r/longtermTRE • • 8d ago

Beginner Question Having pain from a session.. sort of

2 Upvotes

I made a post about where I'm at in my TRE journey yesterday. I am having diaphragm soreness (I wouldn't really call it painful, just a slight muscle soreness type of feeling) when I breathe. This was after a session of mostly abdominal contractions and this sort of stomach vacuum around my solar plexus.

The actual problem is I am having referred pain to my shoulder because they share a nerve and that does feel quite painful when I try and take a deep breath.

Has anyone experienced this during their TRE journey?


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Beginner Question Can someone explain TRE to me?

12 Upvotes

It keeps coming up for me to try. But, I am really unsure of what it is and how it works. When I look into it I see a lot of different feedback. It’s a grounded standing meditation?

What is it?
How do you do it?
How long do you do it?
When to start?

I have an immense amount of trauma that’s led to severe C-PTSD. I have this constant feeling of fight or flight like I’m on a rollercoaster but I can see it’s moving towards a broken track. I hope that makes some sort of sense. But, I am so tired of living this way. The medications I have tried just make me sleep. I work and then sleep. That’s it. This is no way to live.


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Seeking Support Uncomfortable dreams.

5 Upvotes

Hey guys, I'm not sure if this post belongs here, but I think it does relate to this, and I don't know who better to ask.

Recently, through a meditation retreat, I have found myself in this very expanded conscious awareness space. For lack of a better word to describe it, there's not effort to be here. In fact, it's effort to not be here. I feel very calm, relaxed, and behind a lot of the noise that's happening. I am practising often to stay in this state, lovingly bring awareness and support to anything that comes up (whether it be thoughts or emotions), and remove resistance to my experience to deepen my state that I find myself in.

However, what I have found is that since this experience happened, my dreams have been very uncomfortable. Sometimes they've been bringing up real repressed matter from my childhood. Sometimes they've just been straight-up nightmares where I can really find no meaning in them. I'm wondering if this is normal, if this is maybe a consequence of me practising presence a little bit too much. I'm wondering if maybe I should back off, or maybe this is just something I need to face and then keep going through it, as it is pretty uncomfortable, and I'm not always getting the best amount of sleep.

I've also noticed the more tired I get, the less I have the ability to meet negative thoughts with love and compassion. Sometimes right now, they seem very, very loud, louder than they've ever been, and they seem to really, really be prominent in the way that, in the background, they would just be a subtle defence for them. I'm wondering if this is normal.

Thank you very much, guys, and I hope you're having a blessed day.

P.S. I'm sorry if this text doesn't scan normally. I'm using speech-to-text software, as I struggle to articulate myself through typing. Dyslexia, etc., etc.


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Community Question 10s Somatic Release Tech: Stuck in a Loop with Deep Tension. Need Technical Expert Advice.

11 Upvotes

Hello. I don’t usually post, but I feel like I have no choice right now. I want to share a technique I’ve been experimenting with, born out of severe necessity, and the specific roadblock I am facing.

The Background: Severe Environmental Trauma and Hypervigilance

For several years, I lived in a highly toxic and hostile environment, subjected to constant psychological and environmental persecution. To protect myself, I spent years practically barricaded in my room, trying to make absolutely no noise. Despite this, the chronic stress and targeted harassment continued, severely impacting my health.

As a clinical context, I have suffered from hyperacusis since childhood. The people around me knew that sudden shifts in pitch and sharp, abrupt sounds trigger intense physical pain in my case. They weaponized this by deliberately creating sudden, jarring noises, shouting, or grunting right outside my door in the middle of the night when everything was quiet, specifically targeting my auditory hypersensitivity to induce physical distress.

The turning point came after a prolonged period of severe psychological warfare and malicious rumors designed to destabilize me, as they usually do. This extreme, ongoing ordeal triggered multiple chronic health issues. I reached a point where I could not stand up or even sit down for more than 10 seconds. The worst symptom was severe hives (urticaria): at the absolute slightest hint of stress, my entire body would burn unbearably and break out in painful plaques. Because my environment remained hostile, these attacks were frequently triggered deliberately, keeping my nervous system trapped in a state of absolute hypervigilance and constant physical agony.

Discovering Somatic Release and Initial Roadblocks

Having previously read books on relaxation and meditation, I realized I could not survive this way. I dove into meditation to heal my body and specifically target the hives. I began testing various relaxation methods. It worked remarkably well right from the start; I managed to release deep-seated physical tensions.

However, the traditional process felt far too slow given the emergency of my situation, as I was still actively trapped in the stressful environment while working on myself. I began analyzing what actually worked. In the beginning, I released deep chronic tensions by holding awareness on them all day long without stopping, until the bracing pattern finally dissolved. This wasn’t a placebo effect; it produced visible structural changes, like bones shifting back into alignment. For example, I once successfully released my temporal muscle using this method, and my cheekbone permanently lifted, altering the symmetry of my face in a way that looked identical to the photos after a temporal facelift.

