Shaking is a great way of getting some cardio-vascular exercise, it also eases out the limbs, loosens the spine and shakes tension from the muscles as well as the mind.

I recommend it to everyone and especially in the winter to boost the circulation and to lift the spirits. I like to shake at least once a week.  It’s great as part of a weekly exercise regime

With shaking you keep it comfortable and, as with yoga, there should never be any strain.  That way you can let go into your free movement and not force anything.  Pace yourself and you can increase your activity as you practice more.

What I do is wait until I am on my own at home or shut myself in my room (making sure a passer-by can’t spot me through the window!).  I choose a couple of tracks of whatever music I feel like and play them loud.  For a stronger effect  I would choose some fast rock/pop song and, for what I suppose is a more jogging pace, I would go for the same but slower.  You just choose something that makes you want to move.

The warming up movements start with the gentle kinds of shaking that we do in class like shaking out the hands and arms, legs and feet etc.  After that I might just dance to the music or do a bit of running on the spot or some jumping. Then it’s good just to shake out the whole body and let go into it - it can all start looking a bit strange but no-one’s watching so feel free in what you do. (If your new to this then you may need to be careful not to overdo it here).

You start to feel increasingly looser and freer and at the same time become aware of areas in your body where you are not. This is good as now the body is warmed and energised you can work on releasing those areas.  So just listen to the music, let go and feel.  Even the most gentle movements sustained over 5 or 10 minutes will be effective.  As long as your health is ok then you should feel a bit out of breath, heart rate will be noticeably increased and you should be sweating a bit

Cool down slowly, do stretches after and drink some water.