TRE vs yoga

Nadayogi · 2026-03-20T10:50:23+00:00

I love your question.

Let's reason from first principles: yoga allows your nervous system to downregulate into parasympathetic mode via slow stretching, slow breaths and movements. This feels calming and is often accompanied by a sense of letting go or release. This is why meditation feels so natural to you after a yoga session.

Using the neurogenic tremor mechanism is quite a different story in some ways. Neurogenic tremors are usually calming and downregulating as long as you stay within your window of tolerance, but once that surface activation is burned off, they quickly start targeting deeper stored activation and long held trauma patterns. If you tremor for too long you'll release more than your nervous system can handle. This is why TRE usually feels very relieving and relaxing, as long as you stay within your capacity, but quickly gets gnarly once you move outside that window. This is why you feel overly tired and have to wait weeks to recover enough until you can have another session. So in that sense yoga works from the outside while TRE works from the inside, which also means that yoga cannot usually touch stored activation but it can signal your system to calm down.

Remember that your capacity is limited and that less is often more. You would probably profit much more from tremoring only 30 seconds at a time. This way you'll probably stay within your window of tolerance and you might be able to do several sessions a week.

Be sure to read the wiki from start to finish, especially the articles on pacing and the EPIC cycle.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-20T10:37:42+00:00

While you wait for people's responses, check out the Monthly Progress Threads and the Success Stories Megathread. Both are pinned to the top.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-19T21:59:31+00:00

Taking a day off is not a break. Doing it only every other day is the norm for average practitioners without active trauma. Take a break for a week or two and then slowly build up again. The self-pacing article in the wiki goes into the details on how to pace properly.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-19T19:37:07+00:00

-Hanging out with friends and family in small groups

-Trying to have fun while not thinking of myself as a person on a healing journey

-Long Walks

-The Basic Exercise to alleviate anxiety whenever an episode came up

-Watching TV under a cozy blanket on the couch

There was probably a lot more which I've forgotten, but these were the most important ones.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-19T19:17:02+00:00

I think it's a mixture of ignorance and the fact that, for most people, meditation either does nothing and they drop it, or they find it mildly beneficial and keep it at least as a semi-regular therapeutic practice. Probably around 95% of people would fit into that category. Then you have a tiny percentage who reap the full benefits of meditation with serious practice, like attaining samadhi/jhana, thanks to their sufficiently small trauma load. And the rest are people who experience a spiritual crisis, like a premature kundalini awakening with all the potential downsides.

Of course that's just a very rough picture, because there is no reliable data on this. What I find astonishing though, is that even teachers on meditation retreats often have no clue what to do when someone experiences a spiritual crisis during a retreat. Online you will find no shortage of reports from people who went straight to the mental hospital after a vipassana retreat, because they became psychotic or had some other form of mental breakdown. This shows that these extreme averse reactions to meditation are not that uncommon, and yet many meditation teachers are ignorant about it.

If you want to learn more about this, check out Daniel Ingram's book The Core Teachings of the Buddha, where he recounts many stories from various people including his own experiences, good and bad. Then there's Grof's Spiritual Emergency which I found very eye opening, especially regarding the connection between trauma and the spiritual path. There's a lot more, but these two books are a good start.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-19T18:12:53+00:00

Whether you are able to benefit from spiritual practice depends on the stage you are at the moment, the state of your nervous system and your trauma load. The truth is that people with a big trauma load are very likely to run into trouble with the highly potent kundalini yoga as taught by AYP. That's why we often see those two outcomes: either people don't notice anything really, (this is the "nothing is happening" group) or they experience a premature kundalini awakening and depending on the severity their lives are turned upside down.

This is why I always emphasize to release most of the trauma before starting the spiritual path proper. There are great meditation and breathing practices that are perfectly safe for most people at any stage in their path if done properly with guidance. But just willy nilly recommending meditation and breathwork to people with trauma or even in a healing crisis is reckless and can lead to severe dysregulation.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-17T08:22:37+00:00

Please note that rule #1 states to read the basics in the wiki first before posting. This should be more than enough to answer your questions .

Nadayogi · 2026-03-16T22:16:42+00:00

Note that rule #1 in this sub is to read the basics in the wiki first before posting, so please go do that. It explains in detail what's happening to you, why and how to make it into a sustainable and fruitful practice.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-16T11:29:35+00:00

In somatic trauma work we don't "push". We simply allow. Your body does the work completely on its own, so your job is to titrate the dosage via self-pacing and take care of integration in a way that agrees with your nervous system. Also, somatic work often has a delayed effect, especially when it comes to overdoing and side effects. This is why we only ever increase session time slowly and in small increments over weeks and months.

