Category Archives: trauma releasing exercises

New book, Shaking Medicine: The Healing Power of Ecstatic Movement

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I found a book, Shaking Medicine: The Healing Power of Ecstatic Movement by Bradford Keeney, at Half Price Books on Sunday when I was looking for another book. Of course it jumped off the shelf and right into my hands!

The author is a professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, or at least he was in 2007 when this book was published, and has made a remarkable connection with the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, who practice shaking medicine ritually. Dr. Keeney has been shaking his whole adult life and has the gift of being able to induce shaking in others.

Plus, he seems to have training in anthropology, systems theory, and hypnosis, so I have a connection there with my NLP training.

Here’s a link to his website. Oh, and he and a colleague (operating as The Mojo Doctors) now offer 5-day experiences they call Rehab for the Soul in New Orleans.

I do like the term shaking medicine better than trauma releasing exercises. And please note that it is about shaking, not dance, although apparently ecstatic dance can unleash ecstatic shaking.

It also seems that the trauma releasing exercises are the latest incarnation of a practice that goes way back in time. It has surfaced in various cultures, religions, and places over millenia. It may be the opposite of meditation: instead of deep stillness, it’s deep uncontrolled movement.

Whatever. It’s good medicine.

I’ll write more as I’ve read more. Just wanted to let y’all know where this path is now taking me…

 

10 lessons from the Chronic Stress and Trauma Release Challenge

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The month of March ended without me quite reaching my goal of doing the trauma releasing exercises twice a week. I probably did them once a week. It’s important to actually listen to your body.

The last time I did them, I started my yoga session in the morning, and after one half of a sun salutation, I realized my body really wanted to shake.

So I did the “air chair” pose (Exercise 6a in the book) with knees bent, back against the wall, and held it for two minutes, long enough to get a strong burn in my quadricieps.

I went straight to my yoga mat, laid on my back, and immediately my legs began to tremble.

I experienced the usual waves of intense leg shaking. I had trembling and then some wild movement in my left shoulder, nothing in my right shoulder, and some rocking and head turning from side to side.

The leg shaking gradually wound down. I felt done after 10 minutes.

So here’s what I’ve learned about this practice:

  1. The trauma releasing exercises are good for nearly everyone, because nearly everyone carries extra tension in their body that’s below conscious awareness.
  2. Follow the exercises in the book or on the video completely for the first dozen or so times.
  3. It is ingrained in us to be in control of our bodies from an early age. It can be hard to learn how to let go. A facilitator who is supportive can be very helpful.
  4. If not much happens at first, don’t be discouraged. Do the exercises when you feel motivated, and be kind to yourself. Every body is different.
  5. If still not much happens, do them after a vigorous physical workout. Also, do them when you’re emotionally upset.
  6. Notice your release patterns and allow new patterns to arise. Some tension may be deeply embedded, and you need to release the superficial layers first.
  7. Feel gratitude for all the tension you are letting go of! You’re getting old stale patterns and energies out of your body! Yay!
  8. After you’ve done a good amount of shaking, trembling, quivering, and wild movement, try shortcuts like the one I described above.
  9. Listen to your body and do them when you feel the need. Once a week is probably good after you are getting some good shaking.
  10. Over time, notice whether you feel better physically or if your moods are more pleasant or your senses clearer. I imagine so.

 

4-Hour Body exercise induces shaking

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Today I induced trembling unintentionally.

I’m reading The 4-Hour Body. I was feeling achy in my lower back this morning and decided to try some exercises I read about last week. The Egoscue Method is a postural therapy program with 24 clinics worldwide. Tim Ferriss, the author, was skeptical but tried a session, walking out after 90 minutes with no pain in his mid-back for the first time in six months.

He recommends six exercises for desk-dwellers’ postural imbalances.

If you have the book, I’m talking about pages 302-306.

The last exercise of the six is called the “air bench”. It’s like Exercise 6a of the trauma releasing exercises.

  1. Stand with back against a wall, feet and knees hip width apart, feet straight ahead.
  2. Walk your feet out as you slide your back down the wall. Stop when your knees are bent 90 degrees. Ankles should be slightly ahead of knees. Lower back is flat against the wall. Keep the weight in your heels.
  3. Hold for two minutes.

Aargh, it’s hard work! I bring my attention to my breath and breathe slowly, deeply, and smoothly. Otherwise, I’d be moaning.

When I finished, I lay on my yoga mat and did Exercise 6b, on my back, soles pressed together, knees as wide as possible, sacrum elevated two inches.

Then I immediately relaxed and put my soles flat on the floor and trembled, shook, and quivered for 20 minutes! It was a very good session, with lots of releasing. Both shoulders released, separately.

Nothing new to report except that I seem to be experiencing less intense shaking in my legs. I don’t shake as hard.