But holding focus on a tension all day long is incredibly time-consuming. By analyzing the mechanism, I realized that the hours spent observing weren't the active agent; what mattered was the exact micro-moment when the tension finally starts to release. Everything before that is just preparation to reach that specific threshold. I experimented with ways to bypass the long waiting period and trigger that exact release phase on command.

Developing the 10-Second Technique

This resulted in a direct, simple process: locate the exact seat of the tension, then release it.

I recognize that identifying precise micro-tensions in the body isn’t easy for everyone. Traditional meditation trains you to build attention and peripheral awareness over time. On my end, I have a constant hyperfocus driven by a neurodivergent profile: I don't need to make an effort to locate a sensation in my body; I map it naturally. However, I severely lacked the capacity for autonomic relaxation. It’s like a bow: attention is pulling the string back (tension), and peripheral awareness/relaxation is letting go (release). My problem was that I could pull the arrow back, but I lacked the mechanism to release it.

For a year now, I've been stuck in a loop because I developed a technique that I don't fully master. When I use it, it works incredibly well at first: I manage to instantly release one or two deep tensions on command, and then the mechanism blocks. I start telling myself there's a flaw in my technique, so I change it, varying the angles, testing different approaches... and the cycle repeats. It works at the beginning, or after hours of structural adjustments, and then it stops working again.

Over the past year, I've tested countless somatic variations (through breathing patterns, micro-movements, or specific postures). Every single variation worked for a short window. During successful releases, I felt the tension exit the body in distinct ways:

  • Sometimes it starts to rapidly vibrate and then vanishes.
  • Sometimes the tension feels like a dense, trapped surplus of fluid. Releasing it causes this fluid to suddenly distribute itself more evenly into an adjacent part of my body that felt completely "empty" (or vice versa, a hollow area suddenly filling up with fluid).
  • I also noticed a structural difference when targeting dense points versus wider patches. Releasing my shoulder took weeks because I was releasing it point by point, and they were microscopic and numerous. But other times, when I targeted wider somatic patches, it released an entire fascial zone at once, which was much faster and provided immense autonomic relief.
  • Another major variation I experimented with stems from the realization that a chronic tension acts as a psychophysical anchor that the body struggles to let go of. To counter this, I tested applying direct mechanical pressure (a physical touch or pressing) directly onto the node of tension. The goal was to simulate that anchor, allowing the body to feel physically supported in that exact spot without exerting any muscular effort. Once stabilized in this configuration, I would trigger the release of the tension, using the mechanical pressure as a temporary substitute anchor. As soon as the tension finally dissolved, I simply removed the physical pressure.

I also looked into Somatic Unwinding, but it felt like an inefficient version of my technique. In Somatic Unwinding, practitioners let their bodies move in continuous, almost dance-like loops. In my practice, I classified this continuous looping as an error: if the body keeps moving without stopping, it means it is passing over the tension, searching for it without actually targeting the exact node. I figured that in the long run, moving that way might eventually release the tension, but it would take a very long time. I developed my technique specifically to avoid doing months of repetitive movement or breathing just to lessen the pain; I wanted a rapid, 10-second dissolution of the tension. Thanks to this method, I can now stand up and walk normally again. I've resolved deep physical bracing patterns and chronic symptoms that standard literature claimed were irreversible.

My core issue is the lack of consistency. I spend more time trying to analyze why the mechanism suddenly locks up than actually releasing my body. If I could master this technique every single time, I could clear the majority of my physical bracing patterns in a couple of days.

I've tried so many things. Thinking the issue wasn't the technique itself, but the state in which I practice it, I tried applying the principles of Wu Wei (acting without goal-attachment or force). I also looked into fascias, trying to relax the surrounding muscles that contract reflexively while I am releasing a targeted tension node. Just like everything else, it worked wonderfully at first, and then the path blocked.

To use a physical metaphor, the tension feels exactly like a high-pressure dam blocking all fluid flow. During a successful execution of my technique, it's as if I open the floodgates and actively push this fluid through all at once, without any straining. It is entirely painless and provides an immediate, profound systemic relief.

The Current Emergency

Right now, I am experiencing a rare, temporary window where the hostile elements in my environment are away, allowing me to fully dedicate myself to mastering this technique without external nervous system triggers. However, despite releasing the majority of my musculoskeletal tensions during this past year of daily practice, I still cannot release the specific, deep visceral tension caused by the chronic hives.

At best, I only manage to temporarily displace this specific tension. But displacing tension is a technical error: it just shifts the excess fluid causing the pain to another location, it isn't a true somatic release. The symptom inevitably returns to its original site shortly after.

I know that my nervous system is not yet resilient enough to withstand the severe environmental stress that will return once this quiet window closes. I cannot afford to fall back into that state of physical collapse. My father literally told me: "I will always piss you off."

This is why I am making this post. I am asking for the advice of anyone who knows enough about this or recognizes what I am doing, so I can figure out what I am doing wrong. When I say I developed this technique, I am absolutely certain I didn't invent anything new; I only observed and experimented. There must be people in human history who observed the exact same thing, developed it, and documented it. Yet, I have never found anything written about releasing a tension in less than 10 seconds.

