TRE is a body-based practice that uses a series of movements to encourage natural muscular tremoring, giving the body an opportunity to release physical tension and explore how stress is experienced beyond words.
Shaking is something our bodies already know how to do
Most of us have experienced some form of involuntary shaking. Your hands might tremble before an important conversation, your legs can feel shaky after a frightening experience, or your whole body might shiver when you are overwhelmed, excited or under pressure. For women, shaking or trembling can also happen during or after giving birth.
Tremoring is a recognised physiological phenomenon that can occur before, during and after stressful or physically intense experiences, although we are often more accustomed to trying to stop or hide it than becoming curious about what our body is doing. Shaking and rhythmic movement also have a much longer human history than their use within contemporary therapeutic practice.
Across cultures and for generations, movement, dance, rhythm, vibration and repetitive physical practices have formed part of ceremony, community, emotional expression and ways of responding to significant experiences. Modern body-based approaches are now paying greater attention to the relationship between physical experience and emotional wellbeing, and TRE provides a structured way of exploring one particular aspect of this: the body’s capacity to tremor.
What is TRE and what happens during a session?
TRE involves a sequence of physical exercises that gently engage and fatigue particular muscle groups before allowing tremoring to develop. The exercises can include stretches, movements involving the legs and hips and positions performed lying on the floor, although a good practitioner can adapt the process for people with a wide range of accessibility needs. Once the tremor begins, attention moves towards allowing the body’s involuntary movement to continue.
The shaking can look very different from person to person and can also change during the same session. For some people it begins as a small vibration through the legs or pelvis, while for others the movement may travel into different areas of the body or become more noticeable. It can pause, restart or change in intensity, and there is no requirement for the movement to become large or dramatic for the practice to be worthwhile.
An important part of learning TRE is developing control over your own experience. You can change your position, reduce the intensity or stop the tremoring, allowing you to work gradually and within your own capacity rather than seeing how much physical or emotional intensity you can produce.
Why might tremoring affect how we feel?
Stress is not something we experience solely through our thoughts. Think about what happens before an interview, during an argument or when you narrowly avoid an accident: your heart may beat faster, your breathing changes and muscles can tighten before you have had much opportunity to think about what is happening.
Physical tension can also become familiar when we spend long periods under pressure, particularly around areas such as the jaw, shoulders, stomach, back and hips. TRE works directly with this physical aspect of stress by intentionally encouraging muscular tremoring and then allowing attention to remain with the experience. Research into TRE is developing, with a 2026 scoping review bringing together 22 studies involving the practice.
The review found potential benefits across areas including mood, anxiety-related sleep difficulties, and cognitive function. Earlier studies have also explored TRE in relation to stress, quality of life, fatigue and physical symptoms including chronic pain. {1}
What people notice during the practice can vary. Some experience a sense of physical relaxation afterwards, while others may become aware of emotions, thoughts, sensations or memories as they tremor. The experience can also remain predominantly physical, without an obvious emotional response.
Why doesn’t a bigger release mean a better one?
Videos of somatic practices can sometimes give the impression that an enormous physical or emotional response is the goal, particularly when the language of ‘releasing trauma’ is used. In practice, TRE is much less dramatic. A small tremor through the legs can be as much a part of the journey as a larger movement through the body, and learning to recognise when to stop is part of the process. This can be particularly relevant for people who have experienced trauma or who find physical sensations overwhelming.
Working gradually and remaining aware of how the experience feels allows the tremoring to be explored without pursuing intensity for its own sake. An appropriately trained practitioner can provide additional support when somebody is unfamiliar with tremoring or concerned about how they may respond.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about TRE is how unfamiliar an entirely natural action can initially feel. We spend much of our lives learning to contain physical responses, whether that means holding back tears, controlling our breathing, sitting still or trying not to let anyone see our hands shake. TRE gives us an opportunity to become curious about a response that many of us have experienced naturally and explore what happens when the body is given permission to move.
Sources
[1] Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE): A scoping review, 2026.
Taylor & Francis: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07380577.2026.2726931
Please note: This article is for general interest only. If anything you’re experiencing is concerning you, please speak with your GP.
For more info about TRE or Jo Lothian, visit www.seedwellness.co.uk/jolothian
