How to Shake it Like a Dog
A quick, fun way to interrupt your stress cycle and find nervous system regulation. Bonus: it's a dog thing.
Whenever I feel like the country is on some kind of dystopian roller-coaster, I feel like we all could use this nervous system regulation technique. And, I’ll be honest, probably because I love that I get to do it with my two girls, I am absolutely obsessed and can’t stop doing it. This technique is also downright hilarious and the giggles it offers are reason enough to try it out.
So, allow Tug to “teach you” the technique which needs no instructions and is done EXACTLY as it sounds…
How to “Shake it Like a Dog”
Stand up, take a deep breath, and shake your arms, legs, and whole body for 30-60 seconds.
Let everything be loose – and if you’re visual, imagine you're literally shaking off stress.
After shaking for a minute or so, stop and notice how you feel.
If you care to, use the following writing prompt to explore it further
The science behind shaking it like a dog
Shaking like a dog helps your nervous system because it mimics the body's natural way of releasing stress and completing the stress cycle.
Somehow, no one ever taught me there even was something called a stress cycle so when I first learned about this, I was shocked! But I refuse to let others miss out so, let me break down what this means for you.
The stress cycle is the biological process that the body goes through in response to stress, from activation to resolution. All of us, especially right now, are no stranger to stress. But many of us, due to the way modern life is set up, do not ever complete our stress cycles. When this happens and stress isn’t fully processed and released, it can remain in your body, leading to chronic tension, anxiety, and health issues on top of the normal exhaustion.
What is “the stress cycle”?
1: The Alarm Stage
I am guessing that nearly all of us reading this text are (unfortunately) professionals at experiencing this stage. It is when our bodies experience a threat. This threat can be real or perceived – and by that I mean it can be something physical, like a grizzly bear, or social, like when we are anxious to speak in public. When we perceive the threat – even if we know that, say, the guests at dinner party, are not going to murder us like a grizzly bear might, our sympathetic nervous system activates.
This causes our adrenal glands to rapidly release adrenaline – which increases our heart rate and blood pressure, among other things. In addition to adrenaline flooding our system in times of stress, the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (a complex grouping of organs in our endocrine system) releases cortisol, which sustains energy levels by increasing blood sugar and keeps the body in high alert for prolonged periods of time.
The exact experience inevitably varies from person to person, but it can involve: heart racing, faster breathing, narrowing vision, muscle tension, heightened alertness, and shakiness.
Simply, this phase is hell – the hell that is anxiety.
2. The Resistance Stage: Where it’s Dangerous to Get Stuck
The resistance phase comes next and it’s all about sustaining the body's response to stress while attempting to maintain balance. Recently, with the help of my therapist, I learned I live in this phase more often than not.
In this phase, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stays activated and this keeps cortisol levels high. This has many consequences but also brings with it a serious impact. In this phase, you can have increased energy and focus because cortisol ensures glucose is available to your body for sustained energy. Meanwhile, the cortisol also keeps your heart rate and blood pressure elevated so that you stay alert and helps your cognitive function and focus improve.
At the same time, in this phase, since your body believes you must stay in a state of fight or flight to survive, your immune system is suppressed and your digestive and reproductive systems slow down. Basically, your body throws all its energy into surviving the moment and not preserving your existence long term. This, inevitably means the body becomes more prone to illness and inflammation, and also can experience hormonal imbalances and low libido.
As this happens (and oh how miserable we all know it to be!) emotional and behavioral changes understandably occur. These changes can vary but they can look like:
irritability
rage
feeling overwhelmed but pushing forward
feeling mentally exhausted yet wired
emotionally numb
disconnected
Suffice it to say, this phase is brutal and many people resort to different coping strategies to manage it – alcohol, excessive caffeine, addiction, binge eating or working longer and longer hours to maintain productivity.
