Ballorieh is a Middle Eastern dessert made from dough and pistachio filling. It is made from a special stringy dough called Knafeh dough.

In general, Ballorieh is made from pistachios, flour, butter ghee, sugar, starch, and milk powder. These are the total ingredients in it. However, looking in more details at its ingredients, one finds that it consists of three major items: The dough, the filling, and the sugar syrup.

Dough

Ballorieh is made from Knafeh dough. Like most other types of dough, this dough is made from flour and water. It is however a very special kind of dough in that it is made into long strings that can be molded to take any desired shape. Many assorted Baklava types, like Borma and Osh El Bulbul are made from this stringy Knafeh dough.

In some other Middle Eastern sweets, the stringy Knafeh dough is grounded and made into a thick layer of dough. This is the case in the Middle Eastern sweets Basma and cheese filled Knafeh.

Even though it is simply made from flour and water, Knafeh dough is not as easy to prepare as phyllo dough, which is the main dough in many types of assorted Baklava and Middle Eastern sweets. Knafeh dough is first made into a very watery mix which is then made into long strings using special equipment.

Filling

The filling is made from raw pistachios and sugar. The amount of sugar used can be adjusted in order to adjust the sweetness of the final dessert. In general, Middle Eastern sweets fillings are made from many types of nuts such as pine nuts, cashews, and walnuts in addition to pistachios, but Ballorieh is one of the pieces that are exclusively made with a pistachios filling.

Sugar Syrup

Sugar syrup is the last thing that is added to most Lebanese sweets after they are baked, and it is the main source of their sweetness as well as its calories. Regulating the amount of sugar syrup added to it is the most important factor in limiting it amount of calories. Soaking it in sugar syrup is not recommended as it increases its sweetness above the comfortable level for most people and increases its amount of calories as well. It is best to use moderate amount of sugar syrup. That is also true for most Middle Eastern sweets and pastries.

Like all desserts, Ballorieh can contain a more than average amount of calories, but it as well contains healthy ingredients. Its healthiest ingredients are the pistachios. Pistachios are healthy nuts that provide high nutritious value to this sweet dessert. Being very rich in pistachios, it is one of the assorted Baklava types that contain the healthiest ingredients.

Perfumes will contain several layers of scents creating a unique bouquet. These layers are described as their ‘notes’. These notes become more apparent over time and what you smell when you first selected it may change when you get it home.

Top notes: Consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly upon application. These form the initial impression and often are the selling points to a selection. Top notes may be described as fresh or clean smelling with the extreme being strong in odor and volatile. Although that is the first impression they usually evaporate quickly.

Middle notes: This emerges prior to when the top notes evaporate. It is the main body and emerges in the middle of the perfume’s distribution process. The purpose of middle notes is to mask the generally unpleasant initial impression of base notes which over time become more pleasant. Usually more mellow and rounded, these scents may emerge after two minutes to an hour after applying.

Base notes: This materializes close to the departure of the middle notes. The main theme of a perfume is the middle and base notes. While base notes bring depth and solidity, the compounds are usually bonds used to capture and promote the strength of the much lighter top and middle notes. The large heavy molecules evaporate slowly and are usually rich, deep bouquets that emerge 30 minutes after applying. Some base notes can still be evident twenty-five hours after application.

Consider the following things when selecting the right scent:

1. Think about the smells you enjoy most, listing out those that bring back memories or that are meaning full to you. If you are normally attracted to the outdoors then a perfume with a flowery or woody note would be appropriate.

2. Your personality is another factor to keep in mind. If you are the type of person that loves getting dressed up then choose a one that lingers. If you are the more casual, care-free person then select one that is fresh and clean. Another alternative are those that have a combination of scents that can bring out your personality. Choosing the right fragrance that represents who you are is best.

3. Test before you buy. No one likes getting a perfume home only to find out that it doesn’t smell the same as in the store. Inquiry about samples that can be tried out for a few days before committing yourself to a potential disastrous purchase.