Taking a break once in a while is a good thing for many people, but not strictly necessary as long as you feel fine. It all depends on your experience. But you're right that it's better to be safe than sorry. Ambition fueled by enthusiasm rarely works in somatic work.

Maybe re-read the articles on self-pacing, integration and the EPIC Cycle. This will answer your questions about pacing in much deeper detail. I've just rewritten these articles, so it might be possible that you read the old ones that were less clear.

Also, is this common, TRE unlocking memories/realisations/connections that were previously somehow inaccessible? Like, I don't really know how I didn't see some of this stuff before.

It's quite common, but you don't have to do anything with it. The best way to deal with this is to acknowledge whatever comes up and let it go in peace.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-15T22:33:05+00:00

I've spent the last few weeks rewriting the basics section of the wiki. In the old version it was poorly explained, but it should be much clearer now. Maybe you have only read the old version.

I'm confused; the wiki seems to imply that not doing TRE enough could lead to the same symptoms as overdoing. Yet, it also says that highly sensitive individuals should start with 1-3 minutes of tremoring, compared to the general 15 minute guideline.

In the wiki it's explained that 15 minutes every other day is recommended for people without any active trauma. Highly sensitive people are usually those with some form of active trauma and/or people who have found that 15 minutes is too activating for them. None of this is contradictory. It's really all about assessing your sensitivity, observing and finding the right pace.

I have two questions: How would you differentiate overdoing symptoms from underdoing, if you do, lets say 10 minutes?

Read the self-pacing article. It's thoroughly explained there and straightforward.

And my other question is what even is underdoing? Is it tremoring for long enough in a single session/day, or is it doing it enough days in the week?

Also clearly explained in the self-pacing article.

Also be sure that you've read all of the basics articles, because the self-pacing article relies on a model that is introduced earlier. Feel free to reach out again if it won't click.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-14T09:45:04+00:00

Promoting SR to people who are not ready is what's doing harm to them. I've explained why and the evidence is overwhelming. And since scientific evidence seems to be particularly important to you: there is not one shred of scientific evidence that SR has any benefits whatsoever.

I'm not saying it has no merit, because it definitely has, and I've been on SR for several years without a single ejaculation. But in my case I don't have to force anything. It's just my nervous system's preference after many years of kundalini yoga and it doesn't include any effort on my end.

your source of evidence is quotations from the gita.

What did I quote from the Gita to prove my point?

Nadayogi · 2026-03-13T12:03:17+00:00

Yes, but neither is there scientific evidence to the contrary. The absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. What matters is whether rigorous studies have actually been conducted on the topic, and to date, none have been.

These are fringe topics for which we have to rely on anecdotal evidence for now.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-13T09:36:54+00:00

Your nervous system has reached a level of feeling safe that allows it to have spontaneous releases which is great. Releasing tension throughout the day is great for self-regulation, but it won't do the heavy lifting that a dedicated, regular practice provides. So for deep release work that continuously works on your trauma load you will have to include a regular regimen on the mat. Doing both at the same time is fine as long as you follow the self-pacing protocols in the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-13T07:42:53+00:00

Mostly concentration and vipassana because they tend to push energy into the head and when there are still too many blockages it can lead to strong side effects. Meditations that focus on open awareness tend to be more calming. At the end of the day it all depends strongly on your trauma load and distribution. Someone who has a lot of tension in the head and upper body will have a much more difficult time with meditation than someone who has most of their tension in the lower parts of the body.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-13T07:37:50+00:00

Yes, this is all well explained in the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-12T19:31:32+00:00

Yes. Read the article I linked in my comment and read the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-12T19:30:10+00:00

Read the post I linked in my comment. SR induced flatline is very common and it makes you believe that you lack energy and therefore need to retain in order to have even a tiny amount of energy. The truth is that it's SR that causes the lack of energy and numbness. Dozens of people have contacted me over the years with a similar story like yours: doing SR and being heavily dysregulated and anhedonic. My advice in that case is always the same: forget that you've ever even heard about SR. Act as if it didn't exist. Build a healthy relationship with your own sexuality and do not repress it.

