Have you ever noticed how a dog will shake his whole body at different times other than just after a bath? My sweet, snaggle-toothed pup shakes his entire body first thing in the morning. Dog experts say there are a variety of reasons for this, but the one I'm going to point out today is stress relief. That's right, dogs shake to relieve stress -- the stress of having slept in a crate all night, for example.
We humans can take a page from the canine book in this regard. Yes, I'm saying it's okay to shake your body! Now, maybe you don't want to arrive at the office and shake like a dog in front of your colleagues, but I can attest that it feels really good to do a little Hippy Shake Shake in the morning (with the dog) when no one's looking!
Go on...try it!
Now, join me in a short yoga practice. Start in a table top position. Inhale and exhale through "cat/cow" for several breath cycles, then press up and back into downward facing dog pose to find axial extension (defined by humankinetics.com as "a simultaneous reduction of both the primary and secondary curves of the spine. In other words, the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar curves are all reduced, and the result is that the overall length of the spine is increased.") Remain in down dog for 3 - 5 breaths, then come down to your knees and sink back into child's pose for several breaths.
Let's try this every day for a week and see what happens. I'm betting we all feel a bit more refreshed and ready to start our day .. just like my little pup does. :)
