Q: When should I seek support for what arises during practice?

Consider working with a Certified TRE™ Provider if intense emotions or memories consistently overwhelm your capacity, if what arises is interfering with daily functioning, or if material is becoming more intense rather than resolving. There is wisdom in recognising when you need support.

Question 1

How do I know if I am integrating or stuck?

Accepted Answer

Integrating feels calm: practice is nourishing even if nothing dramatic happens, and life outside practice feels stable. Stuck feels different: frustration, boredom, or disconnection, with the same pattern repeating for four or more sessions without variation. Your body knows the difference between rest and stagnation.

Question 2

What should I do during an integration period?

Accepted Answer

Continue with your regular practice without forcing anything. Keep sessions shorter and gentler, allow longer gaps between sessions, focus on other forms of self-care, and trust that the next layer will emerge when you are ready. Integration takes time and cannot be rushed.

Question 3

Why have my tremors stopped or reduced?

Accepted Answer

Tremors may reduce because your nervous system is integrating previous releases, because you have processed significant surface tension and may be ready for deeper work, or because your practice needs variation. It can also mean your system is protecting you from accessing deeper material until you have built more capacity.

Question 4

Should I take a break from TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes the most powerful intervention is to take a break. Two to four weeks off, with other forms of self-care, can reset your practice and allow fresh responsiveness when you return. Also return to foundational practice when life is particularly stressful or you feel destabilised.

Question 5

What should I do when emotions arise during TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Notice what is happening in your body and ask yourself whether you can stay with it a little longer. You do not need to understand where it comes from or why. If it feels manageable, stay present; if it does not, use your self-regulation tools. Either way, you are building capacity.

Question 6

What are body memories?

Accepted Answer

Body memories are held in the body without words or narrative: felt as sensations, tensions, or postures rather than recalled as stories. They form from experiences that overwhelmed your capacity to process at the time, especially pre-verbal experiences. You do not need to understand body memories to release them.

Question 7

When should I seek support for what arises during practice?

Accepted Answer

Consider working with a Certified TRE™ Provider if:

Intense emotions or memories consistently overwhelm your capacity
What arises is interfering with daily functioning
Material is becoming more intense rather than resolving

There is wisdom in recognising when you need support. A skilled Provider can offer co-regulation, guidance tailored to your needs, and a safe container for difficult material.

Learn more: Memories and emotions

Question 8

What alternative tremoring positions can I try?

Accepted Answer

Beyond lying on your back, you can tremor wall-supported (standing against a wall in a slight squat), side-lying (with a pillow between your knees), seated (in a sturdy chair), reclined (torso angled 30–45 degrees), legs up the wall, chair-supported, or with a bolster under your knees.

Question 9

Why would I tremor in a different position?

Accepted Answer

Different positions access different patterns of holding. Wall-supported feels secure and allows you to control intensity. Side-lying feels safer and protects vulnerable areas. Seated works when floor space is not available. As you become experienced, flowing between positions in a single session can prevent habituation.

Question 10

How can I invite stronger or more widespread tremors?

Accepted Answer

Use muscle tension followed by release: squeeze and release (contract a muscle firmly for 5–10 seconds then release completely), isometric contractions (sustained contraction against resistance), or PNF stretching (contract the stretched muscle then release into a deeper stretch). Always maintain self-regulation skills.

Question 11

What is squeeze and release?

Accepted Answer

Contract a muscle firmly (not painfully), hold for 5–10 seconds, then release suddenly and completely. Rest and notice: tremors may begin. This works with buttocks, shoulders, arms, hands, jaw, or the whole body. The key is complete release: let go entirely, do not partially hold.

Question 12

How does self-touch help during TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Self-touch adds warmth, attention, and a sense of being held. Physiologically, it increases blood flow, activates mechanoreceptors, and releases oxytocin. For TRE™, it can direct attention to areas needing release, invite tremors to spread, and provide grounding during intense releases.

Question 13

What are the different self-touch methods?

Accepted Answer

Holding (steady, warm contact), cradling (cupping hands around an area as if holding something precious), stroking (gentle, slow strokes along the body), compression (firm, even pressure), and tapping (light, rhythmic tapping). Each has different qualities and uses.

Question 14

Can I use foam rollers or massage balls with TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Myofascial release tools can complement TRE™ by preparing tissue for release or addressing areas your hands cannot reach. Use foam rollers for broad areas, massage balls for smaller areas. Roll before tremoring to prepare tissue, or after to integrate release and address residual tension.

Question 15

How does breath affect tremoring?

Accepted Answer

Each inhale gently activates; each exhale settles. Extended exhales (inhale 4, exhale 6–8) are calming. Connected breathing (no pause between breaths) can deepen or intensify. Breath holds can significantly intensify tremors on release. Natural breathing allows the body to find its own rhythm.

Question 16

Should I make sounds during TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Allow sounds that want to emerge naturally: sighs, yawns, groans, humming, crying, laughter. Do not suppress what wants to come, but equally do not force what is not arising. Sound stimulates the vagus nerve, moves vibration through tissue, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 17

What is co-regulated practice?

Accepted Answer

Practising TRE™ with others (a partner or group) adds co-regulation: when we are in the presence of calm, grounded nervous systems, our own system can settle more deeply. Being witnessed in our release can heal old experiences of needing to hide our vulnerability.

Question 18

How do I practise TRE™ with a partner?

Accepted Answer

One person tremors while the other witnesses, offering calm presence and attention, then you switch. Before beginning, discuss time available, needs, how you will handle strong emotions, whether touch is welcome, and signals to stop. The witness sits comfortably, maintains a grounded presence, and observes without analysing or intervening.

Question 19

What is witnessing in partner practice?

Accepted Answer

The witness role requires presence without intervention: simply being with another person's experience. Sit calmly, keep attention on your own body too, observe without analysing, hold a compassionate attitude, and resist the urge to fix or comment. Being a witness is not passive: the quality of your presence directly affects your partner's experience.

Question 20

Can the witness touch the person tremoring?

Accepted Answer

Only when both people consent, and consent can change moment to moment. Supportive touch options include hands on the tremorer's feet (grounding), hand on shoulder or upper back (witnessing), or sitting near head with hands on shoulders (containment). When in doubt, err on the side of less touch.

Question 21

What are the benefits of group TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Group TRE™ offers co-regulation at a larger scale: multiple calm nervous systems create a powerful field for practice. Groups also provide instruction from a Certified TRE™ Provider, ability to recognise overwhelm, connection with others on similar journeys, and are usually lower cost than individual sessions.

Question 22

How do I pace deeper work in TRE™?

Accepted Answer

Intensity and depth require proportionally more integration time. A session that touches deeper layers needs longer rest after practice, more days between sessions, being gentler with yourself in following days, and noticing delayed effects. The nervous system changes through consistent, well-regulated practice, not through pushing limits.

Position	Benefits
Wall-supported	Provides feedback and support, controllable intensity
Side-lying	Feels safer, protects the belly, suitable for pregnancy
Seated	Accessible when lying down is not possible
Reclined	Good for pregnancy or when lying flat is uncomfortable
Legs up the wall	Grounding, helps with leg swelling
Chair-supported	Good for lower back issues
Bolster under knees	Gentler on the back

Method	Quality	Best for
Holding	Still, warm, accepting	Vulnerable areas, containment during strong emotions
Cradling	Tender, protective	Face, head, belly, feeling vulnerable
Stroking	Soothing, flowing	Calming the nervous system, reconnecting with numb areas
Compression	Firm, grounding	Legs and arms for grounding, feeling contained
Tapping	Awakening, stimulating	Arriving in the body, waking up numb areas