In 1983 I began my study of Zero Balancing with founder Fritz Smith, MD. Zero Balancing has since been the keystone of all that I do, and I am able to use Zero Balancing principles with CranioSacral Therapy and Visceral Mobilization. I began my study of CranioSacral Therapy in 1984 with Dr. Upledger. In 1986 I began teaching for the Upledger Institute and I continued until 1999. CranioSacral Therapy has influenced me deeply both in my practice and in my teaching. I have learned how how the skills of CranioSacral Therapy can enhance the body’s natural healing processes and be effective for a wide range of health problems. I have had a private bodywork practice since 1976 and have also studied with and taught bodywork classes to professionals around the country. Teaching informs my practice and my practice informs my teaching.
People who come to me are usually referred by a friend or health professional who has worked with me or who knows my work. My strength is my depth of knowledge and experience. I have had a private bodywork practice since 1976 and have also studied with and taught for some of the best people on the planet. I use a natural, powerful body-mind therapy that uses skilled touch to address the relationship between the structures of the body and the body's energy. Releasing tension and energy blockages, and relieving dysfunction.
In addition to my practice, teaching for me is a joy, an art, a privilege, and an amazing way to keep learning, inspiring and being inspired. Teaching allows us to pursue our love of learning and share our love of learning. I have enjoyed creating and teaching Secrets of the Skull, Spirit of the Organs, ZBKids, and Fabulous Fulcrums for the Zero Balance Health Association.
For more information about the Zero Balancing Association, visit their website.
I have included these testimonials so that you may learn what some people have experienced with this work. Everyone has a different experience. Most people feel much more relaxed and internally more organized.
As published in Preemies Today, Feb. 2009; By Judy Bender
I am the mother of twin boys who were born at 28 weeks. I learned about CranioSacral Therapy from my previous acupuncturist and scheduled a CranioSacral Therapy session for my babies when they were in the NIC-U, not even at their full-term date. The results were miraculous. My son Steven had a grade III intraventricular hemmorage (IVH). The neurosurgeon was convinced that he would need a shunt. After one session of CranioSacral Therapy, Steven was so much better that he was no longer a candidate for a shunt. His retinopathy of pre-maturity also improved greatly. Steven was at risk for developing seizures, MR and CP. He has none of these conditions. My sons are now 7 years old and doing well. They still have some challenges that other 7 year olds don’t have, but they continue to make progress. They play on the playground. They speak in sentences and are growing well. Steven recently taught me how to add an attachment to my email!!
The wonderful woman that performed the CranioSacral Therapy was Judith Sullivan. She and I worked together to write this article to help other parents seeking help for their preemies. CranioSacral Therapy is a gentle touch therapy that is done on a baby, child or adult. The person is fully clothed and the therapist touches them with a very gentle light touch equal to the weight of a nickel. The therapist doesn’t rub as in massage, but holds the person in different places, such as the neck, temples, forehead, head and/or the back, being aware of what is happening under the skin.
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) can enhance the body’s natural healing processes and be effective for a wide range of health problems for people of all ages, including: Colic, Attention Deficit Disorder, Nursing Difficulties, Learning Disorders, Emotional Difficulties, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Hormone Disorders, Head and other Traumatic Injuries, Irritable Child Syndrome, Migraines, Chronic Neck and Back Pain, Motor-Coordination Impairments, Central Nervous System Disorders, Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, Scoliosis, Infantile Disorders (excess or deficiency of sleep, wakefulness, digestive disorders), Stress and Tension-Related Problems, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Post-Surgical Dysfunction.
The CranioSacral System is a physiological system that exists all mammals. It is comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid (a semi-hydraulic system) that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Its formation begins in the womb; its function continues until death. The CranioSacral system derives its name from the bones involved. Included are the bones of the skull, face and mouth which make up the “cranium” and extend down the spinal cord to the “sacrum.” The dural tube, a tough membrane which surrounds the spinal cord, connects the two. An imbalance in the CranioSacral System can adversely affect the development and function of the brain and spinal cord which can result in sensory, motor and intellect dysfunction. The client’s normal, natural self-corrective mechanism is enhanced by CranioSacral Therapy. The therapist’s light, hands-on approach assists the hydraulic forces inherent within the CranioSacral System to improve the body’s internal environment. It can also improve the functioning of the central nervous system.