4. Get opinions from friends and family. Ask if the fragrance is too strong, does it linger too long or do they like it. Ideally we want to select a one that we enjoy wearing and the people around us find it pleasing.

Upon understanding the base notes of a perfume and what scents you are attracted to, you also need to keep in mind that fragrances change when applied to the skin. So although it smells wonderful in the bottle does not mean it will on your skin. Apply a sample to your skin and allow it to sit for a few minutes. This will determine if the perfume brings out the overtones of the essence you want.

Tania Kamal-Eldin’s Hollywood Harems: A Documentary was produced by Women Make Movies (Firm) in 1999. Tania Kamal-Elin is an independent filmmaker and University educator. She has an MFA in Visual Arts from UCSD, a MSC in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. She also has taught at Palomar College and UCSD. Kamal-Elin’s accomplishments include publishing various fictional novels along with co-authoring a book of short stories. Her current job is an Assistant Professor at American University, School of Communication in Film and Media Arts, in Washington D.C. In Hollywood Harems: A Documentary, Kamal-Elin reveals to viewers that Hollywood’s depiction of harem dancers has inadvertently or purposely reinforced the stereotype surrounding Middle-Eastern women while continuing to elevate the social status of Anglo-European and American women.

The stereotype surrounding Middle-Eastern women has been pervasive since Europeans first visited the Middle-East and brought back highly-exaggerated tales of sensualized locales where the lust of men and their thirst for the skin is indulged. Despite its falsity, the portrayal of scantily-clad women sensually strewn across a room in various positions doing nothing but lazily enjoying music and indulging themselves has been Hollywood’s go-to depiction of Middle-Eastern women. In fact the majority of Middle-Eastern women do not partake in such morally ambiguous activities but embraced the stereotype that Western nations placed on their culture; for example in Micklewright’s Harem/House/Set:

“The Ottoman snapshots, playing with the harem stereotype, reveal not only an understanding of the stereotype but also a complex sense of parody. By inhabiting the stereotype themselves and intentionally constructing a defective version, the photographer and his subjects are claiming their own agency in addressing (and mocking) Western constructions of their society.” (Micklewright 257)

Kamal Elin utilizes clips of harems from Hollywood productions dating back to the 1920s to the 60s, 70s, and 80s to show how Hollywood convinced the general public to believe Middle-Eastern women are more-than willing subjects in male-fantasized harems. In reality, the actresses portraying these stereotypical harems are actually born and raised in America’s heartland arriving in Hollywood with no resources and forced to accept whatever available acting opportunities there were. In some cases, these actresses embraced the role of harem girls and made their fortune convincing young men of their exotic sensuality.

Hollywood Harems: A Documentary is a historical film piece that shares many of the same aspects of our other readings: Highly-sexualized harems are a product of stereotypes perpetuated by Anglo-European and Anglo-Americans because either the belief that the status of women in Western countries is morally superior to those from the Orient or to fulfill the fantasies of young men that believe in the rumors about Middle-East harems. In Hollywood Harems: A Documentary, the film producers of the different clips combined distinct elements of items originating from Arab, Persian, Chinese, and Indian culture to form the atmosphere of a fictionalized Middle-East that viewers were accustomed to in a fashion similar to how British photographer Roger Fenton created a harem setting for his photographs. Fenton’s photographs portrayed a “lavish use of textiles of different colors, textures, and patterns to create the space, which is furnished with a low couch and cushions. Smaller decorative elements-the inlaid table, a tray bearing a coffee pot and cups, the two pipes, and the musical instruments (spike fiddle, tambourine, and drum) fill out the scene.” (Micklewright 242)

Fenton’s use of these decorative elements gave his buyers the Middle-Eastern setting they desired, despite the fact that the general population of the Ottoman Empire from which he was took his inspiration hardly had harems within their own household and those with rooms designated for harems were not even remotely close to Fenton’s portrayal.