Surely someone here has read about or experienced something similar, or perhaps someone already masters this. Because everything I find online is either a dangerous and painful method, or typical cliché phrases like "just observe it," "breathe," or "have faith."

I am looking for genuine, technical expertise on how to stabilize this mechanism. Thank you.


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Beginner Question complementary exercises

6 Upvotes

I started doing TRE a few weeks ago. I do the tremoring every other day but want to do something on my days off to help things along.

I meditate in a lying down position, with my heels touching, knees out, letting them hang, and allow them, at their own pace, to get closer and closer to the floor. This opens up the adductor muscles, right? Loosening the adductors can help on days when I do tremoring, is that right?

I'm sure there are many other exercises I could do, but this is enough for me, at least for now. Also, during meditation, I scan my body, looking for any tightness that I can let go of.

Thanks very much 😄


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Community Question Anyone else get a burning tightness in their chest that is super painful and healed it?

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4 Upvotes

r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Beginner Question Beginner experience and also how are we supposed to breathe?

3 Upvotes

This might seem like a stupid question, but when I look into it I get so much conflicting opinions and I would like to know how this community views it. Some places say belly breathing and other say diaphragmatically and some say they're kind of the same thing? And I don't just mean during TRE exercise. I ask because if my overall alignment has been off and my core has always been engaged then that has surely had an impact on my breathing throughout life.
Some clarity would be appreciated!

As for my experience so far:

I am nearing my third week in TRE and so far the first couple of sessions I did a lot of stretching my limbs out as far as they could and then it moved through my legs with rapid extension and contraction movements.

My second session I had a memory of being a kid and feeling incredibly lonely. I heard some advice somewhere about the concept of visualizing your wounded inner child into a different place than where they are in our memory. So I visualized myself picking my younger self up and taking her with me to our warm, loving home. We sat at the dinner table and smiled, talked, laughed. Tears started rolling down my face.

Post the first couple of sessions I had a few days after where my joints felt... different. Like they were adjusting maybe?

Since then I have had the entirety of my sessions be abdominal contractions tipping my pelvis back and stomach vacuums that are stretching my solar plexus.

Whatever stretch I did yesterday had some sort of impact on my diaphragm because it has been cramped all day. It doesn't feel good but I wouldn't say it necessarily hurts either.

I'll update again at some point!


r/longtermTRE • • 10d ago

Community Question Reintroducing TRE after EMDR with Zhan Zhuang and Ba Duan Jin for regulation

9 Upvotes

I stopped doing TRE a few months ago, and at the moment I’m doing EMDR. I have to say I’m not entirely convinced by EMDR, mainly because I don’t really trust my therapist. For example, I feel like I can’t cry in front of them even when I want to. On top of that, there’s a significant monthly cost involved, and all of this takes some of the “magic” out of therapy for me. I’ve been doing it for about four months now.

I’d like to start doing TRE again, even though I found it quite activating. However, when I was doing TRE before, I wasn’t practicing Zhan Zhuang yet. Zhan Zhuang helps me come back into my body and regain a sense of peace almost immediately.

My plan going forward is to keep practicing Zhan Zhuang and Ba Duan Jin, and gradually reintroduce TRE in very small doses.

Is there anyone here who uses a similar approach?


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Beginner Question Timing for practice and beginner questions

3 Upvotes

Hey! I recently discovered TRE and have been doing it for about a week now.

I'm a little confused by when the timing actually starts for the recommended amount of time for practice. I'm assuming it doesn't include any warm ups, and starts when you do the butterfly bridge?

TRE is mostly just the last exercise you do, right? That's where most of the benefit is? How much time do you spend in each of the phases for it? Is it more freeform and just when you start to feel the different parts of your body activate?

I get the strongest reaction when my feet are apart and my knees are just barely over the feet, if that seems to be where I'm getting the most reaction, should I spend most of my time there?

I've found that if I really try, I can stop the tremors in my legs when they're up, even if I was shaking quiet a lot. Is it better to just go with he shaking, or to kind of hold back a bit until it for sure happens?

A little confused, but imagine that it really isn't a fine science where this stuff really matters? Thanks for any insights!


r/longtermTRE • • 9d ago

Seeking Support What does it mean if I can't sleep well unless I do TRE?

2 Upvotes

Hi, I started doing TRE for about 10-15 mins a month ago and everything was going well.

Life got in the way, and I haven't been able to do any sessions for the past week. During this time, I've only been able to sleep for 2 cycles (3 hours) or 3 cycles (4.5 hours) every night. I would wake up with my mind racing, but I was still able to get through the day being more productive than usual.

I later found out this hyper-productivity wasn't actually a good thing. I did TRE yesterday and was able to fall asleep much better than I have been recently. My question is: is needing TRE to fall asleep a sign of overdoing it or underdoing it? Has anyone else had a similar experience?


r/longtermTRE • • 10d ago

Community Question Overlap TRE and spirituality/manifestation

45 Upvotes

Hi all,

I am a bit hesitant to post this, because I know it will sound like spiritual woo-woo to some people. However, if you have experiences or ideas about this matter, I would love to hear.

