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# 2022-01-05 - TRE, Tension or Trauma Releasing Exercises
TRE stands for Tension or Trauma Release Exercises. It is a set of
exercises that helps to evoke the psoas muscles--a major set of
muscles where we often store physical, emotional, and mental stress
in our bodies over the course of our lives--to release neurogenic
tremors. This combination of neurological and physiological
involuntary tremors can lead to a release of deep tension, stress and
trauma, helping the body to return to a calmer and balanced state.
In other forms of stress-relieving practices such as mindfulness
meditation, we use our neocortex to monitor our bodily function (i.e.
breathing). This is an example of a "top-down" approach. In
somatically based approaches such as TRE, they tap into our autonomic
nervous system and reach out to the limbic system and neocortex
creating a "bottom-up" approach. TRE is not just a physiological
exercise, but also a neurological workout.
TRE was created by Dr David Berceli, an expert in trauma intervention
who used to work in war-torn places. Over the years, he noticed how
people often responded to crisis by curling into a foetal position,
which contracts the psoas muscles. Observing that children would
shiver (or tremor) and shake, but adults would not, Dr Berceli found
that adults stopped themselves from shaking because they were worried
that they would frighten the children, or were afraid of embarrassing
themselves. Interestingly, animals in the wild respond to stress or
predators in a similar way, collapsing into a frozen position in
extreme danger, and getting out of such a position through shaking
and tremoring. Wanting to help people tap this natural mechanism to
release deep tension and stress, Dr Berceli discovered more about the
human anatomy and other body-related therapeutic modalities, and
created TRE.
In the first few exercises we stretch hip and leg muscles then while
lying down on the back, with feet together and legs apart, most of
the shaking will take place.
# Exercise 1
Stand with your feet hips-width apart. Roll your feet onto the outer
edge of one foot and inner edge of the other foot. Put all your
weight equally on both feet. Then role your feet to the other side.
Repeat x10 on each side.
# Exercise 2
Stand with one foot forward, put your full weight on that foot, using
the foot behind for balance. Rise up on your toe, let your back foot
leave the ground. Stand on your toe for a few minutes (you can hold
on to something for balance). Repeat x10 on each foot.
# Exercise 3
Stand on one foot, bend the other knee behind you in the air. Put
both hands down on the ground, on either side of the foot for
balance. Bend and straighten the leg that you are standing on.
Repeat x10 on both legs.
# Exercise 4
Stretch your feet wide apart. Put your fists on the small of your
back. Bend knees, push your pelvis forward and lean your head back
and breathe. Repeat x3 times
Straighten up then turn and look as far as you can over your shoulder
and breathe (legs still apart, hands still on back). Change and look
over the other shoulder. Repeat x3 for each side.
# Exercise 5
Legs wide apart bend forwards, stretch your arms out with your
fingers touching the floor. Bend one knee and walk your hands to
that foot and breathe. Bend other knee and do the same. Repeat x3
for each foot.
# Exercise 6
Shake body out. Stand with your back against the wall, feet apart
and bend your knees--you should be able to see your toes. Rest your
hands against your sides. 5 minutes.
# Exercise 7
Lie on the floor, push the soles of your feet together, legs apart.
Left pelvis about 2cm off the ground and hold. 5 minutes or for as
long as you can make it without pain.
Drop pelvis, with soles of your feet touching lift knees 5cm off the
ground for 5 minutes, then 10cm for 5 minutes and finally 15cm for 5
minutes. Rest.
The tremors varies from person to person. You may feel furious
trembling or barely feel a thing. The more you do it the more the
trembling will spread starting in your legs and hips, moving to your
stomach, then chest and head. To see any difference you may do the
exercises every day for ten days.
One central tenet of TRE is that our bodies innately know what to do.
However, our culture lacks bodily trust. In the beginning it is
very important for it [TRE] to be a pleasant experience, and that
means self-regulating.
Three self-regulating tools:
* Slow down the tremor by either opening arms and legs in clamshell
position, or stretching legs out.
* Stop the tremor by puting legs out, locking the knees, and
flexing the feet.
* Modulate the tremor by changing the distance between the knees.
TRE is not an extreme sport. Sometimes less is more. Moderation
shows leadership to your nervous system.
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