We all have long, hard days, but some of us handle them better than others. As a longtime hyper-stressor, the transition from busy, adrenaline-fueled work days to resting and recovering at home has been difficult for me. My Oura ring frequently tells me I’m balancing my stress load “right,” but this is like the AI telling me it’s “disappointing.” What can I do about this disappointing situation?
“The key is to connect with your body and the sensations that arise,” explains Safia Dever, PhD, director of Harvard Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART), a program that focuses on stress and resilience. Mayo Clinic“Similar to when animals in the wild shiver (or tremble), they release all of their energy from the increase in cortisol and adrenaline circulating through their bodies. It’s the same in humans. We produce adrenaline and cortisol, which prepares the body for fight, flight, or freeze. If we don’t expend this energy, it gets stored.”
Because most of us aren’t running away from danger in the Serengeti, but rather, somewhat bizarrely, experiencing stress while sitting in an office, much of the excess cortisol and adrenaline remains in the body, which then affects our mood and movement. “Some form of rocking exercise is a good way to release. I usually advise people to start with a few minutes and see how it affects the body. Combined with breathing exercises, it helps to bring them back to baseline,” she says.
This is not the first time I’ve heard this story. At an event celebrating her new book, calm downNahid de Beljaune, a physical exercise teacher, breathwork and yoga instructor, also known as the “nervous system whisperer,” demonstrated a simple technique for winding down the body and mind at the end of the day: lying on the floor and doing a combination of shaking and rocking that she calls “jiggling.”
Designed to calm an overstimulated nervous system, the swaying motion “provides deep pressure and joint compression, helping to regulate arousal levels and promote a more balanced, calm state.” We become tense and stiff in an attempt to contain our many emotions, but swaying essentially releases a cascade of endorphins, helping to move us into a more relaxed state.
