The bestselling guide to healing trauma through the body, and the book that introduced Somatic Experiencing®

For nearly three decades, this book has reshaped how we think about—and heal from—trauma.

If you live with panic, chronic tension, numbness, or the sense of being stuck in a past you can’t think your way out of, SE™ creator Peter A. Levine offers a different approach to healing. Trauma isn’t only in the mind. It’s held in the nervous system. It's not a flaw, but a natural process that, when properly supported, can help us self-regulate and lead to profound healing.

Dr. Levine’s insight began with a simple observation: Wild animals face life-threatening danger constantly, yet they rarely develop lasting traumatic symptoms. After a close call, they shake and tremble, releasing the survival energy they mobilized for fight or flight. Humans often override that instinct, and the energy stays frozen in the body.

Translated into 24 languages and with more than a million copies sold, Waking the Tiger has become a foundational text for trauma survivors, therapists, bodyworkers, and anyone looking to learn more about the mind-body connection. Inside, you’ll find:

• Exercises for developing the felt sense, the awareness of bodily sensation beneath thought and emotion
• The four core components of every traumatic reaction: hyperarousal, constriction, dissociation, and freezing
• Case stories showing how ordinary events, such as falls, surgeries, anesthesia, and car accidents, can cause trauma, not only violence or disaster
• Emotional first-aid guidance for adults after accidents and for children after falls and medical procedures
• A fresh look at re-enactment and memory, including why reliving traumatic details isn’t necessary to heal

Hopeful and grounded in biology, this embodied healing classic reframes trauma symptoms as incomplete responses and invites you to work with your body’s innate capacity for self-regulation.

"Every life contains difficulties we are not prepared for. Read, learn, and be prepared for life and healing."
—Bernard S. Siegal, M.D., Author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and Peace, Love, and Healing

"Fascinating! Amazing! A revolutionary exploration of the effects and causes of trauma."
—Mira Rothenberg, Director Emeritus of Blueberry Treatment Centers for Disturbed Children, Author of Children With Emerald Eyes

"It is a most important book. Quite possibly a work of genius."
—Ron Kurtz, Author of Body Reveals and Body-Centered Psychotherapy

"Levine effectively argues that the body is healer and that psychological scars of trauma are reversible—but only if we listen to the voices of our body." 
—Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., Professor of Human Development and Psychology, University of Maryland
 
"A vital contribution to the exciting emerging science of mind/body interaction in the treatment of disease."
—Robert C. Scaer, M.D., Neurology, Medical Director, Rehabilitation Services, Boulder Community Hospital

"Peter Levine’s work is visionary common sense, pure and simple."
—Laura Huxley, lifetime partner and collaborator of Aldous Huxley
 
“[Waking the Tiger] is an excellent resource for those who have been traumatized or know someone who suffers from trauma, like a soldier returning from war. Finally, there is help that doesn’t ask us to relive what happened and re-experience the pain. Instead, it follows the body’s wisdom in its search for renewal and healing.”
—Soaring Again