Zero Balancing and Stress
By Tim Newman
One of the assumptions of ZB theory is that when a person's
energy fields are
organised, more harmonic, and holding less vibratory residue
of passed stress
or trauma, then that person will be clearer of surplus/disruptive
tension, (and better
able to 'throw off' new stresses that they encounter).
For instance, an over-stressed bone held in a chronically
uncomfortable orientation
within the skeletal structure, is more likely to crack or
rupture on impact than one that is able to transmit forces
through and out of it: Or, a person struggling with financial
commitments, work overload, family problems, (i.e., at the
limit of their ability to
absorb the combined stresses), is less likely to manage
a further crisis (sudden illness, death of a close friend)
than someone less chronically overloaded, or someone who
deliberately engages in activities/therapies that support
them in clearing stress on a regular basis.
Very often a combination of the above stresses are found
in the same individual - feeling at or over our limit is
a commonly heard complaint.
A lot of our stresses come from lifestyle; too many demands,
too much choice,
over stimulation of our energy fields by electrical appliances
and environmental stresses, general over doing combined
with a lack of appreciation that rest and recuperation are
part of the natural health cycle.
For many people, lying still for the first time on a therapist’s
couch, is an extraordinary pause in the constant activity
of their day; and some people use such a session as the
"One time in the month that they truly come to rest".
More is gained however from regular attention and repetition
than very occasional treats.
Re-education is not usually learnt in an instant - and
especially when dealing with dense tissues, such as bone,
it takes time to establish new and more functional patterns.
This is as true of self-help disciplines such as yoga and
Tai Chi as it is of bodywork therapies such as Zero Balancing.
In the case of S. she had been inadvertently terrified
by well-meaning
over-protectiveness from her mother, which left her cowering
in fear of
'something happening' (a neighbour attacking her), whenever
she was left
on her own at home.
She would be locked in the house afraid of any and every
noise. At some point she internalised this mortal fear and
managed to forget the experience Later, when she became
pregnant with her daughter she was seized with inexplicable
dread and tried to abort the foetus - unsuccessfully.
Her child, now grown up, has just entered prison and S.
feels that it is her fault for not having wanted her earlier.
She also had picked up the idea, incorrectly, that her father
didn't love her because he had "wanted a boy",
and she only found out on his deathbed that he really had
loved her.
This caused a huge feeling of loss and regret for the
misperception that he hadn't loved her when in fact he had.
S. has currently stopped sleeping with her husband and wants
to separate from him.
All these different fears and emotions have become one
great bundle of tension - when one is touched all are affected
and S. doesn't know how to deal with it. She defines herself
as a bad person and bad mother.
A major part of a Zero Balancing session in this case
is to support and reinforce her ability to remain stable
whilst under seemingly impossible pressures. Another part
of the work will be to allow such tension as can be released
through respectful touch to be contacted and eased away.
By engaging and stretching her energy field in relation
to her body and then holding it in neutral balance for a
number of moments (FULCRUMS) - the ZB'er allows the chaos
and overlay of events and responses to start separating
out at a vibrational level, into their respective parts,
and to reorganise themselves into a less disruptive configuration.
Each time the expanded field to allowed to return to normal,
it will still hold aspects of her personal history, but
in such a way that individual parts can be processed and
completed in due course: Some just fade out or into the
background: others may present themselves for attention
in the order of priority that best suits her.
S. had already had a number of ZB sessions, which had begun
the process of supporting and recognising her current crises:
however she was unconsciously afraid of the old childhood
fear which she had managed to contain and only related her
current state to more recent events.
In the last ZB session she received, almost from the first
fulcrums, she began to tremble as the release of tension
held in the lower back and sacrum touched into the deeper
events of her early childhood; and she quickly passed, (without
any intention on my part), from the known regret and anguish
of recent events to the nameless terror of something that
had never actually happened to her - but only might have.
At this point I stopped working and just sat with her, 'holding
the space' as the wave of memory/emotion passed through
her.
It is not usually the concern of the Zero Balancer to interpret
or work the content of such spontaneous moments, and we
are especially careful not to give undue attention to the
'excitement' of dramatic release.
Our aim is to stabilise the person as the wave of release
travels through their system without them 'collapsing';
They then have the added satisfaction of having been able
to 'stand in the storm' and survive.
In this case S. came to a number of important realisations
on her own without any direction from me.
We then completed the session with some integrating fulcrums
and she got down from the couch in great peace and clarity
and with a real sense of achievement.
About the Author
Tim Newman : Acupuncturist (Lic.Ac.) & Zero Balancer
(Cert.ZB.)
I practise near Penzance in West Cornwall and sometimes
in London. I teach about half-a-dozen 28 workshops from
my home on a residential basis each year, as well as about
the same number in various European countries. I also run
individual retreats from time to time in the exceptionally
quiet and beautiful village that is Perranuthnoe(with the
option of bodywork on the spot combined with nestling in)
I can be contacted at:
“West Cottage”
Churchtown
Perranuthnoe
Cornwall
TR2O 9N0
Tel: 01736 711405
