Zero Balancing: Bodywork of Relationship
by Tom Jerome, P.T.

As we close this Zero Balancing session I gently and firmly lift Jean's feet to exert a pull that can be felt throughout the length of her body. In my hands I sense her body structure and the clearer, stronger energetic flow through that structure. The position is held at an interface, that point where I contact body structure and body energy equally. I note the signs that indicate Jean is responding and then release the contact. I perform one last maneuver and step back in careful observation. For a few seconds Jean's respiration becomes shallow and her eyelids flutter rapidly. After a short time there is a much deeper breathe and after Jean exhales she swallows, smiles and momentarily opens her eyes. "Just take your time," I say. "Enjoy this moment." Jean settles back for a short time and then begins to move and stretch, exploring a sense of relaxation, clarity and integration. As she opens her eyes I notice her shining brightness of vitality. She arises from the treatment table slowly and smoothly and seems to glide across the room. We both smile in an unspoken understanding of the unique sense of intimacy and sharing that comes from communication based on touching at interface. The moment passes as we perform the mundane activities of arranging our next appointment, a small ritual of separation. The changes initiated in this session will continue to unfold over the next few days with our next session timed to continue and amplify this process.

Blending Eastern and Western philosophies

In the last 20 years massage and bodywork techniques have expanded to the point where there seems to be a specific method of touch to address every component of body structure and energy. In this environment of multiple techniques, Zero Balancing is at the growing edge as a system of bodywork that integrates concepts and bridges the gap between Western science and Eastern art.

Zero Balancing was developed by Frederick "Fritz" Smith, MD (see the interview with Smith that ran in Issue #52, Nov./Dec. 1994). The work is as unique as Smith's background. He was born in Ohio, the son of a chiropractor, and raised in an environment of touch and physical awareness. Smith states that in his home he was never touched in anything but a loving way. This quality of touch is integral to Zero Balancing.

Smith became a doctor of osteopathy in 1955 and a M.D. in 1961. He maintained a practice in general medicine from 1957 to 1972. An important strength of Zero Balancing is its attention to the anatomy and structure of the body, and its grounding in a background of Western science. With his medical practice located in Watsonville, California, Smith was in close proximity to the Esalen Institute and the Mt. Madonna Center. This allowed him access to the active and growing human potential movement of the 1960s and 70s. Smith's persistent desire for increased understanding and personal development brought him to the study of Siddha yoga, Jin Shin Do, tai chi chuan, chi gong and meditation. Personal experience opened the way for an appreciation of the Eastern concepts of energy. He also had the opportunity to participate in an introductory course in acupuncture presented by J. R. Worsley of the Chinese College of Acupuncture. The results he saw from acupuncture did not fit anything Smith could explain based on his Western medical orientation. He had to know more, and traveled to England to study with Worsley. The system we now call Zero Balancing was the result of the project Smith completed as part of his master of acupuncture certification. In it Smith blended Eastern and Western concepts, integrating body structure and energy.

As a physical therapist coming from a Western orientation, I considered bodywork techniques to be tools that would allow me to "fix" client problems. In Fritz Smith I met a teacher who was fluent in the languages of both Western medicine and Eastern concepts of energy and holism. Smith's gift has been the translation of energetic concepts into a language that allows Western oriented practitioners, such as myself, to approach clients with a more holistic perspective. Clients are addressed in the context of their structure, energy, psychology and spirit. The goal in this system is not one of having a practitioner "fix" something that is wrong, but rather to work with the client's body and energy to allow for health to flourish and life to proceed. For those who come to bodywork from an Eastern tradition, primarily acupuncturists, Zero Balancing provides a strong foundation in the structure and functional anatomy of the human body as it relates to energy.

Consider the term "Zero Balancing." This name was provided by one of Smith's early patients after a session. She arose from the table saying, "I feel balanced, like I'm at zero. The human body is a marvel of adaptability. In contact with our environment we are subjected to a variety of physical, social and psychological stresses. Such stresses can be appreciated as physical or energetic, depending on our orientation. Ultimately they are both. A fall as a child may seem inconsequential, as the structure and energy of the body accommodate, only to reappear decades later as arthritic degeneration and pain. The constant strain of a habitual work position leads to syndromes or other imbalances that at first are energetic, expressed as the unequal tension in various muscle groups, but later become embodied as shortened or lengthened muscles and joint tightness or laxity. A mental attitude such as unresolved anger, grief or self-deprecation results in energy being held (or depleted) in various segments of the body, with associated habitual postures. Energy may become blocked, depleted or diverted, resulting in physical response and structural change. This concept is illustrated in the image of a tree on a sea cliff. The tree does not grow straight. Its trunk and branches are shaped by the unseen but consistent force of the wind. We can look anywhere in the natural environment and see the interplay of structure and energy.

