Zero Balancing (ZB)
A structurally based bodywork style developed twenty years ago by a Doctor of Osteopathy named Fritz Smith, ZB gently realigns gravitational forces moving through the body by pressing on the bones and joints upon which there is the greatest tensional forces. The joints to be addressed are determined by the skill and experience of the ZB practitioner. Muscle tissue takes readings from the ligaments' tension at the joints and sets its own tension accordingly, so when there is less tension in the ligaments, the muscles throughout the whole body then reset their tension. For this reason, Zero Balancing is incredibly efficient at making profound changes in a short amount of time, and effective because those changes are integrated into the nervous system enabling the body to move in ways it has not been able to in a long time. Old injuries begin to be relieved and alternate movement patterns can be created which increases your comfort and function in physical motion.
A Yoga master once said, "Where the body is inflexible, so is the mind." Likewise, Zero Balancing is also a very good tool for changing perceptions which no longer serve you and any corresponding unwanted behaviors by increasing the range of motion in the physical body. Zero Balancing is so powerful because it touches the body, the mind and the spirit, uniting them in ways that bring you into balance with your True Self and with the beauty that surrounds us all.
Each session is about forty five minutes in length of hands on time, and is performed with the client face up and fully clothed. Often your goals and objectives are discussed, called "framing the session," and some time is left at the end of the session to relax and for the body to integrate the new information. Often clients are asked after rising to walk a little around the work area to integrate the work into movement giving a "felt sense" of change in the body. Many people report feeling taller and lighter when they arise, and feelings such as anxiety or isolation, for example, are relieved.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST)
From the Osteopathic tradition, CST directly impacts the nervous system, and while the touch feels light, it creates profound releases. Clients are very relaxed after a treatment. To describe how it works let me describe a bit of anatomy: Restrictions in the body from old or recent injuries exert a pulling and twisting strain at the site and on surrounding tissues. If the restriction is severe enough, it will pull into the spinal column and cranium (head) causing all sorts of problems ranging anywhere from continuous localized pain to migraine headaches onward to systemic exhaustion as the nervous system's checks and balances between activity (fight or flight / sympathetic nerve activity) and rest (relaxation, digestion, healing / parasympathetic nerve activity) are disrupted. The active phase of nervous system function becomes paramount and tension throughout the body is increased.
CST down regulates the nervous system, bringing the two aspects back into balance and creating a relaxation of the tense tissues. From this place of nervous system balance, tissue healing can occur. CST has been used to treat not only injuries, chronic pain and fatigue, it also useful in TMJ disorders, symptoms caused by emotional stress, nerve and muscle spasms, and even some hormonal problems as the pituitary gland and other glands are positively affected by the therapy. In short, the nervous system is the informational highway between the brain and the body's tissues. When too many signals or not enough signals are traveling from one to the other, CST is wonderful at balancing them out.
The therapy is performed by gently holding either the restriction site or working with the head and spine to create space for the nervous system tissue the brain, spine, and nerve cords themselves) to send and receive impulses; in short, to function optimally. Clients lay face up and usually receive the work fully clothed. Often people fall asleep, they are so relaxed. The work is so profound, it continues to process in the body for three days after the session. Like Zero Balancing, Cranio-Sacral therapy is very efficient and very profound. It reconnects you to Yourself and your greater Whole around you.
Visceral Manipulation (VM)
Poor posture and postural misalignments, excessive emotional stress, scarring from operations and physical injuries all can cause tension in the abdominal area where the organs reside. In fact, unresolved back or neck pain is often the result of organ stress or dysfunction as the tension in the organ sends distress signals to the central nervous system via the spine which registers in the central nervous system as pain. It is this organ distress that causes chronic misalignments in the spine because the nerve signals coming into that spinal segment are so intense. If you have gotten Chiropractic care with little or no results, it is probably an organ problem causing the spinal misalignment.
Visceral Manipulation was brought to the U.S. by Jean Pierre Barral, a French Osteopath who has practiced this gentle organ release for over twenty years in France. Treatment is done by addressing the specific attachments of the organs to the frame of the body as well as the interrelationships between those organs and their surroundings. Each organ has its own characteristic motion called motility. The skilled practitioner tunes in to this motion and can both assess and treat the affected organs which have inhibited motion by following and enhancing this inherent motion. In this way, with restored space in which to move and restrictions within the organ itself relieved, the blood and lymph have improved access in and out of the area to bring the essential nutrients, hormones and oxygen in, and removing cell wastes produced in normal cellular function within the organ.
Manipulation is very effective in relaxing the body and preventing potential problems. It is a treatment method for alleviating leaky gut syndrome and other digestive problems, incontinence or bladder control dysfunctions, uterine and fertility problems, soft tissue complications after child birth, colitis and intestinal elimination problems, hiatal hernias of the stomach, liver tension, especially after operations such as gall bladder removal, and many more issues whose root cause is tension in an organ. My clients report great relief and improved organ function with this work.
Brain Nuclei Release Therapy (B.N.R.)
B.N.R. Therapy can release restrictions in the CNS which contribute to ADD/ADHD, migraine headaches or other headaches, cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions, and learning disabilities. Releasing restrictions in the brain or spinal cord can be key in creating a whole-body release and allowing for markedly improved function and comfort. The holds are very light. This allows the tension patterns to quietly dissolve and for the body to become more integrated.