Meet Tania Barber | Life Coach/ Equus Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tania Barber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tania, how does your business help the community?
Anytime I work with people either as a mentor or through Equus Coaching I ask them to look at the nature within themselves with curiosity. When they come to me with “problems” it’s usually something that is coming up for that person to take a deeper look into themselves. I give people tools to look at their own thoughts and do their own work. With these tools they can go out into the world with a completely different energy of moving forward instead of being stuck. This energy starts a ripple effect of what you put out you receive. The whole community benefits from this as a result. When I connect people with horses my hope is that they have an experience that will start the process of self examination through real time feedback that is mirrored back to them from the horse, seeing that we are all connected through energy even if we speak different languages. My hope is that people will also see horses and nature through different eyes and maybe a different perspective so that we can all be more connected and walk a little more gently on this earth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My Business is Connected Coaching. I am a Martha Beck Certified Life Coach as well as a Koelle Institute Certified Equus Coach. Not many people get the chance to work from their home and then also take it out into the round pen or pasture. I am excited that my job includes horses, people and nature. I have always been an animal lover and I always wanted to have as many of them as I could, so I find it very fitting that I get to do this as my job. My job is ever-changing and expanding into new areas of how I can do things differently. I get to write the rules. I get overwhelmed with emotion when something lands for a person and they can take that away with them and revisit the feeling of it anytime. This has been one of the hardest things I am doing in my life, and the most rewarding. I started as a Life Coach and then was introduced to Equus Coaching at a workshop. I was completely hooked but I had been deathly allergic to horses all my life, even to the point of being rushed to emergency a few times so I didn’t see working with them as a possibility. I don’t really know why I miraculously stopped having asthma attacks around horses, but I am just going to say, it sure feels like the Universe conspired in my favour. I didn’t have horses nor had I spent anytime around them growing up so it felt like I had started from behind. I didn’t see it at the time but this gave me skills and the confidence to find people who had horses and then show them what I was offering and show value to them with what I do. I overcame the feeling of being a beginner at everything and changed my thinking to “look What I get to do and learn” The biggest lesson was to take my hands off the wheel and trust that the steps that I was taking in the direction I wanted to go always would lead me somewhere, and then maybe I would have to detour or pivot, but I am always learning something. I want my work to be in service to the animals so that there is a deeper understanding of connection. Connection to self, connection to others (including animals) connection to the earth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
so my best friend is coming to town and this is the itinerary:

Each morning

We start the morning reading each other our favourite things we have marked in the books we are reading. We are drinking freshly brewed, rich dark, fair trade coffee. We journal and then maybe pulled some cards from Kyle Gray, Gabby Bernstein and an animal card. After that we head out to the gym to sweat and move our bodies. Take the dogs down to park to walk the trails. Breakfast would be oatmeal with figs, chia, hemp hearts, cinnamon, bananas, blueberries, oat milk and coconut yoghurt or downtown to The Art We Are. After that a little downtown shopping at local stores. in the afternoon we head out to the horses to do a session and also hang out with the herd. for dinner we make an amazing Glory bowl with greens, nuts, tofu, veggies of every color and homemade dressing. finish off the day with a good movie.

Everyday starts pretty much the same: All meals are organic, plant based mostly cooked at home with love. The restaurants in the area are very limited for plant based eating

Day 2- up to Sun Peaks ski area to go for a hike. Lunch at Vertical Cafe, yummy vegan options
Day 3- out to Johnson Lake for some paddle boarding
Day 4- Go to Okanagan Lake to Wake Surf then drive into Vernon BC to the Pineapple Express for some vegan lunch
Day 5- Reflection of the time we have, slow morning of meditation and journaling take the dogs out for a longer walk out at McConnell Lake where they can swim
Day 6- Back out to the horses
Day 7- workout and a trail walk near the house with the dogs, she heads home in the afternoon after veggie burgers and salad.

Both my friend and I don’t drink alcohol. We raise early, always exersise, walk the dogs and usually do something outside. There is always deep spiritual conversation and delicious food. To us it is always about conversation, movement, growth, nature and food made with love that is grown organically.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First my husband, Toby for always supporting my dreams and crazy ideas. My two girls Haley and Megan for believing in me. My dogs Rocko and Nellie for getting my outside everyday and giving their devoted love. Christina Benty for being my biggest cheerleader and best running partner. Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Coaching ( her books Steering by Starlight, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World and The Integrity Cleanse) Master coach Michael Trotta, who started me on my own deep dive. Koelle Simpson and her introduction to Equus Coaching and to her Master Coaches, especially Travis Stock who spent lots of time coaching with me. To Bud the horse for his beautiful messages and my introduction to horse language. Rich Roll showing me the plant based world and changing my nutritional world. Zach Bush the Buddha of medicine and everything spiritual.
Books:
A New Earth, Eckart Tolle
Zen Mind, Zen Horse, Allan J. Hamilton
When Your Body Keeps the Score, Bessal Van Der Kolk
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
The Book of Hope, Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
The Soul of Money, Lynn Twist
Daring Greatly, Brene Brown
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Heal Your Body, Louise Hay

There are so many good books these are a few of my favourites.

Website: connected coaching.ca

Instagram: Connected Coaching

Facebook: Tania Barber

Image Credits
Ashley Narula Photography