Bouncing: The Practice of Letting Go

Shaking is one of the best ways to let go of irritations, aggravations, emotions, tensions, triggers, and traumas. Animals allow themselves to shake after they have experienced something intense. And even though we are animals, humans are always shutting down this natural experience of letting go. Some people, like Peter Levine and David Berceli, have built their work around this process of letting go.

It doesn’t have to be so complicated!

What if you shook off all the minor irritations when they happened? What if you cultivated a daily practice of letting go?

Our emotions/thoughts float around in our lymphatic fluid. After a time, hours to days, if those emotions/thoughts are not released, they get stored in the body. Where we store these emotions/thoughts is different for each person. If you have a place in the body where you tend to experience a lot of tension, it is a pretty good bet that you are storing your emotions/thoughts there.

Through this practice of bouncing, we are gently shaking things out. Think of shaking the dust off of a rug. All of the little things that have accumulated are being brushed off. I image that if you shook a rug out long enough, you might even be able to shake stains out (the very long held emotions).

This practice is excellent is yoga and clinical settings. Mental Health Professionals share that they use this practice in clinical settings as a way to help clients burn off excess energy. As a Yoga professional, I use this practice to meet an anxious mood AND if a client gets stuck in an emotion.

PLUS, 10 minutes of bouncing can get you up to 1,000 steps on your pedometer!

Resources on Shaking as a Form of Release

These books offer insight into the process of shaking and how it can release trauma. Make sure that you are working with a trained professional before attempting trauma release work.

David Berceli, PhD, Shake It Off Naturally: Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Tension with TRE – this book walks you through a practice of releasing longer held tensions. You will also get more information about why and how Dr. Berceli’s technique works.

Peter Levine, PhD, Waking the Tiger, and Healing Trauma. Dr. Levine is the creator of Somatic Experiencing, an approach which releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). www.traumahealing.org


About the Author

Rose Kress

Rose Kress ERYT-500, C-IAYT, YACEP, Owner/Director of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute, and author of Awakening Your Inner Radiance with LifeForce Yoga. She directs retreats and training programs on using LifeForce Yoga to manage your mood.

4 thoughts on “Bouncing: The Practice of Letting Go”

  1. Deb belanger says:

    I enjoyed that very much thank you!

  2. Matthew Douglas says:

    I found the exercises to be very good & interesting.
    I do have a person who I do yoga with. She is very
    good at it. She also gave me some beads to do
    meditation with. I find yoga to be very helpful &
    soothing.

  3. Christine says:

    YES! The universe is giving me YES’s. I listened to you just today with Ande Anderson. I needed to utilize this technique today while adding in EFT and some affirmations I have been working on, to move some trauma energy out of my body today tonight.
    Thank You Thank You Thank You. It is easy, fun and can be done anywhere. And, as an OT, I can utilize it for teaching somatosensory and self regulation patterning with patients . So, Awesome.

    1. Rose Kress says:

      Christine – thank you! I am so glad (literally smiling ear to ear) to hear and see how many yeses you are getting!! This is so beautiful.

Leave a comment.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Research Newsletter

