That’s the start of a stress-management exercise that may help loosen your tense muscles and give you a break from anxious thoughts, says Kim Penberthy, a clinical psychologist and professor of research in psychiatric medicine at the UVA School of Medicine. It’s a small movement experiment—sometimes called somatic shaking—that takes a minute or less, doesn’t require any equipment, and gives you something to try when telling yourself to calm down isn’t getting you anywhere.
Think about what happens when you’re replaying an argument or worrying about tomorrow’s big work presentation. Your mind is busy, sure. But your jaw might be clenched, your shoulders raised, and your neck stiff enough to make turning your head unpleasant. Shaking your body gives you a chance to notice—and loosen—some of that tension. “If you try to tense your shoulder and shake your arm, it’s sort of hard,” Penberthy says. Letting your arm hang loosely and gently moving it encourages you to relax those muscles.
Penberthy sometimes shakes things out herself. “I often do it after a very stressful day,” she says, especially when she notices her neck aching. The image that comes to her mind is athletes shaking out their limbs before heading onto the field: a mental and physical move.
How to try somatic shaking
If it feels comfortable, loosen one leg and then the other, holding a chair or wall for support if you’re standing. If you’re sitting down, you can try small foot taps instead. Keep your eyes open, leave your head and neck steady, and breathe normally. A little movement is plenty.
George’s own anxiety tends to show up in her body: Her heart races, her muscles tense, and she feels overwhelmed. When that happens, being told to meditate or work on her thoughts doesn’t necessarily help. Movement gives her another place to start. It’s also something you can fit into a stressful workday: a realistic alternative to telling a client, “‘Oh, you’re feeling stressed at work, you should go for a 20-minute run,’” she says.
Don’t worry if the difference is small. Penberthy sometimes suggests rating your tension before and afterward, but she doesn’t want people thinking, “Oh no, I’ve only moved from 7 to 6. I’ve failed.” Any stress reduction is valuable, she says.
How to make “shaking it out” a stress-relief habit
Morgan Starr-Riestis, a therapist in Honolulu, recently did a quick shake beside her car after a trip to the dentist. Dental appointments are stressful for her, and she had already used breathing and other calming techniques beforehand. Afterward, she spent about 10 seconds bouncing around before getting into the car. “You just kind of allow that pent-up energy to feel like it has a place to go,” she says, “so you’re not carrying it around.”
If you’re having trouble picturing the movement, Starr-Riestis suggests imagining water droplets on your skin and gently shaking them off, like a dog after a bath. Focus on where you notice tension, and move in whatever way feels comfortable.
There’s no need to turn shaking into another time-consuming thing on your to-do list. Starr-Riestis likes that it’s free, takes very little time, and gives people something they can try anytime they have a spare second. “I think so much of our healing culture has become these long drawn-out routines,” she says. “You go to yoga for an hour, you have to do this and you have to do that.”
Just leave yourself a moment afterward to be still. Take a breath, notice how you feel, and give yourself a chance to settle before checking your phone or opening the next email. “The stillness after that is really, I think, the more important part,” Starr-Riestis says.
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