Bodywork vs. Brain Work: Why Movement Patterns Shape Behavior #138

Many people do bodywork with their horses or dogs, and it can feel helpful in the moment. Muscles soften. Tension eases. The animal looks more comfortable.

But there is something deeper available.

In this episode, I talk about the difference between bodywork and brain work, and why that distinction matters if you want lasting change.

I share a story of a dog whose aggression resolved once he felt more balanced and capable in his body. Not through training. Not through correction. Through learning.

When an animal feels physically vulnerable or stuck, behavior often follows. What appears to be a behavioral problem is often rooted in how the animal organizes their movement and weight, as well as whether they feel safe. 

This episode explores how gentle, respectful hands-on work can support the nervous system, not just the muscles. When touch is tied to function and learning, animals can discover new movement possibilities that carry over into daily life.

This is not about fixing animals.
It is about listening, supporting, and helping them feel safe enough to change.

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, position, and balance on your horse! Free rider videos masterclass: https://www.marydebono.com/rider 💥

Get Mary’s bestselling, award-winning book, “Grow Young with Your Dog,” for a super low price at: https://tinyurl.com/growyoungwithyourdog. Demonstration videos are included at no extra cost. ⬅️⬅️⬅️

All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and doesn't constitute medical or veterinary advice or professional training advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you, your horse, or your dog are unwell or injured.  Always use extreme caution when interacting with horses and dogs.

About the Host:

Mary Debono is a pioneer in animal and human wellness, blending her expertise as an international clinician, best-selling author, and certified Feldenkrais Method® practitioner. With over three decades of experience, Mary developed Debono Moves, a groundbreaking approach that enhances the performance, well-being, and partnership of animals and their humans.

Mary's innovative approach draws from the Feldenkrais Method®, tailored specifically for horse and dog enthusiasts.  Her methods have helped animals and humans:

• Improve athletic ability and performance
• Enhance confidence and reduce anxiety
• Reduce physical limitations and discomfort
• Deepen the human-animal bond

Mary's flagship online programs, "Move with Your Horse" and "Easier Movement, Happier Dogs," provide animal enthusiasts with an innovative approach that combines the concepts of Feldenkrais® with her signature hands-on work for horses and dogs (Debono Moves). Through this transformative approach, both people and their animal companions discover greater harmony, ease, and connection.

#Feldenkrais #Debono Moves #horses #dogs 

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi. Many people do bodywork with their horses, their dogs, et cetera. And while that can be wonderful, there is a way to elevate your body work so that it's more than just some changes in the body, but it actually affects the brain, the whole nervous system. I like to think, you know, it's a difference between bodywork and brain work. So, for example, a lot of people, if they see me working with a horse or a dog, they'll assume I'm doing bodywork.

They'll assume that I'm focusing on the animal structure. Maybe they think, oh, yeah, the muscles are getting more relaxed or, you know, things like that. And that all may be true. In other words. Yeah, usually the muscles do lose their chronic tension, and we help the animal feel so much better. And it's more than that, because what we're doing is we're tying it into something functional in the animal's life for them to be able to walk, run, bend better.

I'll give you an example of a dog I worked with some years ago. He was a border collie, and he had aggression problems. And the woman brought him to me at a horse stable. She had a horse there. She was familiar with my work. And I was up there doing a clinic where I was working with a whole bunch of horses that day. And she was explained, she had told me in advance the dog's problems, that the dog would sort of like suddenly attack, you know, was aggressive to other dogs.

You know, they. They could seem fine one minute sniffing each other, and then the dog would suddenly attack. And the dog also did that with horses. You know, the. They would be sniffing each other, and suddenly the dog would bite. And she, you know, she. She definitely took the dog to the vet. She made sure there wasn't anything medically wrong. And she took the dog to some trainers as well, and that didn't pan out.

She didn't have anything beneficial from that. And when I looked at the dog, so I had her walk the dog, and I could watch him. Him interact, you know, with the environment. I noticed something very interesting. He looked very healthy. You know, he was a good weight. He was. He was on the younger side. In other words, he wasn't a senior dog that was having difficulty moving at all.

But I noticed he was very unbalanced. He would weight his front end quite a bit, and then he'd get into a situation where he was so heavy on the front that he couldn't get out of that situation very easily. So in other words, he couldn't turn. He Was also stiffer turning to the side, but he could not shift his weight backwards so he could make a getaway. And you think, well, and it wasn't very obvious.

No one else had picked up on that. And I thought it was fascinating though, because it also spoke to his emotional state. In other words, if an animal, horse or dog feels vulnerable, if they feel they can't get out of a situation, sometimes they will turn to aggression. And it's very, you know, this happens quite a bit with dogs. We know that. And so what I did was I worked with him in such a way that I taught him how to move his weight backwards.

It involved, for example, you know, working very gently with his sternum and ribs and his spine and, you know, and his hind end, you know, his pelvis and his legs and you know, all kinds of different things I did with him. But it was. So it wasn't just about, you know, manually rubbing on muscles or anything like that, although that can be useful. So that's, that's no, no shade on any of those other modalities.

But when you tie in hands on work to something functional, something that is the dog is going to learn from and potentially have an improved quality of life long term, that to me is what's so important. And that's the, the, that's the direction my work goes in. So I did that. And what was amazing was this dog never had aggression issues again. Now, I'm not saying it's always a one and done, it's very rarely a one and done, but in this case it was.

And gosh, I'm going to say this was easily 30 years ago. I remember when I was up in that particular stable, you know, up in the Los Angeles area. So, and we know this also with horses, we know that a lot of times there are what seem like behavioral problems, but they stem from something where, you know, in the horse's body, the horse feels vulnerable to some degree, can't move the head and neck freely, for example.

Well, a horse is going to feel threatened, so they might act out in with a behavior that you don't like. And you may think, well, I'm trying to train this horse and unfortunately a lot of people then start going to really aversive aids, you know, aversive methods with animals. And that's terrible is, it's. First of all, I don't, I'm not a fan of aversive methods from the get go.

And especially for an animal that's already struggling, may not be obvious, it may not be obvious, like a lameness or something like that, or it may not show up on an X ray. But very often there is a limitation, a restriction that the animal has the horse or the dog. And when you can help them through hands on methods to feel more balanced and free in their body and help them explore these new movement patterns, their brain, their nervous system will want to hold on to that.

And so I guess the purpose of this episode is really just to kind of help you see things in a different way, to help you realize that there are approaches out there that are, you know, brain based approaches, that they are not just about helping the body feel good in the moment, but really based on learning. So it's like the difference between bodywork and brain work. So yes, it may look like bodywork, but maybe it's more than that.

And certainly that is what I endeavor to, to teach people is how they can use their hands in a very respectful, gentle way to improve the lives of their horses, dogs and other animals. So thank you so much for joining me. If you have questions about your animal, feel free to email me maryairydevono.com Hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I look forward to talking to you soon.

Bye for now.