CranioSacral Therapy was pioneered and developed by osteopathic physician John E. Upledger following extensive scientific studies from 1975 to 1983 at Michigan State University, where he served as a clinical researcher and Professor of Biomechanics.
It was my experience that this is a wonderful tool that parents can use in a proactive way during a time when vulnerable preemies are very receptive to the healing process. I remember how empowered I felt to be able to do something to help my sons at a time when so much of what they experienced was not in my control.
For more information please see: Upledger Institute Website
When I started receiving Zero Balancing, I wasn’t convinced that another new treatment would really help my migraine headaches. Having had migraines for forty years and finding no lasting relief from previous medications, hospitalizations, and therapy, I was open to try ZB. The first few times Judith worked with me, there was a change in my headaches, and in general I experienced improvement. However, a few times the treatments made the pain worse. Judith’s encouragement and statement that if she could “make my headaches worse, she could make them better” convinced me to give ZB a fair trial. I made a commitment to make a four-hour drive every two weeks to Charlottesville and also to do a three-day visit to Charlottesville for two intensive sessions a day. I began to have fewer severe headaches and was able to decrease and then discontinue several medications I had been on for many years.
At this point, I have very few headaches and the intensity has decreased tremendously. I am excited and pleased with the progress we have made. I am very grateful that Judith has helped me regain my health. I am truly thankful for her knowledge of ZB and I am especially grateful for her healing hands.
Claudia Brock
I am 45 years old, and have had chronic neck, jaw, shoulder, and thoracic rib pain for many years. Having never been in a major accident, I had decided that I must suffer from a genetic predisposition to go out of alignment on a regular basis. I felt that I was stuck like this for life. The idea of feeling pain for the rest of my life was very emotionally and psychologically debilitating, which only compounded the actual physical discomfort. I have two small children, and was not able to be as active or in shape as I would like. I started working with Judith about 8 months ago, and currently feel more “normal” in my body than I have in years. I have also been doing regular Pilates, and seeing an osteopath for about 4 years, but the work with Judith has taken me over the finish line. I recall asking her if she could help me with my ribs, as I did not think that rib work was typical. She laughed and replied, “Some people have called me the Rib Maven.” That is when I knew I was in the right place! The journey with Judith has been very interesting.
I have recalled several seemingly insignificant accidents that seemed to have done some long term damage to my body. The earliest of these accidents was when I blacked out on the tennis court at 12 years old from heat stroke. My fall was broken by my braces getting caught on the chain link fence. When I woke up, my mouth was cut up, and while the braces were still on my teeth, the bands were ripped open, and sticking out of my mouth. The most amazing thing was when Judith started working on my teeth, all of this came back to me. This fall had clearly done some damage to my neck and jaw, possibly even caused some hairline fractures in the bones of my mouth. By releasing some of that blocked energy from those teeth, my neck and jaw pain is gone! The next injury I experienced was when I fell off a rope swing while rafting down the Chattahoochee river, and landed on the shore only to bounce another 15 feet on my bottom into the water. It was funny at the time, but I probably fractured my coccyx bone during the fall. Working on my coccyx bone and lower sacral vertebrae has allowed my body to be in better alignment which helps in every way!
The final accident is the one that probably caused my most painful problem, the pain of my ribs moving out of position all of the time. When I was in college, I offered a male friend a piggy back ride back to the dorms from a frat party. You get the picture. He got a running start and jumped on my back. My knees buckled, and I fell to the sidewalk. I broke my left arm, and now realize that I might have fractured some ribs as well. We are still working on my ribs, but my pain has gone from a roar to a whisper, which is the most wonderful, and liberating outcome I could ever hope for!
Needless to say, my whole family has seen Judith for various ailments and accidents. I do not want my children to feel pain later in life from something we missed while they were children!