I wonder if there’s a point when you’ve done these exercises enough that you only shake mildly and for a short time.

That will be the blessed day…

Anyway, I’m going to try doing just Exercises 6a and 6b to find out if they alone can induce shaking. Next time!

Rest and relaxation bootcamp and desk yoga videos

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I just realized a day or two ago that so many of my recent efforts — meditation, reiki, the trauma releasing exercises, learning and teaching restorative yoga — are not only healing, they also relax you.

Hmm. Methinks there’s probably a strong relationship between healing and relaxing.

Judith Lasater in her recent restorative yoga workshop in Austin said that human beings need activity, rest, and sleep.

Rest is the one we usually let go of first in the pressure to “keep up” and “have it all”. Then sleep.

It’s hard to set limits on activities. Let me practice that right now.

No thanks, I have just the right amount on my plate.

Really, do you know anyone who takes resting seriously? Who turns off their computer and phone regularly to do something relaxing? Something playful and not too competitive?

Remember when everything was closed on Sunday and it was truly a day off? Stores and offices and factories closed so employees could have time off with their families. It was the norm.

Now so much is available most or all the time. You can shop online at 3 am! Factories run 24/7. Banks are open on Saturdays. Some stores are open all night.

Pondering all this “need for speed,” I thought up a workshop title: Relaxation Bootcamp. Really. That’s what it might take for some people, the bootcamp approach.

I’d start with the trauma releasing exercises. All that quivering, trembling, and shaking is tension leaving your body!

Then some pranayama to balance the left and right hemispheres.

Then a long restorative yoga session followed by a reiki session followed by meditation. 

I have to ask myself,

Do I know who I am as a relaxed person?

What will it take to find out?

Am I addicted to stress?  

When do I feel relaxed yet aware?

As I ponder these questions, I am in the middle of a 3-month contract job. I usually eat at my desk and don’t take a lunch break. Being productive is my m.o.

Yet sometimes when I feel the tension building from sitting at a computer all day, I do a little desk yoga with Rodney Yee.

4 Minute Neck and Shoulder Stretch

4 Minute Upper and Lower Back Stretch

Puts a little spaciousness and flexibility back into my day.

I have a hunch this is a lifetime issue for me, something I need to learn for myself and master.

How about you? What would you include in your Relaxation Bootcamp?

Right arm and shoulder release!

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I’ve mentioned several times that when I’ve done the trauma releasing exercises, that my left arm and shoulder would tremble, shake, wave, jerk chaotically, releasing deeply held tension that I was previously unaware of.

Today I did the exercises, and finally, my right arm and shoulder began to release.

Also, my neck released more than usual. At one point my head was rolling from side to side.

Nice.

I had a longer releasing session, 20 minutes, today. Besides the new right arm and neck movements, the usual places released: legs, hip joints, spine, left arm and shoulder.

I noticed afterward that my breathing was deeper and more satisfying.

All this while lying on the floor in my roommates’ living room, while they were listening to this YouTube video of interviews of people all over the world talking about what progress means to them.

I listened to people speaking many languages while I lay on the floor and trembling moved through my body.

