Release

(Note: I wrote this article back when I first began spending time listening to and being present for my body. I was enthusiastic about the degree of release that I was experiencing, and motivated to write about release in explicit detail. Since that time, my focus has changed. Even though I still experience and welcome regular release, it has lost its degree of importance. I still view release as something beneficial, but my focus remains more centered on presence. Presence itself is enough, regardless of whether or not release occurs. I discuss this shift in more detail in Practices of Embodiment and Presence.)

Release is simply the body's way of relinquishing tension or trauma, and thus shifting to a more relaxed state of being. Some people (such as Somatic Experiencing practitioners) use the word discharge instead of release. I use the two terms interchangeably, but prefer the word release as discharge may connote that we are actively attempting to fix or change something. I have found that release functions best when we attend to our body without controlling it.

There are many activities and methods of healing that actively encourage release. For example, most forms of vigorous physical activity have a component of discharge. Some healing methods focus entirely around release, such as TRE (Tension and Trauma Release Exercises) where muscles are fatigued so that they tremor and shake. I have spent most of my life exploring healing methods that actively encourage release. And while most of these modalities offer benefit to one degree or another, they did not unravel my defensive patterns of body armoring. I even concluded that it wasn't possible to heal the deeper layers of embedded trauma. So it felt like a revelation when my body began releasing its stored trauma and gradually healing itself. This article is about the release that comes from listening to the body and more fully supporting it.

Release typically occurs incrementally, as small amounts of tension held in the body let go. Release is ongoing and repetitive, meaning one may release stored trauma and tension, but then that holding pattern is likely to reassert itself, and needs to be released again. But over time the body establishes, and then comes to reside in, more relaxed habitual patterns. On rare occasion, one may have a sudden unexpected release, where a trauma or holding pattern no longer reasserts itself. However, it is best to not have expectations that release be momentous, and instead focus upon a slow, consistent approach.

It is helpful to know the signs of physical release (see the list at the end of this article), and observe the ways that your particular body unravels its excess holding. Typically, release is an automatic, natural response that your body feels compelled to make. I recommend simply attending to the body and allowing it to do whatever comes naturally. However, we are so accustomed to manipulating and controlling our bodies that it may be challenging at first to not interfere. One refrains from inhibiting release, but also from chasing after it, too. Ultimately this approach of presence may be safer and saner, as it allows your body's deeper intelligence to flourish. Release feels involuntary, but unfortunately it is also easy to interrupt, suppress, accentuate, or otherwise control it. Sometimes this control occurs because the release isn't socially acceptable. Many people have unwittingly conditioned themselves to stifle this healing and beneficial physiological response.

For example, a therapist that I worked with would suppress yawns, because she didn't want her clients to think that she was tired, or even worse bored with what they were saying. Her suppression was entirely understandable. However, in this instance her yawning was not a sign of boredom or tiredness, but rather a resonant response with what I was feeling and expressing. My body yearned for her to yawn, and would have felt affirmed had she allowed herself to do so. Release may be an empathic response between bodies, as described in this example. One person releasing may trigger release in others. Yawns and sighs are often contagious. Our bodies maintain a continual nonverbal dialogue with those around us.

Signs of release may occur together. For example, my body will typically sigh or yawn, then stretch, and perhaps pass gas as the tension in my abdomen relaxes. Also my body typically wants to move in specific ways after a release, such as ankle rotational movements, a subtle pelvic rocking, and an entire change of position. These signs of release sound complex when I describe them, but they flow automatically together in smooth succession, and are experienced as one small release. When engaged in a body centered meditation practice, I will typically have a series of these small releases over the course of an hour or two. I might not notice much relaxation after one or two small releases, but after an extended series, the relaxation and positive bodily changes feel obvious and significant. I have also found that after experiencing a significant amount of release, a few minutes of massage and gentle movement helps the body to relax more fully and integrate the changes. I typically feel chills from massage or movement at this time.

Of course any of these signs of release may occur for other reasons. Sometimes you yawn simply because you are tired, or shiver because you are cold. So the context is important in order to assess the meaning. The body has a limited vocabulary for expression, so it needs to use what it has, even though the expression means something else in another context. One gains self-knowledge from listening and learning to accurately interpret signs of your body's communication.

Some kinds of release may feel more potent and powerful than others. For example, my body doesn't shake and shiver with chattering teeth very often, but when it does, it feels more powerful than a sigh or yawn. Also, dramatic signs aren't necessary, for significant change to occur. Major shifts and healing may happen without any sign of release at all. Perhaps your body was simply ready to let go. It is helpful to recognize the indications that some kind of change has occurred, even if there were no signs proceeding it. (See the list below for possible indications.) Sometimes a change that occurred without any fanfare, may actually be more significant than a shift that manifests with dramatic signs.

The more that I trust and respect my body to do what it needs to do, the more impressed I am with its intelligence, resiliency and capacity to heal. Each body and life experience is unique, but we may share physiological response patterns. This article is meant to be a guideline for tuning into your own experience. Unfortunately many of us learned to habitually invalidate ourselves, and thus have to be mindful to affirm and not negate our body and its unique experience. I would love to hear about your particular patterns of release, if you feel moved to share your experience in the comments below.

Tips for Release:

Release is a way the body's nervous system is designed to regulate itself.
Release leads to relaxation, surrender, and body defenses letting down.
Let the body be in control and allow release to occur naturally.
Relax and go with the release.
Don't chase after or try to release, but also don't suppress or inhibit it.
Allow socially unacceptable forms of release (burping, yawning, farting) whenever possible.
Validate your body's signs and patterns.
Be patient with your body and its gradual pace.
Slow is good – your body knows what it can integrate.
Don't worry if you don't have signs of release – change may happen without any sign.
Gentle massage, touch, and movement may help to facilitate release and integrate changes.

Signs of release:

muscle relaxation
feeling of settling or unraveling
sigh
deep breath
yawn
body stretching
rocking movements
shaking (could be a sign of fear)
twitching (could be a soothing nervous tic)
tremors
chills or goosebumps
shivering
teeth chattering
swallowing
flushing or wave of heat (could be a hot-flash, but perhaps hot flashes are a type of release?)
abdominal gurgling sounds
burps (could be indigestion)
flatulence
laughing
crying
vocal sounds that feel involuntary
feelings of energy moving
feeling waves of energy
feeling sensations of movement
sensations of opening or unfolding