TRE Trauma Release Exercises are a defrag and reboot for both our emotional and physiological hard drive. Just like a computer, some of life’s downloads, such as the stressful traumatic events, affects our system a bit like a computer virus. They’re not supposed to be saved. They need to be cleared from our system in order that we can function in a healthy balanced way. We need to save only the information we  need and delete the stuff we don’t.

In the animal kingdom mammals have an instinctive reboot, which is activated automatically following any stressful or traumatic event. Following the event they instinctively release the tension through tremoring and shaking. You may have seen on a wildlife programme, once a  gazelle has escaped from becoming a lion’s dinner and is  out of danger, it will tremble and shake releasing the trauma energy. It will then happily get on with grazing as if life couldn’t be more tranquil.

Now consider how many stressful events we may have encountered during our life, each one squeezing and contracting us a little more. Eventually we experience, back pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, abdominal pain infact eventually pain can affect any part of our body.How often have we heard the phrase  “when I heard the news I felt a knot in my stomach” or“I was so upset I had a lump in my throat”.Perhaps the last time you felt upset or stressed you felt tension in your shoulders and neck. These are some examples of our issues affecting our tissues.

Anyone can benefit from learning TRE. Whether you have suffered from hard trauma, like a car accident, from years of soft trauma like emotional or mental abuse, or are simply looking for a way to rebalance from the normal stresses of everyday life – you can learn TRE  to enable release from stress and tension held in the body and mind.

TRE Trauma Release Exercises help individuals release stress or tension as a result of difficult life circumstances, immediate or prolonged stressful situations, or traumatic life experiences. TRE is a set of six simple exercises that help individuals release tension in the muscles, which in turn relaxes the anxiety of our minds, by reactivating an instinctive genetically encoded muscular shaking process in the body. The exercises elicit this shaking in a controlled and sustained manner. When activated in this way, this shaking, also called neurogenic tremors, begins to release deep chronic muscular tension held within the body. They come from the centre of gravity of the body (L3), which is protected by the psoas muscles.

When shaking is evoked at this powerful centre of the body, it reverberates throughout the entire body travelling along the spine, releasing deep chronic tension from the sacrum to the cranium. When tension is released anywhere in the body, the brain registers a reduction in pain signals and produces new hormones of relaxation and comfort.

How can TRE improve our sleep?

When we are stressed or emotionally unsettled, our brain interprets our tension as a sign of threat. It pumps us with adrenaline and cortisol in order to keep us alert and ready to fight the perceived threat.

This gives us a ‘caffeinated” buzzed feeling, as if we’ve had too many espressos. Difficulty sleeping is a symptom of our stressed “caffeinated” state. Using TRE  releases deep held tension affecting  subsequent deep relaxation of our body.

This in turn activates our Parasympathetic Nervous system,which controls our rest and digest and enables our bodies to sleep.

How can TRE reduce conflict daily?

Stress and tension are the ignition for conflict in all areas of our life. When we are stressed our fuse is short and the slightest comment or difficulty can lead to conflict. When we remain relaxed and in a place of calm  we do not experience much conflict. It can be tough to stay relaxed because daily life challenges our calm state. Practicing TRE  regularly continually reduces our tension and anxiety levels and so naturally enables us to find a relaxed balanced state. When we regularly empty our cup of stress or panic, we are far less likely to overflow in life’s tricky moments.

TRE promotes cohesiveness and openness between participants and can be a helpful tool for dispute resolution, both interpersonal and in corporate work environments.