Why it’s important to howl
Thanks, girls for introducing me to this primal call. Impulsive and free from ego or explanation. It is something I will take with me for the rest of my days. I recommend it! Why?
Try it. Right now. It doesn’t have to be loud. I think the key is to let the howl take you somewhere as opposed to over thinking it. Instead, SURRENDER. It’s a release. Pay attention to the tones of your voice - perhaps you’ve never heard yourself with such richness before. Pay attention to your body - how does it feel? During and after? Does it leave you tingling with the subtlest of pleasure? Do you feel like an idiot?! Great! Keep doing it.
Or, indeed, don’t pay any attention at all and just FUCKING HOWL.
I am positive that somewhere beneath that beautiful, serene and dignified exterior, a part of you will really enjoy it. I’m bold enough to even suggest you may feel invigorated by it. Empowered even! Yes yes, it might feel immensely silly and there might be reactions of self-awareness or nervous giggling. Notice the reaction in yourself. I simply encourage you to give it a go. If anything, it’s a chance to embrace your silliness again! Get freaky. Play with something a little less… civilised. And dance with that wild spirit once more. We need it.
Personally, it frees me up. Especially if I move with it; ya know, grind those hips. Often, I feel I can breathe again. A primal recalibration. And I do it sometimes without realising. I’ll be writing mundane emails or emptying the dishwasher or folding (yes, folding) my knickers - so usually doing the ordinary, boring stuff - and suddenly a release is needed! A lift to take me out of this repetitive chugging of the daily routine. It’s like a fabulous magical power! The Wolf within wakes up from her slumber, needs a stretch and a quick sprint around the terrain. It is momentary, yet I have found that the result can positively last the rest of the day. There’s been a shift of energy somewhere in the mind and in the body, a recharge, a clearing of space! Things just feel a little lighter, a little funnier, a little ‘fuck it’.
You know, just better.
And it’s not just howling. I have also come to LOVE ‘shaking it out’.
Just as Florence Welch instructs us. She’s completely right.
Abandon the ‘should do’ list and run to your playlist, blast out a beloved tune and shake your body! It’s more erratic than dancing. We want a fast flickering of every single part of you.
Including those poor parts that work so hard and get left out when we’re grinding on a dance floor and channelling Rihanna (goals).
Like the forehead, the calf muscles or the little toe. Go for it. Just try and avoid giving yourself whiplash, which I’ve done plenty of times already. Worth it, obviously.
This brief five minute pause from whatever you’re doing that is, for some reason, making your rages or anxieties climb… SHAKE IT OUT. It works! Trust me. And it feels, again, as though the inner wild thing is taking charge. Because she is. God thank you, feral babe!
I feel you. And you save me. Every-time.
It’s so often those tedious moments that require the Wolf to take over… detangling hangers in the wardrobe, is one of my many desperate moments, for example. I couldn’t need an escape more than at that point when they JUST WILL NOT SEPARATE!
The heart flutters, the blood rises and the rage escalates… it’s time to howl. It’s time to shake. It’s time to surrender to the Wolf within. She’s fierce, she’s freaky and free!
To quote a Wolf master, ‘With instincts sharpened for balance – jump anywhere you like, howl at will, take what there is, find out all about it, let your eyes show your feelings, look into everything, see what you can see… I can promise you will become a vital woman’ ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés