Tantrum

Laying supine on a mat or mattress, the participant raises the arm and legs and slams them back on the mat rapidly, allowing the head to swing and vocalizing. If nothing comes immediately to mind, "no" is a good start. The goal is free and unfettered expression so guidance isn't called for. The participant should continue until exhausted. Then the participant should lay still on her or his back until recovered, several minutes usually. This is a powerful exercise that brings up a lot of archaic feeling and generally leads to some regression. It generally should not be done alone. Alexander Lowen used this exercise diagnostically as well but that is not the concern of the participant.

Rationale: This exercise recreates an early neuro-muscular developmental stage which may have been suppressed or not completed. Hitting and kicking is backwards instead of forwards, and the participant is reclining.

Source: This is a hallmark exercise of Lowenian bioenergetics