Do you remember shaking out your body as a child when you felt angry, frustrated or even just walking across a room in a sudden burst of energy?The power of vibration is undeniably freeing. Shaking out our bodies can be a natural, simple and amazingly effective way to reset our state of being.We can jiggle out that stress, unwind our tensions, and release the pain. The shake out can also loosen tight joints, raise our metabolism, flush out toxins, and clear those energy blocks. So, I invite you to just let go and have fun!I recently took a class called ‘Vital Health’ with Dr. Zach Bush that validated another concept of healing that can occur from this practice. Dr. Bush explained that the human memory– especially our emotions and traumas – are held within our peripheral tissues. One way to purge it is by a daily shake-out ritual, which can work towards bringing our body to a regenerative state. Such simple, natural movements can help us deeply release and feel joy again. Bush describes it as ‘wiping the slate clean.’Can we really clear ourselves that easily?If we look to nature, trees shake off their old leaves to clear themselves for new growth. Both animals and children shake out without being taught to do so. In a kind universe, why wouldn’t we be set up to release trauma and start anew each day? Having explored this liberating movement myself and with clients for many years, I have found that body shaking can take us from feeling stressed, angry or bogged down to feeling grounded, joyful and centered in minutes.Do you feel ready to give it a shake?If so, stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, sensing the soles of your feet fully resting on the ground. Take a few breaths, and scan your body for any places you may be holding tension. This will give you a measurable result of how you feel before and after you shake. Start by gently creating a continual small vibration throughout the body while focusing on relaxing the places you may be feeling tightness or tension, such as your neck, shoulders and back.Try this for one to three minutes, pause, breathe and notice how you feel.Repeat this sequence for another two to three minutes, keep it light and loose and notice how this feels just plain good!Gently coming back to stillness, feel your feet fully resting on the ground again, then revisit the places in your body where you felt tension.How do you feel now?Lighter, energized, maybe even exhilarated?What could a few moments of such joyful movement accomplish each day? A daily dose of shake-out if you will.Donna Dimino is the founder of Living Body Awareness, a body centered healing and energy center devoted to exploring the innate wisdom and power of the body to guide, to nourish, to heal and to connect us back to ourselves. Information in this article is based on health and wellness practice, not medical advice.
