TRE®

Many people can learn TRE by reading books and/or watching the DVD. However, some may benefit better if guided through the exercises by a Certified TRE Practitioner. One might have an immediate result from the exercises and others might not experience the results until after practicing the exercises a few times. Because the TRE process can be intense and somewhat overwhelming, those who find TRE to be challenging might want to be guided through the exercises by a Certified TRE Practitioner or attend a workshop. Check out the website for Certified Practitioners in your area, for scheduled workshops or for practitioners who can work with you via Skype.

Self-regulation is the ability to tolerate and control ones emotions, thoughts, feelings, and sensations independently of external supervision or regulation. Cognitive neuroscience research suggests that successful self-regulation is dependent on top-down control from the prefrontal cortex over subcortical regions involved in survival and emotion.

Self-regulatory collapse is when the individual cannot control their own overwhelming emotions, thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

The exercises activate a shaking mechanism, which causes the muscles to relax. Relaxing tense muscle patterns can often reduce stress in the spine, neck, shoulders and pelvis. When tension is released anywhere in the body, the brain registers a reduction in pain signals, producing new hormones that promotes healing.

The body intuitively knows how and when to put itself to sleep. Difficulty sleeping is simply a symptom that something is out of balance with the body. Sleeplessness is often the signal that stress, anxiety and tension are causing the “sleep mechanism” to not activate properly.

Deep muscular relaxation, which TRE elicit, induces the body to activate the rest/digest, relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system that allows the body to sleep. Resiliency can be attained when the individual can work, respond to stress, play, and then rest. If deep adequate rest, and the relaxation response, is not a part of the individual’s daily life, resiliency is compromised.

It can be used as a therapeutic tool because these symptoms can be difficult to manage at times. They might seem overwhelming. The process of using this tool in a therapeutic context provides the therapist with the ability to use the body as part of the stress reduction process without needing to have advanced degrees in body psychotherapy.

Exercise, workouts and yoga often reduce tension in the muscles and help increase strength and flexibility. Many tension patterns and contractions are deep inside the body, often without our conscious awareness. TRE uncovers these less conscious but obvious tension patterns. The contractions release tension at this deeper level. When this occurs, the body takes on greater flexibility and resilience. This increased awareness of a ‘deeper sense of self’ often extends itself into the realm of the ‘spiritual’ to which many people aspire. Once there is a deeper felt sense of oneself, there is a natural deeper sense of connection to others and the ‘universe’ or the ‘spiritual’.

Because these exercises relax tightly held muscles, buried emotions can surface for some people during deep muscular relaxation. Others report no particular emotional feelings and just experience a physical shaking that leads to reduced stress. Both situations are perfect. Each session is unique. The body simply does what it needs to do. The goal is to allow this process to emerge naturally.

If you experience emotional feelings while doing TRE, please be very respectful of the process. If you begin to feel vulnerable, sensitive, overwhelmed or scared and want to stop the exercises, simply straighten your legs and lock your knees. Stay in this position for a few minutes. Or, you may want to curl up in a ball, walk around, or eat something. The point is to do what is needed to get comfortable again or come back to your present reality, we call this “grounding”. Take your time. In practicing TRE it is very important to learn “self-regulation” where you shake/tremor from a place of safety and are able to come in and out of the TRE process. A few find they want or need a TRE Practitioner to assist them in learning self-regulating skills. Others may find it helpful to enlist friends, family and/or therapist in this process.