Shaking Medicine and TRE: Shared Roots in Therapeutic Tremoring

Shaking Medicine (SM) and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) both harness the body’s natural therapeutic tremoring mechanism—a powerful tool for healing and wellbeing. They are two of very few modalities in the world that are centered on exploring neurogenic therapeutic tremoring at their core. We share a commitment to exploring spontaneous shaking safely and effectively for making the world a better place and helping people all over live more vibrantly. While we have this common ground, our approaches take distinct paths, offering unique benefits for those seeking a TRE alternative.

What Makes TRE Unique?

Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) offers a structured method: seven steps designed to make therapeutic tremoring accessible to the mainstream. It focuses on the psoas muscle, emphasizes a scientific philosophy, and follows a consistent step-by-step protocol that practitioners mostly adhere to. Traditionally, TRE focuses on one or very few therapeutic tremoring shapes, namely the butterfly position on the back. This structure is a bit militaristic in approach, appealing to the mainstream and those with extreme conditions like complex PTSD, given their super gentle approach.

How Shaking Medicine Explores Therapeutic Tremoring

Shaking Medicine, by contrast, embraces a broader, more flexible approach. This modality began with Dr. Motes' unexpected spontaneous tremoring experience—a transformative moment that sparked this modality before he knew anything about therapeutic shaking. From there, Shaking Medicine grew by blending his embodied experience with science, indigenous wisdom (like the Kalahari Bushmen’s practices), Yoga, Qi Gong, Chinese Medicine, and our ongoing discoveries through embodying and teaching this modality. Unlike TRE’s focus on one main therapeutic tremoring shape, Shaking Medicine offers dozens of shapes just in our beginner courses—exploring positions like standing, all fours, belly, side, back, and more, moving tremors through the entire body. This creates a fuller, deeper experience for holistic healing. By embracing many cultures and traditions Shaking Medicine has evolved into a creative style compared to TRE's more linear style.

Who Do These Modalities Serve?

TRE often focuses on supporting people with heightened nervous system distress, such as war veterans or those with significant trauma, using its structured approach. Shaking Medicine meets people in these extreme states and also has a strong focus on helping people in average states of health access even more vibrant living. Many who join SM have done some healing work and use it to progress to a whole new level releasing lingering stress, anxiety, or trauma, while also cultivating lots of energy to do the things they love to do in life and access their human potential. Both modalities offer value, with SM’s diverse therapeutic tremoring shapes and creative style complementing TRE’s systematic simple approach.

Philosophy and Practice: TRE’s Structure vs. Shaking Medicine’s Flexibility

In Shaking Medicine, tremoring is a dynamic process that shifts with each person and moment. Our classes build on a safe, effective, and enjoyable foundation, encouraging teachers to innovate and create uniquely themed journeys using dozens of therapeutic tremoring shapes (standing, all fours, belly, side, back, and beyond). This contrasts with TRE’s consistent step-by-step protocol, which uses one or few shapes to ensure uniformity across teachers, catering to its specific audience. Shaking Medicine, under the Shaking Medicine Foundation in Australia, welcomes wisdom from all tremoring traditions, including TRE, and evolves constantly, much like the tremors themselves.

We’ve outlined stages of embodiment—Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced—to guide people deeper. SM incorporates concepts like clearing our roots, intentional breathing, supporting the spine and core, and the ‘Bushman’s Pump,’ inspired by Dr. Bradford Keeney’s work with the Kalahari Bushmen, the oldest shakers on Earth.

What Practitioners Say About Shaking Medicine vs TRE

Practitioners trained in both TRE and Shaking Medicine often highlight SM’s creative freedom and full-body approach. They appreciate how SM’s dozens of therapeutic tremoring shapes engage more of the body compared to TRE’s single (or very few) psoas-focused butterfly shape, creating a richer experience. Many note SM’s less rigid, more inclusive philosophy, which feels free of restrictive frameworks sometimes found in tremoring practices. Both modalities connect us to a primal healing mechanism, evolved over billions of years to restore balance after stress or trauma, guiding us to freedom, presence, and resilience. Shaking Medicine encourages their teachers to grow into sharing their own unique style based on the foundations that keep therapeutic tremoring safe and effective and based on their unique skills and passions.

Choosing Between Shaking Medicine and TRE

Shaking Medicine (SM) and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) are two of the very few modalities in the whole world that explore therapeutic tremoring as their main focus. We deeply respect TRE and even collaborate with some of their practitioners, seeing it as a vital part of the global movement for healing through therapeutic tremoring. Some facilitators are trained in both and are sharing from the combined expertise of SM and TRE.

Shaking Medicine offers a unique, complementary approach, adding richness to what’s possible without diminishing TRE’s value. Curious about which is right for you? You can explore Shaking Medicine through our online courses, which has a 7 day free trial) or 1:1 coaching.

Share your thoughts! Whether you’re from our Shaking Medicine Community, the TRE Community, or just curious, What are your thoughts about how Shaking Medicine & TRE compare?

Key Takeaways

• Shaking Medicine vs TRE both use therapeutic tremoring. SM offers dozens of shapes to move the shaking all through the body.

• TRE focuses on a structured, scientific approach with few shapes, often for trauma-focused audiences.

• Shaking Medicine blends science, spirituality, and indigenous wisdom for a holistic and creative approach.

• Both tap into nature’s primal healing mechanism of neurogenic therapeutic tremoring for resilience and trauma release.

• Try Shaking Medicine via our online community.

FAQ

What is the difference between Shaking Medicine and TRE?
Shaking Medicine offers many flexible and dynamic, full-body therapeutic tremoring shapes with cultural depth, while TRE uses a structured, psoas-focused militaristic protocol for trauma release.

Can Shaking Medicine complement TRE?
Yes, Shaking Medicine’s diverse tremor shapes enhance TRE’s approach, offering creative freedom for trauma release and vice versa.

Can I practice Shaking Medicine if I’ve done TRE?
Absolutely! They both focus on neurogenic therapeutic tremoring at their core. Shaking Medicine is a much more creative style and has dozens of therapeutic tremoring shapes to explore moving the shake all through your body for deep healing.