Trauma Release Exercises: 5 Gentle Techniques You Can Try at Home
If you have been through something painful, you may notice that even when you understand what happened, your body still does not feel at ease.
You might feel tense all the time, startle easily, have trouble sleeping, or feel heavy, numb, or 'stuck.' Your body is not making it up. It is trying to communicate with you.
Trauma does not only affect your thoughts and emotions. It reshapes how your nervous system responds to stress, sometimes long after the original event. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), trauma can impact a person's physical, psychological, and social well-being, sometimes long after the original event.
That is why many people find it helpful to combine talk therapy with trauma release exercises, gentle body-based practices that help you feel safer and more grounded. They are not about reliving what happened. They are about helping your body feel safe enough to begin letting go.
Please note: These exercises are not a replacement for professional mental health support. If you are working through significant trauma, use these alongside (not instead of) trauma-informed therapy. Go slowly, and listen to your body.
Key Takeaways
Trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. Tension, restlessness, numbness, and difficulty relaxing are all ways it can show up physically.
Trauma release exercises may help calm the nervous system and bring you back to the present moment
Gentle is better. These exercises work best slowly. If something feels overwhelming, that is a signal to stop, not push through.
If an exercise makes you feel worse, stop and return to grounding
A trauma-informed therapist can help you move at your own pace. You do not have to figure this out alone.
What Are Trauma Release Exercises?
Trauma release exercises are body-based practices that help release stress, tension, and survival energy still held in the body.
Some people connect the term with TRE — Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises — a specific method developed by Dr. David Berceli that uses gentle tremoring. But trauma release exercises are much broader than one method.
Breathing, grounding, shaking, stretching, and simply noticing your surroundings can all help calm the nervous system and reconnect you with your body.
This idea is central to somatic approaches to trauma healing. In The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explains how trauma gets stored in the body, not just the mind. Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger, adds that the body has a natural ability to heal from trauma when given the right support.
The best trauma release exercise is simply the one that helps you feel a little more present and safe.
5 Trauma Release Exercises You Can Try at Home
Before you begin: These exercises are meant to support you, not overwhelm you. If at any point you feel worse, dizzy, panicked, or disconnected, stop and return to something grounding. Healing does not require pushing through discomfort.
1. Deep Belly Breathing
Quick, shallow breaths, the kind most of us default to under stress, can actually keep the body stuck in alarm mode. Deep belly breathing works because it sends a direct signal of safety to the nervous system.
Both the Mayo Clinic and NCBI recognize diaphragmatic breathing as an effective way to reduce stress responses in the body.
How it can help: Slow, deep breathing activates the part of the nervous system responsible for rest and recovery, helping your body shift out of survival mode.
How to do it:
Place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach
Inhale slowly for 4 counts
Exhale slowly for 6 to 8 counts
Repeat for 1 to 3 minutes
The longer exhale is key — it signals to the vagus nerve that it is safe to relax.
Gentle tip: If counting feels like too much, just focus on making your exhale a little slower than your inhale.
2. Butterfly Hug
The butterfly hug is a calming self-soothing technique used in trauma therapy and EMDR therapy. It uses bilateral stimulation — gentle, alternating tapping on each side of the body — to help settle the nervous system. Learn more from Trauma Research UK.
How it can help: Alternating tapping may help the brain process distress more gently, creating a sense of comfort and grounding.
How to do it:
Cross your arms over your chest
Rest your hands on your shoulders or upper arms
Gently tap one side, then the other, alternating slowly
Continue for 30 seconds to a few minutes
You can pair this with a calming phrase like "I am safe right now" or "I can take this one moment at a time."
Gentle tip: If crossing your arms feels uncomfortable, rest your hands on your thighs and tap there instead.
3. Gentle Shaking or Tremoring
Animals in the wild often shake or tremble after a stressful event before returning to calm. Humans have this same ability — many of us have just learned to hold it in.
Gentle shaking may help release built-up tension from the body. This is the core idea behind TRE, developed by Dr. David Berceli and described in detail by the Parkway Cancer Centre. The National Institutes of Health also supports somatic approaches for reducing PTSD symptoms.
How it can help: Light tremoring may release deep muscle tension, lower stress hormones, and restore a sense of calm.