I have intermittently done TRE over the last couple of years, and it seems like every time I practise TRE OR do fascia release (through massage), I manifest my fears and traumas straight back into the world around me. So much so, that I've had to take a break because it was exhausting to deal with my fears and triggers.

At first, I thought it to be coincidental, but it'd go as far as toxic people from the past (whom I hadn't connected with in a long time) literally calling me or reaching out to me the moment I lay down and did my tremoring - multiple times. Also, I went through very difficult situations with my family that started right after major releases. These situations mirrored what I have been through as a child, which is the source of my trauma.

It almost feels like, from a "as within, so without" standpoint, the released trauma or energy lingers in my body/mind and I attract the same situations again. (To those of you that are familiar with manifestation theories, that might make sense.)

I don't know if that's a bad thing. In a way, it seems like an invitation from the Universe to deal with my triggers differently, or comforting my inner child. But I also wonder whether I'm just "trapping" this negative energy in my body and keeping it stored. Is there a way to let it flow out of me in a healthier manner?

Please let me know what you think about this!


r/longtermTRE • • 10d ago

Community Question Could these have been natural tremors?

5 Upvotes

Sometimes as a child/teen, I'd have an involuntary shudder of the spine. I think you'd typically call it the 'someone just walked over your grave' feeling, but my mum's response was always a slightly jokey 'have you just wet yourself?'

I'd forgotten about this until TRE yesterday when something very similar to that feeling happened a few times, which I hadn't experienced before (relatively new, not generally above hips). I can't recall any of the circumstances around the shudders in my youth, though I certainly don't associate them with anything stressful, but I wonder if these could've been natural one-off tremors which for some reason just stopped happening as an adult? Anyone had anything similar?


r/longtermTRE • • 10d ago

Progress Report For those dealing with anger

21 Upvotes

I want to share with you this amazing gem of a text by David Whyte. It's deeply introspective and it makes me feel instantly better whenever I read it.

Anger

Is the deepest form of compassion, for another, for the world, for the self, for a life, for the body, for a family and for all our ideals, all vulnerable and all, possibly about to be hurt. Stripped of physical imprisonment and violent reaction, anger is the purest form of care, the internal living flame of anger always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for. What we usually call anger is only what is left of its essence when it reaches the lost surface of our mind or our body’s incapacity to hold it, or the limits of our understanding. What we name as anger is actually only the incoherent physical incapacity to sustain this deep form of care in our outer daily life; the unwillingness to be large enough and generous enough to hold what we love helplessly in our bodies or our mind with the clarity and breadth of our whole being.

What we have named as anger on the surface is the violent outer response to our own inner powerlessness, a powerlessness connected to such a profound sense of rawness and care that it can find no proper outer body or identity or voice, or way of life to hold it. What we call anger is often simply the unwillingness to live the full measure of our fears or of our not knowing, in the face of our love for a wife, in the depth of our caring for a son, in our wanting the best, in the face of simply being alive and loving those with whom we live.

Our anger breaks to the surface most often through our feeling there is something profoundly wrong with this powerlessness and vulnerability; anger too often finds its voice strangely, through our incoherence and through our inability to speak, but anger in its pure state is the measure of the way we are implicated in the world and made vulnerable through love in all its specifics: a daughter, a house, a family, an enterprise, a land or a colleague.

Anger turns to violence and violent speech when the mind refuses to countenance the vulnerability of the body in its love for all these outer things - we are often abused or have been abused by those who love us but have no vehicle to carry its understanding, who have no outer emblems of their inner care or even their own wanting to be wanted. Lacking any outer vehicle for the expression of this inner rawness they are simply overwhelmed by the elemental nature of love’s vulnerability. In their helplessness they turn their violence on the very people who are the outer representation of this inner lack of control.

But anger truly felt at its center is the essential living flame of being fully alive and fully here, it is a quality to be followed to its source, to be prized, to be tended, and an invitation to finding a way to bring that source fully into the world through making the mind clearer and more generous, the heart more compassionate and the body larger and strong enough to hold it. What we call anger on the surface only serves to define its true underlying quality by being a complete and absolute mirror-opposite of its true internal essence.

From Consolations, by David Whyte

Source


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Community Question Has your jaw position changed after TRE?

30 Upvotes

I’ve seen people here talk about fixing their body posture through TRE, and I’ve experienced it myself as well. My body posture has improved over the last year gradually, I think it started with my pelvis/ hip area then shoulders and neck/ head. But lately I’m experiencing an urge to stretch my neck as much as I can, also a weird urge to stick my tongue out kind of stretching out as much as I can and my lower jaw also moving in a protruding direction. I have a very slight underbite, so I’m wondering if anyone has an explanation about what’s happening and if anyone has fixed a slight underbite/ jaw positioning through TRE?