Then I did yoga, a couple of long, slow sun salutations, and my body totally loved it after doing the TREs.

~~~

And soon I’m off to the Kite Festival, and then to teach my restorative class and wind down my weekend.

Trauma releasing exercises: my shortcuts

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I got off track on my month of doing the trauma releasing exercises every other day. I’m back now.

I was sick with the flu Feb. 19-21. I tried doing them in bed on Sunday, Feb. 20. I just did Exercise 7a, where you lie on your back, soles pressed together, raise your sacrum two inches, and hold for one minute.

Just that was enough to start my legs trembling, but I just didn’t have the energy to continue it for more than a couple of minutes.

Then I was just overwhelmed with too much to do — working at my temp job and moving out of my home of 10 years.

I just did TRE again tonight after a week. I used shortcuts.

I don’t recommend using shortcuts until you have done these exercises often enough to know that doing them the prescribed way will reliably produce trembling. You need to make sure your body “gets” these exercises, that the neural pathways for inducing trembling are in place.

That said, once your body is accustomed to them, I don’t see why you need to go through all the exercises to induce trembling if you can get there more quickly.

The point, after all, is to release tension through trembling, not to do everything “perfectly” or “right,” which can induce a lot of stress in itself!

Caveat: I’m a long-time yogi, so this may be easier than for non-yogis. No matter what, please do not use shortcuts until you’re really familiar with the conventional, prescribed method of TRE.

Here are my shortcuts:

  • Exercise 1: I put my weight on the right edges of my soles for 30 seconds, and on the left edges of my soles for 30 seconds.
  • Exercise 2, second variation: 15 tiptoes per leg, shaking each leg out after.
  • Exercise 3, second variation: 5 dips per leg.
  • Exercises 4 and 5, no changes from the book.
  • Exercise 6: one minute in a deep chair pose (90 degree angle of thighs and spine, feet slightly in front of knees), then raise hips two inches and hold for one minute (*this is when the trembling started tonight*), one minute in a forward bend with palms on floor.
  • Exercise 7: one minute lying on back with the soles pressed together and sacrum raised two inches, one minute with sacrum on floor and knees raised a couple of inches.

The shortcuts probably cut about eight minutes off the exercises, and I spent that time doing more trembling. I probably spent 20 minutes trembling with my soles flat on the floor.

I noticed a lot of release from my quadriceps. Probably stress from moving, from lifting and carrying boxes, being on my feet all day. I had some rocking and some left arm trembling but nothing too wild.

I also had a conversation with Katie going on for the last half of my trembling session! I just trembled as I talked and listened.

Now. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe having done these exercises every other day for half of the month released a good measure of chronic stress from my body, and that made my experience of the flu milder and shorter than most. I had two days of fever, aches, and chills, and no respiratory or digestive distress, at a time when the emergency rooms were packed with flu victims.

Of course, this is my opinion and I could be full of shit. But after reading how beneficial trembling and shaking are for  recovering from injuries, providing pain relief, increasing coordination between musculoskeletal and nervous systems, increasing metabolism, and increasing lymphatic circulation, I believe they were helpful in speeding my recovery.

Recovering from a virus, recovering from adrenal exhaustion

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I awoke sick Saturday morning with a sore throat. I thought maybe it was strep throat. Drank lemon echinacea Throat Coat tea, sprayed a throat numbing liquid, and took two Alleves. Ate breakfast.

As the day progressed, I began to feel achy and chilled. Not much nasal congestion, and my throat became less sore, so it was probably not a cold. Pretty sure this was some type of influenza. The first battle of an invader with the immune system takes place in the tonsils, right? They fought hard, thank you very much, but were overpowered by a virus.

Sigh. Who knows how long this will last?

I did whatever I could think of to boost my immune system. I drank Tulsi tea, then made tea from fresh ginger steeped in hot filtered water and drank that. I ate a clove of garlic. (Slice thinly and swallow quickly, don’t chew.)

I did EFT three times. I did the thymus thump several times. I took three long naps. I had no appetite at all but stayed hydrated with the teas and water.

I finally remembered I owned a thermometer and took my temperature Saturday night. It was 102.2 degrees F.

That evening was the worst of it. I couldn’t lie still. Kept needing to flex and point my feet and circle my ankles, changing position often. Weird, huh? All I can figure out is that these movements were activating meridians (several of which begin or end at the feet) and moving lymph.

(Lymph is a fluid that contains infection-fighting white blood cells. The lymphatic system clears the toxins, waste, and other stuff  your body no longer needs. It’s a key part of the body’s immune system. Since the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, it works better when you take measures to help it circulate: by moving the body, dry-brushing, and lymphatic drainage, a type of light massage.)

I’ve learned in my studies of trauma recovery to allow the body to move as it needs to, unless it’s dangerous. So on with the foot movements.

Sunday morning I felt a bit better. Took my temperature twice that day, 99 in a.m., 100 in p.m. Aches and chills were gone, and my appetite came back somewhat later in the day, but my energy was low. I decided to stay home yesterday (Monday), believing that resting would speed my full recovery.

It seems I had a mini-virus, a two-day bout of illness. I have no idea if what I did shortened the duration of it, or if it would have been a 48-hour bug no matter what. You’d need a scientific experiment with a control group to determine that, and there could still be variables unaccounted for.

Still, it just feels better to know that I did what I could to strengthen my immune system.

Today (Tuesday) my temperature was normal. I went out and did a few things that couldn’t be postponed (I’m moving on Friday, after all), but I still feel weak and not quite back to myself.  I’m accustomed to feeling well and having a nice level of energy.

I have so much to do this week, it’s imperative that I recover quickly. I need to clean out my shed, get boxes, pack, and work three days this week. I need to get well. I made an acupuncture appointment because it helps.

~~~

Postscript, July 9, 2012. Hindsight is such a great teacher, bringing the gifts of perspective and insight.

When I look back on the time when I originally wrote this post a year and a half ago, I can see that I was stressed. I was selling my house, moving, and starting a new contract job. That’s when I got sick.

Stress weakens the immune system. If it goes on too long, you can suffer from adrenal depletion or exhaustion.

That happened to me this spring. I had just just studied for and passed the national certification exam for massage and bodywork, not exercising or resting enough, and I was stressing about money and work. A friend suddenly showed distinct signs of mental illness, which freaked me out. I experienced a fight-or-flight reaction, which means the adrenals are producing copious amounts of stress hormones that keep the sympathetic nervous system dominant.

