What is T.R.E.?
TRE® is short for Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises.
It’s a simple, body-led approach to relieve stress and build resilience.
While I teach and personally use several techniques, TRE is unlike any other method I’ve tried in 20 years of exploring healthy ways to reduce stress, anxiety, and tension.
It’s for those ready to meet their body where it’s at—and let it move and release what words alone can’t.
The TRE® technique or method helps you tap into your body’s innate ability to discharge stress chemicals in the body and return to a state of openness and ease.
It’s a simple yet powerful way to activate the natural tremoring response to release deeply held tension patterns in the muscles and connective tissue.
It looks like vibration or shaking and helps discharge stuck energy and emotions.
It’s used by athletes, first responders, and high performers worldwide to enhance resilience and athletic recovery, reduce chronic tension and pain, improve sleep, and feel a tangible shift in physiological state.
TRE is a safe and effective stress release technique for most people. The TRE method involves a series of physical exercises — including standing squats, wall-sits, and lifted-hip bridges — that require lower-body strength, balance, and joint mobility. We recognize people vary in their movement abilities, and if you use a mobility aid or have any condition affecting balance or strength, you are welcome to contact us. We are committed to offering adaptations and alternatives wherever possible. Each person stays in charge of their pace and experience—no pushing—as presence & curiosity help you shake off stress.
It’s about creating space for your system to re-pattern, naturally, and you don’t have to think about it!
Participants regularly say that guided sessions with me are "profound", "inspiring" and "life-changing."
And many have said they feel like they "got a massage” from the inside out, without needing to go to a spa.
The result of practicing TRE is feeling rebalanced, more deeply attuned to your body, and empowered with an incredibly effective practice you can take with you into daily life, no matter what stressors you are facing.
What clients are saying:
“TRE has to be one of the most effective (if not the most effective) methods I’ve used to cope with severe anxiety. Thanks to studying TRE with Carolyn, I am able to relax, qualitatively and quantitatively, to a far greater extent than before.”
“It was beautiful to be given the space and invitation to let my body take over instead of my mind. That alone is medicine.”
“I’ve done a lot of nervous system work, but this gave me a felt sense of regulation that I hadn’t experienced before.”
“I really liked TRE and how it’s body-based and you can go at your own pace. It felt the most accessible of the things I have tried to release tension and process stuck emotions.”
“I had no idea what to expect. I never knew my body was capable of that. It was so relieving and comfortable. I feel lighter than I have in years. I think this is life-changing.”
“Even though I was in a TRE group series online, I felt supported by Carolyn in a way that was personalized at the same time. Now five weeks later, I feel lighter in my body and am no longer playing the traumatic events from childbirth over in my mind. ”
“Carolyn is a gifted facilitator of TRE. She brings a gentle and heartfelt presence and simultaneously and masterfully normalizes a wide range of somatic and psychological responses in a way that helps participants feel safe and held. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking to find a little more peace in their nervous systems and lives.”
Read even more testimonials here!
FAQs
“I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect from TRE. But it felt so natural once we began. Something clicked—and I could feel stress and tension leaving my body.”
“This workshop was the start of a whole new chapter in how I listen to and care for myself.”
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TRE® can be used to relieve stress, lower anxiety, build resilience and reduce feelings of overwhelm. It restores and supports physical, mental and emotional health.
The wide range of reported benefits include:
less worry and anxiety
reduced symptoms of PTSD
more energy and stamina/endurance
less relationship conflict/improved relationships
improved sleep and natural states of rest
reduced muscle aches and pains, including relief from migraines, headache, back pain
better circulation
increased flexibility
more balanced mood, including reduced feelings of anger, fear, doubt, rage and anxiety increased feelings of love, generosity, openness and caring
greater emotional resilience
improved autoimmune conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, arthritis and fibromyalgia
relief from many inflammatory illnesses, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
release of deeply buried emotional/physical trauma
a healthier body and mind awareness
improved sense of feeling focused, confident and grounded.
As well as helping the body to naturally balance the nervous system, TRE® also has the potential to help with digestive issues, blood pressure irregularities, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and much more.
Additionally, TRE® has been shown to achieve positive results in a short period of time. In just 10-15 minutes, a few times a week, it is possible to completely release dysfunctional patterns, behaviours and ways of being that have become deeply entrenched over time.
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TRE® helps you activate the somatic shaking response, or neurogenic tremoring. It's a natural, innate tension release mechanism found in every mammal's body.
The tremoring isn't a part of the stress itself, but rather a part of the body's drive to release and discharge the stored stress, to reset the nervous system and return the body to a state of balance. As a result, it reduces many issues linked to a stressed nervous system, including anxiety, sleep problems, depression, ADHD, and poor emotional regulation.
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TRE® is considered to be as safe and effective as any other exercise-based, stress-release practice (such as yoga and tai chi), for most people. However, it is not advisable to use it as a substitute for trauma recovery procedures of a medical or psychological nature.
TRE® should not be used with those who have any of the following diagnoses:
bipolar conditions
borderline personality disorder
epilepsy
manic/depressive
psychosis
schizophrenia
severe depression
TRE is also not recommended for pregnant people.
The TRE method involves a series of physical exercises — including standing squats, wall-sits, and lifted-hip bridges — that require lower-body strength, balance, and joint mobility. We recognize people vary in their movement abilities, and if you use a mobility aid or have any condition affecting balance or strength, you are welcome to contact us. We are committed to offering adaptations and alternatives wherever possible.