Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68013
REFLECTIONS: ZERO BALANCING DAVID LAUTERSTEIN: How did your work get the name Zero Balancing? FRITZ SMITH: For a while, people called it "Fritzing," which I did not want. Many systems, like Rolfing and Feldenkrais, were named after founders—for me that didn't feel appropriate. We actually spent a few years searching for a name. Then a client of mine, Rosemary Feitis, who was Ida Rolf's secretary, came up off the table and said, "I feel so good, I feel balanced. I feel like I'm zero balanced." When I heard that, I took it. The name came from her experience. Later we realized that it had an esoteric side in terms of expanded states of consciousness and bringing the person to the zero point of physical and psycho-spiritual balance. DL: When you think back to its origins, what do you think contributed to the beginnings of Zero Balancing? FS: My dad was a very skilled chiropractor who practiced until his 90s. I think much of what I know comes subconsciously from the way I was handled in my early years. I was never physically punished in any way. My dad conveyed with his hands how to touch in a way that is quite pure. Also, I used to work with him in the garden or in the garage doing projects. I had a tendency to show him a better, easier way to do things that aimed at clarity and simplicity, rather than complexity. That sort of underlying thinking influenced me when I began to teach—wanting to simplify and get to the essence of things. DL: Who were your most influential teachers? FS: First, my dad. The next person who comes to mind is J.R. Worsley, the great English acupuncturist and teacher. I studied with him in England beginning in 1970 and received my master's in acupuncture from his College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture. I learned how to be a good teacher from him. He was a master teacher. I enjoyed him as a man who dedicated his energy to his work, so that his lessons became mine. We were very good friends. Of course, I've been very influenced by the whole realm of Chinese philosophy and the five elements. DL: Anyone else? FS: My grandfather taught me billiards when I was in my early teens, and I began to understand the energy of movement and impact and ways it could be influenced. I began to learn to see energy and its patterns. I studied with Ida Rolf in 1971 and of course she comes to mind. Jack Schwartz, who was a metaphysician in Santa Cruz, was also an early teacher of mine. I lived and practiced near the Esalen Institute, so I studied there with many different people, none of whom became primary teachers, but I listened and learned from each of them, particularly the body-centered psychotherapists. Alexander Lowen and John Pierrakos come to mind. DL: How would you explain Zero Balancing? FS: The answer to that depends on how much time I have to talk with the person and the depth of their understanding of bodywork, energy, and so on. The simplest way is to define it. It's a hands-on, body-mind system of therapy that integrates body structure and body energy. From the energy standpoint, Zero Balancing's main, but not exclusive focus, is on the deepest energy in the body that flows through the skeletal system. From the structural standpoint, our focus is on the overall function and structure of the bones, foundation-level joints, 72 massage & bodywork may/june 2009 Along with Ida Rolf, Fritz Smith (shown here in 1970) credits his father and grandfather as his early teachers. and soft tissues that connect, balance, and support our basic structure. DL: When you talk about energy and Zero Balancing, what exactly are you referring to? FS: One main departure from my medical training and thinking is that we've come to understand that energy is consciousness, that vibration holds information, and that energy is a basic building block of our bodies. It is real, it does exist, it is palpable in the body, and it can be influenced through touch. In a basic definition of energy, I consider the wave, and hence vibration, to be synonymous. Vibration exists throughout the body in many forms and levels. Some examples include the actual cellular vibration and the vibration of the cellular components, the meridian system of acupuncture, and the organized fields of vibration that permeate the body and extend beyond its borders as the auric field. Zero Balancing can affect all levels of vibration, but its primary focus deals with the deep currents of energy