The stresses of living often move the individual away from balance and ease. The nervous system also accommodates. What is habitual becomes invisible or unconscious to the individual. The kinesthetic sense of self for example, a tight lower back and slumped shoulders becomes one's identity. Zero Balancing works simultaneously with the structure and energy of the body, moving toward balance and integration. It does this through a touch at "interface," when the therapist consciously touches the client in a way that contacts both structure and energy with an attitude of unconditional positive regard and support. The client may slip into an altered state of consciousness, let go of habits, and experience a long forgotten state of grace, returning to zero.

A system of relationship

Zero Balancing works at interface. This is a most powerful concept, and it describes the way we touch clients. Interface is that place where the hands of the practitioner and the body of the client meet mutually. We are not "doing to" or manipulating the body so much as being in relationship. This type of touch is a negotiation that seems more like a dance. As in watching two well-matched partners gliding across the floor in ballroom dance, a well performed Zero Balancing session has a sense of flowing grace. Interface is also the point at which the therapist can feel the balanced components of energy and structure in the client's body. This is not a mystical thing. It is learned and developed through practice and feedback.

Touching at interface is also differentiated from other types of touch, such as the blending touch often used in craniosacral therapy, the more structural touch used in much bodywork, or the very light touch (even off-body work) of the many energetic approaches. Once the concept of interface is embodied in the touch of a practitioner, it enters other areas of his/her life. For example, I can be at interface in a conversation or in my relationship to my environment. The best psychologists and counselors are constantly working at interface. Although interface can be contacted anywhere on the body, in Zero Balancing the therapist contacts specific bony points. The skeletal system is where energy is most dense and yet unconscious (consciousness being most closely related to sense organs and movement). It is said that emotion and memory are primarily associated with the soft tissue of the body, while the bone carries one's deepest essence. In contacting bone we contact the densest structure and clearest energetic flows in the body. The specific points are related to foundation or semifoundation joints.

Foundation joints are the cranial sutures, sacroiliac articulations, symphysis pubis, and intratarsal and intracarpal articulations. They are unique because their motion is of extremely small range, involuntary and outside conscious awareness. Foundation joints are primarily responsible for the transmission of mechanical and energetic forces through the body. When unbalanced they require compensation at some distance from the source of the problem. A small dysfunction here may result in a significant limitation of the function and potential of the individual.

Semifoundation joints are the intervertebral articulations, rib joints, clavicular articulations and costochondral joints. They differ from the foundation joints only in their slightly larger range of motion and muscular attachment. Their movement is still normally outside conscious awareness.

Zero Balancing works directly with body energy, as defined in yoga and Chinese medicine through the body structure. The therapist reevaluates the energy flow through the skeleton at the joints. Where imbalance (usually detected as restriction, laxity, congestion or density) is detected a specific method of contact is used to restore balance. This contact is called a fulcrum. A fulcrum is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as 'a position, element, or agency through or around which vital powers are exercised." It is a point of balance or support. In Zero Balancing a fulcrum is defined as a geometric form, provided by the hand of the practitioner, which is held stationary, becoming a point around which a person can reorganize or reorient structurally and energetically. The therapist does not actively attempt to correct a dysfunction. Instead, the structure and energy of the client is provided with an opportunity to return to the optimal state when support is provided at a balance point.

A contact at interface is a unique experience. The mutuality, the balance of structure and energy, and the experience of pleasure and occasionally pleasurable pain trigger an altered state of consciousness. This alteration of consciousness is an acknowledged and integral part of a Zero Balancing session. In working with the foundation and semifoundation joints we are working at the edge of consciousness so the placement of a fulcrum exposes the client to the unfamiliar. This is a place of opportunity, the growing edge where conscious and unconscious meet, a crack in the facade of the habitual way of perceiving or being. Being in a habitual way impedes growth. In moments of openness there is a body experience of structural reorganization and a clearer, stronger energetic flow. Body experience is a potent form of learning, and allows the message of possibility to be deeply integrated into the client's psyche. The changes that occur are often subtle and may only be recognized as "something being different." Occasionally they are profound.

