Summary
Diane Shepard, certified tantric and Taoist sexuality coach, explains TRE (Trauma Release Exercises) and its role in stress management, nervous system regulation, and reclaiming pleasure. She describes TRE as a simple series of exercises created by Dr. David Berceli that reconnects people with their body's natural neurogenic tremoring mechanism — the same instinctive shaking response seen in all mammals after stressful events. Diane shares practical details about TRE, including how the tremors typically initiate from the psoas muscles, how the practice activates vagal tone and the parasympathetic nervous system, and how it helps shift the body out of fight-or-flight into a calmer, more regulated state. She also discusses her personal experience training with David Berceli, where she initially couldn't tremor due to years of Pilates-trained core control — a phenomenon called "tremor envy" — demonstrating that highly controlled bodies may need more time to let go. The episode highlights TRE's applications for first responders (her husband used it after ER shifts, her son after firefighting shifts), mental health professionals for self-care, and as a daily stress management tool. Diane connects TRE to vagus nerve health, parasympathetic dominance, and the capacity for deeper experiences of pleasure and embodiment.
Key Points
- TRE reconnects people with a natural neurogenic tremoring mechanism that all mammals possess for discharging stress and trauma
- The tremors typically initiate from the psoas muscles and activate the vagus nerve, promoting parasympathetic nervous system dominance
- TRE provides a safe container for involuntary shaking — practitioners can stop the tremors at any time, which eliminates the fear factor
- People with highly controlled bodies (Pilates instructors, athletes, jockeys) may initially struggle to let go enough to tremor, but persistence works
- TRE is effective as a daily stress management tool — even short sessions help down-regulate the nervous system after high-stress work
- First responders, ER workers, firefighters, and mental health counselors all benefit from TRE for post-shift nervous system recovery
- The practice strengthens vagal tone, which supports the shift from sympathetic (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) states
- Movement heals — TRE provides a non-voluntary movement that releases held tension, particularly in the pelvic region and psoas
Key Moments
What TRE is and how David Berceli created it
Diane explains TRE as a series of simple exercises that reconnect people with their body's natural neurogenic tremoring mechanism, created by Dr. David Berceli after experiencing PTSD symptoms following time in war-torn Beirut. She uses the classic antelope-lion example to show how all mammals shake off stress.
"This is a simple technique, a series of really super simple exercises that help you reconnect with your body's natural way to release and integrate stressful and even traumatic events from the body, from the nervous system."
TRE activates the psoas and vagus nerve for parasympathetic dominance
Diane describes how TRE tremors typically initiate from the psoas muscles, activating the vagus nerve system and building vagal tone — shifting the body from sympathetic fight-or-flight into parasympathetic calm, enabling curiosity, joy, and groundedness.
"And this tremor or vibration quite often will initiate from those psoas muscles. And it also goes into activating what's called the vagus nerve system."
Tremor envy — when controlled bodies struggle to let go
Diane shares her experience of "tremor envy" during TRE training with David Berceli — as a Pilates instructor with strong core control, she couldn't tremor at first, similar to a jockey in the group. This shows that highly controlled bodies may need more time and practice to release.
"We were having what's called in the TRE world tremor envy. We were like so jealous. Like, I want to do that. Why can't my body do it?"