I took different contract job at a technology company, working in a group that was experiencing a lot of chaos, with an hour-long commute. Much more stress and misery.

No wonder, when I saw my acupuncturist after the job ended, she told me I was suffering from adrenal exhaustion.

She advised me to take over-the-counter high quality rhodiola and eleuthero as directed on the bottles to recover from the adrenal exhaustion. I’ve been doing that for about a month now, and I feel much better. (These are also listed on my Products I Recommend page.)

As a massage therapist, I recommend frequent massage to help the body release stress and tension. A relaxing massage helps the nervous system begin to regulate itself again instead of being stuck in sympathetic mode, which helps you recover from stress more quickly and experience the deep relaxation (and strong immune system, better digestion, better sleep, stronger sex drive, more playful attitude) that occur when the parasympathetic nervous system comes back online. I also recommend Epsom salt baths for stress relief.

Related: See my post about preventing illness and recovering quickly.

Shaking medicine, a Facebook group

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Crazy! There’s a Facebook group called Shaking Medicine. There are several discussions, including one about the historical practice of shaking.

Ever heard of the Shakers and the Quakers?

Oh, yeah, and it’s usually considered subversive.

Check it out!

More on the therapeutic uses of trembling

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Apparently body tremor research is not a new thing in sports. Russians preparing gymnasts for Olympic competition in the 1970s induced trembling. It was called vibrational therapy then.

Since then, numerous studies have demonstrated that low-amplitude and low-frequency mechanical stimulation of the neuromuscular system has positive effects on athletic performance (Cardinale & Bosco, 2003; Torvinen et al., 2002; Bosco et al., 1999). For many years it was primarily used by elite athletes to help increase the strength and coordination of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems and to increase the rate at which athletic injuries heal (Bosco et al., 1999).

I’m not a competitive athlete. I had no idea. Maybe I’ll become more coordinated and heal more quickly!

I must say that I have been feeling really, really excellent lately, even given the stress of a new job, repeated repairs to my car, selling my house and moving.

This is after doing the trauma releasing exercises about eight times this month so far.

The web page goes on to say:

Over time vibrational therapy has developed as a serious field of research known as Biomechanical Stimulation ([BMS], Bosco et al., 1999). It is being used in physical therapy and rehabilitation programs to correct restricted body mobility, range of motion, the coordination of musculoskeletal and nervous systems and to increase the rate of healing injuries (Bosco, Cardinale, & Tsarpela, 1999; Bosco et el., 2000). BMS research has demonstrated that exposure to vibration frequencies between 20-50Hz increases bone density in animals. It is also helpful in providing pain relief and the healing of tendons and muscles (Muggenthaler, 2001). Vibrational stimulation between 50-150 Hz has been found to relieve suffering in 82% of persons suffering from acute and chronic pain (Feldman, 2004).

I could use more bone density and healing of tendons and muscles from my long-time alignment issues.

Hmmm. I’ve heard that cat purring speeds bone healing. That could be related. Thinking aloud here…

My father had Parkinson’s disease. I got excited when I read this! The shaking that happens in my left hand is similar to the Parkinson’s shaking.

Speculation in the field of BMS research suggests that tremors in humans associated with certain diseases may not be a symptom so much as the body’s attempt to detoxify itself through increased metabolism and lymphatic circulation which is produced by the body’s self-induced tremors (Feldman, 2004).

So maybe if I tremble and detox now, I won’t get Parkinson’s disease. It’s worth the effort.

Neurogenic tremors

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I did the trauma releasing exercises tonight. I forgot to do them last night. : ( Lots going on.

I tried a shortcut and did the first exercise, standing on the right edges of my feet, for 30 seconds on each side. I didn’t repeat that 5 times, and it didn’t seem to make much difference. My body is programmed to release now.

I noticed tonight that I had longer pauses between bouts of releasing than I’ve experienced before. I would come completely to a stop, not knowing if they would start again. Sometimes I’d be still for 10 or 15 seconds before they started again.

I had waves of leg shaking, not just quivering.

I did some mild rocking at the same time my legs were quivering. That’s different.

I had one bout of wild releasing from my left shoulder and arm.

After 20 minutes, I straightened my legs, and then they started shaking again! My left arm had one last bout of shaking.

Then I laid on the floor, feeling the energy buzz. It was definitely stronger where I’d been shaking the most.

~~~

I found a video by David Berceli about neurogenic tremors. This video is copyrighted 2005 and posted in 2007, before the book.

Berceli doesn’t talk about the tremors in relation to trauma, but about how they assist in relaxation, pain relief, physiological changes, increased agility, and increased mobility in the pelvic and lower back areas.

You can watch it here. What do you think? Kind of sexy?