Blog: Trust in Touch

And you shall receive

There’s something about being able to ask for whatever we want that brings out the hopeful, powerful imagination of the child in us–when the world was full of magic and possibility.

As a massage therapist and Zero Balancer, I ask people what they want out of the session. What they want might be what they need, or it might fall short. Typical requests are important but often modest: I’d like my shoulder to move better…I want less pain in my back…I’d like to feel relaxed, not so worried.

Perhaps asking for a little means less chance of a letdown. After all, what does life teach us but that disappointment is a given? But this habit of accepting small gains prevents us from living fully, living our dreams. What if you could ask for more?

Learning and practicing Zero Balancing for nearly 20 years has taught me to ask for what I need, even if I have no clue how it can possibly happen. (This is one of the reasons why Zero Balancing never gets predictable, despite the fact that most sessions follow the same protocol or routine when addressing the body). In my own ZB sessions I have asked to feel my own strength, improve a close relationship, to support those fighting for equality and justice, and dissolve my terror of public speaking. To name a few.

Your wish or intention for your treatment–-in ZB language we call it the frame, an energetic container that can amplify whatever is placed within its boundaries-–is the wildcard that can take you from a freer shoulder to the outer reaches of consciousness. The frame frees me as your practitioner from the responsibility of fulfilling your wish. We are in this together. You and I have made a leap of faith, assuming that there is more power at our disposal beyond what we hold in our normal beliefs. In other words, by working with energy, we can manifest almost anything.

My clients have asked for: a clear mind so I can make better decisions…calm in the face of family drama…and the ability to heal from debilitating illness. One person even asked to be two inches taller. So far, he’s gained 3/8 of an inch and is pleased with this outcome.

You get the idea, dear reader, that you can ask for what you need, even if it defies logic. And even if the result is not precisely how you pictured it, you’ve been empowered by the opportunity to ask.

Of course, Zero Balancing is about touch, so we want a frame we can get our hands on. If you ask to relieve anxiety, I follow up by asking where you feel it in your body. If you feel it in your chest, I look for tension in the upper ribs or sternum. Anxiety may live in your belly, which guides me to check your lower back or abdomen. Or it may be lodged in your throat or head, which leads me to work carefully with your skull, jaw and throat. With your permission, of course.

With all this asking, the results can be dramatic, and surprising. Someone with a hip injury and balance issues feels like a hurricane can’t knock me down. A woman with chronic low energy discovers a new way to fill her tank by keeping her feet connected to the floor and the Earth. A person who’s afraid of heights has no trouble on a trip to Machu Picchu in Peru.

The real gift of asking for what we need is that it comes to us, sometimes later and in a different form than we expected. If you do have the opportunity to try Zero Balancing, please don’t limit what you ask for.