How to do it:
Stand and gently shake out your arms and legs
Bounce lightly in place
Or lie down with knees bent and let your legs tremor slightly
Keep it light. A little goes a long way.
Gentle tip: If it feels too intense, stop and return to grounding or slow breathing. Less is more.
4. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Stress and trauma often cause us to hold tension in the body without realizing it. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) helps you notice where that tension lives and gives your body permission to release it.
PMR is recognized by both Lifeline Australia and the Mayo Clinic as a well-supported stress reduction technique.
How it can help: Tensing and releasing muscle groups one at a time helps your nervous system learn the difference between holding on and letting go.
How to do it:
Starting at your feet, slowly move up through the body. For each area:
Gently tense the muscles for 5 seconds
Release completely
Notice the difference
Work through your feet, legs, stomach, hands, arms, shoulders, jaw, and face.
Gentle tip: Move slowly and without judgment. This is about noticing, not forcing.
5. Orienting Exercise
Trauma can leave the nervous system on high alert, even when there is no real danger. Orienting is a simple technique rooted in somatic therapy that helps your body recognize the present moment as safe.
It draws on the work of Peter Levine and hisWaking the Tiger model of somatic experiencing, which focuses on helping the nervous system recognize that a threat has passed.
How it can help: Slowly looking around your environment with curiosity — rather than fear — tells the brain that right now is different from then.
How to do it:
Look slowly around the room and notice:
Colors and textures
Windows and doors
Soft or comforting objects
Anything that feels calm or safe
You can quietly say to yourself: "I am in my room. The door is closed. I am safe right now."
Gentle tip: This can sound too simple to work, but for many people it is genuinely calming. Take your time with it.
A Note on Grounding Through the Five Senses
Grounding through the senses is another helpful trauma release exercise. It involves naming what you can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste to bring your attention back to the present moment. We cover this in detail in our post 5 Grounding Techniques to Calm Anxiety and Stay in the Moment.
What If a Trauma Release Exercise Feels Worse?
Sometimes these exercises can bring up unexpected emotions or sensations. That does not mean you are doing anything wrong — it just means going slowly matters.
Stop if you notice any of the following:
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Panic or a racing heart
Numbness or feeling disconnected from your body
Feeling flooded or overwhelmed
Feeling significantly worse afterward
Instead, try something simple:
Open your eyes and look around the room
Drink some water
Hold something comforting
Place your feet firmly on the floor
Call or text someone you trust
As Dr. van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, safety is the foundation of healing — not intensity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma Release Exercises
What are trauma release exercises?
Trauma release exercises are gentle, body-based practices that may help release tension, calm the nervous system, and bring you back to the present moment. They include things like deep breathing, shaking, grounding, and stretching.
Can I do trauma release exercises at home?
Yes. Many of these can be done safely at home. Start with one or two techniques and pay attention to how your body responds. If something feels overwhelming, stop and return to grounding.
Are trauma release exercises the same as TRE?
Not exactly. TRE is one specific method that uses tremoring to release tension. Trauma release exercises is a broader term covering many different body-based approaches.
Can trauma release exercises replace therapy?
No. They work best as a complement to professional support, not a replacement — especially for significant or complex trauma.
When to Seek Trauma Therapy at Highland Park Holistic Psychotherapy
These exercises are a good starting point, but they are not a substitute for therapy — especially when symptoms are affecting daily life.
Consider reaching out if:
You experience flashbacks, nightmares, or panic attacks
You often feel disconnected, numb, or shut down
Your symptoms are affecting your relationships, work, or sleep
These exercises feel consistently overwhelming
You have a history of severe trauma, PTSD, or complex trauma
At Highland Park Holistic Psychotherapy, we take a compassionate, integrative approach to trauma healing. We offer trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, somatic approaches, and more — available in-person and through teletherapy for California residents.
Ready to take the next step? Book a free consultation with our Care Coordinator.
Other Services Offered with Highland Park Holistic Psychotherapy
At Highland Park Holistic Psychotherapy, we provide a wide range of mental health services, including trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, grief counseling, and online therapy for California residents. You can also read more by visiting our blog, FAQ page, or our groups page.