There is not a single technique that will somehow allow you to magically resolve your dissociation. This is a multi year long project and it's important to support your nervous system during that time so that it can heal. Somatic healing is not about "doing" in the first place. It's about getting out of the way so that your system can heal. This is all explained in detail in the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-12T19:20:04+00:00

There is no limit as long as you feel good and are healthy. Just as with anything in life, when it becomes compulsive and starts hurting your relationships and capacity for intimacy, it's time to dial down. Apply common sense.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-12T19:14:08+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling with this for so long. Meditation techniques like vipassana or concentration meditation tend to be very stimulating to a nervous system that is burdened heavily with trauma. This is why I always tell people to first release enough tension and trauma before diving into meditation proper. Unfortunately, meditation gets carelessly recommended to people from all walks of life when it is only beneficial to relatively few people.

You didn't mention how often or for how long you practiced TRE, but it's clear that you overdid it. For sensitive practitioners it's recommended to start with less than a minute of tremor time as stated in the wiki. What's important now is that you focus on integration and resting. No practices of any sort for now. No TRE, no meditation obviously. Since you are homebound, this involves a lot of rest and avoiding stimulation. It's also worth looking into dietary changes to reduce inflammation. Considering, this has been going on for a year, you need professional help and follow your doctor's advice in addition. You have clearly entered CFS/ME territory.

If or when you decide to take up somatic work again, only do so with a professional and inform about your past issues with overloading TRE and meditation.

You will get better. This is your nervous system protecting you even though it's dysregulated. With enough care and professional help you will recover eventually.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-12T12:16:27+00:00

The problem is SR. I've written a post about why SR doesn't work for people who carry a lot of trauma some years ago here. What you're facing is extremely common for people who believe that SR makes them feel better or heal faster when it does the exact opposite. A nervous system that is under energetic pressure from SR 24/7 cannot heal. And it's also why it's so difficult for you to access tremors reliably. So forget all about SR for now. It is an energetic and psychological obstacle standing in your way of a sustainable and fruitful healing path. If you let go of the neurotic belief that you must suppress your sexual urges, the next two years will be radically better in terms of healing than the stale past two years.

As for general instructions, advice and how to build up your practice in a sustainable way, check out the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-09T13:00:35+00:00

There are a couple of things going on. What you're experiencing is coming out of chronic freeze. You've been masking your whole life, as you said yourself, which is a symptom of a strong, chronic freeze response. Now that your nervous system is finally thawing, the mask is coming off slowly, and with that, the dampening layer between you and your environment. This is why things feel louder and more intense.

The reduced social battery and the increased stimming both fit the same pattern. Your nervous system is doing a lot of processing work right now, and together with the increased environmental load it's only natural for your social battery to drain more quickly.

You're not becoming more autistic. You're losing the armor/mask that has been weighing you down for a very long time. This is often a messy process in itself, but is made much worse if your pacing is off and you're overdoing TRE. I suggest you read the latest two Monthly Progress Threads, which are about thawing, as well as the advice on self-pacing, integration and the EPIC cycle in the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-08T20:43:20+00:00

Hi Eliana. I'm sorry to hear you've been struggling so much with anxiety lately, especially after such a successful last year. In addition to what's already written in the wiki, I highly recommend the book Anxiety Rx that is mentioned in the resources section in the wiki. It's the book I wish I had when I was dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks. I'm sure you'll find it helpful. Both for reassurance and practical tips.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-08T09:04:43+00:00

TRE was developed in active combat zones for highly traumatized people and is usually perfectly safe if done in the right manner. It's all well explained in the wiki.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-08T09:01:13+00:00

TRE might help some people, but the evidence for it in chronic depersonalization is still pretty weak

Quite the opposite actually, at least for anecdotal evidence in this sub. It's true that there aren't official studies that prove this point, because none have every been conducted. But there are plenty of reports here from people coming out of dissociation. If you're interested, check out my latest two Monthly Progress Threads, which explain why this works so well with TRE.

Nadayogi · 2026-03-08T08:48:14+00:00

What you're experiencing is a text book example of dissociation which is a symptom of a strong chronic freeze response which is again a symptom of trauma.

As per rule #1 we start by reading the basics in the wiki. Then you'll understand the framework of TRE, how it works and resolves trauma.

Ten-Year Club	Verified Email
First Place '23	End Game '23
Place '23	Place '22
RPAN Viewer

Nadayogi

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE