Shakin' It

Last week, I attended a lecture given by John Gray, the author of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Quite an entertaining speaker.

Since that famous book of his was published, Gray has been involved in researching the science behind the ideas in his book. His website references that work. That's what he lectured about. Fascinating stuff.

Anyway, in the middle of the lecture, he asked the audience to stand up. And then he took us through some shaking motions. I need a video to show it.

But in the first position, you stand there with arms dangling at your side. And basically, you get all jiggly. Meanwhile, you do deep "belly" breathing through your nose.

Next, you move your hands up to hip height and make a chopping motion, still while jiggling everywhere, and breathing. Next, hands go in front of the belly iike you're riding a horse. And so on, until your hands are straight up in the air. Then you work your way back down until your hands are back dangling and jiggling by your side.

After I did that in the lecture hall, I felt a pleasurable tingling sensation rush all up and down the back of my body. It's the same sensation I can get when I meditate and I'm really relaxed.

Gray said this tingling was the flow of "Chi" -- energy.

He also said that this "exercise" -- which looks pretty much like dancing -- is useful for shaking up our lymph glands and getting things moving inside us.

He also said that shaking movements like this are found in most ancient cultures. Usually, such movements were associated with religion or war or notions other than spurring internal bodily detoxification.

Gray didn't say it at the lecture, but I suspect that the seven different positions of this practice correspond to the seven different "Chakras" (or alternatively -- equivalently? -- to the seven major endocrine glands).

Since that lecture, I've tried to do this shaking every morning. One day soon, my toddler will join me in it and then the fun will really begin!