Hollywood Harems: A Documentary reveals that the media’s portrayal of Middle-Eastern harems was received enthusiastically by the general public as the correct depiction of the everyday life of Middle-Eastern women. The various clips in Hollywood Harems: A Documentary were for the most part in black-and-white but the filmmakers manipulated several film elements to contribute to their intended Middle-Eastern atmosphere. Some filmmakers utilized dim lightning in their work in order to bring about a sense of seediness and taboo that insinuated that harems were places where shady and possibly illegal transactions were commonplace. Filmmakers also decided the costume choices directing women to wear only the minimal amount of clothing because the regulations dictating the amount of clothing for females required in a film only applied to Anglo-women and not ethnicities. Lastly, just like Robert Fenton or Sebah and Joaillier’s depiction of harems, the filmmakers strategically placed luxurious items such as ottomans, musical instruments, and reclining chairs to bring together the sense of a room meant for relaxing and sensual activities.

Tania Kamal Elin’s Historical Harems: A Documentary is valid source of history that accomplish its mission of identifying the influence of Hollywood films on the general population’s perception of harems and Middle-Eastern women. Kamal Elin juxtaposes clips from different decades in the 1900s demonstrating how the misguided stereotype of Middle-Eastern harems persisted to present-day. My reaction to the film is one of surprise and enlightenment due to my realization that the majority of people hold this stereotype about harems myself included. The influence of media in everyday life is tremendous and I am certain that I hold numerous other stereotypes that have yet to be discovered. The visual elements of the harems from each clip was indicative of the time it was produced, showing us what viewers of each certain time-period believed harems to be. Historical Harems: A Documentary provides an eye-opening insight into the stereotypes of Middle-Eastern harems held by Western civilizations.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program is a federal law that governs elementary and secondary education and is funded by Federal Title I. Under the NCLB, school boards must ensure that their high poverty schools meet the educational needs of low-achieving students. The goal is to close the achievement gap between the high and low-performing students.

San Diego Schools are committed to delivering strong standards-based education with programs that are designed to improve student achievement in the gateway skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Along with this commitment, they have embraced the NCLB program, which benefits the San Diego schools and its students as follows:

o San Diego schools must provide greater accountability for results, which means an even better school district with higher scholastic achievement from its students;

o The district gains greater flexibility for spending federal money, allowing them to decide where the money best serves to improve student achievement;

o Parents have more options over their children, allowing them to choose a non-participating school over a NCLB school; and

o San Diego schools gain an increased emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.

Of the 202 San Diego schools, 138 are eligible for the NCLB program. Schools are selected for the program if they have not made adequate annual progress for two or more consecutive years and serve students from high-poverty backgrounds. Annual state-required student achievement targets measure the progress of each of the 138 San Diego schools. There are currently 37 schools participating in the NCLB five-year program and designated as Program Improvement schools.

The following seven schools are in their first year of the program — Clairemont High, Creative, Performing and Media Arts Middle; Knox; Pershing Middle; Rosa Parks Elementary; Wangenheim Middle; and Washington.

In their second year are ALBA, Bayview Terrace, Correia Middle, Dana (5-6), Emerson/Bandini, Encanto, Garfield High, Logan, Madison, Montgomery Middle, Muir (K-12), and Twain.

The third-year San Diego schools are Garfield, Marston Middle, and Pacific Beach Middle.

Baker, Bell Middle, Clark Middle, Farb Middle, Hoover High, Kroc Middle, Morse High, O’Farrell Charter, Roosevelt Middle, Taft Middle, and Tubman Village Charter are in their fourth year.

Four San Diego schools are in their fifth year. They are Balboa, Gompers Secondary, Memorial Charter, and Wilson Middle.

Those schools highlighted above met their adequate yearly progress targets in 2005, showing remarkable improvement in student achievement.

