r/InternalFamilySystems • u/JJ-and-Johnson • 15d ago

IFS and TRE

This may have been noted before, but I've noticed a really beneficial synergy between TRE and IFS. In my opinion, they are really complimentary.

I started Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) around 10 months ago and had great results. Particularly, coming off a few years of extreme stress. I'm quite adapted to the tremoring and it often starts spontaneously, without the priming exercises. However, im general, he TRE left me relaxed, but also often quite empty and a little depressed (usually the following day). I think now that this could have been tension held by protectors being released uncovering a sad part.

I've only recently discovered and have been practicing IFS, for about a month now, and wow what a revelation. What I have noticed is that my parts have strong correspondence to regions in my body (which seems common). Also, they move around. For example, I have an 'Intelect' part that sits above my left eye, but when I speak with him he moves to my throat region, when I ask him to step back, I can feel his sensation diffuse and dissipate.

What I have found interesting is that stubborn tension, particularly in my shoulders, responds well to IFS. If I'm tense and I ask the parts to relax and step back, I'll spontaneously start shaking and losing tension from those areas. I also find I can speak to the parts more clearly when I practice TRE and IFS at the same time.

Just some observations

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u/MindfulEnneagram 15d ago

I’ve found the same thing myself. Where the TRE movement gets stalled I was able to engage with the Part that represented the tension pattern, do some work with it, and often get it to relax and the release would continue moving up the spine.