How to release tension held in the body

Em Barber is a body worker based in Sheringham who teaches a practice called TRE – Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises. Here, the former Social Worker explains why she wants to spread the word about the self-help practice

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Em Barber and I am a Certified TRE Provider. TRE – Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises – is a simple yet powerful body-based practice where we use our inbuilt, mammalian tremor mechanism to release tension in the body and calm the nervous system.

Are you Norfolk born and raised? What do you love about the county?

I’m originally from Suffolk and as a family we have spent lots of happy times over many years in Norfolk, from annual multi-generational holidays in Sheringham and Cromer to camping trips at Walcott and Hunstanton in our camper van with our children (now 24 and 21!). As soon as life allowed, my husband and I made the permanent move to live in Sheringham 2 years ago – a long-held dream. We also love spending time in Norwich – a fine city indeed – and it’s where we get our cultural fix. For me, North Norfolk and wellness go together beautifully – the tranquil countryside, the calming coast and the warm and welcoming folk.

What led you to start offering TRE sessions and what is your background?

I qualified as a Social Worker in the mid-90s and spent many years working in the Probation Service and the Drug & Alcohol sector. Seven years ago, I started working with adult survivors of childhood trauma and through this work I became curious as to how the nervous system responds in the present to past traumas, even if those traumatic events took place many years or even decades before. This led me to discovering TRE and, after learning the practice for my own benefit, I became a Certified TRE Provider in 2021.

What is TRE, for those not in the know, and how can it help people?

The founder of Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE), David Berceli, noticed the connection between our mammalian survival response and the natural “shaking” that occurs following its activation. He deduced that this shaking or tremoring is the body’s attempt to discharge the tension arising from the “fight/flight” state. This state is an automatic response to threat or danger and is vital for survival. However, our nervous systems can become “stuck” in this state, remaining ready for the next threat. This can leave us feeling anxious, irritated, jumpy, overwhelmed, unable to think clearly and/or to relax.

In a TRE session, we use a set of seven gentle exercises which prepare our bodies for tremoring. It is the tremoring itself that soothes the nervous system, helping to “unstick” the threat response and allow balance to be restored. Although the movements we experience when we tremor are involuntary, we remain in control and are able to stop whenever we want.

One of the differentiating aspects of TRE is that we don’t need to find a narrative or understand or remember – we simply trust the process.

After a TRE session, many people report feeling calm, relaxed, light in their bodies, and may notice relief from physical tightness or soreness – these effects can last for two or three days. The benefits build over time and, after a small handful of sessions with me, people are able to do TRE by themselves, which is such an empowering part of this practice.

Where do you offer the sessions and how can people find out more about what you do?

I offer individual TRE sessions at my home studio in Sheringham and at The Lanes Clinic in Norwich. I hold weekly TRE groups on Wednesdays 6pm at Sheringham Community Centre and monthly TRE groups on Wednesdays 10am at Upper Sheringham Village Hall. I also work online and have some TRE clients I have never met in person!

There is much more information about TRE and me on my website embarbertre.com along with testimonials from many of my happy clients. You can submit a contact form there or email me directly em@embarbertre.com or call/text on 07972 181449. I am always very happy to chat about TRE and how it might be helpful. TRE really is for everybody and everybody.   

Visit embarbertre.com.

Featured image of Em Barber by Amie Airey