How Tsenoli keeps his cool in Parliament

Deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli got exasperated, but rarely lost his cool in the rowdy National Assembly in 2016, thanks to being a disciplined cadre of a relaxation exercise technique.

Although Tsenoli mostly does TRE – Trauma Releasing Exercises – in the mornings before work, every now and then, he is driven to taking off his shoes in his office and lying on the floor so that he can destress with his rebalancing routine.

Tsenoli (61) is such a disciple of TRE that he is training in March to join the 14-odd certified top-level advanced trainers in the country.

The routine is not only a survival technique for the madness of Parliament. “It changed my life,” he said in a telephonic interview from his home in Bloemfontein, during recess. “It enabled me to feel energetic and a lot more calm. It helps set boundaries, and liberated me from emotional baggage.”

He is pushing hard to introduce TRE to members of Parliament and so far eight staff members have completed basic training.

To keep his life balanced, fatty foods are (mostly) a no-no. He gave up drinking 16 years ago and quit smoking 21 years ago.

When City Press revealed his secret exercise weapon two years ago, he said he had lost 4kg since giving up steak masala gatsbys for lunch.

He is one of the drivers behind the introduction of healthy foods in the fifth Parliament, to replace some of the greasy fare on the table.

During a recent Speakers Forum gathering, Tsenoli demonstrated the TRE technique to deputy speakers across the country in a committee room at 90 Plein Street.

“I have an agenda in the new year to visit each province and push for it to be included in their wellness programmes,” he said, offering even to demonstrate it to journalists from the Press Gallery Association.

Tsenoli describes TRE as a set of movements that “turn on” the body’s natural rebalancing process, alleviating everyday stress of Parliament, but also Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Tsenoli has had his fair share of stress. As a United Democratic Front activist and loyal member of the ANC and SA Communist Party, one of his more painful memories was when his first-born was brought to him while he was detained during the state of emergency in 1985 in KwaZulu-Natal.

“I couldn’t hold him. I saw him through the glass at Westville Prison,” he recalled. “I was emotionally distraught, and it fuelled my anger against the system.

“We carry with us the effects of things like this, thus shaping our behaviour and conduct.”

Tsenoli caught on to TRE six years ago, when he was chairperson of the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs portfolio committee. “I was facing burnout, and contemplating asking to be released because of overwhelming stress,” he said.

He used it as a survival tool when he became deputy minister of Rural Development and Land Reform in 2011.

This year had been particularly stressful at Parliament, he said. “It has been a hectic year – politically and emotionally charged.”

He is intolerant of the “ridiculous” things that MPs say, especially foul language, expletives and insults.

“But if I have overstepped the mark I withdraw and apologise. We are human. We expect robustness, but language should not be a substitute for reasoning. If you have an allegation against the president, for instance, do so in an appropriate manner – substantiate and debate.”

The Economic Freedom Fighters had upset the status quo. “They openly stated their intention to not play by what they said were the colonial rules of Parliament.” This meant that things had to change, which is always stressful.

The TRE exercises can take up to 40 minutes, but Tsenoli gets results within five minutes as his body is “switched on” and he doesn’t need to warm up before releasing the required “tension-releasing muscle tremors”.

Tsenoli is intent on introducing regular training for MPs in the parliamentary villages and parks and also at Parliament.

“I have told both the speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise that they are on my list of targets. They laugh at me, but I hope I get the opportunity at an appropriate time.”