Episode 103: On Embracing our Mammal Skills & Issues within the Human Herd with Beth Anstandig (Equestrian Author Spotlight Podcast)

Episode 103: Welcome to the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast! In each episode, you’ll hear inspirational stories from horse book authors, including writing advice and marketing tips to help you write your own horse book. If you are an author, aspire to be an author, or simply love horse books, then you are in the right place!

In this week's episode, you'll meet Beth Anstandig, a licensed psychotherapist; leadership, culture and well-being consultant; owner The Circle Up experience at Take a Chance Ranch.

​Saddle up for an eye-opening conversation about how we can work with horses to better address issues within the human herd and what we can do to embrace our innate mammal skills, in order to deal with pressure and find a state of ease.

Watch Beth Anstandig's Interview on YouTube!

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Or Listen to the Audio Interview.

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About Beth Anstandig

For more than 25 years, and with an ever-growing menagerie of animals at her California ranch, licensed psychotherapist and lifelong cowgirl, Beth Anstandig has worked with human herds providing leadership, corporate culture, and well-being programs through The Circle Up Experience. She’s trained thousands of CEOs, managers, and teams from companies, universities, and nonprofits, helping them tap into their Natural Leadership to live, lead and work with genuine connection.

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Beth Anstandig Interview Excerpt

​Carly: Why did you decide to work with horses?

​Beth: When you see yourself through the eyes of a horse, you see your true nature. Our starting point with any group is with our horses. Simply put, horse work is our assessment tool. While more traditional approaches can be valuable to how we understand ourselves and each other, few are so immediately transformative.

Our equine-assisted activities (non-riding) allow the horses to teach you and show you parts of your leadership that need more room to play. As prey animals, horses possess exquisitely attuned emotional systems and they are able to pick up on the ever-changing nuances of mammals’ internal workings as they assess for safety. The cohesion of the herd is at the heart of the group’s survival.

They rely on a radical commitment to awareness and to an ever-present feedback system flowing through their herd. This unique sensing system allows the horses to read each other and their environment so they can detect danger and look for opportunities to rest in safety.

It also allows them to read us and to notice the places where we are blocked. Because so much of our innate power is trapped in our thoughts and often self-defeating scripts, our truest desires are just out of our reach.

This is an opportunity to get honest, gentle feedback from your equine teachers and coaching and support from your human facilitators. Participants leave a Circle Up experience with an open channel of authentic power ready to bring into their world.

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Carly: Tell us about The Circle Up Experience.

Beth: Not that long ago, humans were more connected. We were more aware of how much we needed each other. Humans have lived in “herds” for thousands of years — communities, big or small, that have provided us a safe haven for sharing resources and leaning on each other for support and fellowship. Even in these highly technological times when self-sufficiency is the norm, we still long to be connected. It’s how we truly thrive.

When we stray from our herd and stop practicing the basic elements of community-building and trust-growing, our groups and relationships suffer. Through meaningful experiences and intentional conversation, we can reclaim and revive this simple but essential part of our human story.

Circle Up’s model of Natural Leadership and experiential learning with horses integrates human psychology, animal behavior, and natural systems to offer a unique approach to personal and professional development.

​At The Circle Up Experience, you awaken your Natural Leadership so you can navigate the world, take hold of your most genuine desires, and build authentic connections.

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Carly: Tell us about your book.

Beth: The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership​ is part guidebook, part manifesto, part wake-up call, The book offers a framework for living, relating, and leading a more empowered life.

​Each chapter includes stories that span all aspects of the human experience along with the core concepts of the Natural Leadership model, a set of tools readers can easily utilize, and a variety of practice modes such as exercises and reflective experiences.

This guidebook unleashes our mammal instincts and shows us how to heighten our self-awareness, experience our lives more deeply, improve our relationships, and step into a more natural—and powerful—way to lead.

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Connect with Beth Anstandig

Website: https://www.thecircleupexperience.com/
Blog: https://www.thecircleupexperience.com/latest-news/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecircleupexperience
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecircleupexperience/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanstandig
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/Beth_Anstandig
 
The Human Herd: Awakening Our Natural Leadership is available wherever your favorite books are sold. Visit http://thehumanherdbook.com/ to learn more and order.

And to learn more about in-person retreats, courses and coaching at our ranch, as well as online offerings, visit https://www.thecircleupexperience.com/offerings/
 
A Note about the book’s publisher, Morgan James Publishing:
Regarding interview question about publishing independently or traditional, Morgan James Publishing is a hybrid publisher whose titles are distributed by Ingram Publisher Services and are available wherever books are sold.

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Want More Equine Author Interviews?

Make sure you never miss a show by subscribing on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. This podcast is made possible by listeners like you. I appreciate your support! 

​Thank you for joining us this week on the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast I hope you enjoy these Q&A sessions with wonderful equine authors who love all things horses and writing just like me. 

​If you are an author who writes about horses and would like to be spotlighted please let me know. Visit my contact page to fill out a request. I'd be happy to have you on the show, too.

Want a free guide to secrets of horse book authors? Gallop over to https://www.carlykadecreative.com/wisdom.html and join the Equestrian Author Spotlight email list to have the author advice resource delivered instantly to your inbox.

View the Episode Directory

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About Host & Author Carly Kade

Photo: Shelley Paulson Photography

​Carly Kade is an award-winning author, horse owner, creativity coach, and the host of the Equestrian Author Spotlight Podcast. She helps fellow writers start, grow, and expand their author careers. Creative writing makes her spurs jingle!

Carly's In the Reins equestrian romance book series was written with horse lovers in mind, no matter which discipline they ride. The horses are as vital to moving the story forward as the human characters are.

These books are perfect for poolside reading, taking to the beach, or settling down with after a day of horseback riding.

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