During all years of the program, parents may choose to send their children to a designated non-participating school and receive transportation at San Diego schools expense.

During years two through five, free tutoring is provided to eligible students after school, based on academic need. Parents select from a state-approved list of service providers.

In year three of the program, the district will intervene, making additional options and services available.

The district develops plans for restructuring the San Diego schools that are in year four of the program. The plans include major reorganizations and fundamental reforms that affect the staffing and administration of the schools.

Any school still in the program in year five is restructured, according to the plan developed for the school in year four.

San Diego schools provide parents of children attending Program Improvement schools with information on a variety of education-related issues. Additionally, parents may request information on the professional qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals associated with their children.

Parents are asked to partner in their children’s education by participating in school events, volunteering on school administrative committees, volunteering in the classroom, and providing home support to further enable their children to learn.

San Diego schools serve nearly 136,000 students. The district is the second largest in California. They are committed to improving student achievement through modernized facilities and resources, enhanced classroom learning through challenging and proven teaching methods, and involving the community in the educational process. The NCLB is just one of the many programs instituted by the San Diego schools to serve and benefit the students educational needs.

A good example of meat preservation in the Middle East is the Lebanese qawarma. Qawarma is highly seasoned pieces of lamb or mutton fried in melted fat from the fat-tailed Awassi sheep,then packed into earthenware,clay sealed jars and stored in a cool dry place. Once popular in the in the rural areas of Lebanon, this ancient dish is almost but forgotten.

Used to be a very young, usually six month old sheep was force fed grain, mulberry and vine leaves during the Spring/Summer months, then came early Fall was butchered in preparation for the coming months. But nowadays with modern conveniences and time constraints this ancient method of preservation has been lost.

Qawarma served a several purposes. It was mainly used to impart a meaty flavor to rice dishes when meat was unavailable. It also formed the basis for winter stews. Other uses included using it as a cooking fat and as a spread for bread. Below is a simplified, modern version recipe for qawarma.

*Note: Qawarma will keep well for 1 year and does not need refrigeration.

Yield:4-6 qts.

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 lbs. beef fat or margarine,melted

-5 lbs. lean lamb or mutton, cut into 1/2″cubes

-5 tsp. salt

-2 1/2 tsp. pepper

1. Place the melted beef fat or margarine in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add in the lamb or mutton, if using, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered. Stir regularly to make sure the lamb does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook until lamb is well cooked.

2. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. Place the meat in clear glass jars covered with 1/2″ of the fat. Seal tightly.

4. Store qawarma in a cool, dry place till ready for use. Before using, slightly warm the qawarma and discard the fat. Always return unused qawarma to cool, dry place after use.

This article is to fill you in on some beach volleyball tips, mainly why players switch sides mid-game. Have you ever watched beach volleyball on t.v. and wonder why the teams were switching sides in the middle of the game?

Beach volleyball is a completely different game than indoor 6 on 6 volleyball. One obvious difference is the fact that it is played outside in the elements. So you have many other factors to consider such as wind and sun. These are the 2 main reasons that teams switch sides on multiple of 7 in the middle of games. One side will always have an advantage over the other side because the sun will be in one teams eyes or the wind will be in favor of one side more than the other. So to eliminate these advantages or disadvantages teams switch sides when the sum of both teams points add up to 7 or multiples of seven.

For example, when the score is 8 to 6 the teams will switch sides. Or if the score is 14 to 14 or even 14 to 0 they will switch sides to keep everything fair.

That’s not the only difference from indoor to outdoor volleyball, the whole game is different as far as rules go. For example in beach volleyball you can’t open hand tip, set the serve, side set over the net or have sloppy looking sets. Everything must be clean and the set should not spin. That is why they allow you to hold the ball a little longer in sand volleyball because they want it to come out clean.

