A few years ago, several newspapers wrote stories about my Trauma and Tension Releasing (TRE) workshops, calling TRE “the new mindfulness craze set to take London by storm.”
Today I thought I’d share one of the articles, from the London Evening Standard (you can see the full article here), along with some of the feedback that I’ve received from hundreds of students since the article was published. It’s brilliant to see TRE rising in popularity, and having a real impact for so many.
Here’s the article:
Meditation has had a millennial makeover: it’s no longer hippy-dippy, but Instagram-friendly. Glance through your newsfeed and you’ll see winsome influencers recommending apps and rhapsodising about the merits of sitting very, very still.
But hold onto your yoga mats, for there’s a new, more active theory of calm that is captivating the capital’s most zen set — tension and trauma releasing exercises, or TRE for short, and sometimes nicknamed “the shaking mechanism”.
There are reportedly groups popping up in every borough, and in October, TRE guru Steve Haines — author of a trio of graphic books, Anxiety is Really Strange, Pain is Really Strange and Trauma is Really Strange — will be taking a three-day course at chichi Camden yoga studio Triyoga next month. One fan whispers that a TED talk must surely follow.
What’s the deal? “Most meditative techniques require you to be really still,” Haines explains. “You have to learn how to focus and pay attention to your body. The shaking mechanism is a primitive, unconscious one — an act of letting go.”
That’s the poetry; here’s the science bit. According to Haines, modern anxieties are putting our bodies in a state of constant “fight or flight” which, after a while, starts to numb us to reality. He explains: “In trauma, our bodies get locked into stress responses trying to protect us. Most people’s distress is due to their body getting stuck in protective patterns — muscles tensed, tight breathing, fast heartbeat, jaws clenched. Your body is trying to support and protect you but somehow gets locked into these habits of overprotecting you, bracing you against life.”
The result is that “people feel disconnected from their bodies, without being aware of how hard these bodies are working day to day”, Haines continues. “And when we put human beings under pressure, we tend to disappear.” In other words, we don’t know how we feel any more.
So, Haines’s theory — trialled with those suffering from PTSD — runs that shaking can release tension and shut down the fight-or-flight instinct, making our bodies go haywire. It’s essentially a means of “trauma-proofing” your brain. People he has taught consistently sleep better and feel less anxious.
Shaking it off is structured around seven key moves. “You do a version of a sitting squat against the wall,” he advises. Calf raises, forward bends, squats — they help people feel connected to their legs and tire them out.” Classes crescendo towards a butterfly position: “Lie on your back with your soles of your feet together, legs wide in a diamond shape. Then lift the pelvis. It’s a hard position to control — like standing on one leg — and people start shaking. In that position they learn to shake but also learn that they can take back control by dropping the pelvis again.”
Movement is an established form of therapy. “I got told as a kid that I was too twitchy. We should see movement as a healthy thing — this is using primitive reflexes in the spinal cord to send a positive feedback loop.”
To join the pack you can learn the moves via a phone app, Stress Less TRE, or find your own local group on trecollege.com/groups.
Above all, you “don’t have to think too hard,” says Haines. “Conscious meditative work is very supportive but many people struggle to make sense of meditation. The joyful part around TRE is that once you set up the shaking, you let it run.”
And here is some of the feedback from our students:
Absolutely blown away and wished I had discovered TRE years ago. A great venue. Comfortable safe space. Group was not too big liked the start seated in semi circle brought an energy in which made me relax.
I found it relaxed whilst being super informative. I liked the input from the two other teachers. I also really enjoyed the openness to questions which seemed to give unscripted insights.
Janie Clarke-Burns, Wellbeing Therapist and Self Coach
Loved the balance of lecture with practice, as well as the opportunity to shake. Greatly appreciated mentor feedback as well as getting to see the mentors “in action” with how they interacted and offered interventions.
Lil Harris, Certified Personal Trainer, RYT500, and Yoga Therapist-in-Training
I learnt so much. It was so interesting and extremely helpful to me to know more about TRE in both theory and practice. Steve is a very good speaker.
Sian Portlock, Optometrist
Again, very comprehensive theory – very interesting even for someone who knows a lot about the nervous system! And opportunity for a lot of practical experience in a gentle setting. I loved it!
Daniela, Psychologist and Nervous System Coach
Would you like to try out or train in TRE? Please join us on one of our upcoming intro courses – you can find all the info below.
________________________________________
Upcoming Trainings with Steve Haines:
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST)
The Art of Touch Two Year Trainings:
London: starts Mar 2025
Galway: starts Oct 2025
Prague: starts Oct 2025
The Art of Touch Intro Events:
(You can attend seminar one without committing to the full training)
Galway (evening): Apr 24
Galway Seminar 1: Oct 1-5
Prague Seminar 1: Oct 1-5
Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®)
TRE Intro Days:
London: Mar 24, Apr 21, Jul 21, Sep 22, Nov 3.
TRE 1 Year Trainings:
London: starts May 2025