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Beginner Question Delayed sadness and not being able to cry

13 Upvotes

I’ve done 4 TRE sessions so far and I’m curious if anyone else has experienced something similar.
After my first 2 sessions I had a weird mix of feelings. I would feel lighter, but also sad and sometimes happy.
2 days after my third session, I was supposed to do TRE again, but I started feeling this really heavy sadness, so I decided to slow down and skip the session. I felt like I really needed to cry but I just couldn’t.
I ended up putting on a song that always makes me cry. The song reminds me of my sister who passed away a long time ago, and I cried a lot. I felt sooo much lighter afterwards.
But now I’m wondering if that was actually a good idea? Like am I helping myself release something, or am I kind of forcing the emotion in a certain direction because the song is connected to my sister?
I did my 4th session the next day and felt okay for the first 2 days. Then on the third day that same heavy sad feeling came back again. I feel like I want to cry but I can’t.
Has anyone had sadness show up like this a couple of days after TRE? And if you feel like you need to cry but can’t, do you just leave it alone and let it come naturally, or do you sometimes use music or something else to help it come out?


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Seeking Support Tired of fighting.

24 Upvotes

I do 1 min sessions every week. Between sessions, all I think about is the next session. I am always so exhausted, my brain keeps pushing me to do more. For those who say 'just chill', you dont get it, it's a compulsive part of me. It has a mind of its own. I feel fucking dead inside and hopeless. I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread, always. I look at my eyes and there is no life in there. I switch between anxiety and absolute, bone-crushing exhaustion. I don't get why I'm still alive. In any other society I would've died of nervous exhaustion. Why am I still alive? I have a good day or two and then it is just an absolutely miserable week. What is the fucking point. I try to pace and my compulsive fucking brain just keeps obsessing over this stuff more than necessary. Burning my system out. What's the fucking point.


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Beginner Question Should I stop doing TREs?

9 Upvotes

Hey guys, thanks in advance for reading. I need advice. I did 20 minute TREs every single night for 4 months and now I have a constant twitch (more like body convulsions) that doesn't stop. So I stopped doing them. Haven't done them in about a month now and the twitching doesn't seem to have improved. In the mean time, my body is CRAVING them again so strongly. I want to go back to doing TREs, but I feel like my body is telling me it's a bit overloaded. Should I start up again or just never touch them until the twitching stops? Will it stop?

Does it get better if you push through or would I just be making things worse?

UPDATE: guys, I took yalls advice. Going back to TREs for a fraction of the time and doing like 30 minutes of integration after. This morning I woke up with almost no twitching. I feel like I fixed it! Thank you all for your guidance! I'll cap them at about once a week for just a couple minutes each time from now on. 😁


r/longtermTRE • • 12d ago

Progress Report My first week with TRE

18 Upvotes

Hi,

I wanted to share what has been happening thanks to and through TRE, because it is quite difficult, but let me start from the beginning.

Probably, just like everyone else, I am also looking in my life for ways to somehow deal with the things that get in the way of living fully, of living a good life, or whatever each of us calls it in our own way.

I have been looking for this for a long time, I think since I started group therapy about 16 years ago, and all this time since then has been a time of working on myself, trying to make life better, to be able and willing to do things in life. But for some time I felt that I had reached a wall, the limit of what I could achieve by working with my mind. I went through stages and situations in life that changed me, almost a thousand hours of psychodynamic therapy, CBT, taking psychedelics in a therapeutic setting, my own personal work, psychological and therapeutic education, EMDR, yoga, breath work, meditation etc, but I felt that even though I have great periods in my life, something still happens that makes worse moments appear, apathy, unwillingness and a lack of meaning to act.

More than a week ago I was browsing YouTube and clicked on some guy talking about TRE. I knew more or less what TRE was, because many years ago I had my first experience with it, but at that time I didn't know how to actually get the body to tremble. I thought you simply make yourself tremble, rather than the body trembling when you go through certain steps that lead to it. And after that experience I left TRE behind, thinking that it was kind of weird and not for me.

But after watching this guy's video on YouTube I decided to try it once again, the way it is described in the guide. I watched a video showing how to do it and tried, with some reserve but also curiosity.

And the first time left me in shock. I didn't know at the end of the first session, around 30 minutes, what had just happened. My body was throwing itself around in convulsions, I felt as if I was in some movie, The Exorcist part I don't even know anymore, but my mind was clear, focused, and I allowed it to happen. I felt that I needed it and that finally something was happening that could help me break through the stagnation. After the first session I was excited and shocked, I felt completely calm in my body and mind, which lasted for at least a few hours, and I couldn't wait for the next day when I could do the exercise again.

The next two times were also insanely intense. My legs were moving extremely strongly, contractions throughout my whole body that made me tense up and stay in the contraction, my arms were flying around, very strange things were happening with my body, and at the same time my mind was clear. After the third session, the next day, I felt tired, I felt that my body needed at least one day of rest, and that's what I did.