Cart

What People Say

“I have been reminded that I am not on this path alone, that others are sharing the journey that sometimes seems so difficult. I have also been reminded of the importance of daily practice and I will do that. The whole program has been an incredible experience for me. Thank you!” — Lorraine Plauth, retired teacher, Voorheesville, NY
“I came hoping to learn to move past some of the obstacles blocking my creativity. Over the course of this weekend, I feel I’ve gained a certain measure of faith in myself and in my ability to change. I also had some realizations that I believe will be very helpful to me. I feel encouraged. Both the content and presentation of this program were so well-thought out that I can’t think of any way to improve it.” — Andrea Gollin, writer & editor, Miami, FL
“Yoga Skills for Therapists is the ideal resource for those who want to bring yoga practices into psychotherapy or healthcare. Weintraub, a leader in the field of yoga therapy, offers evidence-based, easy-to-introduce strategies for managing anxiety, improving mood, and relieving suffering. Helpful clinical insights and case examples emphasize safety, trust, and skillful adaptation to the individual, making it easy to apply the wisdom of yoga effectively in the therapeutic context.” — Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author, Yoga for Pain Relief, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Yoga Therapy
“My personal practice will change, as well as my yoga classes. I have a better understanding of yoga!” — Andrea Gattuso, RYT, Yoga Teacher, Hackettstown, N.J.
“I learned lots of ways to reduce the anxiety and depression of my patients and myself.” – Aviva Sinvany-Nubel, PhD, APN, CNSC, RN, psychotherapist, Bridgewater, N.J.
“I feel profoundly transformed, both physically and emotionally. The connection between mind, body and spirit was clearly evident to me, but revealed to me through this workshop as an integrally vital link to overall health.” — Nadine Richardson, program manager at rehab agency, Monroe, CT
“Words do not do justice to all that I learned. This workshop changed my life!” — Jen Nolan, Teacher, Cortland, NY
“A client who returned said, "When I came before, you helped me understand and get where I wanted to go. Now you show me yoga practices I use to help myself understand and get where I want to go.” — Sherry Rubin, LCSW, BCD, LFYP, Downingtown, PA
“My patients can now have the same effects as many medications without having to actually take medication!” — Deborah Lubetkin, PSY.D, LFYP, West Caldwell, NJ
“This program changed my life in a significant way. It helped me connect with the spirit which is something you can’t get from psychotherapy and medication.” – G. W., artist, Pittsburgh, PA
“I have gained a softer heart, more receptive mind, and tools to enrich both personal and professional aspects of my life.” – Regina Trailweaver, LICSW, clinical social worker, Hancock, VT.
I absolutely love this stuff! I have been using it with my clients and I am just finding it to be so incredibly helpful. There seriously something for everything. Although I am not as skilled as I hope to be someday, even at my level of training I’m finding that I am beginning to figure out what to do. It just blows my mind! - Christine Brudnicki, MS, LPC
“I have found the pranayama (breathing practices) especially easy to introduce in a clinical setting. Some people have benefited quickly in unexpected and transformative ways.” — Liz Brenner, LICSW, LFYP, Watertown, MA
“I gained perspective of who I am in the world and this will change my life significantly.” — Mary Ford, artist, Southport, CT
“This workshop has changed so much — my self-image and my life. My own heart’s desire is 100% clear. I gained tools to help myself and others to live life fully.” — Marcia Siegel, Yoga teacher, therapist, Carlsbad, CA.
“I gained tools for working with my own depression and with my clients’ depressions.” — Robert Sgona, LCSW, RYT, psychotherapist, Yoga teacher, Camden, ME.
“I began a fantasy during the meditation exercise... almost as if I’d been there. It’s now an on-going work of fiction.” — Serian Strauss, Tanzania
“I have found the LFYP training to be incredibly useful in giving people specific tools to use in maintaining physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance, and further opening their intuitive abilities.” — Nancy Windheart, RYT-200, LFYP, Reiki Master, Animal communication teacher, Prescott, AZ
“This workshop helped me rededicate my energies and begin to work through some of the blocks I’ve felt creatively.” — Steve Mark, college professor, New Haven, CT
“I utilize the LFY techniques in both a class room setting and one-on-one environment. The skills have infused my teachings with compassion, mindfulness, and awareness.” — Kat Larsen, CYT, LFYP
“I integrate strategies like mantra tones and pranayama, but above all I invite myself and those I teach to cultivate svadhyaya, to practice self-observation without judgment.” — Barbara Sherman, RYT 200, LFYP, Tucson, AZ
“My life is already changed! I will use the tools I learned in my own practice and in my work. I feel safe and seen.” — Susan Andrea Weiner, MA, teacher/expressive arts facilitator, El Cerrito, CA.
“I have gained an incredible opening and clearing of old obstructions. I hope to return to my life and fill this opening with things I love to do and that give me joy!” — Lisa Shine, administrative assistant, Ballston Lake, NY
“Giving my clients a strategy and permission to quiet their minds and rebalance the sympathetic nervous system has been very beneficial to them and in our work together.” — Sue Dilsworth, PhD, RYT 200, LFYP, Allendale, MI
Scroll to Top