♥LOVE TIP – Saturday 26th May, 2012 

Hello ♥LOVELIES,

We flew into cold, wet, grey, early-wintery, MELBOURNE on Thursday evening….yet don’t get me wrong though – we do still ♥LOVE being in Melbourne………

And this weekend we are participating over three days in a Workshop on Energy Tapping Techniques [SET] and Trauma Release Exercises [TRE] presented by the dynamic team of ♥Steve Wells who is an Energy Psychology pioneer  [http://www.eftdownunder.com] and ♥Richmond Heath, a Physiotherapist who is Australia’s only Level 3 TRE trainer [see http://www.traumareleaseexercises.com.au/]…

Richmond & Steve

For now I just want to share some basics and some highlights for me. Looking up the links will provide much for those eager for more….Both of these techniques are excellent ♥TOOLS and RESOURCES  to use when you are stuck/overwhelmed/despairing/off-track and as well for daily use to maintain a general overall state of emotional and physical well-being.

SET – Simple Energy Techniques, developed by Steve Wells and Dr. David Lake, a user-friendly energy tapping technique you can use to reduce your emotional stress.

TRE – Tension and Trauma Release Exercises, developed by David Berceli, PhD – A simple series of exercises that initiate your body’s natural shaking mechanism to release chronic stress and tension held in the muscles.

We have been learning about and exploring ways to combine the healing power of these two powerful techniques and practising them to facilitate gentle and effective relief of tension, trauma, anxiety, and general life stress. A really important aspect of it and a main reason I was attracted is how to relieve stress and trauma (of all kinds) without reliving it! For a full description of the workshop and more detail and links to both of these great guys and the work of each see http://www.eftdownunder.com/tretapmel.html. I do highly recommend this work.

Says Steve of his study in TRE: “Training in TRE reminded me of the crucial importance of the body in helping us to process what has happened to us – and in order to do this the material must be processed effectively – and also just how much tension we have stored in our muscles and cells about which we are not fully aware. This stress and tension is even now draining our life energy and preventing us from living our lives fully. I also realised the potential for expansion from clearing that tension, and accessing higher states, which we cannot access as long as our bodies are bound up by the tension of past traumatic experiences and the general stresses of living….” [My emphases]

Some highlights and learnings and reminders for me have been:

What you are overwhelmed by/triggered by /reacting to is WHAT IS IN YOUR OWN BODY.

This is whether is it is an actual threat or a perceived threat. A ‘perceived threat’ sets off your alarm/defense system in the same way as an actual threat. This is clearly shown by muscle testing when people are asked to tune into the energy of something that creates panic for them, for instance. Examples like public speaking, claustrophobia and fear of heights are easily seen yet emotional states like disapproval, abandonment, rejection and other emotional examples are not so observable. We develop patterns of tension and stress in our bodies. The real problem is our nervous system activation and what to do about calming it and discharging the activation.

I valued their very clear description of for instance, claustrophobia is fear of what it feels like inside my body when I am in a closed space – NOT a fear of closed spaces.
Rejection is fear of what it feels like inside my body when someone doesn’t choose me or pushes me away. Such important distinctions to make.

Every time you get triggered the gun is inside you! 
Rather than saying:- You have triggered me……. Replace it with and say:-
You have pulled my trigger that is inside me. Isn’t that a remarkably brilliant way of describing it♥ A great way of reminding yourself each time you are triggered that it is you that needs to do the work that is inside you!

Ask what is under threat♥  Ask what has been challenged inside you♥
If there is a charge/reaction there inside your body you will have an unresolved trauma or stress pattern inside you……
And you will be acting out of an unresolved habitual automatic, default trauma/tension/stress reaction.

This is one of the golden gifts of relationship. Every time in relationship that your buttons get pushed or ‘the other’ has pulled your trigger that is inside you, you have another chance to come face-to-face with and work with your unresolved “stuff”….but unfortunately what we mostly do is point the finger at ‘the other’ blaming them and saying it is their fault that we are feeling how we do.

The emotions you feel are what is true inside your own body……Our bodies are great messengers of our belief systems and subconscious mind. And what if you had the ability to allow yourself to feel the charge in your body when you get aroused♥ And to discharge it♥……

What is especially valuable is both SET and TRE are techniques that anyone can learn and do themselves to work with and release their unresolved “stuff”…..

To quote http://www.traumareleaseexercises.com.au/tre-info/stress-vs-trauma/where you can find more detailed information but just to keep it simple here, recent research (called Polyvagal theory as developed by Dr Stephen Porgess) has shown our bodies have 3 main defence responses (neurological states):

1. social engagement – whether they are friend or foe – when we experience ‘the other’ as friend communication increases, our bodies are calm and relaxed and we are open and engaged and curious with whatever we are experiencing and growth and well-being is promoted
2. mobilisation: FIGHT or FLIGHT – we mobilise our energy to flee or fight an event – (and we are usually not very successful if the stressor is emotional or psychological in nature!)
3. immobilisation: FREEZE or FLOP – if we are unable to flee or fight the stressor (especially if it is an emotional experience within us) our bodies begin to shut down and collapse

Most people aren’t aware when they are in the FREEZE state. FREEZE can often look like being COMPLIANT. Richmond has taken on the practice of saying “I am feeling frozen” rather than “I am feeling nothing”…..and then getting curious about what is going on….. what has been triggered…….. When we can’t deal with how we feel in our bodies we will use various compulsive behaviours to stop ourselves from feeling it – which are all of our addictions. Good to check out whether you are in ‘calming down’ or ‘closing down’……

Many are unaware of the little stressors and triggers that send their bodies into defensive responses every day – “any event that is stressful that we don’t fully recover from to a completely calm and relaxed state (think of the body of a sleeping child, soft and totally relaxed) effectively becomes stored and held as tension in the body as a ‘mini trauma.’”……. Over time, these all build up and result in tension, holding and eventually pain and a range of chronic health conditions and stiffening rigid bodies which are thought of as ‘normal ageing’ rather than realising it is a sign that we are chronically in defensive body states……

Question for you: what impacts and stands out for you that you would like to explore more♥

♥MIRRORING PRACTICE: Share your responses with another and have them ♥MIRROR you for a minimum of 5 minutes and then swap, or write about it in your journal.

Such great ♥TOOLS that I intend to learn fully and to use daily. I really get a sense of how the stiffness and inflexibility of parts of my body are related to deeper stuff and am expectant and excited to bring back freedom and flow.

Imagining a smooth and open flow of energy and movement and ♥LOVE for all, with Blessings, Susie♥