This sharing is inspired by a Sounds True Podcast interview with Brad Keeney author of Shaking Medicine

Shaking It Up
The value of physical shaking, as well as making choices to shake up our habitual reality by doing things in a different way, are gifts that can come from practicing various forms of shaking.

Some ways to shake up your reality include simple choices like sleeping in a different part of your bed, walking backward for a few steps, moving things around in your home, brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, or trying on new ways of speaking using different language including words, phrases and even affirmations.

These practices are about finding ways to do things that shake you into new possibilities that are opposite of what you may normally do. Another way to shake up your reality is to entertain ideas and possibilities that you might otherwise dismiss.

In the aforementioned interview, I found an unconscious belief was shaken around an opinion that I have that Christian Church services are mostly boring. When I was younger I had experienced them as devoid of any alive connection to ecstatic life force or spirit. However, as Brad points out in his talk there are many churches (with a mostly black congregation) in the south (and other places) that do connect with an alive ecstatic life force through their music. Singing upbeat songs (no matter the words) can put us in touch with a profound connection to spirit.

Shaking is also a great way to relieve and transform trauma. Scroll down for More On This

While researching Shaking for our Venus Alchemy Online Series back in 2015 preparing for the Underworld, Tami Brunk found this information on Shaking.

Why Shake?

• Free energy or life force
• Clear Fear and Trauma
• Build Lasting Strength
• Access Freer Mind
• Reclaim our Wild, Ecstatic Nature
• Develop Body and Energy Literacy
• Learn to Let Go
• Learn to Receive
• Learn to Follow
• Connect with all of Life!

“Structures of the mind release, the reservoir of habits dissolves. In an instant, lifetimes of patterns vanish.”
~ Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

The Ecstasy of Shaking in-depth article by Tesa http://tinyurl.com/jda2hlr

Ratu Bagus Balinese Instructor: Shaking to Ecstasy Video: http://tinyurl.com/z7fx62t

How to Practice Shaking
Turn on Ecstatic Music—Trance, Fast Drumming, etc.

Shake every body part for a total of 5-10 minutes:

• Right leg, Left Leg
• Both Legs (fast feet like football player)
• Lie on your back & shake both feet in the air
• Stand and shake hips side to side, wagging tail like a happy puppy
• Belly shake
• Torso/Chest Loosen Up
• Shoulder shrug up and down, exhaling with a
  “haaaaaa!” sound
• Shoulders alternate front and back
• Shoulder shimmy!
• Arms Shake
• Hands Shake
• Fingers Shake
• Gently Shake through Head and Neck
• Full-Body Shake!

Video with practice by Rochelle Scheik – scroll down the page: http://www.qoya.love/chapter-4-resources

More on Shaking Medicine Interview with Brad Keeney
I have provided the Podcast link for those who are interested in knowing more, however the summary of all this is we can literally shake our way into an altered state. Brad describes it this way:

Our body has the natural form of expression called “shaking,” and if it’s precipitated when you are truly feeling a heart awakening—and that’s brought about by music that really has wings to lift you into the highest imaginative sky of your visionary hopes and dreams—then it kicks in – in an ecstatic way.

We see that at rock concerts and Grateful Deadhead reunions, and we see it in sanctified black church, and of course, it’s all over the African diaspora. That’s something that is a little more interesting than a simple automatism (spontaneous body movement), and that becomes a healing medicine. In fact, what’s most interesting is that it is the first medicine, the first spiritual practice, and the first way of having relationship with the great mystery, because we now know that we’re all from Africa!

In southern Africa, the oldest ancestral culture, is the Kalahari Bushmen. Over 100,000 years ago (which we know because of the rock art images), they used the very first form of healing and spirituality—the first religion, the first well-being program, the first spa, the first of anything that involved people trying to get out of the everyday, habitual mind and trying to find themselves in relationship to the great mystery, the divine—which was shaking.

But even though I’ve said this, it has nothing to do with shaking! It has to do with something else. Underneath the shaking is awakening of the heart that is so wild and so extreme that it’s best to call it “extreme love.”

This is the kind of love that mystics talk about when they feel like they’re making love with the gods—that kind of heart-piercing, that kind of dramatic, extraordinary life awakening that’s entirely about feelings. It’s not about any realization. Don’t believe anyone who says spirituality has anything to do with understanding something new. It’s not about understanding a blasted thing!

It’s about being completely hit by lightning in your heart in this extraordinary shower of blessings. This love just flows, and in that you can’t help but tremble and shake. It’s about being hit by a lightning bolt of extreme love, and that makes you shake. The shaking medicine is the manifestation that we see. Somebody’s shaking because they’re just so filled with extreme love, and that’s healing. https://www.resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/shaking-it-up/

The Power of Shaking as a Practice
Animals will shake and tremble when they have been exposed to a trauma. For example, deer after escaping a predator will shake and tremble for a few minutes and then they go on as if nothing happened having released physical trauma from their body.

Also the Russians stumble onto the benefits of shaking an athlete’s muscles before a competition finding it improved their performance. The results were so impressive they eventually created machines that an athlete could step into that would shake their whole body to improve their athletic performance.

