Let It Go: Is Screaming The New Yoga?

A powerful way to vent your frustrations and release stress, shouting at the top of your lungs could very well be the star wellness trend of 2021

Ever feel like just shouting at the top of your voice to let out the anger from a bad day at work? Or want to scream obscenities into your pillow because your partner and the kids are driving you up the wall? Maybe you just want to yell into an open space about the frustrations of living with a year of pandemic-induced restrictions? Well, you could be onto something – screaming and shouting might be just what the doctor ordered for a healthier mind and body in 2021.

The concept comes from the very clever ‘Let It Out’ advertising campaign from Promote Iceland, inviting tourists to visit the country and scream their lockdown frustrations into the scenic expanses of wilderness that the country is famous for. Can’t make the trip? Then the campaign’s LooksLikeYouNeedIceland.com website encourages you to record your scream, upload it and they will share a video of it being released into the wilds.

The website comes with tongue-in-cheek instructions on how to create the perfect scream, tips include: ‘Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a slight bend in your knees’ and a few words of science from therapist and mental-health consultant Zoë Aston: “Screaming as a therapeutic tool was developed in the 1970s as a way to release pent-up emotion,” she explains. “Wanting to scream lights up a part of our brains called the amygdala.” And apparently, letting that scream out allows your amygdala to release that stress and then move forward.

So, could screaming and shouting really be a viable option to dealing with stress and anxiety? And if so, why are we not encouraged to yell more often? “Generally, we have all been raised not to scream and shout,” explains Reem Shaheen, psychologist and managing director of BE Psychology Center for Emotional Wellbeing in Dubai. “From a young age we are taught to manage our emotions and, in most cases, repress them. Over the years, those emotions become intensely entangled within the individual, in many cases causing emotional turmoil. Scream therapy can provide a release for some of these pent up emotions.”

So how does it work? “It is widely believed that we operate on three levels,” she continues. “The cognitive (thinking), emotional (feelings), and behaviour. This type of intervention is believed to provide relief on all three levels, as it engages all of the senses in one activity which leads the relief.”

And there might just be something about shouting alone in a deserted place as the campaign suggests, that actually works. “When in an open space, we tend to be less inhibited, and more connected to nature, allowing for more raw emotions to be released,” says Reem. “We don’t generally react well to people around us screaming and shouting, hence it is better to just do this exercise alone. Screaming is a release of raw negative emotions, so it can be helpful as long as you are not screaming at your boss or colleagues.”

And Reem believes that 2021 is the ideal time to perfect your scream game. “The pandemic has been associated with feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. These feelings generally create a sense of frustration and loss of control, and releasing those intense emotions can be very helpful for many people.”

And it’s not just your mental health that a good shout and yell could benefit, says Reem: “It can also release the muscle and physical tensions that the body usually retains by holding on to various negative emotions.”

Personal trainer and adidas ambassador Jay Christie agrees that shouting can be just as good for your physical wellbeing. “As well as helping release pent up muscle and emotional tensions, shouting, yelling and grunting during training can actually improve your energy levels and help you push further in your workout,” he explains. “I encourage my clients to find that burst of rage, which can trigger the ‘fight or flight’ response, leading to an increase in adrenaline and a faster heartbeat, which gives you more energy by sending an extra surge of blood to the muscles.”

As well as using the method with his PT clients, Jay encourages screaming and shouting as a group in his bootcamp sessions as a coach at Barry’s Dubai. “In a group environment, it’s less about obtaining personal bests when it comes to lifting more weight or running races, but more about camaraderie – everyone shouting and yelling as a unit, to help each other get through the pain of a difficult session,” he explains, nodding to the success of obstacle races such as Tough Mudder and Spartan Race – where runners are encouraged to primal scream as groups to form a bond, and then help each other around the course. “And of course, screaming during a tough workout can help to get a greater release of endorphins or happy hormones,” Jay adds. “Giving you those smug post-workout feels, something that was super important during the extremely monotonous and frustrating days of Covid-19 restrictions. Shouting and screaming together as a group, in a safe environment, is something we should all consider embracing for 2021.”

And yelling can even benefit those who tend to stay away from what we would traditionally think of as more ‘aggressive’ workouts such as boxing and weights… enter Rage Yoga: the brainchild of yogi Lindsay Istace, who is swapping breathing techniques in favour of screaming, shouting and the odd profanity during your asanas.

“The idea came about during a really painful break-up,” she says. “Suddenly I was shouting and swearing during my sequences, and although at first I felt like a crazy person, I found it to be incredibly therapeutic,” she explains.So, Lindsay decided to introduce ‘rage’ to the classes she teaches in Calgary, Canada, as well as her online video classes, which are available globally – all of which have seen a surge in growth since the pandemic.

“I think that combining physical training with emotion can be a very powerful tool,” she says. “Negative emotions like anger give us a surge of energy, motivation and alertness. It’s a great way to process things in a constructive way instead of letting them bottle up so they explode later.”

So, it seems unanimous, screaming could be the natural antidote we’ve been waiting for, where 2020 was the year we all had to hold back, maybe 2021 is the time to let it all out…

Image courtesy of Jason Lloyd Evans. From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s February 2021 Issue