Easier Movement, Happier Life

Send Mary a message We talk a lot about creating a better connection with our horses. But how connected are we to ourselves? In this episode, Mary welcomes her very first podcast guest, longtime student, colleague, and friend Leah Astrup. Leah is a lifelong horsewoman, Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner, and Equine Debono Moves Instructor. Together, Mary and Leah explore how our own movement, bal...

Send Mary a message Movement habits can linger long after they’ve stopped being useful. Discover how these unconscious patterns affect humans, horses, and dogs, and how greater awareness can open the door to easier movement and new possibilities.  Resources: FGNA Fall Feldenkrais Week - Free event!  Experience a gentle Awareness Through Movement® lesson and discover why enhancing your movement and...

Send Mary a message Most people come to the Feldenkrais Method ® because they want to move or feel better. But that's only part of the benefits.  In this episode, Mary shares the story of chronic hip pain that disappeared through Feldenkrais work, then unexpectedly returned during one difficult phone conversation. That experience taught her something powerful about the relationship between ou...

Send Mary a message In this episode, you’ll discover how everyday opportunities, from grooming your horse to relaxing on the couch with your dog, can help you develop greater awareness, clearer two-way communication, and deeper connection. Because Debono Moves doesn’t have to be something separate that you finally get around to when you have enough time. It can enhance the way you and your horse o...

Send Mary a message Could your surroundings be reinforcing a response you’re trying to change? In this episode, I share how changing the environment can help interrupt familiar patterns in you, your horse, or your dog. From hoof handling and nail trimming to our own movement habits, a different setting can sometimes create the opportunity for a different response.  Resources: Grab your FREE video...

Send Mary a message Your brain is constantly using past experiences to predict what will happen next. But those predictions don’t simply anticipate your experience. They can influence it. If you expect your knee to hurt when you stand, your horse to become uncomfortable during tacking up, or your dog to react to a skateboarder, you may unconsciously change your breathing, movement, attention, and...

Send Mary a message Can something be genuinely difficult and still feel easy? We often assume that challenge requires pushing, straining, or forcing ourselves toward a result. But difficulty and strain are not the same thing. In this episode, Mary explains how healthy effort, curiosity, and smaller steps can help you stay engaged with a challenge without creating unnecessary tension or overwhelm....

Send Mary a message Some of the biggest obstacles to easier movement aren't age, arthritis, or old injuries. They're the small habits you repeat every day without even noticing. In this episode, Mary shares five surprisingly common habits that may be making movement harder for you, your horse, or your dog, along with one simple question that can help you move through life with greater ea...

Send Mary a message What do you believe about your body? That you're not coordinated? That you're too old for this? That stiffness is just how it is now? Those beliefs feel like facts. Often, they're not. This week, Mary unpacks where these beliefs come from, why your brain needs actual evidence before it will let go of an old belief, and how a single experience of ease can start to...

Send Mary a message When podcaster Andrew Huberman recently interviewed Cesar Millan, it got me thinking about how people approach relating to their animals differently, and how most of the conversations around training methods often stop at the wrong question. Instead, I invite you to ask yourself: What kind of experience is my animal having? When we focus on helping animals feel safer, more comf...

Send Mary a message Your nervous system can't learn from movement it can't perceive. That's the reason behind one of the core concepts of the Feldenkrais Method and Debono Moves: slow down, do less, feel more. It applies to how you move, how you work with your horse, and how you handle your dog. This episode explores what that principle actually means in everyday life. Resources: Gr...

Send Mary a message There's a phrase Mary uses constantly in her hands-on animal work: "We ask questions with our hands. We don't make demands." In this episode, she breaks down what that actually means, using two real examples: a senior dog struggling with stiffness and a horse with tight shoulders. You'll hear how following what feels easy, rather than pushing against wh...

