Shaking in Mexico

Going to Mexico to teach TRE was an amazing experience.  The idea started when a friend from Mexico was visiting while two earthquakes hit Mexico City.  He is a body-oriented psychotherapist who knows about David Berceli and his work with TRE.  I mentioned how great it would be to be able to teach this self-regulating technique there,   he agreed and just a few months later I found myself shaking with a wonderfully diverse group of people in both Mexico City and Playa Del Carmen. Everyone was excited and appreciative during these workshops, and no one, including me, was sure how the 4 hours  flew by so quickly.  The people at the workshops were very ripe for this type of work; perhaps it was because of the strong connection to Shamanism that is embedded in the Mexican culture, or the fact that many of the attendees are already involved in some type of self-study and consciousness raising work. Whatever the reason, everyone was happy to have yet another tool in their arsenal.


There are two stories that I wanted to share. One is about an attendee at the workshop in Mexico City.  She was following along with the process but having a really hard time. Anxiety was coming up, which was not new for her.  Her eyes were red-rimmed by the time the workshop was over,  even though she barely tremored in the afternoon.  After the workshop she decided she wanted to work privately with me.  During this session we slowed down the process and she was able to watch how the feeling of pressure in her chest dissipated as she tremored.  She practiced intentionally bringing in negative feelings so she could see how those feelings dispersed too, and as a result her perspective about her anxiety dramatically changed. She was able to make friends with the tremors and understands now how to use them at home to chip away and soften her familiar anxiety reaction.  I credit her for being brave enough to try tremoring again, even after her uncomfortable experience with the group. Tremoring is simply a tool!  Some of us need more thorough instructions on how to use tools. Some may need to go slower and focus on different things.  This is one of the things that makes this process so amazing-it can work on so many different levels, in so many different ways. 


This other story touched me deeply.  I worked with a woman who has small children, one of whom has been struggling with very severe scoliosis.  The mother and the child apparently have a very strong connection. Just recently this little girl had to visit her surgeon in the States to discuss the next step in her treatment, which understandably is a stressful trip for all concerned. One night in the hotel the child started to tremor! The nanny calls the mother in to see. (The nanny had a session with me as well, so she was also familiar with the process.)  The little girl was extremely pleased to be shaking, and very proud of herself, and she calls out "Look at me! Look what I can do”.  Mom and the nanny asked her how she was doing, if she was ok, and she replied that she was loving it.  So here we have two primary care givers for this child familiar with shaking, and their comfort with the movement, and their own practice empowered the girl to discharge her stress in a joyful and spontaneous way.  I don’t know if the girl had seen them shaking at home or not, but in either case I love this story so much because if the mom and nanny had not been familiar with the process of tremoring, and saw the girl shaking, they might have thought something was wrong, pathologized the movement, and worried themselves and the child, who was already under a great deal of stress from their trip to the doctor. Instead the girl was able to discharge her stress and reboot her resilience which will be much needed for her journey  ahead. It also shows how our own practice can help with our family-whether directly, or indirectly by changing our responses and reactions. 


I will most likely go back in October as the participants want to do a two day retreat to refine the technique, and bring their friends and clients.  I am very pleased to be invited back.  I hope to piggy back with a trip to Puerto Rico to teach TRE to people who lost so much in the hurricane and are still living without electricity and running water. So I shall continue my Spanish lessons and my own practice!  And if you would like to join me in Mexico City for the retreat, I would be happy to have you come along. However it might be less expensive to join me for the TRE retreat April 7th and 8th in Perkasie, PA.  Either way, if you are a TRE fan, or just curious, these extended sessions are a great way to find out how the tremors can best serve you and how to fine tune this amazing tool.


When I was in Playa Del Carmen I was interviewed by a lovely and dynamic YouTuber named Kalinda Kano. She recently switched her blogging from makeup how-tos to mental and physical self-care. Once she started to talk about it she realized how much people really wanted to hear how they can keep themselves happy, healthy and peaceful.  I will post the link to the video once it is done-most of it will be in English with Spanish subtitles. Stay tuned….