Shaking to Relieve Trauma
Shaking is a great way to assist your body in the release of any trauma or other challenging feelings.
For example, a shaking practice is helpful any time you notice feeling:
Anxious
Panicked
Scared
Mad
Angry
Grief
Overwhelm
or someone or something is irritating you. (i.e. politics, work, family)

OR…you aren’t identifying any specific feelings but you know there is something subtly going on for you then engaging a shaking practice could be very beneficial. It isn’t necessary to name your feelings. It may just be a wave or sense of uncomfortable energy coming from inside you.

Maybe you notice you are remembering a recent (or past) painful incident that feels uncomfortable?

Shaking as a Practice
There are many ways to practice shaking. Find the one or ones that work best for you. 

My Daily Shaking Practice
I have found the best time to do my own daily shaking practice is in the morning before getting out of bed.
I imagine and even state that I am shaking out all my
Hurt and Pain
Guilt and Shame
Fear and Blame
Whine and Complain
Defend and Explain
Self-doubt, Self-Criticism, Self-Judgment, Doubt, Criticism, and Judgement of Others
Anything less than love
Into the Violet Flame to be transmuted and transformed into the higher vibrational energies of love and above.
So that I am a Super Conductor of Love. (Will share more about the power of being super conductor in another article)

Additional Suggestions for your Own Practice
When going through a difficult time you might choose to moan, cry, scream, or sigh with the intent to feel what you feel for as long as needed or as long as you have time to do so while shaking your body either lying in bed or standing and shaking or dancing or whatever you find works for you. You might find it is most effective for you to get up and shake it out. Or the most effective practice might change from day to day depending on what your intent for shaking is?

Once you notice the feeling has lessened or vanished altogether – send love and light to the person or situation including yourself. I like to imagine blessings of pure love and light raining down and filling up the other person, the situation and myself.

There are many layers to grief and pain so revisit or check in each morning (or during the day) allowing whatever feelings are there to emerge taking a few minutes to shake them out.

When the Feelings have eased ask the Part of you that Knows (via meditation or journaling) what are the best activities and actions you can take today to take care of yourself for now. You may find what your body wants changes from day to day. Honor that.

If you are using shaking to feel the rush of joyous energy through your body that shaking inevitably brings then your intent and way you design your practice might be very different than what is suggested here. The main thing is to experiment and find what works best for you!

Music with Shaking Themes

Inspired by this Shaking Medicine theme I kept hearing two songs (Twist and Shout, Shake Rattle and Roll that have the word Shake in them. While searching for these songs I rediscovered a Jackson 5 song – Shake your Body Down to the Ground. Then Peter shared with me a song by Eddie Money called Shakin. It occurs to me we do find ways to give ourselves important messages in our popular music even if that music was popular decades ago.

Twist and Shout
by the Beatles with part of the chorus posted here:

Well, shake it up, baby, now (Shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout (Twist and shout)
C’mon c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby, now (Come on baby)
Come on and work it on out (Work it on out)
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (Shake it up baby)
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (Shake it up baby)
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now (Shake it up baby)

Shake Rattle and Roll
by Bill Haley and the Comets.

I said Shake, Rattle and Roll
I said Shake, Rattle and Roll
I said Shake, Rattle and Roll
I said Shake, Rattle and Roll

Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

Let’s dance, let’s shout (shout)
Shake you body down to the ground
Let’s dance, let’s shout (shout)
Shake you body down to the ground
Let’s dance, let’s shout (shout)
Shake you body down to the ground
Let’s dance, let’s shout (shout)
Shake you body down to the ground

Rosanna’s daddy had a car she loved to drive
Stole the keys one night and took me for a ride
Turned up the music just as loud as it could go
Blew out the speakers in her daddy’s radioShe was shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)
Snappin’ her fingers (oh oh ooo oh)
She was movin’ round and round (oh oh ooo oh)That girl was shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)We started drinkin’ wasn’t thinkin’ too straight
She was doin’ 80 and she slammed on the brakes
Got so high we had to pull to the side
We did some shakin’ ’til the middle of the nightShakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)
Snappin’ her fingers (oh oh ooo oh)
She was up and down and round and round
Shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)
Shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh) (oh oh ooo oh)
(oh oh ooo oh) (oh oh ooo oh)I got a little nervous
When she took her coat off
She looked so pretty
Ahh yeahI’m always talkin’ baby talkin’ too much
I love that little girl and I just can’t get enough
It takes a lonely night with nowhere to go
Just call Rosanna, it’s a hell of a showAnd she’s shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)
Snappin’ her fingers (oh oh ooo oh)
She’ll be movin’ round and round (oh oh ooo oh)
Oh she’s shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)Shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)
Snappin’ her fingers (oh oh ooo oh)
She’ll be movin’ up and down (oh oh oo oh)
Round and round and round (oh oh ooo oh)
And shakin’ (oh oh ooo oh)Sha sha sha sha sha she was shakin’
Sha sha sha sha sha she was shakin’
Sha sha sha sha sha she was shakin’
Sha sha sha sha sha she was shakin’