The Neurogenic Tremor
What It Is, Why It Happens, and What It’s Telling You
You’ve probably felt it before: a sudden, involuntary shaking or trembling in your legs or core during certain exercises—especially when you’re holding a position or working deeply into your stabilizers. It might seem strange or even concerning, but what you’re experiencing is something called a Neurogenic Tremor, and it’s more common—and more fascinating—than you might think.
At SOMA Movement Studio, we see these tremors not as something to fix or fear, but as powerful signals from the nervous system. Let’s unpack what’s really happening when your body starts to shake.
What Is a Neurogenic Tremor?
A Neurogenic Tremor is an involuntary, rhythmic muscular shaking that typically occurs during moments of deep physical engagement, fatigue, or release. It’s not the same as pathological tremors caused by neurological disease—this is your nervous system discharging tension and reorganizing itself.
Neurogenic tremors can happen during a plank hold, a slow spinal roll, or while doing something deceptively simple—like a bridge, wall sit, or breath-based core activation. They can come on suddenly, intensify as you hold the position, and then fade as the body recalibrates.
The Neurobiology Behind the Tremor and what it looks like
Your body holds onto tension—sometimes physically, sometimes neurologically. When the autonomic nervous system (specifically the sympathetic branch, which governs your fight-or-flight response) becomes activated and then starts to release, the body may shake or tremble. This is part of a neurogenic discharge mechanism—your system’s way of down-regulating after sustained effort, fatigue, or stress.
These tremors are believed to be mediated by the spinal cord and lower motor neurons, and can occur without conscious control. In animals, this kind of tremoring is common after a stress response (think of a dog shaking off after a fright). Humans are capable of the same, but we often suppress it or don’t recognize it when it happens.
In a Pilates or somatic-based class, neurogenic tremors often show up in small, sustained exercises that ask for deep, isometric stability. Holding a bridge with precise alignment, maintaining a curl with coordinated breath and pelvic floor engagement, or hovering in quadruped while recruiting deep abdominals—all of these can bring tremors to the surface.
The trembling may be localized—just the legs, or the abdominals—or it may feel like a subtle, whole-body vibration. It’s not a sign of failure. It’s a sign that your body is engaging deeply and adapting in real time.
What Triggers It?
Neurogenic tremors are usually triggered by:
Sustained or isometric muscle contractions
Deep postural engagement
Breath-based core work
Fatigue in small stabilizing muscles
Nervous system discharge from stress or trauma recovery
Importantly, they don’t just arise from physical effort. Mental and emotional tension can be part of the trigger, especially when movement is paired with breath or somatic awareness.
What Does It Mean?
Trembling is not weakness—it’s information. It can mean:
You’re reaching the edge of your current neuromuscular capacity
Your deep stabilizers are being recruited and reorganized
Your nervous system is releasing long-held tension
You’re learning to hold support from within, rather than bracing with surface muscles
In many cases, it’s a healthy sign that your system is doing something new—and integrating it.
Is It a Good Thing?
Yes—within reason, and when interpreted in context. Neurogenic tremors are generally a positive response, showing that the body is adapting, self-regulating, and recalibrating. Many somatic therapies, Hanna Somatics, Myofascial Release, and TRE® (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises), actually induce tremoring intentionally as a way to release trauma and reset the nervous system.
In Pilates and movement training, tremors during precise, supported work often indicate a deepening of connection. It’s a moment of breakthrough, not breakdown.
That said, if tremors are accompanied by pain, dizziness, or emotional overwhelm, it’s a signal to pause and let the body reset.
How to Work With—or Through—the Tremor
The best response is not to fight the tremor, but to meet it with breath and curiosity. Soften your face, slow your breath, and feel the movement from the inside. Sometimes backing off the effort by just 10% can help the nervous system feel safer and stay integrated.
You can also:
Breathe into the area that’s trembling
Visualize support from the ground or your core
Check in for gripping, over-efforting, or collapsed posture
Give yourself permission to pause or shift positions if needed
Over time, as your body becomes more organized and your nervous system more regulated, these tremors tend to become less frequent—or more integrated, occurring subtly and constructively.
Final Thoughts
At SOMA, we often say that the body is always talking—it’s just a matter of whether we’re listening. A Neurogenic Tremor is one way your body speaks. Rather than trying to suppress it, we invite you to get curious. It’s a moment of communication, recalibration, and possibly release.
So the next time you start to shake mid-exercise, pause for a moment. Breathe. Listen. You may be witnessing your system growing stronger, steadier, and more self-aware.