K. Foulk
Dear Judith,
I came across your YouTube shoulder video on FB and just wanted to tell you that have been using it in my work (McTimoney Chiropractic and Zero Balancing) - with wonderful results. All of a sudden so many "shoulders" are coming into clinic, and I seem to be helping - so my deepest gratitude to you for putting your invaluable work out there. I just love it!
Sincerely,
Sue Cartlidge
Three weeks after I had my little boy, Ayden, things started to get really hard. He was projectile vomiting, having diarrhea, and was crying all day and night; sometimes for more than three hours at a time. Naturally, I took him to his pediatrician where they told me that he just had colic and it would go away in a couple of weeks. I remember going into stores where people would come up to me and tell me that my baby was in pain. His cries were piercing and I was at my wit’s end. I didn’t have time to eat, take a shower, or do anything really! I was a client of Judith’s and I remembered her saying that she worked with babies to release any birth trauma they may have had. So I took Ayden to see her for three sessions.
After the first session, I could see a drastic improvement. Ayden would actually sit there and look around without crying if we put him down and he also started sleeping better. After the third session, it seemed like he was a new baby that will smile and coo.
No one really knows what causes colic is or how long it will last. I couldn’t imagine letting Ayden be in pain for any longer, and she cured him! I became a client because a massage therapist recommended that I should see Judith. My neck had hurt all my life. I remember telling my father when I was four that my neck hurt. After only a couple of sessions my neck didn’t hurt anymore. Whenever I leave the office after a treatment, I just feel like singing. Judith has this calming way about her, she is amazing!
I consulted Judith for problems with my knees which she addressed easily. However, the better part of what I gained was a deep sense of peacefulness and ease in my body. As a yoga practitioner for over 30 years, I have experienced many types of body work and body workers. Judith is exceptionally gifted, extremely flexible in her style of engagement and moreover, fun to work with. I recommend her very highly and without reservation. Mindy B. Loiselle RYT
What did it do? I feel that a ZB re adjusts my sails and better enable me to navigate the ebb and flow of everyday life, refreshed and renewed. Melvyn Carlile
I just wanted to say a great big thank you for the course !! It was inspiring. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience. Your passion for what you do come’s through in everything you taught and in your book! When I returned to work, the only way I can describe how I felt was ‘like returning to school/college after the summer vacation. A year ahead of other students, not knowing more, yet being more aware and looking forward to the learning ahead’. This last week of working with clients has been amazing for me. An expanded way of looking at and working with them, to help them unfold their own life’s journey. Working with the skull has truly deepened my ZB work. Thank you!
Take care, and I can’t wait for the next time our paths cross……who knows where!!!!
The Roady !!!!
I think the description “Wordless Teachings” applies to the stories below, because it illuminated for me that at a certain point with practice, the teachings come from inside you and from your own experience.
The Amputees that I have worked with have taught me so much about bodies, mind and spirit.
ANNA
Anna and her husband played bridge with us for several years in the late 70’s and early 80’s. At that time I practiced massage, and one day she asked for one. “Sure,” I said. I had never worked with an amputee before and knew I would learn something. She had told me that she lost her arm (actually her whole upper left quarter which includes the arm, shoulder blade and left half of the left clavicle) in the ‘60s to cancer after several surgeries—one of them removing her right fibula as a bone graft.
Anna had four children and her husband was in the military and away for several months at a time. At that time there were no support groups, no special online stores where you could get special bras or other helpful items. Anna sewed her own bras and figured out how to fasten them herself. She developed many items to help her reach things, open and close doors when she was carrying a bag. Her house looked like an inventor’s heaven. Every time, I would see her for a massage she would complain about coffee (“why does everyone have to drink it, it smells so horrible”), perfume in toilet paper (“it is just so ridiculous to put perfume in toilet paper”), perfume in laundry detergent (“why, why, why, perfume everywhere”). Of course this was before Tide Free.
Anna was angry.
