How we have been looking at our lives and how we value and perceive it now, is going to be vastly different for all. With Coronavirus coming down on the world in a menacing way, there is yet another way of looking at it–as a blessing!
Polo players often say how passionately they love the sport, and how at times, more than Polo it is the horses that attracted them to it. The promises of passion, zeal, hard work and reward are always there, but today, in a flash, all of it is at a standstill, and under serious threat. With some of the major Polo tournaments getting suspended or cancelled until further notice, the play ahead is questionable. How long this situation will be, is still unclear.
At this, we thought of looking at the sports of the kings, that’s all about speed and sharp moves, differently. And on this journey, we found how beautifully the sport can also be seen from a distinctive lens, where you can unveil the spiritual side of it, wherein your inner self and the pony are in a deeper bond. Getting to know this side of the sport better, we got into a conversation with +2 handicap professional polo player from South Africa, Nick Sherring.
Sherring has been with the horses his entire life. At the age of 15, he dropped out of school, to school the ponies instead. With a composed smile, and while playing with his rudraksh in his hands, he spoke about his spiritual side. “When I was 15, a guy saw me riding, and he said, ‘you need to come out of the school, need to be on the back of a horse every single day. You know how to work with the horses, you know the horse language’. So, it was from there, that I started schooling the horses.”
Sherring has travelled to around 15 countries, playing Polo and coaching players. Across these countries, he has worked with horses, taught people about horsemanship, and Yoga. In Yoga, he found a spiritual edge to the sport.
While most of us look at the sport as a symbol of the knights and the kings galloping fast down the green lands, he looks at it in a different way. Travelling and working in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and almost all over Europe, he always wished to come to India on a spiritual tour. Sherring says: “I wanted to come to India on a spiritual journey and I managed a job to get horses for Manuel F Llorente and Aravali Polo here.” Sherring worked to get the horses fit, practiced yoga and then, went on sojourns, meeting sadhus and understanding Hindu practices.
He explained how spirituality has helped him find inner peace, and connect better with horsemanship and polo. He said: “The more you put together with the creator, He is there with you in your reality.” Explaining meditation, focus and vibrations, he says: “As you meditate, on the vibrations, protection, healing and love, the creator will then manifest it all into your reality. My spiritual activities have helped me in all aspects of life.” When we asked him how he connects the spiritual side with Polo, he says: “I have taken on a spiritual side in everything I do. I love everything which is ‘love’, which is creation. And Yoga for me is presence and in presence you are doing what you have to be doing.”
Talking about Polo, he explains: “If you are into Polo, you have to put your mind, energy and focus, all of that in it. And Yoga helps you do it; Yoga is presence.”
Mesmerized by his response, we asked him if he also makes his horses a part of his Yoga and spiritual journey. With a smile, he says: “Absolutely, I do different stretches, side to side. I go through their body, checking out individual muscles, to see how they extend correctly, or if they are holding themselves right… Horses’ muscle groups also have the seven chakras. A horse has its points of energy and we work with these points just as with a human body.”
“If you look at Polo and the animal in this spiritual way, you can easily get into a magical experience,” Sherring advises.
And why not? At these difficult times, things have changed, and the world and how we see it from now onward, is not going to be the same again. But in these times of distress, let’s put ourselves, our mind and energy into positive vibrations, that bring peace into the mind, body and soul.