But here’s the real kicker. For many people, when the stressor resolves, the body naturally shifts to release the energy in “recovery mode” — but some people get stuck in here in the resistance phase because their neural pathways, nervous system, and body chemistry adapt to prolonged stress, making it their "default state." (Hello, party of me).
Chronic stress literally rewires the brain. The brain is plastic – constantly changing in response to experience. If someone constantly experiences stress, the brain strengthens the neural pathways associated with the fight-or-flight response. Over time, the nervous system learns to stay in a hypervigilant state, making stress feel "normal" and relaxation feel "unsafe." When this happens, the amygdala (the fear center of our brain that seeks out potential problems) becomes constantly overactive and the prefrontal cortex (logic, emotional regulation) becomes less effective.
Not only does this feel terrible, it also leads to difficulty calming down, even when the stressor is gone.
Some signs you might be stuck in resistance phase are:
having constant fatigue but feeling unable to rest
having frequent headaches or muscle tension
experiencing digestive issues (bloating, nausea, incontinence, constipation)
having a weakened immune system (frequent colds, allergies flaring up)
difficulty concentrating or memory problems
going through mood swings
feeling emotionally flat
What happens if this continues? What happens if your stress remains chronic and unresolved? Then, your body enters the exhaustion phase — where the nervous system is depleted, and burnout can occur.
BUT there is good news! Since being stuck in the resistance phase is a learned neural pathway, it can be unlearned through practicing nervous system regulation and forging new neural pathways.
This is why I am doing this whole thing in the first place – I am trying to experiment with different nervous system techniques to teach my brain and build neural pathways that FINISH the darn stress cycle – that allow me to actually rest and recover.
3. The (Release and) Exhaustion Phase — the final phase
Though we are all undoubtedly aware of the lived experience of exhaustion after stressful experiences, there is part of the final phase that is often overlooked — the release.
This is all about engaging in physical activities to release the energy from your body and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This release takes many forms. It can involve physical movement, breathwork, crying, social connection, touch, play, music, or artistic expression. But, no matter the form, release empowers the body and mind to connect fully and feel safe — to know that the threat has passed. It is this release that actually allows us to complete the stress cycle and enter a state of rest and recovery.
Unlike the first two phases of the stress cycle, where our body’s autonomic nervous system automatically takes the lead, sometimes our conscious selves must do so here, especially in modern life where threats are rarely physical in nature. What I mean by this is that when a grizzly bear is chasing a human and the stress cycle begins, the act of running away and climbing a tree to survive offers the release and finishes the cycle. However, when you get a stressful work email or are public speaking, you can’t necessarily go for a run and climb a tree to release the stress and finish the cycle.
This is where an understanding of the stress cycle and release experiments like those I share each week becomes extremely valuable. And no matter which release technique you use, whether it's a breathwork practice or dancing around the room or shaking it like a dog, it can offer you the ability to complete the stress cycle no matter where you are, therefore empowering true recovery and your body’s natural healing processes to function as they are intended to as you navigate the resulting exhaustion.
Okay. Wowza. I am such a nerd! So, now that we understand the stress cycle, the organs involved, and the importance of completing it, why does shaking actually do so?
Well, it’s quite simple. Shaking mimics a natural trauma response. As you have likely seen in your own dog or a friend’s pup, many animals instinctively shake after a stressful event to release the tension from their bodies physically. We can do the same thing. Shaking discharges the adrenaline and cortisol in your system, loosens tight muscles, promotes better circulation and empowers our mind/body connection – all of which activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Together this empowers your body and mind’s understanding that the threat has passed and you can finally, truly rest.
So, now that I have FULLY geeked out on the importance of shaking it like a dog, are you all gonna give it a try or what?
Well, I hope so and I hope it brings you a laugh and some decreased tension. And now, I’m off to walk my dogs because, although shaking it like one can finish the stress cycle, walking sure keeps the cycles at bay.
I hope you all tread lightly on yourself the rest of the weekend.
And as always,
I wish you a day.
Kindly,
Kate
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