Intense shaking

[tony benton]

I have been taking lessons for about three months,these last few days,
as I like on the floor releasing my neck, etc.,
I have begun to shake violently, what SEEMS like tension discharging,
but I don't really know.
So my experiment has been to just let it happen, and the shaking which
started in my legs
now happens in my hips, upper back and sometimes all together, It's
quite bizarre
and I just want to know if anyone has experienced anything similar or
has some advice until
I see my teaecher next week?
Meanwhile, I look like I am getting shock treatment.

[jon]

Hello Tony

This probably is not quite the same thing.

My thighs used to tremble whilst my teacher had me on the table, she
made very subtle "hand" suggestions and my knees responded by a
combination of resistance and trembling.

She asked why my legs trembled and I said something that indicated
that my level of control of my legs was simply too crude to follow her
subtle movements and suggestions.( People sometimes show a similar
thing when they try and thread a needle but feel they lack the fine
level of precision and control required, it can feel quite
frustrating).

My teacher then asked me why was I trying to control my legs when she
had asked me to leave them alone and not to help her !!!!!

It took an instant to absorb this information but actually a little
while to put it into practise, when I did the trembling stopped.

Regards Jon

[Thomas Levine]

Jon,

Your reply reminded me of something that I do.  I'm not sure whether this is related to Tony's situation, but I think it's related to my other trembling (See below).  I'll put it out there anyway: Whenever someone touches me, I have some sort startle response, more than most people seem to have.

And I sent this to Tony by accident:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thomas Levine <thomas...@gmail.com >
Date: Mar 31, 2007 5:43 PM
Subject: Re: [ATX] Intense shaking
To: tonyben...@gmail.com

I used to feel a lesser version of the same thing, and just last week started having a stronger shaking than ever before.  I'm not sure whether it's so bad as yours, but maybe it just feels less extreme to me because I'm used to it.  I've noticed that it occurs more when I'm cold (at least); probably it's related to stress somehow. (Actually, I think pretty much everything is.)  I'm interested to learn what your teacher says about it.

By the way, I've been taking lessons for about six months.

Thomas Levine

--
Thomas Levine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:tlevine

[Nick Mellor]

Hi Tony,

The shaking is quite common. I've had it. I think it's probably to do with
you letting go of a habit that's been "in charge" for a long time. For a
short while there are two habits trying to control the same part of you, and
that can result in shaking.

My opinion only. If you're worried, I think it would be fine to call your
teacher between lessons.

Nick (AT teacher, UK)

[Joshua]

I had shaking for years before AT.  If it's what I have, Neigong, kunlun, and probably (I haven't lookedi nto it) kriya yoga describe this.  Great experiemnt to go with it and inhibit any doing reaction to the experience.  You will be gettign a free Alexander lesson from your psychophysical unity.  The shaking relieves me of a great deal of tension.  My AT teacher said it would be good to be aware of what wash appening in ther rest of me while the shakes occurred--that otherwise there would be a "residue" of doing in the rest of my psychophysicality.

Great to find this list and great to read these experiments!!!

Joshua

[Jennifer Roig-Francoli]

Hi!

I also experience the "shakes" at times -- especially when I'm going through a particularly stressful time emotionally.  I found the perspective outlined in this book, Waking the Tiger,  http://body-mindtherapy.com/somatic-experiencing/ to be extremely helpful to understand better what is going on.  Thinking of it as a release of blocked energy related to startle pattern and traumatic experiences (even tiny ones), compared to a stunned bird who has just hit the window and then shakes it "off" before flying away, really helps.  Enjoy!

Jennifer