Zero Balancing

Zero Balancing (ZB), founded by osteopathic physician Fritz Smith, is a form of therapeutic touch that is a blend of Eastern and Western medicine. It involves the Eastern understanding of how energy moves and flows in the body, such as in acupuncture and yoga. The Western influence comes from an understanding of anatomy, movement, and osteopathy. ZB is a mind-body approach to therapy that improves the relationship between the body and its energy. One way ZB has been described is as a form of “structural acupressure or acupuncture.”

Zero Balancing is done while the patient/client is fully clothed and face up on the table. One session typically lasts 30-40 minutes. Emphasis is placed on key joints of the body including the knees, neck, hips, sacrum, spine, shoulder, and ankles. ZB is not limited to reducing your physical pain. It can bring on a sense of peace, calm, energy, and focus. It also helps with the release of trauma that is contained deep within the body, especially within the bones where all our deepest fears, pain, and trauma are stored.

Think about the last time you went to see your doctor for neck or back pain. The doctor may ask some really great questions about where the pain is located, your physical habits and posture, how you’re sleeping, and whether or not you have other symptoms such as headaches. No matter how you answer those questions, the doctor will most often prescribe medication for pain relief or a muscle relaxer. This is the first level of treatment. If it doesn’t work, the next step is to get an MRI, X-ray, or physical therapy. This approach to treatment often does more to mask the problem than meet it where it is to actually solve it. You end up with multiple doctor appointments, specialist referrals, and possibly even surgery without ever feeling better.

Now picture walking into a Zero Balancing session where the practitioner asks about your pain, where it is located, how and when the pain occurs, and what makes the pain worse. After taking all of that into consideration, ZB practitioners take the questions a step further. We ask how YOU would like to feel after the session. This is how we frame the session because the goal is to solve the problem as you see it, not as we see it. The frame can be anything from having less back or neck pain to feeling more energized, less angry, or having a greater sense of calm or peace.  

Through evaluation and conscious touch, we invite change. Nothing is forced in a session. With any form of bodywork, touch is very important. Touch has a purpose, meaning, and presence. A person cannot heal from physical or emotional pain and trauma without conscious touch and awareness. Awareness is essential for healing to occur and important for any ZB session. 

I have been practicing since 2016 and have made many observations as to what Zero Balancing is all about. It is about using conscious touch to improve/enhance the relationship between you (structure) and your nervous system (energy). We use touch to sense body movements and energy flow, then apply intentional pressure to help you decrease pain, heal from trauma, move easier, and live a better life. 

Think of being on a sailboat. You are continually adjusting the sail of the boat (structure) to be in rhythm with the wind (energy). When the sail and the boat are in sync, the boat travels through the water with ease. If the sail is not adjusted to allow the wind to move it, the boat will lose speed and struggle to move and reach its destination. If your body and nervous system are at odds, you will struggle to move through life both physically and mentally/emotionally.

In addition to relieving pain, Zero Balancing work promotes overall wellness. Once your body and energy are in balance, you will feel a change that brings relief to both mind and body. If you are living with pain, anxiety, anger, sleeplessness, or past trauma, contact me to schedule your first Zero Balancing session. Through meaningful and conscious touch, I can help you feel the way YOU want to feel.