Have you ever wondered why some people can meditate, enjoy yoga, love a massage or other body therapies but when you attempt those things you feel drained, agitated, sad, depressed or even stiff, rigid and aggressive, afterwards? Have you ever just 'dozed off' and slept straight through a breathwork or meditation class?
Are you curious as to why some kids turn start screaming, scratching and yelling within minutes of play-fighting or 'always sulk and cry' when they lose a match?
Do you ever wonder why some people are prone to love bombing and ghosting?
Do you live with chronic stress but somehow you find enough physical energy to get up and put on a brave face, despite your body feeling stunned most of the time?
Have you ever shared with a friend or family member how much you wanted to run out of your yoga or meditation class only to hear:
"Why didn't you DO or SAY something?"
"What's the big deal? It's just meditation!"
"Why did you just SIT THERE? Why didn't you LEAVE?"
Chances are, if you're a trauma survivor and/or you've endured or are enduring chronic stress, or grown up around emotionally dysregulated and/or abusive parents, and/or witnessed domestic violence /experienced or witnessed assault and/or abuse, you, as the 'prey' will have 'frozen' your emotions in order to stay safe whilst there is no escape from the 'predator'.
In the meantime, you've adapted to life by 'pretending and fawning" as a way to survive and to your surprise, and the confusion of the "normal people" around you, your body's autonomic nervous system's blended states of Play and Stillness can be tricky grounds for you to navigate.
Considering the body can turn on its survival responses by thought alone, you want to be mindful as to which therapies you choose if you're a trauma survivor. In moments of Stillness where you're invited to tap into past memories and emotions, your body may well choose to Shut Down by going to sleep or simply Freeze as a way to keep you avoiding re-living the trauma.
Have a look at this infographic below to see which parts of your nervous system is involved in creating Blended States:
Now, identify blended states and how they may show up in your daily life. You'll probably be able to add some:
Now, have a look at how these blended states can turn to states of dysregulated fight/flight/shutdown and even freeze.
Shaking for Homeostasis
The uncontrollable shaking during fight/flight and especially the freeze response is one of the ways the body naturally attempts to bring you back into homeostasis. It's the most natural way our bodies wants to release sympathetic overload and tension. It is a primal impulse to a stressful situation.
After a zebra escapes the claws of a lion, they will shake and shiver off the life-threatening event and get back to living in the moment. Unfortunately, humans have been socially conditioned to grin and bear their stress and fawn their way through life, pretending we are stress-free and subsequently trapping the energies of stress in our bodies.
When we are threatened, the body releases huge amounts of stress hormones to help us overcome the danger. That is the flight-fight or freeze response kicking in and we literally shake with fear. This shaking is known as neurogenic tremors.
These tremors help to reduce over-activity in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, the body's complex neuro-endocrine system that regulates our stress response, emotions, energy storage and release.
All organisms in nature can tolerate short-term stress. However, long-term suppression of excess energy being trapped in our bodies results in chronic emotional and physical tension and mental distress and can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) anxiety, addiction and depression. The brain and body are effectively frozen in an 'anticipatory stress response', also referred to as 'negativity brain bias' - where we feel negative events more intensely.
Tension and Tremor Release Exercises
Tension and Tremor Release Exercises (TRE) were created by Dr David Berceli. It safely activates a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating. This releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. When this muscular shaking/vibrating mechanism is activated in a safe and controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance. This therapeutic tremoring helps the body release deep muscular patterns of stress, tension, and trauma.
Over time, TRE can help reverse the body's anatomical reaction to stress and systematically dissolve the tension pattern created as a result of traumatic events.
If you can relate to any of this, why not try these Shaking Practices in the comfort of your own home? Do them as often as possible and especially during or after you've felt triggered, upset or panicked.
1) Ping Shuai Gong - Swing Hands Exercise: This simple swinging-hands exercise improves energy and blood circulation through the theory of "Ten fingers connecting the heart", opening all our body meridians and stimulate bone marrow to rid toxins from the human body.
Stand with legs at shoulder width. Both arms move parallel, swinging forward up to shoulder height, then swinging back until they are behind the body.
On every fifth swing, the knee slightly bends and quickly springs back. It's advised to do this practice for at least 10 minutes and wait a little bit before drinking water.
2) Kim Eng's Shaking Practice: Shake the entire body starting on the right.
Start with the right arm, gently shake the arm and the hand.
Move to the right leg, shaking the entire leg, including the foot. Repeat on the left side.
Now shake your entire body. Loosen your jaw, neck and face. Move up and down but make sure your feet keep in contact with the ground. You can shake gently or vigorously.
When you surrender to the shake, open your mouth to see if any sounds want to be released. You'll be surprised!
When complete, take some deep breaths.
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