started, as you’ll see below, Cassandra did ask me to stop whining and describing the consequence of this “deep work” by the less than flattering term, “pain.”

So. . . As I search my brain (and the Internet) for a better word to describe what stopped me from being able to sit or stand without whimpering for two full days, I’ll just footnote here that once this unmentionable feeling passed, I did feel stronger and more in control of those tiny, deep, elusive muscles. (Once you locate them you tend become obsessed with the “zip up” exercise – or at least I have.) In the immortal words of Max on CBS TV’s “Two Broke Girls” sitcom, “I want both more and less of it — and I am obsessed with it!”

And, I’ll also have to tell you that, playing with these muscles while riding last week, I discovered the AMAZING difference they can make in communicating with my horse (even when he has his hoofs stuffed in his ears in “La la la I can’t hear you” fashion.)

After a great conversation with Cassandra about all this — and I’ve invited her to be a guest on our blog to tell us more about this amazing (if a little bit gut wrenching, in the most literal sense) exercise form — I share now her insights on the connection between Pilates and riding and midlife horses. (She’s actually one of us!) Cassandra firmly believes that Pilates is key to putting Midlife Horses success within reach for all of us — with benefits that reach far beyond the saddle.

Cassandra writes:

“I must speak to you as I can not believe that you are the woman I wanted to contact for half a year! First of all, I have ordered your book…second of all I am definitely a Midlife horsewoman…having left New York 2 ½ years ago to finally have my dream of owning a horse come true. And Pilates has been immeasurably helpful in this journey to overcome all the adult “stuff” such as fear, lack of confidence and just not having grown up on a horse. And may I add a hip replacement…

“Two corrections however. We do like to keep pain to a minimum in Pilates. Deep work in muscles yes, but we try to avoid crippling you! The other is that Pilates is not just for “high level” riders. The others in the class you mention have been doing Pilates for awhile, and it has helped several of them be successful in overcoming obstacles to their riding and increase their enjoyment even more.”

Stay tuned for more vital info from Cassandra about incorporating Piliates into your Midlife Horses fitness regimen. Meanwhile, pony up! I invite you to share your own Midlife Horses fitness insights, ideas, strategies, and any secrets you’ve discovered on your Midlife Horses journey. Post your comments here, email me (especially if you’d like to remain anonymous but nevertheless have something important to add to this conversation!), post on Facebook, show us your favorite moves on YouTube, or Tweet your best midlife horses fitness tip when this header pops up on my Twitter feed! And, if you haven’t seen it yet, click here to check out our new video about how our Midlife Horses keep us fit.

How many new tricks can a middle aged dog learn?

by admin Book info Midlife News Projects The Smart Woman's Guide to Midlife Horses Women and Horses

Midlife Horses_FRONT COVER_LORES — by Melinda Folse (formerly Melinda Folse Kaitcer)

It’s my nature to push the envelope. But this time, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor, I’ve jumped into the deep end of the ocean using only the aforementioned envelope as a flotation device. Can somebody out there throw me a line?

In anticipation of the July 1 launch of my new book, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife Horses, I’m trying to build an online community around the same concepts and ideas that evolved into this book. In addition to this blog, you can access this interconnected hub of information viaFacebook, YouTube, and Flickr.My goal is to create a virtual gathering place for those of us enjoying our midlife horses — a sweet spot of sharing, commiserating, celebrating, swapping advice and resources — generally the kind of barn chatter that invites the whole world to join our circle.

The catch? I don’t really know how to do any of this. I’m a writer. I dabble in photography. I’m impressed with the reach and opportunity of all this gee whiz technology and social media. I have the world’s best intentions. So here we go. With this lofty goal in mind and Trafalgar Square’s encouragement (and maybe a little occasional prodding) I embark on a new odyssey to see if I can get all the way around the learning curve by the time this book hits the streets. Wish me luck. And bravery. And patience with my self and others. And easy access to good enough take-out that my family doesn’t mutiny. In this bottomless box of chocolates, you really never DO know what you’re gonna get.

