What is Zero Balancing?
Zero Balancing (ZB, pronounced Zee Bee) is a gentle and effective form of
bodywork for balancing and integrating the body’s energy with its
skeletal structure.
What are its origins?
Zero Balancing was developed by Dr Fritz Smith in the mid 1970s. Dr Smith
was both a doctor of osteopathy and a medical doctor. He studied many other
forms of bodywork including acupuncture. Zero Balancing was a way of bringing
together Chinese ideas about the flow of energy in the body and his experience
with skeletal structure from osteopathy.
ZB has been taught internationally to thousands of practitioners over the
past 30 years. At the time of writing there are approximately 100 practicing
Zero Balancers in the UK.
The name Zero Balancing comes from an early client of Dr Smith’s who
said that she felt perfectly balanced, as if she’d been returned to
zero.
What are the benefits of Zero balancing?
ZB is valuable for a wide range of conditions. These days many people lead
busy and stressful lives with a tendency to over ‘do’. Zero
Balancing is excellent for relieving stress and tension and offers and opportunity
to just ‘be’.
tension headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain.
Stress reduction:
in body and mind. People often feel refreshed, relaxed and invigorated after a session, more able to understand and deal with the causes of stress.
Reparative Touch:
ZB is especially helpful for people who are uncomfortable with other forms of bodywork as the client remains fully clothed and the touch in ZB is attentive without being forced or insistent. People find this a supportive and healing way of being touched.
Well-being and personal development:
ZB generates an active and conscious state of well being. It can facilitate the release of outdated mental habits and patterns of emotional responses. Unresolved issues from our personal history may be held in the body and act as obstacles to personal development.
Zero Balancing promotes a deep sense of emotional and physical harmony.
There are very few conditions for which Zero balancing isn’t suitable and each session is tailored to the specific needs of the client. However, Zero Balancing is not for the acutely ill person. If in doubt, consult a certified Zero Balancing practitioner for their advice.
What are the ideas behind Zero Balancing?
Dr Smith believes that the skeleton contains the deepest and strongest energy
currents in the body. The skeleton also contains the strongest and most
lasting imprints of our life experiences. When someone has a strong experience
its first impression will be upon a person’s neurology (senses, feeling
and thinking) then there may be effects upon the musculature (posture and
movement) and in the longer term the bones will adopt to the changes posture,
the muscular tensions and the effects of gravity.
Zero Balancing looks at how energy flows through the skeletal structure.
The flow is easiest to access the joints between bones. Zero Balancing pays
a particular attention to the joints involved with balance and support.
These joints have a limited range of movement and people generally have
minimal consciousness of their feeling and functioning. When there are problems
with these postural joints, people will make unconscious adjustments to
how they sit, stand and move which can have profound consequences upon the
rest of the body.
What is a Zero Balancing session like?
Sessions are usually booked for 60 minutes and include chat about how the
client is feeling and their needs. There will be approximately 30 –
40 minutes of bodywork, where the client lies on a padded table, and then
some time to bring the session to a close before the client leaves. The
work is carried out with the client fully clothed, only needing to remove
shoes and belt.
During the session the practitioner will ask how the client is feeling.
The important thing is that the work should either feel good or ‘hurt
good’. Clients are also free to comment on any aspects of their inner
experience during the session, if they wish. It is not uncommon for people
to have memories or emotions come up while a particular part of the body
is being worked on and this can be contained in a safe way during the session.
Zero Balancing consists either of sustained gentle traction or sustained
gentle lifts and pressure and then the position is held in stillness for
a few seconds. This stillness helps quiet the mind and provides a moment
for the reorganisation and integration of the client’s energy and
structure around the still point.
The practitioner will evaluate the quality of movement of particular joints,
choose appropriate ways of working and then re-evaluate to see how it has
responded. There will be frequent pauses for the client’s ‘body-mind’
to integrate the work.
How many sessions are recommended?
When beginning Zero Balancing three sessions are recommended since the effects
are cumulative. Many clients then come for maintenance sessions and the
frequency will vary according to their needs. Many clients come simply because
they enjoy having a Zero Balancing session.
Where can you learn more?
The Zero Balancing Association’s website has a list of certified practitioners
across the UK.
www.zerobalancinguk.org
Email: info@zerobalancinguk.org
Telephone: 0845 603 6805 or 01373 454002
or through the BAC Centre on 0121 449 9515.
Sue Akehurst has a background in education and health. She trained in counselling
at Warwick University and qualified as a person-centred counsellor in 1997.
She is an Accredited Member of the BACP and adheres to their Code of Ethics
and Practice; she also offers supervision.
Through the disciplines of counselling and supervision she became interested
in the body/mind connection and has a deep respect for the wisdom of the
body. This led her to exploring Zero Balancing, finally qualifying as a
Zero Balancing practitioner in 2007. She is a member of the Zero Balancing
Association.
At the Baccentre, SueI also offers person-centred counselling. For more information on this, please visit this page: Counselling/Psychotherapy.
You can also find out more about Sue here: www.sueakehurstcounselling.co.uk