What is TRE®?
A body-based practice that works with the body’s natural tremor response
TRE® Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises, is a somatic practice developed by Dr David Berceli that uses a series of simple exercises to activate the body’s natural neurogenic tremor mechanism.
Most of us recognise shaking as something the body can do involuntarily. We may shake when we’re frightened, overwhelmed, cold, exhausted or after an intense experience. Yet we’re often taught to suppress these responses rather than become curious about them. TRE® takes a different approach. Rather than trying to make the body relax, TRE® creates the conditions in which this natural tremor response can emerge in a controlled and manageable way. Once learnt safely, the process can become a self-directed practice that you can use throughout your life.
Why Do We Tremor?
Tremoring isn’t unique to TRE®. Involuntary rhythmic movement is part of our human physiology. What makes TRE® interesting is that we deliberately access this mechanism and learn how to stay present with it, regulate its intensity and allow movement to develop without consciously directing every response. The tremors often begin in the legs and pelvis, but with experience they may move through different areas of the body and take many forms — from subtle vibration to larger rhythmic movements.
We don’t need to force this process. One of the skills of TRE® is actually learning to do less: observing what the body does when we give it the opportunity to move without continually trying to control it. The body becomes part of the conversation.
What Can a Regular TRE® Practice Offer?
People often come to TRE® because they recognise that they’re carrying something physically. They may notice persistent muscular tension, difficulty settling after stressful experiences, a sense of being constantly “on”, or simply that their body rarely feels completely at ease. Others are curious about embodiment and want to develop a different relationship with their own physical experience. Regular practice gives you an opportunity to notice these patterns and explore what happens when the body is given time and space to move differently
TRE® isn’t simply something you do when something is wrong. It can become an ongoing embodied practice. Somewhere to return to, notice yourself and put down some of what life inevitably asks you to carry.
I can forgive myself for shaking now – and know that this is a normal process,
I feel more in touch with my body.
The Science Is Still Developing
Some of the traditional explanations of TRE® have been very simple: that shaking “releases trauma stored in the body” or somehow empties accumulated stress. The reality is more interesting and more nuanced.
Our understanding of neurogenic tremoring continues to develop. Current thinking brings together research and theory from areas including autonomic nervous system regulation, motor control, proprioception and interoception, fascia, neuroplasticity and the relationship between the brain, spinal cord and body. TRE® also gives us an interesting way of thinking about bottom-up information.
Much psychological work begins with thoughts, meaning and language. TRE® begins with sensation and movement. Information is continually travelling from the body towards the brain as well as from the brain towards the body.
That doesn’t mean TRE® replaces psychological therapy. It means it offers another doorway into understanding how human beings respond to stress and experience.
TRE® Is a Practice, Not a Therapy
TRE® is not a psychotherapy and you don’t need to talk about what has happened to you while you practise it. It is a body-based practice that can be learnt and, for many people, eventually used independently.
This is one of the things that first attracted me to TRE® and keeps me engaged as a Trainer.
Rather than making somebody dependent upon a practitioner, the aim is to help them become increasingly confident in recognising and regulating their own tremor process. A TRE® Provider’s role is initially to teach, observe and support that learning.
Over time, you become the person who knows your own TRE® process best.
The Learning Body
Our nervous system is constantly learning and adapting. We often associate neuroplasticity with the brain, but learning and adaptation aren’t confined to the cortex. Networks throughout the nervous system, including circuits within the spinal cord involved in patterned movement, continually respond to sensory information and experience.
This gives us a much richer way of thinking about TRE®.
Rather than seeing tremoring simply as “getting tension out”, we can begin to think about what happens when the nervous system repeatedly experiences movement, sensation and activation while remaining within a manageable range.
The practice itself becomes important information.
This is one of the areas I explore in much greater depth during TRE® Provider Training.
Is TRE® Safe?
TRE® is designed to be self-regulated, and learning how to regulate the tremors is central to good TRE® teaching.
That means learning how to slow the process down, change position, pause or stop altogether, and recognising the signals that tell you when you’ve done enough.
For many people TRE® is straightforward to learn. Others benefit from more individual support, particularly when there is a history of complex trauma, dissociation or significant physical or psychological difficulty. This is why we recommend learning TRE® with a properly trained Certified TRE® Provider rather than simply following exercises from a video.
More isn’t better in TRE®. The ability to regulate your own experience is part of the practice.