When I first started as a manual therapist I was convinced that learning touch was going to he difficult. And, indeed gaining proprioceptive and kinesthetic skill can be difficult due to the limited vocabulary to describe these sensations. My touch is my experience, not the experience of the client. In Zero Balancing we are able to learn if we are touching at interface and watch for specific signals from the client. These are not conscious signals, but are body signals that energy is moving or the client is experiencing an altered state of consciousness. This is exciting! I place what feels to me to be an elegant fulcrum. This is my experience. Then I notice the fluttering of the client's eyelids or a distinct change in the client's breathing pattern, or hear gurgling bowel sounds. This is confirmation. It may be gratifying to have an instructor tell me that I have the right touch level. Put it is only the right touch level for that individual at that time. The real thrill comes when the client responds to touch during a session. Zero Balancing teaches an array of "working signs" that signal when our touch is at interface. It is not through our intention, but through our attention that we are able to meet and communicate with the client. The working signs may vary in an individual, but can be generalized to the major signs from the breath, eyes and voice. There are also several minor signs. It is because we use these signs that Zero Balancing can be taught as a clear and objective system. Zero Balancing is a system. It addresses the client as a whole and unique individual. Each session occurs within the context of the present moment and the relationship of the client and the practitioner. If there is an agenda for the session it comes from the client, in answer to the question, "how would you like to frame this session?" Sometimes this is helpful; sometimes it is better to work with what is discovered in the moment.

A session flows

In a Zero Balancing session the client remains clothed. We start with an assessment as the client sits on the table. The client then lies face up on the table and the practitioner starts with a gentle curved pull from the client's feet. The session proceeds through a protocol, with the therapist contacting specific points at the pelvis, mid-back, low back, hips, feet, ribs, shoulders, neck and occiput. There is a constant interplay of assessment, balancing and reassessment throughout the session. There is constant attention to touch and observation of the client's response. When working signs are present, the therapist may allow a moment for the client to have this experience before moving on. The therapist also monitors the client's energy level and emotional state following the rhythm of the client's response.

At certain points in the session, attention is paid to integration of changes and experiences. Integration is also an important component of closing the session. Like a good dance, the session has a flowing movement from the beginning, through the session to the end. A clear energetic break is performed at the end of the session, so the client arises from the table feeling clear, grounded and self contained. A typical Zero Balancing session may last from 30 to 40 minutes. The changes initiated in the session do not end with the completion of that session, but continue for several days, or even weeks, afterward. There may be subtle changes in the function of joints and changes associated with a clearer, stronger energetic flow through the body. There may be a combined sense of calmness and increased vitality that develops over the course of a few days. Thus, it is often most effective to see a client once every five to seven days for several weeks to facilitate this process of change. Thereafter, they may have appointments on an occasional basis to maintain their sense of well being.

There is an elegance to a well done Zero Balancing session. It is not fatiguing to the practitioner. It may be compared to learning a tai chi form. No matter how many times the form is repeated, there is always a new experience and something to be learned. Zero Balancing is not technique, but rather a shared experience between therapist and client.

Combined with other techniques

As a physical therapist coming to Zero Balancing for the first time, my question was, "what can I do with this?" I was looking for another tool to add to my bag of tricks. My own experience of Zero Balancing has been one of subtle and gradual change that when viewed in retrospect has been quite profound. The change has manifested in the way I experience my body: less effort and more freedom and lightness. This experience is reflected in my mental attitude by more openness and clarity.

Over the years I have used Zero Balancing with a variety of patients and have adopted the principle of interface in my work. It has been highly rewarding. There is a level of trust, intimacy and respect that comes from this clear and deep nonverbal communication. I have done many strict protocol Zero Balancing sessions, finding them fascinating, effective and often magical. There is a completeness to a Zero Balancing session that needs no elaboration. As an integrative system, Zero Balancing works well as a follow up to chiropractic manipulations and other more structural forms of bodywork. It has also been valuable to me as a way to close counseling sessions with clients, allowing them to deeply relax and integrate the verbal, cognitive and/or emotional work that has been done. I have also used the Zero Balancing protocol in combination with cranial work, myofascial release, specific joint mobilizations, strain-counterstrain, imagery and other techniques. Some of the acupuncturists I know use needles and Zero Balancing concurrently with great effectiveness. Using Zero Balancing as the form into which specific techniques are folded can be effective because of the integrative nature of the system. Smith states that he accepts the blending of other techniques into Zero Balancing, but strongly recommends that any practitioner learn Zero Balancing and do many strict Zero Balancing protocol sessions before adding anything. It is important to have mastery of the system first. Like a good jazz musician, one must understand music before one can master improvisation.

