Shaker laboring worship (historical)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Ann Lee · 1747 · Manchester, England

What it is

What it was. "Laboring" was the Shakers' name for the bodily side of their worship: shaking, turning and dancing, which over time became ordered dances, marches and gesture ("motion") songs performed in the meetinghouse. The group took shape around Manchester, England, from 1747. By 1770 its…

Format

• This is not a therapy and has no sessions or phases of treatment. Below are the historical stages of the practice as sources describe them, then a framework for the therapist's work alongside it.
• B. The therapist's work alongside (no source gives session counts)

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Complicated grief, isolation. Working: the client finds continuity and community support.
• Guilt at "using" sacred material. Exhaustion or injury. Working: the client feels congruent about how they relate to the material.
• Therapist enthusiasm taking over. Turning a sacred song into a "tool". Working: the client feels more grounded and more themselves.
• The therapist sliding into a spiritual-director role. Clergy and therapist giving conflicting advice. Working: a coordinated, client-led plan.
• The client hiding therapy from the community out of fear of judgement, which can be a sign of strain. Working: sessions fit their life without conflict.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.