Did you know that your head weighs about a stone, or 6k? That it balances on top of your spine on 2 little areas no bigger than your finger tips? Excessive tension at the back of the neck pulls that weight into the spine, causing it to compress and shorten - the same as in a horse. As a rider, you will strive to get your horse to be free at the poll so that its back can lengthen. As a teacher of riders, I get my pupils to be free in the atlanto-occipital joint so their back c

Top tip: what can you do differently? This is a difficult subject to get into and I'm no therapist. Yet, when there's an obvious postural element contributing to a person's pain, chances are I can point it out. Recently, I was observing a horse-riding friend wince in pain every time she bent her knees to sit down. To me it was clear that she needed to just let her knees fall apart a little for the pain to stop. Very often we're in too much of a hurry - we carry on regardless

Top tip: it's all about muscle memory! Can you remember exactly how you felt when you achieved your best? I expect you felt really elated, but what do you recall about how you felt physically? Chances are, your postural support was organised for maximum efficiency - and you need to access those memories to create the habits which reproduce success. I show people how to do this in great detail but you can have a go yourself - like Jonny Wilkinson preparing to score! Prior to

Top tip for horse riders: if you lie down for 10mins prior to riding, your back will settle and recover its best state for postural support. Some riders have dreadful posture - you can see it! Some riders strive for good posture but, though they may look good, they're invariably holding a huge amount of residual tension in their muscles. I show people how to rid themselves of tension so that good posture emerges EFFORTLESSLY

Just a little tip on breathing...Transitions work best when your breathing is integrated - in conversation, sport, work, chores - in everything you do. When you hold your breath to concentrate, you essentially brace your whole upper body and this tension spoils things. Practice letting your breath flow naturally with some simple things like cleaning your teeth or washing the dishes - put a sticker by the sink to remind yourself - then see if you can transfer the habit to othe