TRE, or Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises, can be seen as a compassionate, inner embrace. It's a practice that honours the silent stories our bodies hold, the narratives etched into our muscles and tendons, by the passage of difficult times. When we experience trauma, it's like the soul creates a defence to protect our most vulnerable selves. Our bodies cradle these defences, in a protective clasp.
With TRE, we begin a dialogue with the body, not in words, but in movement—a language that the heart understands instinctively. Like a mother rocking her child, using motion to soothe and to whisper, "You are safe now.”
The process of TRE is a gentle coaxing, a nurturing of the body towards a series of natural, therapeutic tremors. It's as if we are giving permission to the earth within us to quake and to settle more comfortably, finding a new sense of alignment and calm. The shaking—a vulnerable, yet powerful reawakening of the body's inherent rhythm that was disturbed long ago by events we may not even consciously remember.
This practice is less about the mechanics of release and more about unfolding. As the body begins to shake and release, there's a sensation like a thawing of the places that have been frozen in time, inviting our innermost energies to flow more freely
In TRE, we're not digging into the wounds with the sharpness of analysis, the language of words, we're simply present, sensing our body, our breath, our ability to transform. It's a homecoming of sorts, a return to the body's innate wisdom, a wisdom that knows how to heal and how to breathe new life into old spaces confined by tension.
And when practiced in the quiet companionship of others, TRE takes on a collective rhythm, a shared journey of healing. Each person's movement is a silent nod to one another, a recognition of the interconnectedness of our human experiences.
In the embrace of TRE, we can find a profound simplicity. It's a pathway that leads us back to a place where the body's whispers are heard, where each tremor can help us release and recover. It's not just an exercise, it's a return to the essence of who we are, tender and strong, resilient and ever-capable of renewal.