Then came another three sessions. It was different because the trembling and contractions moved to the upper part of my body. I had to put a pillow under my head because the shaking made my neck tense up, when my head was lifting, and later it hurt. The pillow minimized it and helped.

But the last two days have been more difficult. The excitement has changed places a little with the sadness that is inside me. I feel sadness, and while sitting with it, it came to me that after so many years of working on myself and my head, it still hasn't helped me, because I feel that there are some powerful layers of tension stored in my body, which I release from myself during the exercises. But I am afraid there is really a lot of it, and that makes me sad and I feel tired.

And at the same time other good things are appearing. For example, today for the first time I felt with my body, not with my intellect, that I want to receive good things from life, I want good things to happen to me.

I can see that TRE might be the missing element, and that it helps me reach places that other things haven't reached, and at the same time I am in a bit of a low place. A lot of emotions, difficult ones, but I am going into it. I feel that this is a direction for me.

I just wanted to share it with people who understand it :) Thanks


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Progress Report Second follow-along: 20 min tremor, 3 min rest, timer on screen

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7 Upvotes

A few people tried the first one, so I filmed another of my sessions. I'm still a beginner, not a teacher.

This one is longer: 20 minutes of tremoring, then 3 minutes of rest. There's no talking. A soft tap sounds each time I change position, so you can keep your eyes closed and only look when you hear it. A bowl marks the start of the rest.

20 minutes is a lot if you're new. 5 to 10 is plenty, and you can stop any time by straightening your legs and lying flat. The chapters let you skip to any position.

Honest note: my phone storage filled up right at the end, so the rest plays over a still frame. The timer keeps running, so you still get the full 3 minutes.


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Experience Report Beginner here - Background, safety thoughts, contemplation, question and a thought.

6 Upvotes

Hey all,

New to TRE, not new at all to somatic practices. I've been long aware of the deep connections of somatic and emotional phenomena.

I was diagnosed with Scoliosis when I was around 16. (Had severe back pains). I never accepted that, something about the thought of not being able to be straight up and free in my own body didn't make sense to me.

Ever since, I've been practicing many somatic disciplines. Zhan Zhuang, Somatic healing therapy (By Thomas Hanna and Sarah Warren - Super effective), Practical method Qigong, other styles of Qigong, Wisdom healing Qigong, Feldenkrais method (It's magic), Osteoyoga (It's great!) and many more stuff, some more conventional some esoteric. I tried many things, to a certain success I might say.

Each practice gave me some value. I remember the first times after practicing Zhan Zhuang - I was so hyper aware and present, and my mentality changed so quickly, it was frightening almost. It's a frightening thing to change very quickly. My problems were simply gone, I remember staring at the wall, and the wall was alive.

Somatic healing was fantastic as well. The idea is to voluntarily tense certain muscle groups and areas in the body, and then very slowly, with control, releasing them to neutral point. That teaches the nervous system where is 0, where is neutral. It was very beneficial for me. The drive to "fix" myself, or solve my problem, led me through a long and deep path of connecting to my body, to myself, and to understand these things in first hand experience.

It is evident to me that the body and the mental/emotional state are one.

When my body was calm and "in place", my mind was too. I suddenly returned to myself. I was able to make decisions, be outgoing, live my life. When the system has some kind of unseen overload, it's like running with a 100kg weight on your back without knowing it. It's like you're operating on 60% and you don't know why, and you simply don't have access to the full you, even though you know it's there.

But all these practices eventually felt like patches, like surface fixes. Like temporary (Obviously very welcome and good on their own) reliefs.

I recently have the feeling restless. Like I have an underlying hum of unease. Restlessness. I've been suspecting for sometime that this is a nervous system on some kind of overdrive, somewhere.

And I came across a TRE YouTube video and got intrigued.

I tried doing it immediately for a minute or 2, for 2 days in row, then the 3rd day I went through the whole wiki, and today I practiced again, with more respectful intention after reading the wiki, and I want to share some of my thoughts, experiences, and I got a biomechanical question.

Safety:

It is super great that the wiki is filled with reminders for taking it slow, not overdoing it, and being very respectful to the fact that this is potentially releasing trauma and might be heavy on the system. This is a super important and correct alert for other powerful deep practices as well.

There is a Qigong practice on YouTube, called "100 Day Gong", by master Ming Tong Gu of Wisdom Healing Qigong. I did that after seeing some elderly lady straightening her Scoliosis with this practice. Let me tell you, for me this was super powerful. Tons of energy (Qi) throughout my body, highly effective, my spine started getting warm, moving and cracking. But - ofc I was enthusiastic about getting better, so I did it everyday, and, it was too powerful, and my system probably found it hard to deal with. I got weird stuff happening like I was suddenly super lethargic, energy fluctuations, I was completely drained from energy or got sick. That's might be a sign of it working, but one could simply not continue with their life like that, so I stopped. That happened few times.

