“Pull it together.” “Suck it up.” “Get over it.” “What difference does it make, it was so long ago”.
Do any of these phrases sound familiar that were either said to you or you said to yourself?
Trauma, no matter how major or insignificant you think it was, lives in your body. Collectively we are all living in a state of trauma right now, bearing the weight of a global pandemic, civil unrest, fear and not to mention our own past experiences.
Yes, you can have fun, be happy, have lots of money, have a wonderful life, AND still experience trauma. It does not discriminate race, age, gender, economic status, it is pervasive throughout the world.
What exactly is trauma?
Trauma is the physiological response to an event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope, causing feelings of helplessness, shame, diminishing their sense of self and their ability to feel a full range of emotions and experiences in the body.
Trauma is instinctual and beyond our consciousness to control it, therefore it should never be judged as a negative because it is an automatic response in our system to protect ourselves. It is our own personal emergency response system for safety. Additionally, no two people will react the same to a traumatic experience. One person may get in a horrible car accident and never be able to drive on the expressway again, while another may not be impacted by it at all and be able to drive anywhere and everywhere, just as an example.
Reacting to Trauma
When our body goes into a state of trauma, we tend to go into either fight, flight, or freeze. All of these responses come from our autonomic nervous system causing tension in the body, no matter which way a person reacts, one way is not better than another.
When our body tenses up, it is the fascia, which is like the webbing throughout our body that holds our muscles, bones, and organs in place, the fascia becomes tighter within our body. If the fascia is gripping from stress, this can cause a variety of ailments from back and body pain, high blood pressure, limited mobility, limited range of motion, balance, joint stability, more prone to injury, weakened immune system, migraines, etc.
The Psoas and Trauma
There is a major muscle in our body called the psoas muscle. It connects the lower half of our body to the upper half of our body — from our hip flexor up through the front of our body to our chest. It is the psoas that carries the bulk of this stress and trauma in the body. Think about the center of your body and if it is tight, you lean forward impacting your back, your neck, your balance which impacts your hips down to your knees. It also wraps around all of your internal organs. When the ever-important psoas muscle is stressed, the body will feel it.
The psoas is also rooted in our survival, holding on to trauma from the past. Trauma can lead to a stressed psoas muscle, even though the fascia around the psoas muscle is tightened. The fascia wraps around the psoas muscle, so when the fascia is tightened around this muscle, your entire body is at risk. There is no harmony between the two.
How do we release the fascia in the psoas muscle and throughout the entire body?
There is a process called TRE (Tension/Trauma Release Exercises). TRE was developed by Dr. David Bercelli when he studied trauma within himself and around the world. It is a technique that allows a natural release in the body that is genetically encoded within all mammals. It stems from the reptilian brain to release past traumas and tension in the body naturally.
TRE is a series of 7 accessible exercises the stretch and fatigue muscles in the body, including the psoas muscle, that induces a tremor mechanism in the body naturally. These tremors allow for the fascia in the body to loosen which in turn, releases trauma and tension in the body. The best reference is when you see an animal that is scared and it starts to shake, this is their natural tremor response allowing them to release their trauma, so then they can move on with their day.
As humans, we have been told to pull it together, not show any physiological response to stress. TRE is the opposite, it allows for the body to take care of itself naturally. The healing that can come from TRE is profound and life-altering. Often people don’t realize how much they have been holding on to until they have the release from TRE.
Kim Eisendrath is a certified TRE provider, as well as a yoga instructor with a focus on trauma-informed yoga and accessible yoga. TRE has had a significant impact on her life and the lives of many of her clients. She will lovingly guide you through the practice of TRE and hold space for your individual needs.
If you (or someone you know) has experienced trauma, consider signing up for Kim’s Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises 5-week class series and/or her monthly Yoga to Transform Trauma class.
Kim also teaches Adaptable/Accessible yoga on Thursday mornings from 8-9am.