Send Mary a message What if one unexpected moment with your horse challenged everything you thought you knew about connection? In this episode, I share a personal story involving my beloved Appaloosa, Spotzy, that began as a simple experiment during a quiet ride and quickly became something I never could have anticipated. The experience opened my mind to new possibilities and ultimately influenced...

Send Mary a message When something feels off, the instinct is to fix it. But pushing for correction often triggers resistance in the nervous system, whether in your own body, your horse, or your dog. In this episode, Mary shares one of the foundational principles of her Debono Moves framework: connect, don't correct. It's a short episode with an idea worth sitting with. Resources: Grab y...

Send Mary a message Our culture has a lot to say about aging, and most of it undersells what's actually possible. For you and for your horses and dogs. In this episode, I challenge the story most of us have absorbed about inevitable decline and share why your capacity for change is far greater than you've been led to believe. The foundation most movement advice skips turns out to be the...

Send Mary a message Why does improving your own movement and awareness matter when helping your horse or dog? In this episode, I share why the human side of this work is not optional. After a conversation with a horse owner who wanted to learn “just the techniques” without exploring her own awareness or movement, I realized this distinction needed its own episode. Debono Moves is not about memoriz...

Send Mary a message Whether your dog is aging, recovering from surgery, or simply deserves the best foundation possible, this episode explores how gentle hands-on support can help reduce tension, improve movement, and create greater ease, confidence, and well-being.  💫 Key Takeaways Many dogs develop habitual movement patterns and compensations that now create unnecessary strain. Gentle hands-on...

Send Mary a message Autopilot is efficient, until it isn't. Most of us move through our days holding unnecessary tension, shortchanging our breath, and repeating patterns that work against us. Our horses and dogs do the same. But there's one concept that can begin to shift all of it: slow is smooth, smooth is fast . In this episode, Mary explores how slowing down and doing smaller moveme...

Send Mary a message Trying to “fix” stiffness, crookedness, or other movement issues often creates more guarding. In this episode, learn why physically supporting what your horse already does can help the nervous system feel safe, release habitual tension, improve movement, and deepen trust.  Applying this concept can change your relationship with your horse. I hope you give this episode a listen....

Send Mary a message What if your strong desire to help your dog is making it harder to help them? It sounds counterintuitive, but when we become attached to a specific outcome, we often bring hidden effort, worry, and mental rigidity into the interaction. And your dog feels all of it. In this episode, I explore why caring deeply is not the problem, but gripping tightly to a predetermined result of...

Send Mary a message If you've spent any time in the horse world, you've probably been taught to watch for releases — the yawning, blinking, eye-rolling, and head-dropping that signal your horse is relaxing. But what if chasing those moments is actually getting in your way? In this episode, Mary digs into why relaxation alone — even genuine relaxation — is only half of what your horse&apo...

Send Mary a message What if the starting point for real change wasn't finding what's wrong, but finding what's already right? In this episode, Mary reflects on a critique of self-help culture by author Tim Ferriss, who observed that to continually improve yourself, you must continually locate the ways you are broken. Mary explains why the Feldenkrais MethodⓇ and Debono Moves take a...

Send Mary a message Do you know the difference between effort and strain? It matters for well-being and soundness. Mary explains why strain creates wear and tear over time, and shares simple first steps for you and your animals.  Resources: Grab your FREE video training to help your dog. 🐕 https://www.marydebono.com/lovedog 💥 💥Learn how the Feldenkrais Method Ⓡ can help improve your seat, posit...

Send Mary a message Your brain is wired to predict what comes next. It's an evolutionary advantage designed to keep you safe. But when it comes to your horse or dog, those same predictions can limit what's possible between you. In this episode, Mary Debono explores how our nervous systems are constantly making predictions, often below the level of conscious awareness, and how those expec...

Send Mary a message Most of us think of touch as something we do to our horses and dogs. But what if that's only half the story? In this episode, Mary shares a practice that turns everyday contact into something more: a genuine, felt exchange between you and your animal. No special equipment, no complicated technique, just a shift in where you place your attention. The result? Touch that feel...