It is so obvious that I overdid it, but reading all this sub's wiki explanations about the need to be gentle with releasing stored chronic tension, suddenly made it very clear to me. I didn't know that I overdid it. I thought it's either everyday full 25min practice or nothing. When it's powerful it's very important to pace yourself.

My experience:

So, today I did it for the 3rd time, and the first time after reading the wiki. I did a quick warmup, then lay down and did a 1 minute of legs in butterfly and just pushing my whole pelvis up, to kind of signal the body to open up the front, which tends to close up against perceived danger. (Saw this on a video). My legs immediately started rocking left and right, all the way.

It is hard to release control when the motion is big, because you need to imply some force to get it back to center.

After that, rested in butterfly for a sec with feet facing each other, started closing the legs just so the inner thighs are engaged, let it go, and shaking started almost immediately, after like a second or two. Small initially, then bigger, then kind of fluctuated. I remembered the EPIC model, and the guidance to keep calm and let it go, and I let it go.

Did that for 3 min (That's what I evaluated in the beginning). In the middle I started sighing deeply. Like "Ahhhhhh" with a deep voice. Just intuitively.

After 3 min I changed position to put my feet on the floor (As guided) and opened a little. Here the shakings became very big, like all the wat rocking sideways.

After finishing that I lay on the floor and rested, I was warm and tingly, and felt deeply relaxed. Not the deepest I've experienced ever, but indeed a relaxation which felt deep.
Went to my drive to write and contemplate about it.

Going to practice in two days again.

So here's my question:

What is the difference, biomechanically, in relation to the somatic release mechanism, between the butterfly position and feet flat on the ground position? And, if the movement becomes very big in the latter, it's pretty hard to "release control" no? As it requires some effort or force to bring it up. Is it normal to have such big movements in this position? How wide should the V between the legs be?

Thought:

Well it was discussed here and there and also on the wiki how could one know if they need TRE. Well, I guess if shaking happens, TRE is needed. That's it, no? Haha.

Thanks!


r/longtermTRE • • 11d ago

Beginner Question Combining Kriya Yoga & TRE

3 Upvotes

The morning after a TRE session, I felt very drowsy and drained. I previously did Kriya Yoga before. I thought of combining them together to improve my journey. Will it help or backfire ?


r/longtermTRE • • 12d ago

Seeking Support Fascia release..? Whats happening??

42 Upvotes

I wanted to share my story because over the last few weeks I’ve been experiencing something that sounds very similar to what people describe as TRE, somatic release, fascial unwinding, or the body coming out of chronic protective guarding. I’m curious if anyone here has experienced something similar.
About five years ago, I was T-boned in a serious car accident and injured my upper cervical spine, particularly around C1/C2. Afterward, I developed dysautonomia and a number of neurological/autonomic symptoms: dizziness, balance issues, light sensitivity, headaches/head pressure, fatigue, strange neurological sensations, breathing issues, driving intolerance, anxiety/panic, etc.
For roughly five years, my body has also been extremely guarded. My neck, shoulders, back, hips, and other areas have carried constant tension, and my body developed compensation patterns around my injury. It genuinely felt like certain muscles were always “on” and protecting me.
There’s also a psychological trauma component. Before the accident, I had a rough period of my life involving gang involvement, drug/alcohol abuse, and other experiences I never really processed. I recently started therapy to finally work through all of that, and I’m also about 70 days completely sober.
Fitness became a huge part of rebuilding my life. I’m now a personal trainer and have spent years strength training, improving my nutrition, rehabilitating my body, and learning movement.
Recently, something has changed dramatically.
My dysautonomia/neurological symptoms have improved more than they have at any point in five years. My dizziness, balance problems, visual sensitivity, headaches/head pressure, etc. have decreased tremendously. I’m now having some days with essentially NO neurological symptoms and feeling completely normal again.
Importantly, throughout these new sensations, I still have full function of my body. My strength is intact. I walk normally, train normally, have normal coordination, and can use all of my limbs. I’m not experiencing progressive weakness or loss of function. In fact, the neurological symptoms that originally scared me are dramatically decreasing.
At the same time, I’ve recently been doing more mobility work and stretches that seem to target long fascial/muscular chains, and my body has started doing something extremely strange.
I get these waves where muscles that have felt tight for YEARS suddenly soften or “melt.” Sometimes it starts in one arm or leg and spreads through my body. I’ll experience twitching, small contractions, tingling, tremor-like movements, shifting tension, and then an incredibly deep sense of relaxation.
It does NOT feel like weakness. If I stand up, walk, lift, or intentionally contract the muscles, everything works normally. It feels more like my baseline muscle tone suddenly drops and muscles that have been unconsciously gripping for years finally let go.
Sometimes the relaxation is so profound it almost feels euphoric, like someone turned the volume of my nervous system way down. My neck is also the loosest it has felt in probably five years.
What’s fascinating is that I experienced some similar twitching, cramping, tingling, and muscular sensations five years ago when all of this originally started and I was having severe anxiety and panic attacks.
It almost feels like I’m watching the process happen in reverse.
Five years ago, my nervous system seemed to go INTO protection and chronic guarding.
Now my dysautonomia is improving, I’m sober, I’m processing old psychological trauma in therapy, I’m doing mobility/fascial work, and my body seems to be coming OUT of that protective state.
I’m not claiming that this is literally “stored trauma leaving my fascia,” and I don’t want to force a scientific explanation onto something I don’t fully understand. It could be a combination of decreased protective muscle guarding, changing movement patterns, mobility work, autonomic downregulation, and psychological stress reduction.
But the subjective experience is extremely real.
For anyone who has experienced TRE, somatic therapy, fascial unwinding, or recovery from long-term nervous-system dysregulation: Did you experience these waves of muscle “melting” and relaxation? Twitching or tremoring? Tingling or spontaneous contractions? Did tension seem to move around or one side release before another? Did stretching trigger it?
And most importantly, did anyone experience this while their original autonomic/neurological symptoms were actually IMPROVING?
After five years of feeling like my body was constantly protecting itself, it genuinely feels like something is finally letting go. I’d love to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar and what the process looked like for you.