The middlemen are the wholesalers and retailers who specialize in performing activities relating to the purchase and sale of goods in the process of their flow from manufacturer to final consumers or buyers. They are situated in the marketing channel at points between the manufacturer and final consumers. The middle men have continued to wax stronger in spite of all strong arguments for their elimination, and not just only in business but also in sports. There are lots of agents attached to athletes and in most cases, their say matter a lot. So, the middlemen continue to survive because the functions they perform to both the producer and ultimately to customers cannot be performed by either the manufacturer or the consumers. Therefore, it is quite obvious that they would continue to flourish.

Disadvantages of elimination of middlemen

A school of thought supports the total elimination of the middlemen, I.e, wholesaler and retailer, because of the following disadvantages associated with them.

1. Longer channel of distribution: The wholesalers and retailers make the channel of distribution of goods longer.

2. Creation of artificial scarcity: The wholesalers and retailers normally create artificial acarcity of products through hoarding.

3. Increase in prices: The middlemen also cause unnecessary price increase to the dismay of the final consumer.

4. Misinformation: The middlemen sometimes misinform the consumers.

5. Fluctuation of prices: The middlemen can also cause price fluctuation, especially when too many of them are involved in distribution of products.

6. Disguised unemployment: The presence of wholesalers could encourage large scale disguised unemployment.

Reasons or Circumstances that may warrant the by-passing of the Middlemen

Some manufacturers by-pass the wholesalers and even the retailers and sell their goods directly to the consumers. This is done for the following reasons.

1. Increase in profits: Manufacturers can increase their profit if they are able to sell their products directly to the consumers.

2. Ownerships of warehouses: Some large retailers have large warehouses and this can make the manufacturer by-pass the wholesaler.

3. Cheap products: Consumers are able to buy products at cheaper prices when the activities of both wholesalers and retailers are cut off.

4. Development of mail order system: There may be no need of middlemen in mail order system since most of the transactions are done by mail.

5. Packaging and branding done by manufacturer: Most of the packaging and branding can be done by manufactures thereby making the middlemen irrelevant.

6. Presence of technical goods: The manufacturer can sell directly to the consumers if the goods produced are highly technical and required special specification e.g, computers.

7. Perishable goods: Middlemen can be eliminated when perishable goods, eg, tomatoes, are involved because the goods can easily get spoilt.

8. Branded products: Middlemen can also be by-passed when the products are branded for easy identification by the manufacturers.

9. Involvement of expensive goods: Manufacturers also prefer to sell expensive goods directly to the consumers because they normally have low volume of sales.

10. Small scale production; The manufacturers will prefer to sell directly to the consumers when the scale of production of the goods is very small.

Whether there a producer can stand without the middlemen or not, it is still a simple fact that a business will not flourish to its maximum best without them. Imagine a business mugul having several cargoes of goods and then you tell him, he doesn’t need middlemen? He may be tempted to shoot you. Middle men are very essential and key to distributive trade (especially in large business enterprises), hence cannot be eliminated.

You are in the bookstore and this cute girl stands next to you, browsing at magazines. After a few moments, she strikes up a conversation and you aren’t sure if she is flirting or just being friendly. How can you tell if she’s interested?

#1) Does she make eye contact with you? It’s an added bonus if she looks you in the eye and smiles!

#2) Has she touched your arm or brushed against you at all. If she is trying to get into your space, this could be a possible signal. If you return the gesture and she leans into you, it is a pretty safe bet that she is thinking what you are thinking.

#3) Does she have any tattoos that might give her away? A lot of lesbians will have some sort of ‘pride’ tattoo or other symbol that may give them away. Take a close look, it might be very subtle or it could be a great big rainbow, but you won’t know unless you take a close look.

#4) Does she have any jewelry that might give her away at all? A rainbow ring, necklace, a labrys is an older symbol of empowerment for women and could be a clue as to her sexuality. A ring on the thumb has been known to be an indicator of bisexuality and a ring on the middle finger of the left hand is sometimes worn by lesbians in a committed relationship. Not the traditional wedding ring finger, but the longest digit of the hand is the one to look for.

