Seat to pommel

I have a lesson with Anna. Due to the fires I had to skip last month, and now I am lesson hungry.

I breathe in every word she says. "Try and get your seat bones closer to the pommel", she says. I tuck my seat in. "Closer to the pommel", she repeats. My brain screams "rediculous!", but somehow I manage to assume this yoga type pose. "And streighten your legs, down and back", she comments. I get a cramp that's killing me, but I don't tell her. I grind my teeth together and ride on. "Seatbones to pommel", she repeats. I shift again. "And straighten in the shoulders, feel like you're opening your chest up, like you're taking a huge breath." I follow the instructions, including actually taking the big breath. For good measure.

"Seat to pommel", she repeats again. Obviously, the big breath has shifted me out of position. "Straighten up". "Seat to pommel". "Seat to pommel". "Straighten up". "Seat to pommel". "And now, ...drive." I feel it. The interconnectedness of my back, my seat, my elbows and my hands with the horse. And I drive. And the horse responds with a tremendous walk. She chomps on the bit, she steps under, she arches her neck, and I'm in control.

Inside my mind, my brain triumphantly waves a piece of paper with the secret formula. Eureka!

(I also note that my "tuck the seat in" was the first step of this process, and I give myself a little pat on the back.)