With the aforementioned luck, I’ll be setting it all up and adding content to this blog, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr to share various moments in my midlife horse journey (some are pretty embarrassing, I’ll have to say), and the photos and stories of the people I’ve met and interviewed in the process of developing this book. All this editing and uploading and tagging is going to probably take me a while, however, so please check back often to see how I’m doing! (feedback and notes of encouragement or advice welcome!!)

This is just to prime the pump, however. What I really want is for you to send me your stories, pictures, videos (camera phones welcome!) and insights. For this to become the gathering place I envisioned, everyone sharing their input and experiences here will give us a place to continue our learning, find the encouragement we need, encourage each other, brag on our accomplishments, laugh at ourselves (and maybe a little at each other, because we’ve all been there), and keep feeding the special kind of joy only midlife horses can bring.

And, hey (or as our horses would say, “HAY!!!”), we’re all in this together! So once a week or so, let’s meet for a virtual “happy hour” (grab a glass of wine or other beverage of choice and kick back and check in with this specially created online community all our own! Join the fun, the discussions, the debates, the laughter and camaraderis only midlife horses can inspire. While the journey we take with our midlife horses is a journey of each individual soul, it’s nice to know there’s good company on this trail — and for what it’s worth, I’m here to help you connect with each other!

Happy Trails!!

They say 50 is the new 30. Really, marketers?

by admin News The Smart Woman's Guide to Midlife Horses

They say 50 is the new 30. Really, marketers? And if that’s true, I ask you, did “they” (whoever “they” are) also re-designate our midlife birthday?

With all this “50 is the new 30” stuff flying around (and really annoying some of us), it has really set me to thinking. Last year, as I began work on my soon to be released book, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife horses: Finding Meaning Magic and Mastery in the Second Half of Life, (Trafalgar Square Books, 2011), I wondered how you know when you’re at midlife. After a lot of research and mulling over this rather complicated topic, I have your answer.

It turns out that rather than a specific, measurable amount of firepower on your birthday cake, the exact threshold of this epic period of transition is really as individual as we are — and, because it is often triggered by certain life events, large and small, it seems to be different for everyone.

If you’re wondering whether you’re “there yet,” take my quiz and see if your “certain age” has arrived.

Have you recently:

1. Purchased your first pair of reading glasses? Then, finding your “number,” gone back to purchase them in bulk?

2. Plucked a dark and unruly chin hair? More than one? More frequently?

3. Waved goodbye to a child leaving for college?

4. Waved goodbye to a marriage that just couldn’t go the distance? (Flipped off a soon-to-be ex-husband leaving for his younger new girlfriend?)

5. Discovered that much of the knowledge you’ve spent your career accumulating is now obsolete?

6. Launched an adult child to true independence — a career and/or family of his/her own?

7. Witnessed the declining health of your parents? Watched them “downsizing” and realizing for the first time why.

8. Sorted through old photographs and memorabilia, wondering what happened to all those dreams, goals, plans, and things you always thought you’d do . . . “someday?”

9. Attempted to do something physically you used to do easily and found it strangely foreign and difficult?

10. Had to really think about it when someone asks how old you are, and found yourself stuck for an answer to long it’s been since you’ve done something that truly feeds your soul?

If you answered “yes” to more than a couple of these, my friend, there’s your wake-up call. Beyond any birthday that ends on “0” (or even “5”) “midlife” for our generation is more of a feeling than a number; and, if we’re clever, we can discover our own ways to use that feeling to postpone the next stage indefinitely. Like the cream filling in a Double Stuff Oreo or the intoxicating sugariness in the heart of a July watermelon, we are the first generation to realize that we can make the middles of our lives the very sweetest part.

How? Follow me. I’ll show you the trail I and millions of others are taking to bring Meaning, Magic and Mastery to the Second Half of Life.

The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife Horses: Finding Meaning Magic and Mastery in the Second Half of Life is scheduled for release on July 1, 2011, and is now available for preorder at www.horseandriderbooks.com.

Reserve your copy today!

Connect with Melinda

Subscribe to Melinda Folse

Tagged: middle-aged

“Deep work” in Pilates — and the astounding results it brings — makes “pain” well worth the gain.

They say 50 is the new 30. Really, marketers?