Nurses! Four Tips To Release Tension From Your Body
Nurses! Four Tips For How To Release Tension From Your Body
The other day after completing a workout, I was sprawled out on my back on a yoga mat. I started to do the Good Morning Stretch (hands behind the head and toes lengthened out). It's a fabulous full body stretch. However, this time as I reached behind me, my arms started to shake. As a Trauma Informed Yoga Therapist, I recognized this a Neurogenic Tremor. It's an involuntary movement of repetitive shaking. It can be a be uncomfortable if you're not familiar with the science behind it. Neurogenic Tremors are part of your recovery process after tension, trauma, or high demand experiences. Think of it as our body collects and holds onto all those little (or big) moments of stress and trauma. And as a nurse — someone who likely carries both physical and emotional weight every single day — learning to work with these tremors, instead of suppressing them, could be a valuable resource for your health and resilience.
Have you ever noticed how your hands might tremble after a stressful moment? Or how your leg bounces without thinking during a long shift? And as a nurse — someone who likely carries both physical and emotional weight every single day — learning to work with these tremors, instead of suppressing them, could be a game-changer for your health and resilience.
What Are Neurogenic Tremors?
Neurogenic tremors are the body’s way of releasing stored tension in the fascia, muscles, and nervous system. This shaking isn’t dangerous or random. This is part of your neurobiological design to complete the stress cycle. Animals do it instinctively, just watch your fur baby. Babies and children will tremor or fidget. And we, as adults, do it too. We’ve just learned to suppress or ignore it.
In trauma-informed yoga therapy, we often intentionally invite these tremors through gentle movement and grounding practices. But the beautiful part? You don’t have to be on a mat or in a therapy session to benefit.
Why This Matters for Nurses
As a nurse, your body is constantly scanning for safety — moving between patient rooms, juggling documentation, listening for alarms, and holding space for pain and uncertainty. All of this lights up your sympathetic nervous system — the “go-go-go” mode.
If that stress activation doesn’t get a proper release, it doesn’t just vanish. It gets stuck in your body ~ often in your shoulders, jaw, hips, or back. This stored tension contributes to:
Headaches
Sleep disturbances
Chronic pain
Anxiety or irritability
Emotional numbness
As found by Widarsih (2021), learning to recognize and allow micro-tremors during your day can help you safely release pressure, shift back into parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode, and avoid long-term burnout.
4 Everyday Ways to Encourage Gentle Tremor Release
You don’t need a whole session or special equipment — just a few minutes and a willingness to listen to your body.
1. The Wall Shake
Stand with your back lightly against a wall.
Bend your knees slightly and begin to bounce just a little.
Let your heels stay connected to the ground.
If your legs or arms start to shake, let them.
Keep your breath soft and steady.
Do this for 1–2 minutes during a bathroom break or after charting.
2. The Seated Sway
Sit at the nurses’ station with feet flat on the floor.
Begin gently rocking side to side through your pelvis.
Notice any involuntary movements that arise in your hips, back, or legs.
Allow them to happen without controlling or correcting.
This helps release tension from the sacrum and lower back — areas that absorb so much from standing and lifting.
3. The Shake Break
On your break, step outside or into a quiet corner.
Shake out one hand. Then the other.
Let it move into your arms, shoulders, and legs.
It doesn’t need to look “pretty” — it just needs to move.
Let your body move the way it wants to. You're not performing — you're processing.
4. The Bedtime Belly Release
Lie on your back with feet flat, knees up.
Bring your attention to your breath and gently allow your pelvis to rock side to side.
Sometimes this gentle rocking will trigger a tremor or wave in the belly or hips — let it happen.
Stay here for 5–10 minutes, just observing and breathing.
This can help downshift your nervous system before sleep.
Why This Works
When you allow tremors to move through you, you're completing your stress cycle and teaching your nervous system that it's safe to release and reset. Over time, this reduces baseline tension and helps you feel more grounded, clear-headed, and connected.
You don’t have to “do more” — you just need to let your body do what it already knows how to do.
What If We Reframed Shaking as Healing?
Instead of fighting or resisting these tremors, what if we embraced them as resources for self-regulation and healing?
Start by noticing. Trust your body. Let the shake happen, if it feels right for you.
Your nervous system is taking care of you. You just have to tune in and let it.
Sources:
Widarsih, R. E., Widyana, R., & Lailatushifah, S. N. F. (2021). The Effectiveness of Self-Induced Unclassified Therapeutic Tremor for Decreasing Secondary Traumatic Stress among Social Workers. Jurnal Psikologi, 20(1), 75-94.
Berceli, D., PHD (2016). The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process (9th ed.). Namaste Publishing.
