A ride through the woods as the horse, rider and leader all feel the peace and solitude as the sensory system peaks into the parasympathetic pathway for healing.

I’ve always been a bit philosophical, looking for patterns, clues, or insights that might suggest there’s a reason for certain chapters of my life. Occasionally, something glimmers — a thought, a possibility — that offers a small sense of hope and excitement. A new missing piece to the puzzle.

And almost always, these glimmers somehow connect to the horses, and an expansion of what already is, and confirmation that life is not over yet. There is still progress to be made, solutions to be sought and resolutions to overcome.

A life well lived boils down to personal happiness. Insights from the Harvard study spanning 85 years reveal that:

— Strong relationships are key to happiness and longevity.

— Emotional well-being is linked to physical health.

— Engaging in meaningful work enhances overall life satisfaction.

The conclusion of the study was that the strongest predictors of happiness were not wealth or status, but meaningful relationships, emotional well-being and physical health. Where have we heard that before?

With health comes the ability to work, to earn, to socialize, to contribute, to build and maintain relationships. It is the invisible foundation beneath everything else.

This article is not just about me, but maybe a lifeline for all the people (likely seniors) who are in the same boat as me (or want to prevent getting in that boat!)

With my foundation of health gone, I can fully relate to the dependency, the isolation, the depression and the frustration of not being able to change the state of my health, over which I had little control (Lyme’s disease, COVID and a traumatic accident, plus age).

The irony is that even as a physical therapist, I cannot “fix” myself. My condition has no clear treatment, therefore no answers from the insurance regulated medical field. Nothing seems to help. Poor health, I have learned, can be more destabilizing and dehumanizing than lack of money.

Poor health also quietly erodes social connection. The camaraderie of coworkers disappears. Invitations fade. Opportunities are limited due to physical inabilities. Energy dwindles. Staying home becomes easier — but just feeds the cycle of isolation, depression, and loss of purpose.

Horses, nature, and the quiet wisdom of the body have been recurring wonders throughout my life, such amazing phenomena to contemplate. Long before neuroscience gave us language like “somato-sensory regulation” or “vagus nerve activation,” people understood something essential: rhythm, touch, movement, and connection calm us. They ground us. They heal in ways modern medicine cannot.

Even standing beside a horse, feeling its warmth, its breath, its steady presence, the nervous system responds. Heart rate slows. Breathing deepens. The body receives signals of safety. In nature, away from noise and urgency, the senses awaken. The vagus nerve, the great communicator between brain and body, responds to this sensory input, shifting us from survival into regulation, from vigilance into rest. That is the physical and mental state the body needs to heal itself.

Perhaps this is where happiness and health intersect most clearly — not as destinations, or achievements, but as states of internal balance.

As another year begins, I hold onto hope that health can be supported. Hope that connections can be found, relationships nurtured and that happiness may sprout from what helps us feel alive, grounded, useful and at peace. I am proposing new programs at Centaur Stride that will address my health needs, and for all the others who align with my problems, that being using the Polyvagal Theory and healing with horses to address chronic illness of the autoimmune “inflammation” category. Watch for details.

Centaur Stride invites you to join us through volunteering to help us help others. Through this, you may build relationships with other volunteers, experience the joy of helping others, benefit from the connections with our horses, and hopefully find happiness where the body, the heart, and the natural world intersect, through the healing with horses.

Our next volunteer orientation is Saturday, Jan. 31 from noon to 2 pm at Centaur Stride, 8488 Jones Road, Sherman. Please RSVP at (716) 326-4318. This session is for adults only (over18).

Our next fundraiser is our Soup Supper, February 7 from 5-7 pm at the Westfield United Methodist Church, 101 E. Main St. A $15 donation includes choice of soup, homemade roll, dessert, and beverage, eat-in or take out.

Presale tickets are available at Jack’s Barcelona Drive-In or by calling Centaur Stride at (716) 326-4318 for reservations. Tickets will be available at the door if not sold out prior. In addition, there will be a basket raffle, drawn at 6:45 pm and door prizes, (must be present to win door prizes). A presentation about Centaur Stride is planned for 6 pm, including volunteer recognition. Please join us. Thank you for your support.

Claudia Monroe is founder and president of Centaur Stride.