When it comes to healing trauma or any mental, emotional and physical challenge imagine being able to simply ‘shake it off’ and feel completely whole and safe in your own skin...well, unbeknown to most, this is possible without slogging through years of talk therapy or countless  (and expensive!) physiotherapy sessions.

Last week I ventured off to discover the gifts of a facilitated TRE (Tension & Trauma Release Exercises) session with Izak Barnard. Izak has extensive training in several healing and psychology modalities, most notably he is a trained TRE and Family Constellations Practitioner. TRE, designed by qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist & Trauma Recovery expert David Berceli, is a set of exercises which activate the release of stored tension in the muscles and tissues of the body. Just like a deer trembles and shakes after it has been chased by a lion, we too have the ability to shake things off, but through social conditioning, we’ve learned to suppress that - it’s not the norm to see somebody shake after an argument with their boss for example. Yet, if we embraced this ability we’d be a lot happier and healthier as research shows releasing tension through TRE optimizes brain function, and regulates the Central Nervous System (CNS) and hormones.

My time with Izak, who is like a modern Magician to me, was paved with profound insights about trauma, the nature of the brain and healing. Having experienced varied types of trauma along with my calling towards working in the healing and teaching realms, TRE appeals to me as a personal practice and useful teaching to understand and manage trauma in a holistic way. Trauma can be defined as “a continuum of variably negative life events occurring over the lifespan”... shaping “virtually every aspect of our existence... personality, choice of mate, profession, clothes, appetite, social behaviours” and more. * Trauma influences the way we perceive our current reality, which can be unhealthy and destructive if we’re sitting with baggage, which most of us are. TRE provides the space to release the physical, mental and emotional baggage from the body, which communicates to the nervous system and brain that it’s okay to let go of the threats of the past. The story of the trauma is irrelevant in the context of TRE – this might be a difficult concept to digest as it’s easy and comfortable to falsely validate oneself through old stories. BUT contemplate what’s on the other side of this – true resilience, inner safety and enhanced well-being.

During the session, Izak guided me through very simple TRE exercises that prepare the body to tremor. Once this was activated, my body did its part while we chatted about anything under the sun (in-between spaces of silence). There was no need to identify what I was shaking off, yet Izak held a gentle and strong space to talk through and out any old stories that wanted to be spoken. We had many laughs along with ‘aha’ moments of the magic of this shaking medicine, a medicine known and naturally executed in ancient civilizations. My legs trembled while my upper body experienced spasms to tremble ‘old stuff’ out. This may be vulnerable for first-timers as it’s outside the norm to do this in front of another person. Unfortunately in some spaces you’d be sedated or told to stop or ‘control yourself’. Lucky for me, Izak created a safe space to go beyond this discomfort and tremble anyway reminding me of the benefits of clarity, relaxation and presence on the other side. 

‘Do you want to be right?’ or ‘Do you want to be happy?’ These are the questions on Izak’s office wall. He explains that sometimes in order to be happy it’s necessary to give up the need to be right about the circumstances that have left you stuck, unhappy and in a habitual reactive space of fight, flight or freeze. Something useful to remember in this human experience is that our brain is biologically wired toward negativity and it takes a bit of work to re-wire this defensive mechanism. TRE can assist in untangling and rewiring outdated mechanisms of the brain – WOW! This is huge as it means you can change and we can ACTUALLY be the change that we want to see, taking responsibility and letting go of blame.

After the session, I felt fatigued for a few days. Izak assured me that this is normal after a session. I’ve been doing the exercises as regularly as possible and a week later I am experiencing a new level of inner safety, happiness and freedom. I feel like it’s more possible to move past old thought loops that no longer serve me.

Whether it’s healing that old sports/car accident injury or coming to terms with severe violent traumatic incidents,  I highly recommend a session with Izak to hold space and introduce you to the gifts of TRE. Izak provides the wisdom of Constellations and TRE to individuals and businesses, focusing particularly on helping businesses with decision-making.  He has assisted rape and other crime victims with severe trauma and catalysed healing for many individuals and families.