Shake It Off: Tension Releasing Exercises

Trauma and stress stored in our bodies can cause physical pain and emotional distress. Find out how TRE helps to release this through simple shaking exercises.

Tension and trauma releasing exercises (TRE), created by Doctor David Berceli, are an innovative method using vibrating and shaking of the body to release deep muscular patterns of stress, tension, and trauma.Because traumatic stress is stored in the body, it can become hazardous to one’s health and make life miserable if not treated.

In the animal kingdom, animals shake instinctively to release tension after a life-threatening event. However, adult humans often override this voluntary mechanism. Berceli believes that adults keep from shaking for fear of appearing weak or vulnerable. As a result, we cut ourselves off from a natural and healthy mechanism designed to help relieve stress and calm our nervous system.

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Regulating Emotions and Tending to Trauma

Trauma interrupts the development of self-regulation by affecting brain function due to neurological changes caused by the release of cortisol, a hormone that prepares us for the fight or flight response. Survivors of severe abuse often have smaller amygdalae and hippocampi. 

When our brain experiences trauma, it changes to protect itself from the stress. Some functions are turned off and others will be put on high alert. These changes cause survivors to have problems regulating their emotions, leading to impulsivity, fewer healthy relationships, and a sharp increase in the incidence of illness. TRE helps people regulate their emotions.

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Berceli spent many years working in high conflict areas. He often found himself in bomb shelters, where he noticed that everyone made the same involuntary response when bombs began falling – they put their hands over their head and curled into a fetal position. He recognised this as a universal contraction response to stress and believed there should be universal relaxation response. One day, when the bombs began to hit, the child he was holding in his arms began to shake. He concluded this must be the universal response. He designed the TRE exercises to activate this tremor mechanism to release tension. 

Berceli witnessed many people who had been traumatised by war and discovered that by using the body’s natural tremoring mechanism, one could release the harmful after-effects of trauma and stress. TRE has been used to support and treat US war veterans and has been found to reduce the need for drugs or psychotherapy to control PTSD symptoms. 

Our Bodies are Designed to Shake

Over the last five years – and throughout the pandemic – people have increasingly turned to TRE to activate the tremor mechanism and naturally release tension, both in one-on-one  private sessions and in small groups. Many are surprised how easy it is as the body is designed to release tension this way and it’s actually innate.

TRE consists of a series of seven exercises that help the body release deep muscular patterns of stress or tension. These simple exercises evoke a muscular shaking process in the body. When this shaking mechanism, known as a neurogenic tremor, is activated in a safe, controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return to a state of natural balance.

The psoas muscles, the body’s deepest core muscles, are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help stabilise your spine. These muscles often store physical, emotional and mental stress. The exercises help evoke neurogenic tremors from these muscles to shake off the stress.

TRE is intended to be a self-help system. After four to six sessions with an instructor, most people are then able to practise on their own at home. Those who have experienced extreme trauma, have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or have fragile mental health are advised to have one-on-one sessions. 

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TRE Benefits For All Ages

For those interested in TRE, a three-day healing retreat in Bali (14 to 16 February, 2025) will be jointly hosted by TRE practitioner Kate Whitehead and Clinical Psychologist Dr Julia Andre, in which participants will learn skills to release trauma, manage stress and reconnect with themselves for a more peaceful, fulfilling life. They can expect to leave the retreat empowered to do TRE so they can practice at home, as well as having explored evidence-based methods to process and release distress and reconnect with their inner child. 

Everyone can learn and benefit from TRE –  from young children to people in their 70s. When you release tension in your body, it feels good. Whitehead practices what she preaches and does TRE every other day which has resulted in her  no longer suffering from migraines which plagued her for more than 20 years.

The benefits of TRE include a decrease in chronic pain and muscular tension, less worry and tension, and greater emotional resiliency. Many people also report feeling calmer, more peaceful and having increased flexibility, with particularly good results seen in clients with chronic pain.

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Where To Learn TRE

Kate Whitehead
Balance Wellness, 16/F, ChinaChem Hollywood Centre, 1 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong, 9723 4448, www.balancewellnesshk.com/tre

Reconnect and Release Retreat
14-16 February, 2025
Sanur, Bali
Early bird offer: HK$4,800
For details: [email protected] 

TRE Practitioners in Hong Kong

• Lisa Glasgow, All About You, 10A, Wing Cheong Commercial Building, 19-25 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, 2992 0828, www.allaboutyoucentre.com
• Ada Wong, 5543 0303, linktr.ee/ada.wong, www.instagram.com/lovingyoga.hk
• Cheryl Rodriguez, 6501 3557, www.instagram.com/cheriko_wellnessnomad
• Emma Saunders, 9610 0959, www.creativecalmtre.com/contact