"Shake it Off"

After experiencing the high energy Taylor Swift’s Era Tour Concert on film this weekend, I was inspired to discuss ‘shaking it off.’ If you haven’t heard this song, you can listen to it by clicking this link: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM). In 2022, Ms. Swift shared her motivation to write “Shake it Off”: "unrelenting public scrutiny of my personal life, 'clickbait' reporting, public manipulation, and other forms of negative personal criticism. I just needed to shake off and focus on my music” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/08/09/).

A few months ago, at a meditation gathering to pray for our city, I learned about ‘somatic shaking’ and tried it. According to Dr. Peter Levine, “[purposeful] shaking can help release muscular tension, as well as burn this excess adrenaline which is triggered when we're living in fight or flight mode when we're constantly stressed, and calm the nervous system to its neutral state. Animals have been known to shake to help regulate their systems” (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/can-somatic-shaking-help-you-get-rid-of-your-anxiety). We’ve all seen dogs shake after they have gotten up from sleeping or when they are excited or wet. And, you may have seen geese rise up out of the water and vigorously flap their wings to shake off, perhaps because of stress after an encounter with another goose or to warn other geese it is not to be disturbed. Then, after it has shaken off, it glides peacefully away.

There are many claims on how purposeful somatic shaking can be beneficial: “Shaking therapy can help manage emotional states, both short- and long-term. Regulating stress can also prevent it from building up and developing into symptoms of anxiety, trauma, or depression. ‘Stress is a baseline starting point for a lot of mental and emotional dysregulation,” says health coach and trauma expert, Adair Finucane, LMSW. [Shaking] is a release for the body, a release for the nervous system. You are literally shaking off the dust of stress, trauma, and anything your body would prefer to not hold on to.’

Regulating stress can help:

• lessen symptoms of anxiety

• lessen symptoms of depression

• mediate high blood pressure Trusted Source

• boost immune function

• improve mood

• reduce stress on cardiovascular systems

• reduce risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes” (https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/can-shaking-your-body-heal-stress-and-trauma#Benefits).

How can we ‘shake it off’ when we are angry, offended, anxious, or otherwise bothered by something so that we can come back to center, to balance, to release from negative energy, when we are overwhelmed with emotions - good and bad? Finucane says “‘I would recommend starting very small. I recommend that somebody starts their day by shaking for 30 seconds if they’ve never shaken before.’ Even minimal shaking, like 10–30 seconds, can change the nervous system and affects hormone production. When you feel comfortable, you can build up the practice to 30 seconds to 2 minutes every morning and night. You can also shake anytime you’re feeling acute stress, or when you simply feel like it” (qtd. in https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/can-shaking-your-body-heal-stress-and-trauma#For-newbies). Here is a link to a video where Finucane demonstrates a technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RauCPX7CxU8&t=124s.

Roopali Shrivastava, counseling psychologist, “has a step-by-step guide for us:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, soften your knees, and drop your shoulders. 2. Begin shaking and feeling the bounce through your knees and let the vibration spread to your arms and shoulders. 3. Try to shake your entire body with little trembles and full body shakes. You can even play some music if you want.

The shaking mechanism can be great for people suffering from trauma, grief, and even phobias. The involuntary shake is a burst of good news from the muscles directly to the central nervous system. The signals generated can create new pathways inside the brain. You can start the practice by doing it for five to 20 minutes a day. As no equipment is needed, you can do it anytime anywhere” (https://www.healthshots.com/mind/mental-health/shake-your-body-to-shoo-away-the-stress-suggests-expert/).

For me, dancing helps me to ‘shake it off’; perhaps that will work for you too. Dancing, for me, works better to release energy even better than working out at the gym. Afterwards, I feel renewed; it feel the flow of positive energy flowing through me, and I feel as though my body and mind have been reset in a favorable manner. Give ‘shake it off’ a try; it may be highly beneficial to you.

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* Because I will be on vacation next week, there will not be a blog post next week. See you when I return.