We often speak of cleansing our spaces with smoke and sound, but what of cleansing our own vessel? That lingering anxiety, that haunting spirit of fear... it's a energy that needs to be banished not just from your sacred space, but from your very bones. Here is a simple practice to shake loose the clinging energies that no longer serve you.
Have you ever had one of those mornings?
You know the kind. You wake up, and before the day even begins, a familiar, unwelcome guest has taken up residence in your mind. For some, it’s a fear about the future. For others, it’s a looping thought about a relationship, a career, or simply the passage of time.
It feels less like a thought and more like a heavy energy—a tormenting spirit of anxiety that weighs you down before you’ve even had your coffee. You try to logic your way out of it. You list your blessings (and you have many!). You remind yourself of your strengths. But the feeling persists, humming in the background of your everything.
If this resonates, you are not alone. And more importantly, you are not powerless.
We often try to fight these feelings with our minds. But what if the key to unlocking them isn’t in your head, but in your body?
Why Talk Therapy Isn't Always Enough
Anxiety and fear are not just cognitive experiences; they are somatic ones. Your body responds to a perceived threat (whether it’s a real deadline or an existential worry) by priming you for action: your muscles tense, your heart rate increases, and stress hormones flood your system.
When this energy has no physical outlet, it gets stuck. It becomes a trapped physiological state that your mind then tries to make sense of, often by feeding you more anxious thoughts. It’s a vicious cycle.
To break it, we need to speak the body’s language. We need to complete the stress response cycle and release that pent-up energy. This is where a practice called Somatic Release comes in.
A Simple Somatic Release Exercise: The Full-Body Shake
This might feel silly. Embrace it. Silly is powerful because it bypasses the critical mind and goes straight to the body. You cannot think your way out of a trauma response, but you can shake your way out.
This exercise can be done anytime, anywhere you have a few moments of privacy.
What to do
1. Find Your Stance: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly soft. Make sure you have enough space around you to move your arms freely.
2. Start with Your Hands: Begin by shaking out your hands. Imagine you’ve just washed them and are flicking off every single drop of water. Shake them vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
3. Move to Your Arms: Let the shake travel up into your wrists, then your forearms, and then your entire arms. Let your joints be loose and floppy.
4. Engage the Core: Let the shaking motion move into your shoulders and torso. Shake your chest, your belly, your hips. Don’t force it; let the motion be organic and intuitive.
5. Shake It All Out: Let the shake move down through your legs—your thighs, your knees, your calves, and finally, your feet. Imagine every ounce of nervous energy, fear, and frustration vibrating right out through the soles of your feet and into the earth.
6. Breathe: Throughout the entire process, take deep, audible breaths. sigh it out. HAHhhhhhhhhhh.
7. Complete and Notice: After 60-90 seconds, slowly come to a stop. Stand still for a moment. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Take three deep breaths. Notice how your body feels. Lighter? Softer? Quieter?
Why This Works
You are quite literally shaking the anxiety out of your nervous system. You are telling your body, through action, that the threat is over and it is safe to stand down. It’s a direct, biological intervention that interrupts the cycle of anxious thoughts.
The next time that "haunting spirit" of worry pays you a visit, don't just try to outthink it. Outmove it. Give it two minutes. Your body—and your peace of mind—will thank you.
In conclusion, consider this practice a form of practical, everyday magic—a banishing ritual for stuck energy. The next time a haunting thought or wave of anxiety tries to cling to you, don't just tell it to leave. Shake it off your aura. Your body is your most powerful tool of witchcraft. Use it.
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