There are times when your body doesn’t fight and it doesn’t run. It just locks up. You know the feeling — frozen, numb, disconnected. Maybe you’re standing in a conversation and your mind goes blank, or you’re lying in bed and you can’t move even though you want to. It’s like the system has pulled the emergency brake, and no amount of willpower gets it unstuck. Let’s take a quick look at why this happens, and what we can start doing about it.
Why We Freeze
In trauma language, this is the freeze response — a survival state where the body shuts down to protect itself when escape or defense doesn’t feel possible. It’s not weakness. It’s biology. The nervous system makes the call before you do.
From a Daoist perspective, the freeze response shows up as Qi stagnation. Energy gets stuck instead of flowing freely. Over time, this stuckness doesn’t just live in the nervous system — it seeps into the tissues, the breath, even the way you carry yourself. It’s why so many survivors walk through the world feeling heavy, rigid, or disconnected.
One way to start loosening this grip is to invite the body back into motion — not forced or aggressive, but gentle, rhythmic, playful. Daoist practitioners have done this for centuries with a simple exercise: shaking.
Try This: Shaking Qi Gong
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Let your knees stay soft.
- Begin to bounce gently, letting your heels lift slightly and drop back down.
- Allow your arms to dangle and sway with the movement, like loose ropes.
- Let the bouncing turn into shaking. Head, shoulders, hips, everything. No form, no right way.
- Stay with it for one to three minutes, longer if it feels good. Breathe naturally.
- When you’re ready, slow down. Come back to stillness. Notice what feels different.
This isn’t about shaking out the trauma in one go. It’s about teaching your body that movement is possible again. Every bounce, every jiggle is a reminder that frozen doesn’t have to be forever.
Final Thoughts
If your body has lived in freeze for a long time, even this small practice can feel strange at first. That’s okay. Take it easy, stay curious, and let yourself discover what it feels like when energy starts to flow again.
