Horse Sense for the Leader Within is a must read for everyone! With innovative vision and grounded experience, Ariana Strozzi bridges two seemingly different worlds, creating a powerful new platform for human development, growth and learning. She eloquently reveals how horses mirror our inner world and provide dramatic, transformative shifts in the way we perceive ourselves.Strozzi takes the reader on a journey into the natural world where a wealth of knowledge already exists about what it means to be a leader of one's life. She defines a path to leadership that begins with understanding ourselves from a biological perspective. Leadership as followership comes to life as she encourages the reader to step outside of the human's narrow view of leadership."Are you leading your life or is it leading you?" becomes the topic of exploration. By becoming aware of our animal nature and our innate drive for survival, we develop the capacity to respond with choice versus react to the pressures of life. The journey continues with insights into the powerful elements of intuitive and emotional intelligence and the significance of nonverbal communication.Ariana demonstrates how horses reflect our patterns of behavior, thought, perceptions and performance in a thousand pounds of visual imagery. They show us the gap between how we actually present ourselves to others distinct from how we think we are being. They ask, "Who is leading?" and expect us to know what we care about and believe in ourselves. In so doing, they help us understand that leadership begins with the self we are. Horses teach us how to find self-acceptance in a world of judgment. As we learn to think more like a horse, we develop our intuitive imagination and can create new possibilities for our lives. Rather than focusing on what is wrong with us, we shift our attention towards what we are naturally good at. On this path of becoming, we focus on staying connected to what has meaning and purpose. The horse's genero
I grew up on the back of a horse on coastal hills of Northern California. I enjoy sharing my love of animals, land and nature with anyone who crosses my path. My mission is to re-connect people to the natural world for the sake of saving the Great Mother Earth and all of her creations. I believe that time is of the essence. We need to take the reins in our own hands, form herds of like-minded people, share our dreams and stand tall in the face of adversity. We need to awaken our spiritual longing and inter-connectedness to all life and encourage possibility and hope in a time of uncertainty.
I am a pioneer in the field of incorporating horses into human education and learning, coining the term Equine Guided Education (EGE) in 1999. I began pioneering this work in the 70's training horse and rider in a variety of disciplines (winning champion awards in dressage, jumping, eventing, gymkana, reining, and working cowhorse) when I realized horses were listening to subtle forms of energy, intention and imagery. I expanded my studies of animal behavior at UC Davis where I graduated with a degree in Zoology in 1984.
I spent several years working with birds of prey and other wildlife at the UC Davis Veterinary School and managed several animal and equine facilities. The birds and wildlife taught me many of the same lessons that the horses had and I began to feel a need to bring the magic of animal communication into the world of people, so I began studying human dynamics--aikido, leadership and somatics--and became a Master Somatic Coach in 1996. The seemingly separate worlds of horsemanship and self-mastery began to blend together and ultimately shifted my orientation from traditional horsemanship (in which we control the horse's behavior through a system of cues and orders), to seeing the horse as a sentient being who can actually guide us into a deeper connection with ourselves and our whole lives. So I started bringing people out to work with the horses, not to learn how to work or ride the horse, but to practice energy awareness and centering. It was then that I realized that the horses gave each person a truly unique experience that directly related to every other area of their life. And so began Leadership & Horses™ in 1990.
I have been very fortunate to put theory into action and have coached over 5000 individuals in EGE over the last 17 years. My clients come from all walks of life including students, mothers, coaches, therapists, managers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives. My corporate clients include Visa Credit Card, Wells Fargo Bank, Proctor & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard, Agilent, Cisco, Institute for Women's Leadership, Apple Inc, Leadership USA, PSI Seminars, Enterprise Performance and various women's groups.
I am currently working on 2 more books. I co-founded of Strozzi Institute in 1994 and the Equine Guided Education Association in 2003 with the intention of furthering the human potential movement. I am adjunct faculty of Institute for Women's Leadership.
In addition to my love of horses, I am an avid rancher, winemaker and artist, and mother of 3. I make wool products (yarn, pillows and comforters) from my sheep flock and a fabulous Cabernet/Merlot wine.
As far as my art, I love to work in a variety of mediums including, scratchboard, sumi painting, oils, acrylics, beadwork, watercolor, and most recently photography. I learned sumi painting from my father as a girl and find it to be one of the most meditative forms of art. Because each stroke is unique and you cannot go back and fix a line, you have to be totally immersed in the mood of the story you are trying to tell. For the most part I am a self- taught artist. I love to illustrate animals in particular, because they have so much spirit, they are so present and communicate so well without words.