#5) Does she play with her hair when she talks and smiles at you? This is often the way a very femme woman will flirt. Look for the subtle changes in her face, her expressions and her eyes. The hair flipping, in conjunction with all the above is almost a sure bet that you are being flirted with.

#6) Casually mention your “last girlfriend” and wait for her response. If there is no look of shock, no obvious change in her demeanor and she still seems to be flirting with you, then she most likely is.

#7) Mention the name of a local gay club or bar and ask if she has ever been there. If she is familiar and says she has been there, then you are as good as gold, my friend. Ask her out!

#8) If you are the daring sort, and you are somewhere near a coffee shop or drink stand, ask her if she’d like something to drink and offer to get it. If she readily accepts your invitation, sits and talks with you, then most likely she is interested in you as much as you are in her!

#9) During your conversation, place your hand on the small of her back, very casually and direct her towards a door, a chair, anywhere. If she readily moves with you, it is her subconscious allowing you to take control of the situation and points to her desire for you to do so. At that point, you should be confident to ask her for her number so that you can “give her a call sometime”.

#10) Just come right out and ask her if all else fails. She seems interested and you just aren’t sure. The only way you will know is to just come right out and ask. Perhaps you say something sweet like “I really don’t mean to offend you so please, take it as a compliment, but I would love to meet a girl like you and get to know her. Any chance you might give me your phone number and do lunch sometime?” You are giving her a compliment and giving her an out all at the same time. She will tell you if she’s interested by accepting or declining. She might even come right out and say “I thought you’d NEVER ask!”

Good luck with your dating. It isn’t easy to meet quality people, especially out in public. More and more people are turning to online dating, but it certainly is more fun to have that initial spark from across the room and find an excuse to move closer and strike up a conversation. Maybe you will exchange glances and both play hard to get? The relationship dance is a fun one, if you allow yourself to enjoy it. Don’t let your anxiety keep you from having a little fun. Flirting is good for the soul…even if the girl turns out to be straight.

A travel agency is often the first port of call when booking a holiday. Many people’s initial response is that it will take up too much time, and keeping track of paperwork and reservations is a nightmare to do it yourself. However, this simply isn’t true.

When you visit a travel agency, most firms insist of taking all your contact details. In handing over your number, you may be bombarded with phone calls from sales agents attempting to get your cash.

In booking your holiday, you don’t even have to leave your home. You can browse through thousands of hotels on your laptop whilst catching up on last night’s television. Reviews from other customers can give you the reassurance that you’re getting a quality holiday for your money.

The best place to start is to plan an itinerary. The more flexible you are about sticking to the itinerary, the cheaper your holiday will be. It can be as simple as the date you would like to leave, and what you want to do there and whether you want each experience to be nearer the start or the end of your holiday. Make sure you allow enough time for rest between major activities, perhaps have a rest day, so that you can relax and enjoy your holiday. Filling every hour of your holiday may seem like a brilliant idea, but after a long flight the most exciting proposition will be rest.

If you’re planning a trip to the U.S you now need to apply for a visa waiver before you go. This can also be purchased online. Make sure you look into visa availability no matter where you’re heading.

Cheap flights are great, but there are certain things you should be aware of when booking with a budget airline. Budget airlines consider themselves to be a point to point service. For example, New York to Hong Kong. If you then wish to travel on to London, a flight from Hong Kong to London will have to be booked separately. If your flight to Hong Kong is delayed and you miss your flight to London, it is not in the airlines duty to put you on the next flight. So when making a hotel booking make sure you allow adequate time between each flight.

When travelling on budget airlines, bear in mind that they are strict on luggage allowance. You will be charged if your luggage exceeds the weight limit. On the flight itself, you will need to pay for everything, including all food and drink as well as blankets and headphones for long haul flights.

