TRE® (Trauma Release Exercises)

Trauma is often stored in the body and muscle tissues when our physical and emotional reactions are stiffled or we experience a fight, flight, or freeze response. TRE® is a series of somatic exercises for trauma that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress and tension through a natural reflex mechansm of shaking or vibrating. When this is done in a controlled, safe environment where the individual feels ready to experience it, it can cause a calming and cathartic release for the nervous system.

If you have experienced trauma or suffer from chronic inflammation, pain, or emotional symptoms, your nervous system may be stuck in an “on” or activated poosition which over time can lead to excessive muscle tension, chronic fatigue, or hyperarousal that create a feedback loop of chronic activation.

TRE® may help alleviate symptoms and experiences such as or in response to:

  • Excessive stress, worry, or anxiety

  • Muscle tension, chronic pain, and chronic illness symptoms

  • Apathy & difficulty expressing or experiencing emotions

  • Panic attacks, night terrors & nightmares

  • Inflammation or tightness in the body

  • Addiction

  • Headaches, stomach aches, back pain & migraines

  • Emotional Distress

  • Dissociation

  • Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Eczema & IBS

  • Hyperarousal/overstimulation

  • Sensitivity to sound, light, or temperature

  • Numbness or tingling in the body

TRE® is natural, acts quickly,

and is accessible for anyone

TRE® is a somatic body based practice that doesn’t require talking about events, feelings, or issues that could be triggering or inaccessible. It is a series of simple somatic exercises including stretches and mascular engagements that build up a shaking or trembling response in the legs that is then released after laying on the floor. You have full control of the process and can ask to stop at any time, and can even titrate the tremble response to fit your comfort level. Once you have been taught how to do TRE® and walked through it with a practitioner, it is something that you can continue to do on your own.

TRE® may activate, stimulate, or release a trapped fight-or-flight response that was stored in the body or release emotional or physical tensions naturally. While it may sometimes feel impossible to soothe and relax mentally or emotionally, TRE® relaxes the body in a way that is conducive to calming the nervous system. This is a safe and structured process that may cause some mild side effects such as nausea, headaches, or fatigue if overdone, but that generally is tolerated well especially if done with an experienced practitioner and within one’s own limits. While TRE® is not a “cure-all”, it is a valuable component to treatment for trauma, emotional distress, or chronic pain that can offer some sort of relief within just a few hours or days.

When regularly practiced, TRE® has been shown to:

  • Improve sleep & mood

  • Decrease anxiety, emotional reactivity & hypervigilance

  • Improve emotional resilience

  • Increase flexilibty, mobility & range of motion

  • Quiet the mind & deepen relaxation

  • Increase sense of connection with self and others

  • Reduce symptoms of PTSD