New short practice: Stomp the stress out like a gorilla

Where do you hold stress in your body? Stress often lodges in the body as a locked jaw, tight shoulders, a knot between the shoulder blades, or a clenched stomach, and rest alone rarely clears it. The body needs to move it out, the way a gorilla releases big energy: it doesn’t sit with the feeling, it stands, thumps its chest, slaps the ground, stomps, and makes noise, then goes back to eating leaves once the charge is spent. This is what our fire practice does. Fire is the element of active discharge: shaking, stomping, exhaling with force.

This twelve-minute practice moves through three phases of a fire — kindled, blazing, then coals. It opens with physical discharge: stomping in place, thumping the chest with soft fists, and throwing a pillow against the ground. Each movement is paired with a sound of release. It then moves into bellows breath to kindle internal heat and complete the discharge cycle. The practice closes with a short visualization to melt away tension you have been carrying.

Give it a try and see how it feels!