TRE stands for Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises.  These are an innovative sequence of movements and poses designed to activate a healing reflex mechanism in the body, felt as shaking, tremoring or vibration.  These neuro-muscular tremors naturally and organically release stress, tension and trauma that is held in our body’s muscular tissue and fascia.

Through the process of listening, learning and exploring, you can build a relationship with your body that’s based in feeling and sensation.  A really lovely bottom-up and organic approach to meeting ourselves.  Overtime, when used safely, TRE can assist the body in letting go of deeper patterns of muscular tension as well as provide you with the tools to be able integrate these releases.

TRE can be learnt in either individual sessions or in groups.  It’s a wonderful way to slow down, be curious, and safely let your body heal itself.  

“The psychology of trauma is complex, the physiology is relatively simple” 
~Steve Haines

The word ‘trauma’ itself can feel like a big, scary word to many people.  A common misconception is to only see trauma as significant events, such as a car crash. However, trauma is actually our response to overwhelming situations or people.  When we are faced with a real or perceived danger, our bodies automatically go into primitive defense responses in order to promote survival.  When we do not complete a survival stress response, the old parts of our brain can get fixed in fight, flight or freeze modes.

Depending on our resources for recovery at the time, we may become ‘stuck’ in one of these survival responses.  This means you could spend months or years ‘running on adrenaline’ or perhaps feeling ‘numb’ or not completely in your body. 

Trauma is stored in our tissues as patterns of muscular tension.   Once we start to understand that we hold all our experiences in our bodies, we can also utilise our internal, natural mechanisms for recovery. 

Go slowly and gently if you are starting out so you can explore how your body responds to tremors.  For beginners, it is recommended to shake 2-3 times a week for between 5-15 minutes after the exercises.  That is considered a strong practice!  You really do not have to do much.  Include lots of rests within that time too.

If you leave 24 hours in-between shakes you’ll be able to notice how you are responding.  It can be helpful to journal or make notes so you can tailor your practice as you go along.

Essentially, you are experimenting to find the right dose of TRE that works for you and your needs.  If you need support self-regulating the process, work with a Certified TRE
Provider in either 121 or group sessions.  Over time, you’ll be able to shake for longer or more often.  

This sequence of exercises offers a routine and a ritual to guide you safely into your tremor practice.  As well as gently fatiguing and stretching big muscle groups, the sequence allows you to practice self-regulation, feel sensation, and ground you into your body.

It is recommended to use the entire sequence the first 10 times you practice.  Overtime, with regular practice, you may not need to do the full sequence.   Regular shakers who have practiced TRE and self-regulation can usually lie down and use the floor sequence to initiate the tremors.  However, many will still return to and use the exercise sequence as part of their ongoing practice.  

Sometimes shaking can increase the intensity of sensations we experience in our bodies.  This may feel overwhelming.  In most cases, more rest and grounding is needed. 

One of the core TRE principles is going slow.  When we have too much change, too quickly, it can be hard to integrate.  As a general guideline, if you feel the intensity is over 6/10 and/ or you feel worse after more than 48 hours after your session, then it is likely you have done too much. 

TRE is simple but powerful.  Sometimes a really small amount is needed at first.  If you are learning or in a difficult space, even five minutes can feel like a lot. Try shaking for 30 seconds to a minute and resting. Use a timer to help you regulate. Slowly but surely, you can build the skill and confidence to shake for longer. 

Connect with a TRE Provider who can support you to learn and practice self-regulation and grounding to build the foundations you need for your ongoing self-practice.

Check out the resources below too.

It depends! Some people can learn the basics of the TRE process in 1-2 sessions or groups and start their own practice.  Others need 6-10 sessions to feel confident with the practice.  It is really down to how you feel and what your body needs.  Working with a TRE Provider has the added benefit of creating safety through co-regulation to support your process.  

Many regular shakers choose to maintain sessions with a TRE Provider as and when they need to continue to deepen their relationship to the practice and can find that the most significant tension releases can occur when you feel safe and supported.