Hey friend,
It's Susan.
Welcome to Mindful Movement Stress Relief.
Shake it off.
Stress is a normal,
Even healthy part of life.
It's important,
Though,
To notice when we have it and to allow it to move.
All stress,
No matter what kind,
Lands in the body.
If you're worried about your health,
Or angry at your boss,
Or terrified of climate change,
All stress manifests in the body.
If we pretend that stress isn't happening,
Or if we numb it with alcohol or bags of Oreos or scrolling Instagram,
Stress will stay in the body,
Lodged in our tissues.
Left unprocessed,
Stress will leak out,
Or explode out,
With out-of-proportion reactions,
Destructive behavior,
Or depression.
Instead,
We need to process and move stress out of the body by what Emily and Amelia Nagoski call in their book Burnout,
Completing the Stress Cycle.
This mindful movement stress relief practice,
Shake It Out,
Will help you do just that.
Movement and shaking is one of the body's best ways to process stress and trauma.
Think about hitting your thumb with a hammer and the impulse to shake out your hand.
We see it in nature all the time.
A gazelle gets attacked by a lion,
And when she gets away,
She shakes.
Two dogs get in a fight,
And when it's over,
They shake from ears to tail.
A human almost gets in a car wreck or has an argument with their kid,
And what do they do?
They tighten up,
Hold their breath,
Clench the steering wheel,
And keep going.
Today we're going to shake that up by shaking it off.
You can do this practice anytime you're feeling any kind of stress before you give a presentation,
After a tense conversation,
Or after reading the news.
When my step kids were young and they were upset and complaining and I didn't know what to do,
I would often go into the bathroom and shake for a few minutes,
And then go out and interact with them.
Things always go better when I shake it out.
I like to do this practice standing,
But you could do it seated or even lying down.
If you like,
You could put on some energetic music,
But all that really matters is that you let yourself shake it off.
As we begin,
Bring to mind whatever stressor has your attention right now.
What do you notice in your body when you do?
Do you feel any tightness in your throat or a knot in your stomach,
Tension in your shoulders?
If you notice any sensation,
Gently make a note of it.
If you don't notice anything,
That's totally fine too.
To begin,
Take whatever position you'd like to start in.
Place your feet flat on the floor and feel the surface under you.
Take a deep breath and let it go.
Then start with your hands and shake them out.
Let the weight of your hands shake down as if you have sticky tape on your fingers and you're shaking it off.
Pay particular attention to the big muscle at the base of your thumb.
Shake out your hands.
Then let the shake travel up into your arms and shoulders.
Let your arms be like heavy,
Wet noodles and you're shaking the water off.
Let your shoulders move back and front,
Up and down.
Move your shoulders and let them shake out your arms.
Then shake your chest and your head.
Move your heart and rib cage.
Many of us have been socialized not to shake the chest,
So if that's you,
Start small and slow.
Imagine your heart as a maraca and shake it so it rattles.
Let your head shake like you're saying no and then like you're saying yes.
A little goes a long way with head movement,
So shake with awareness so as not to strain your neck.
Then open and close your mouth a few times,
Puff out your cheeks and shake out your jaw.
Then move the shake into your hips,
Spine and low back.
At any speed,
Wag your tailbone to move your pelvis.
Imagine your pelvis as a bowl filled with water and you're sloshing it around.
The hips are a place where the body often stores unprocessed emotions,
So it's not uncommon to feel emotional when moving the pelvis.
Go easy,
Notice how it feels.
Emotional release is totally normal.
Plant your feet firmly on the floor and let your heels lift slightly and drop them down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down.
Feel the shake move up from your feet and then back down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down.
If you feel stable,
You can lift one foot and shake out the other leg and foot.
Feel free to use a wall or a piece of furniture to do this.
You can also sit in a chair or lie on the floor and shake out your lower legs and feet.
Now shake as much of your body at once as you can.
Shake your whole self in a way that feels good.
You might also make some audible exhales and release from the inside out.
Now pause and get still.
Take a deep breath and let it go.
Notice any sensations in your body.
You might feel a tingling or flowing or an emotion arise.
It's all fine.
Just let whatever comes up be as it is.
If you feel there's a part that you've missed or you want to shake out more,
Do that.
And then pause and breathe again.
If you started the practice with awareness of the stress in a particular body part,
Reconnect with that and see how it feels now.
In general,
Notice how you feel about the stress now that you've done the Shake It Off Mindful Movement stress relief.
Feel free to do this practice for longer or any time during the day whenever you need it.
Remember that we all need to find ways of completing the stress cycle to keep the amazing instrument of your life,
Your body,
Open and healthy.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Breathe deep,
Shine bright,
And show up.
