Waking the Tiger | Peter Levine

Why it is here:

This is the source code for somatic healing.

Levine asked a profound question: Why do wild animals, who are constantly threatened with death, rarely get traumatized?

He observed that after escaping a predator, a gazelle will physically shake and tremble, "discharging" the massive mobilization energy of the flight response before returning to grazing.

Humans, conditioned by social norms, often "freeze" and trap that energy inside. We include this book because it teaches the biological necessity of Discharge.

It provides the somatic protocols to complete the stress response cycle, preventing the "frozen" state that leads to burnout. It reminds the leader that they are an animal, and sometimes the way to fix the mind is to let the body shake.