Why We Shake
When you ask someone what they enjoy most in a Qoya class, often one of the favorite pillars is shaking.
Shaking is one of the oldest medicines on Earth, practiced by shamans and healers of all origins for centuries.
Shaking is also an autonomic, physiological response when our bodies are overcome with strong emotion. Picture your dog in a thunder storm or on the 4th of July when fireworks are booming. Humans and animals alike tremble in fear or extreme stress.
Do you believe you can feel strong emotions and that your body is completely separate and immune from what you are feeling?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Our bodies are giant, complex, sensory organisms that process emotion as physical sensation all the time – unless we have conditioned ourselves to stop feeling. When we inhibit feeling, we numb ourselves to sensation. We can disassociate from it. Many people have developed a habit of disassociating from strong emotions because it can be uncomfortable to fully feel them.
So then, what happens when we have developed the ability to disconnect from our bodies when we are feeling strong emotions?
It’s not that the disconnection we experience is a permanent severance. It’s just that we have lost awareness of our connection to our bodies. Our physical bodies are still sensing, even if we have cut ourselves off from feeling sensation. Therefore, our body still responds to what it senses, even if we have blocked our own awareness of this process. Illnesses from mild to chronic can develop as a bodily response to stress, overwhelm, grief, anger, and so on. The belief that we can carry around “unfelt” emotional baggage for years and that it won’t impact the body is….well, it’s outdated and just plain untrue.
Now: Enter shaking.
Shaking is one of the quickest, easiest, and most fun ways to connect with the body and release strong feelings, sensations, and “stuck energy” in the body. Shaking supports the body to return to a state of homeostasis. In Qoya, we talk about shaking as a practice that helps us “return to our essence” as human beings – our essence is “wise, wild, and free.”
Here’s how to do it, Qoya-style.
Choose a song with an upbeat, fast tempo. I love shaking songs that are fun and invigorating. Florence and the Machine “Shake it out” is a good starter. The lyrics certainly help support the cause.
Start by shaking one of your legs as vigorously as it feels good to shake. Imagine releasing stress, tension, fear, and any other strong emotions you are ready to release from the body. Now shake your other leg.
Continue shaking through each part of the body: alternating legs, shake both legs by rapidly pounding feet on the ground, shake legs in the air, shake hips, belly, chest, shoulders, arms, and then give yourself a full body shake!
As you shake, scan your body and notice where it feels especially good to shake. Shake more there.
Shake until the end of the song, or until you feel complete. Then give yourself three big, full breaths with a loud exhale to release any last bit of stuck energy.
Now notice how you feel. Notice how your body feels. Do you feel lighter and less stressed? Do you feel a bit silly and giddy? Most importantly, do you feel more like yourself?
If this practice works for you, do it as often as you need! Shake at least once a day. Shake after stressful experiences. Shake before stressful experiences. Shake after icky interactions with people who aren’t kind to you. Shake after someone hurts your feelings. Shake when you feel stuck. Shake when you’re ready to release old energy and invite new energy in.
Just shake!
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If you’d like to join in a Qoya class, I’m offering a virtual class this Saturday July 11th. All proceeds will benefit organizations supporting and empowering Black lives. Register here.
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