Although Zero Balancing can be used with people who have specific complaints, it was not designed as a technique to simply address symptoms. Coming from the Chinese philosophy of health, Zero Balancing promotes structural balance and clear energetic flow. There is no intention to heal or fix, but rather to allow health and to foster the process of the individual by providing the fulcrums around which they reorient. Many of the most exciting Zero Balancing sessions are those with healthy individuals who wish to foster their potential and growth.

Incorporating Zero Balancing into a massage practice

Clients may come to expect a certain session from their massage therapist, and introducing a new bodywork technique can be tricky. The following suggestions have been presented by experienced therapists who routinely use Zero Balancing, regarding how a massage therapist can incorporate Zero Balancing into his or her practice.

It may be best for therapists to tell clients that they have learned a new technique and then offer it as an adjunct to the regular massage. For new clients Zero Balancing may be introduced as a normal component of the treatment session, allowing them to express their preference after one or two sessions. Flexibility is always the key.

For therapists who work with osteopaths or chiropractors, Zero Balancing can be a particularly valuable technique. Massage prior to manipulations or adjustments are often beneficial and/or necessary, as it reduces soft tissue restrictions. This often allows manipulations or adjustments that require less force. Zero Balancing performed after manipulations or adjustments allow them to be integrated into the individual's structural-energetic system. The client then has less tendency to lose the correction.
It is useful to open massage sessions with Zero Balancing for clients who seem to hold themselves rigidly and have poor energy mobilization. This is convenient as the client has yet to disrobe and it gives them an opportunity to settle down and release tension before the therapist begins work on the musculature. Also, there are specific physiological responses pertaining to a release of muscle tension, and related to a clearer flow of energy through the joints. Thus, following Zero Balancing with massage therapy allows the therapist to perform much deeper work with less resistance from the client's musculature and with less physical effort.

On other occasions Zero Balancing would be most beneficial following massage forms, specifically to integrate therapeutic work more deeply. An example of this may be a client who experiences excellent results from individual massage sessions, but with no significant lasting change. The type of work being performed by the therapist may be weighted on either the structural or energetic side of the structure-energy equation. By working at interface the response is stabilized and the client experiences changes that deepen over time. For clients who experience emotional releases during bodywork, Zero Balancing following the session can promote a deep sense of peace and acceptance of the changes experienced.

Training in Zero Balancing

Zero Balancing training is separated into several modules. Core Zero Balancing training is for therapists who want to learn the basic protocol and be able to perform Zero Balancing. This consists of 50 hours of training that is divided into two classes: Core I and Core II. Core I Zero Balancing presents the theory of Zero Balancing, the specific Zero Balancing protocol, instruction and practice in developing interface touch, and instruction in all the basic fulcrums required to perform a Zero Balancing session. It is recommended that the Core II class be separated from the Core I class by a period of about six months, to allow the student practice time of the basic protocol. The Core II class then repeats the basic information with a level of increased depth and understanding that markedly improves the quality of the student work. This class presents refinement and additions to the basic fulcrums, and responds to specific questions that students have developed from their practices. In addition to the core classes, review days are presented in many areas that allow therapists to hone their skills, ask questions and obtain feedback from other therapists and Zero Balancing instructors.

Core Zero Balancing is a prerequisite for advanced study in the technique. There is an array of advanced classes that address topics that deepen and expand the power of this practice. Although any therapist who has completed the Core Zero Balancing training is capable of performing elegant sessions, the use of the phrase Zero Balancing is reserved for those individuals who have become certified by the Zero Balancing Association.

Communication through touch

Several years ago, while just starting in the study of Zero Balancing, I returned from a basic class full of enthusiasm for the system I was learning. In spite of trepidation at trying something new with one of my clients, I proceeded to perform the protocol. My client was a female in her 20s, a doctoral candidate in psychology, who had experienced severe injuries in a car accident and was slowly recovering. Using my beginner mind, I concentrated on performing each fulcrum to the best of my ability. I was delighted as my client settled into a state of relaxation, and as she exhibited some of the working signs I had been taught to observe. I didn't talk or try to do anything. Just the protocol. I closed the session and stood back to observe. As my client arose and stood before me she said, "We really communicated, didn't we? It is one of the highest compliments I have ever received.

Tom Jerome is a physical therapist with 20 years of experience and a masters in counseling psychology. He has studied Zero Balancing for over nine years and is a certified Zero Balancing instructor.

Reprinted by permission of Massage Magazine