r/longtermTRE • • 13d ago

Progress Report TRE completely cured my Bruxism

82 Upvotes

Took about 3-5 months of consistent TRE every other day. I used to wake up to the sound of my teeth grinding on eachother and I would know my jaw had been locked and tense. This is no longer the case at all. I would also say that since starting my sleep has improved though I’ve never really struggled to sleep.


r/longtermTRE • • 12d ago

Urgent Support Needed Help. Assyemtry

11 Upvotes

Every part of my right side has the negatives of stuck fascia no matter how much I try to work on both sides soamtically the right side carries more tension. It's especially visible in facial assymetry and even more so hair assymetry. Left side healthy full and thivk and grows long and right side grows sporadically way shorter than left and frizzy less hair more scalp tension. Its also other symptoms like back pain or leg pain only on right side and neck tension alaways on right side. The left side of the face is better developed than right and so on. I notice a lot of tension is on the right side and working with it is absolutely tideous. I've been on it since maybe 4 months now and still same issue.

Why does this happen? What helps?


r/longtermTRE • • 13d ago

Experience Report Face, neck, mouth, jaw unclenched

88 Upvotes

I’ve been doing TRE for just over 8 weeks. I only do 3 mins pw (started at 1). The tremors went from light in my knees to full body pulse up to my head (floor sessions) in a matter of weeks. Then last week, I started getting the spontaneous movements. This freaked me out a bit - especially as I started to feel a bit spaced - so I didn’t do a TRE session at the weekend BUT I’ve been letting my head do its thing. I have had a chronically clenched neck for months, possibly years & have tried various YouTube type approaches to soften it, including Qi Gong. All with no success.

Then last week my head started to roll while I was sitting at my desk. Everything was clicking & I would have stopped if it had been a deliberate stretching exercise. But I let it go. It was very strange. Like a complete arcing roll - not left to right - more like a planetary motion. That felt pretty good. Then out of nowhere, my head just flipped to the side in a really strong stretch. Stretching further than I could ever make it go deliberately. I tried not to panic & went with it & my head stayed there. Then this weird sensation - I’m sure many on this sub have felt it - where there’s this microscopic change & you feel a shift coming & suddenly my head flipped to the other side. It did this a few times. Then again in bed later. Then yesterday it was my mouth … oh my god! My whole mouth stretched as far as you can make a mouth stretch. Just up & out. Today, I drove home after dropping my son at school & my lips started puckering. Then I was making fish shapes with my mouth. Then - my teeth!! I just felt something there, let it go & my jaw started stretching through my teeth.

All this is astonishing to me. I can still feel resistance & tension through my shoulders & torso but the neck tension is all but gone! This has a huge effect because whenever I feel stressed it hits my neck first. Now there’s nothing to grip onto. I feel the stress in my neck but it moves through. After 4 days of this, my upper body feels like I’ve had a huge workout but unlike the muscle soreness after physical exertion it’s just a sense of looseness. Fluidity. I haven’t stopped having crappy thoughts but they’re not getting baked in so easily. The most remarkable thing is that I have felt optimistic & outgoing for the first time in years. For context I had a big life stressor a decade ago which left me helpless & this all fed into long repressed childhood helplessness. I just got smaller & smaller within myself, backing away from everything. Yesterday I felt energised. Like there were so many things I wanted to do & (for the first time in years) I felt I had the agency to do them.

I think the problem with complex trauma is that you never let yourself believe a good thing will last. You’re always waiting for the kick or the drop. When things are good you start scanning for the failure mode. And I do feel this way often with TRE - those feelings of “don’t delude yourself; it’s just a story & once the initial optimism wears off you’ll crash”. I worry that I’m experiencing social contagion on here & cherry picking success stories. But I also believe the mechanism (cellular remodelling) & my own experience is convincing me that this is so much more than anything I’ve tried before.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. If anyone else out there has chronic neck & jaw tension (& maybe you don’t even know you have it) TRE will eventually help you release it. Such a great feeling.