TRE®
Tension & Trauma Release Exercises
Accessing the body’s natural reflex to release stress and trauma in the body
Finding a natural way to restore calm to your body and mind
Now more than ever, we want to find a way to access a deeper sense of calm for ourselves. Tension & Trauma Release Exercises (TRE®) could be part of the solution.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just lie back, not think, or talk about what happened to us and let our body find its own reset?
When we are stressed, we unconsciously hold tension in our bodies. Consequently, not only is this exhausting, but it also sends signals to our brain that we are bracing for danger. As a result, the stress response stays on. Unfortunately, this means that being in the stressed state can become our norm, and we forget what it feels like to not be stressed.
In cases of PTSD and unprocessed trauma, we may find ourselves unable to move out of the stress state. Consequently, living in a cycle of freeze, moving to fight/flight, and back to freeze continually. As part of the healing process, breaking this pattern is essential. This allows our body to return back to a state of flow. Tension & Trauma Release Exercises help us to achieve this.
We feel safe ….
We don’t think safe
If we could think our way to not be stressed, we would, but we can’t. Our sense of safety sits in the body and subconscious, not in the conscious mind or upper regions of the brain. Tension & Trauma Release Exercises access our deeper, primitive reflexes, which in turn allows our body to tremor. This natural recovery reflex enables the body to relax the nervous system and release the unconscious neuromuscular tension associated with unresolved stress & trauma.
It’s like pressing the reset button using our body.
What does TRE® look like?
Edited with permission of the creator – Richmond Heath
Reported benefits
- Reduced tension & anxiety
- Better Sleep
- Quieter mind
- Feeling more present
- Increased levels of resilience
- More energy
- Increased sense of calm
- Reduced symptoms of PTSD
- Relief from chronic aches (lower back, neck and shoulders)
No guarantees implied. Results for individuals may vary.
Tension & Trauma Release Exercises are not a replacement for professional support but can be used as a complimentary therapy to enhance the effects of other treatments and self-care practices.
TRE® is a
self-care practice
This is something you can learn and use for the rest of your life.
As a Certified Provider, I am qualified to run 1:1 sessions and groups both online and in-person in Hampshire and the surrounding area.
In our first session you will:
- Learn the 7 exercises which help to activate our natural tremor mechanism
- Have an opportunity to experience what it’s like to shake
- Be shown somatic techniques to help give your body signals of safety
- Learn how to pause the tremors, so you can feel that you are in full control at all times
- Be held in a safe, co-regulated space
A minimum of 3 sessions are recommended to learn how to shake safely.
However, you may want more should you wish to process emotions with support.
For more information and resources