There are a number of online retailers, which specialise in hotel bookings. Don’t just book a hotel because of the price. Find one you like the look of and check the distances to the local tourist hot spots. Then read some reviews from other holidaymakers that have reviewed their holiday. Hotels give a maximum number of people per room. The number is often stated due to fire regulations, or the fact the room may only be able to fit a certain number of people. Do not presume that you will be able to sneak in an extra child. Often the hotel will not allow an extra person to stay in the room, and there may not physically be the space to do so.

Shop around online to guarantee you’re getting the best price. In booking your holiday online, you are cutting out the middle man which will save you money. Always take comprehensive travel insurance, you never know what may happen whilst you’re travelling.

Asymmetry in horseback riders is very common. Whether to a large or small degree, few of us ride with equal weight in each seat bone. We distribute our weight more in one stirrup or more in one seat bone and that affects our horse’s balance and ability to respond to our aids. While posting or standing in the stirrups it can be even harder to stand evenly weighted in both stirrups. If your saddle chronically lists to one side even though you feel like you’re in the middle of your horse, you are riding off balance. And when other riders say you are in the middle and you feel, hmm, crooked, off-balance? Yep, you’re not used to riding straight and you will need to retrain your self to ride evenly weighted on both seat bones. Your horse takes one lead more easily? Circles one way with ease and the other way falls in or out? Your spins or pirouettes are sticky in one direction? Right again, chances are you are not riding in the middle of your horse. If you don’t believe me, hoist an unevenly loaded backpack onto your back and then just walk around. You’ll experience first hand the compensation you need to balance under an uneven load. Try carrying that uneven load 5 days a week for an hour and you’ll experience how easy it is to strengthen yourself in a pattern of asymmetry.

If you ride balanced off to one side for years and years on the same horse, your horse will suffer. He will have to compensate and will get stronger to support your uneven distribution of weight. This will cause back pain, wear and tear on joints and uneven muscle development. It may eventually cause lameness. Riding unevenly affects your saddle, causing it to twist, and creating saddle fitting problems. When you habitually bear more weight on one foot or one seat bone and then you do strengthening or exercise regimes, you will reinforce your natural asymmetry, making it harder to find the place where you are sitting in true balance.

Like many or most people, you do not have a reliable sense of your own symmetry and balance, not because you cannot, but because life happens! We change, we get hurt, we compensate and uneven begins to feel right. Your senses have adapted to being a little off balance and so it feels normal to put more weight onto one foot. Perhaps you have had an injury and it caused you to stand with more weight on one leg. Or maybe you developed the habit as a teenager of standing more on one leg, with your hip cocked. Maybe it’s that heavy bag constantly slung over one shoulder that has caused you to use one leg more strongly than the other. Whatever the reason, your whole organization has adapted to this off-kilter stance and your muscles and brain support it. Even though your saddle and your horse will tell you that you are off balance, your brain will tell you that you are not. You may even want to blame your horse or blame the centrifugal forces of riding on circles. The odd thing is, when you stand or sit on your horse evenly it will feel really weird. You have to re-learn lateral balance.

Crookedness, saddle slipping, finding it hard to get your horse to take a certain lead, or bracing against your horse’s movement are all signs of lateral imbalance. They all cause tension in your horse and are counterproductive to the goals of a well trained, balanced mount, whether in the arena or on the trail. Yet many of us do these things each time we ride. So, if we can feel balanced when we are not, is there hope? Can we develop and improve our ability to move equally well in both directions, and to sense when we are doing this?

The good news is YES! Yes, you can improve your sense of balance and get stronger at any age!

How is this done? First recognize the long/supported/strong side will be the side you tend to sit on when riding, the side your saddle tends to list to, and the side of your stronger leg. It’s not true for everyone but that’s the tendency. Your bendy side and pulled up leg needs to be organized for strength and support, from foot to head. Experts in movement education and body mechanics can help you with this. You will even out your side-to-side balance as you use your weaker or contracted side more. You will slowly gain strength and flexibility necessary for symmetrical organization. If you feel you need strengthening exercises they must be done with a self-organization that helps you become more functionally symmetrical–not in your old patterns.

