Group Workshops
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Spend an afternoon with the herd in the secluded beauty of our Malibu outpost. After some mindfulness and meditation exercises, our clinical psychologist and certified equine and eco-therapist will co-create a safe space to assist you in clarifying your goals and intentions for living a more authentic and aligned life. You will choose an equine partner to pair with for the day as a healer and biofeedback mechanism, uncovering old belief systems that no longer serve you. You and your companion horse partner will go on a "journey" alone together to explore solutions before rejoining the group for processing and integration.
Moon Ceremonies
Working with the phases of the moon and moon rituals is a great way to delve deeper into self-awareness and mindful living. No, it's not about worshipping the moon, but about using the available energies the various moon phases naturally emit to realign ourselves with our highest purpose. We use breathwork, meditation, sound bathing, full-moon hikes, and of course - the horses - to draw closer to nature and its wisdom. Its our intention for everyone to leave feeling uplifted and inspired.
Currently Accepting New Clients
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What to expect?
Any time you come to the ranch, you can expcet a safe and friendly environment, where nature is abundant and the horses are happy and well-mainteined. We ultilize meditation, breathwork, sound bathing, and a variety of other mindfulness techniques to support the work we engage in with the horses. All our wellness offerings are co-created by equine therapists and certified psychologist Dr. Nicole Aukerman.
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I have some questions first...
No problem at all. If you feel it is more suitable for you please feel free to call or email us to discuss your options.
424-346-4590
highhorsemalibu@gmail.com
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What is a moon ceremony?
We believe the natural cycles of the moon and different energies of the moon phases provide us with valuable opportunities to increase our internal awareness and check in with ourselves. As human beings, our lives are full of rituals we perform every day without really thinking about it! Moon ceremonies are intentional check-ins at regular intervals to keep us on track of reaching our highest potential and recognizing the blocks that may need to be released becuase they are no longer serving us.
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How Much is it?
Private Equine Assisted Therapy sessions with Nicole are $200 per hour.
Our group wellness workshops are bewteen $175-$250 for a three hour session and are limited to eight participants. Private group sessions are available upon request.
Our Moon Ceremonies are donation based, with a $50 suggested dontation payable via Venmo to attend.
About the Facilitator
Dr. Nicole Aukerman leads all of the equine therapy sessions at High Horse Malibu. Nicole has been an avid equestrian for over two decades. Early on in her career she worked as a trail guide where she repeatedly saw the therapeutic benefits that being with horses had on people. She noticed their confidence and sense of self would blossom during the three-hour trail she led them on.
She adopted her own horse in her early 2000’s and experienced first-hand the dual healing and transformative relationship that could develop between human and equines.
This inspired her to go back to school for psychology to try and understand what was causing these shifts towards the greater well-being that she had both witnessed and experienced.
Nicole received her MA in Clinical psychology and recieved her PhD from Antioch University in Santa Barbara. Nicole also holds a certificate in Eco Psychology and is passionate about Eco Therapy i.e., utilizing nature and animals to facilitate healing and awaken our authentic selves.
Why are horses such powerful healers?
Equine-assisted therapy uses the inherent nature of horses to amplify and assist traditional psychotherapy techniques, improving self-awareness, self-efficacy and emotional regulation while decreasing depression and anxiety.
Horses are highly attuned to their environment in order to ensure their safety and survival, making them intuitive and emotionally sensitive to the slightest gesture, body posture, tension, tone of voice or glance that we humans may unknowingly communicate. Their responses to our non-verbal behaviors and feelings have the potential to teach us how we unknowingly are interacting with those around us.
Issues pertaining to boundaries also arise when dealing with the horse’s size and power. Horses have clear boundaries, which they assert freely with each other and with us. Learning to attune to a horse’s subtle and sometimes not so subtle boundary cues has the potential to further increase awareness of one’s own physical and emotional boundaries. The ability to clearly and congruently communicate with a horse can be quite empowering and can cultivate a sense of self-efficacy that extends into other areas of one’s life.