TRE: Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises

What On Earth Is TRE?

How Does TRE Work?

TRE® is based on the idea that stress, tension and trauma are both psychological and physical.

Founded by Dr David Berceli, PHD whilst working within traumatised communities in Africa and the Middle East. Through his experiences in these environments, he understood that the human organism, like other mammals, have a natural ability to shake/tremor to calm the nervous system down after a stressful event is over. Thus, allowing us to quieten down the brain, recuperate, recover and heal from chronic stress, tension and trauma.

For Example:
In the Animal Kingdom, if a gazelle escapes being caught by a pride of lions, the gazelle will shake after this stressful event is over, go back to its herd and continue to graze. It will not, however go and sit down and dwell on the event for weeks afterwards. Why? Because it has literally shaken out the excess energy to complete the fight/flight cycle, which has then allowed its body to return to a state of balance and it can get on with its day.

As humans we also have this innate ability to tremor/shake to complete our stress response cycle and release the tension/trauma from our body, just like animals do. This shaking is activated via our brain stem (instinctual brain) which is responsible for our fight/flight/freeze (automatic) responses to threat.

So, why aren't we shaking like the gazelle?

From a young age, we are conditioned not to shake anymore as it is seen as a sign of weakness and that it is wrong. We are SO busy with life, there is SO much stimulus around us all the time, we tend to be juggling SO many things on a daily basis, we are told to stay strong, not show fear, push though, get on with it (feel familiar?)

As a result, as adults we have switched this tremoring mechanism off by using our Neo Cortex (our rational human brain) to override and dismiss it.

By switching off this body based somatic process, we are stopping our bodies from doing what comes naturally to it, which is to shake/tremor to help our nervous system calm down, rest and recover from a stressful/traumatising event.

Where does this tension go?

Quite simply, it doesn't 'go' and therefore our bodies will be holding on to years of stress and tension. Over time, we become so used to holding all this tension and stress in our bodies and nervous system, that it becomes a normal state of being. We ignore it, don't feel it, push through it, accept this is how life is, and quite frankly over long period of time, it can make us sick.

Stress is bad then, right?

Stress is a part of the human condition. We are built for fight/flight/freeze response. It is our bodies way of survival and keeping safe. It pushes/motivates us to think differently and evolve. However, it is when we remain in this survival mode that our bodies can get overprotective and over time this stress and tension throughout the body can become restricting and cause problems. From poor digestion, chronic stress and anxiety, back pain, neck pain, interrupted sleep, a noisy mind and complete disconnection from our bodies.

How Can TRE Help You?

TRE® can leave you feeling calmer, improve sleep and help you have an overall feeling of well-being.

Other Reported Benefits Include:

• Less Worry & Anxiety
• More Resilience >
• More Energy & Endurance
• Less Stress
• Better Sleep
• Reduced Muscle & Back Pain
• Increased Flexibility
• Less Tension in the Body

TRE® is a set of simple exercises that help to re-activate a natural tremoring mechanism in the body to release muscular tension and stress. These exercises are done to fatigue the main muscles involved in our stress responses, in particular the psoas muscle (which connects your legs to your hips to your back), which is the main muscle that stores the most stress.

By re-activating the tremoring mechanism we all naturally have through TRE®, the nervous system can calm down and release unneeded tension/trauma from and the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance (equilibrium).

TRE® is somatic healing, it does not require any revisits to any stories. It is basically your body doing its job to heal itself. It's rather intelligent like that!

When done in a calm state, it is healing and teaches you self-regulation. Through regular practice, you become more aware of where you are in your own nervous system and therefore enables you to understand what you and your body needs instead of what you think/should do for it.

Reconnecting to your body is more commonly known as GROUNDING. Through this grounding, we create more space and expansion for ourselves... which helps us to slow down in this over stimulated world, juggling all this 'stuff'.

My Intention:

One of the intentions of TRE® is to allow you to learn to do it by yourself as a healing tool so you do not have to rely on a provider long term. With consistent practice, you learn to follow your body and understand better what it needs, what coping patterns you may be holding and to give yourself permission to feel and relax without judgement. My intention is to be there to guide you, help you in any way I can and give you support and reassurance whenever needed.

Here's what others are saying...

STAR Groups Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises TRE Cartoon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PT1crBhhUE&t=38s

David Berceli Video and explanation of TRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=eQkwLrSxd5w

TRE Official Website
https://traumaprevention.com/what-is-tre/

TRE Disclaimer

This technology is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Medical advice must only be obtained from a physician or qualified health practitioner. Results may vary between individuals.

There are no guarantees, expressed, or implied.

TRE® is a safe and effective stress release technique for most people. The TRE® process should not be used as a substitute for trauma recovery procedures of a medical or psychiatric/psychological nature. Individuals who have physical or psychological conditions that require strict regulation, individuals with fragile psychological defences, a complex history of trauma or restricting physical or medical limitations should consult their medical practitioner or a Certified TRE® Provider prior to performing these exercises.

TRE is a registered trademark with all intellectual rights belonging to TRE LLC, http://traumaprevention.com