I use Moshe Feldenkrais’ techniques because I’ve found them effective to even people out, increase awareness of symmetry, and help people move efficiently from their center. Other somatic disciplines like Alexander or Hanna work may help too. Once we’ve learned to sense when we are balanced through our spine with strong, efficient support, our arms feel light and our breathing is easy. As a result, when we go to the gym or ride our horse, we can exercise in a way that strengthens this balanced posture. As we improve our awareness too, our balance, coordination, dexterity, and freedom of movement will get better. Even when we get straight, our horse may still be stiff in one direction. Over time he will adjust to your symmetrical balance and become more even, more willing to take either lead or let you post on either diagonal.

Here’s some simple starters based loosely on what I have learned from the work of Moshe Feldenkrais on how you can improve your riding by improving your posture, awareness, and movement:

1) Test your standing lateral balance & support. Stand on one leg and discover which leg you wobble on. Can you stand on one leg and reach to the sky with equal ease on both sides? Do your ribs expand equally on each side? Look in the mirror and check the alignment of your foot, knee, point of hip on each side. Check the length of your ribs and see if your sternum (breast bone) lies in the middle of your ribs and shoulders. Also check to see if your head tilts to one side. Once you can balance flat footed easily on each side, begin to slowly come up onto your toes & slowly lower, staying long & steady. When you can stand on it with just a light touch on the wall for support on and rise up onto your toes, you’ve begun to find your balance over that leg!

2) Test your sitting lateral support. Find out which seat bone carries more weight. First find you seat bones by sitting on a firm flat chair or bench and placing your fingers under your bottom and finding the bones you sit on. If they are not the same shape that’s a clue you don’t sit symmetrically. Make a slight shift to weight one seat bone. Do you lean or do you bring your ribs over to get your weight over there. Try the other side, keeping your head in the middle & staying long in your torso, without lifting a shoulder or a foot. Can you shift your weight to both sides equally well? As you develop symmetry you will find it easy to equally weight each seat bone.

3) Find your bendable side. Stand facing forward, feet hip width apart and allow your right hand to glide down your right leg. How far does it go easily, without strain? And on the left side, do you easily bend farther or not as far? Try side bending in sitting. Do you turn slightly when bending? What part of your ribs bends the most? Which seat bone is more weighted? Like a horse, usually one side is more bendable and the other side is stiffer and more supportive. As you gain in lateral balance you will learn to support yourself equally through both sides of your ribs.

4) Check your turning tendency. Do this in sitting and standing. Slowly turn one way several times and find out at what point do your eyes look. Try the other side. Is the height of your gaze the same on both sides? What happens to the weight in each foot or seat bone? Do you detect weight shifts as you turn? As you develop the ability to turn easily to either side you will find your horse cornering better.

5) Find your sitting-rising-sitting habit. If we post the trot or stand in our stirrups, we may be balanced while sitting but veer off to one side when rising. If we post or stand onto our stronger leg, each time we rise our horse has to adapt to our shift in weight. Practice keeping even weight through both sides as you rise and sit. You can practice on a physio-ball, putting one hand on your pubic bone and the other on your sternum, rise and sit keeping your torso in the middle of two evenly weighted legs. You can stand on two bathroom scales to check this too.

6) Visualize, in your mind’s eye, sitting in the middle of your horse. Visualization is a powerful performance tool for any athlete. A rider’s basic position is weight evenly on both seat bones with legs draped on each side of your horse. Start watching riders that truly sit in the middle (they are not always the top riders-in jumping I’ve noticed children are often more centered). Visualize yourself centered, a line through your and your horse’s body with equal weight and support on each side.