How to Release Trauma: Shake Like a Gazelle

This revolutionary technique can be life changing.

Jenn Tomomitsu, PhD
7 min readDec 4, 2019
picture of a gazelle
Photo by Roger Erdvig on Unsplash

“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”

Dr Peter Levine, PhD
Founder of Somatic Experiencing

Trauma can be debilitating, particularly if one has not had the tools to process and cope with the experience. Whether it’s a life-threatening situation, a minor accident, or an emotionally-distressing event, trauma has the capacity to stay with a person for years, affecting their response to life’s circumstances — that is, until it is released.

Below we look at a unique and revolutionary technique called Somatic Experiencing, and how turning inward to engage in similar physical processes as prey animals can heal trauma in even the most extreme cases.

What this technique highlights is the importance of listening to our bodies and how, with the right guidance, we have the power to heal ourselves.

*Note: I am by no means an expert on trauma therapy so I advise anyone going through this experience to seek professional help. My aim in sharing this article is to introduce Peter Levine’s extraordinary work on trauma in case it can help others.

Physiological Response to Traumatic Events

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Jenn Tomomitsu, PhD
Jenn Tomomitsu, PhD

Written by Jenn Tomomitsu, PhD

Writer & Poet on mental health, life on the spectrum and healing from the inside out

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