Shaking to Release Trauma
As many of us know, stress is both psychological and physical.
Physical manifestations of stress can include lock jaw, GI issues, and even pain in areas such as the back, neck, and shoulders.
One of the physical ways the body responds to stress is through shaking.
Shaking is a natural response to extreme stress, whether it's actual life or death, or just perceived that way.
Think about the last time you were "freezing" or very anxious, nervous, or scared, you body was probably trembling.
This "shaking ability exists in all mammals and humans. It is the body’s most natural and organic way of unravelling contracted or tight stress patterns, as well as reducing the charge of stress hormones and unhealthy chemical build up, bringing the body back into it’s natural balance and a stable condition."
"It’s what all mammals do, (except humans because we’ve learned to control it). We’ve all seen antelopes escape the jaws of a predator, pick themselves up, have a good shake and then act like it never happened. They’re over it. Dogs shake too to calm themselves. We’re the only species that walks around bottling it all up, preferring to stay "braced against life." We just need to learn to be a bit more ‘mammal’, says Steve Haines, the UK’s leading TRE practitioner."
"TRE, or trauma release exercise, is a simple set of exercises to help reset the reflexes and habits in the central nervous system," he explains. "When we have tension and trauma, the old parts of the brain become stuck in defensive strategies, making us tight and contracted prepared for fight-or-flight or freezing the body. TRE is a safe and easy way of releasing tension and waking up your body."
In Twerk Rising, when we "twerk", we are shaking the legs and glutes with the intention of releasing stress, old, stored trauma and stress patterns.
We "deliberately activate that involuntary shaking that we’ve all experienced at times of terror, to discharge stress and balance the nervous system – a kind of factory reset, if you like."
"[Shaking] is said to work by rewiring our nervous system, setting us free from those default stress patterns, which were set up to protect us. It’s been referred to as ‘trauma-proofing’. We can’t stop difficult life events, but they don’t have to break us."
Let's shake and RISE.
Resources: