TRE (Tension Releasing Exercises)

Service Description

Trauma is generally considered to be anything that overwhelms our ability to cope, something small to one person can be a huge deal to another. David Berceli, the founder of TRE and the Trauma Releasing Process discovered that while working in war torn countries, humans, when in imminent danger, would tighten up and make themselves small, effectively holding their trauma in. After careful analysis he realised that if the body was allowed to shake in a controlled and safe way it could transform chronic pain and release blocked emotions without overwhelming the person. He also noticed that the psoas muscles which connects the back with the pelvis, played an important role in these traumatic or stressful events by contracting and pulling the body forward when a stressful event occurs. This engages other muscles to pull backwards and causes spinal compression. If the tension can be released after the event, the body goes back to its relaxed state. If, however, it cannot be released, and the tension remains in the muscles it can cause lower back issues as well as shoulder and neck pain in the future and can leave the body particularly vulnerable to continued stimulation, causing us to react to even the most minor situations with stress or anxiety. As humans we are taught to pull ourselves together, and that often results in the trauma being kept in the body. If we were only taught that shaking is a sign that the body is healing from the trauma and not a symptom of it, life would be a lot easier. Imagine a continuation of seemingly small traumas that happen throughout your life, for example falling over, becoming ill, being told off by a parent. Or maybe you suffer another type of trauma, like suffering a car accident, being bullied physically, mentally and emotionally, or suffering a bereavement, abuse or other more extreme traumas like being in war torn environments with the constant feeling of fear for your life. Trauma is something that happens to each and every one of us in varying ways and we will all cope differently. TRE helps us to deal with these traumas, either big or small, in a manageable safe way. The trauma releasing process guides us through specific exercises that helps to activate a shaking or vibrating mechanism in the body, and the shaking helps to ease tension / trauma that is held in the muscles and as a result has a soothing effect on the central nervous system.