She also experienced constant phantom pain in her left hand and arm. When she first came to me, I asked her to describe her hand and arm. She demonstrated (with her existing arm) an arm that was tense with a hand that looked like a claw, pointing up. She liked the massages that I gave her and would feel better for a day or two afterwards. One day, she had dozed off a bit and I decided to massage the meridians of her left (phantom) arm. I knew where her arm was and I knew in which direction the meridians ran. I knew that J.R. Worsley, the man who brought Classical Acupuncture to the West said that if we lose a limb or an organ, it is still there on a mental and spiritual level. So, I massaged her left arm. Imagine my surprise when all the little muscle ends along the remnants of her left clavicle began to spasm (who knew that there were muscle remnants there?), her eyes popped open and she practically shouted at me, “What are you doing?” I didn’t know how else to say I was massaging her left arm other than to say “I am massaging your left arm.” “Well, stop it, I don’t like it,” she said firmly. I slowly stopped. Each time I saw her after that, when she dozed off a bit, I would start massaging her left hand and arm again. Each time the muscles around the left clavicle would start twitching and spasming and she would jerk to attention and tell me to stop. (It is a wonder that she kept coming back to see me, but I felt intuitively that it was important and on some level she must have too.)
When I started studying Zero Balancing I told Anna I wanted to try something new. She wasn’t interested, but I convinced her to try it and told her that if she didn’t like it I wouldn’t do it any more. When I finished she said she didn’t like it at all. So the next time I did an extra long massage, did no Zero Balancing and did not massage her left arm. When I told her I was finished she said that I had forgotten to do the ‘long pulls’ that she liked so much (only found in Zero Balancing!).
After I studied CranioSacral Therapy I began incorporating that as well as Zero Balancing into her massage. I had also reestablished my connection with her left arm and during one treatment, picked it up (I am sure I looked pretty silly), and started to unwind it. I found the position where I think it was cut off. She was paying attention and didn’t stop me. About a month later I asked her how her arm was feeling. She said that it was much more relaxed and was lying comfortably at her side, bent at the elbow with her hand palm up next to her chest. She also said, “You know, Judith, I really don’t like it when you massage my left arm but it feels so much better after you do it.” During the time I had seen her she became happier, more relaxed and less sensitive to her environment (or at least didn’t complain about it anymore). The pain in her left arm was gone and she was moving forward in her life.
I moved to Charlottesville in 1993 and about then (her husband had died a couple of years earlier), she decided to go to a 2-year college and get an AA in Fine Arts. I visited her a few years later and she told me that she had had such a good time, she got her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts specializing in sculpting and water colors. Sculpting! Then she had a show at the Arlington County Courthouse.
What a woman.
JANE
Then there was Jane. She had had her right leg amputated years ago due to diabetes. In about 1994 she had several heart attacks. At the hospital they wanted to amputate her other leg because of gangrene in her foot. Jane wasn’t interested in any more amputation and went to her daughter’s home to die. Everyone thought she had about 24 hours to live. The family gathered around and I called her the next day surprised that she was still alive. “Judith,” she said to me in a soft voice, “I am so embarrassed. My whole family is here and they are talking softly, and what if I don’t die?”
Well, she didn’t die for at least 2 more years. Of course I went to her house and treated the leg that wasn’t there! We all think that getting off of all medicines and fasting for the first week or so didn’t hurt either. By the way the gangrene cleared up. She was living with her daughter, a well-known nurse practitioner (and so was getting the best possible care at home) and I never saw a happier woman than Jane, when her daughter was honored as the Virginia Woman of the Year in 1995.
During a break in a class I was taking, I saw my teacher holding her head. I went over to ask what was wrong and she said that she had a horrible toothache; the dentist couldn’t find anything wrong with it and he would do a root canal in a couple of days. I asked her if I could put my hands on her jaw for a moment. As I did her head twisted around to the side and she said, “What just happened?” This was not a willful twist of her head, and I was just lightly touching her jaw on both sides.
She came to my office a day later with a friend of hers. I had asked her to bring a friend in case she started speaking her native language. I thought it would be a good idea to have someone there who understood and she only knew me in the context of the language class. It turned out that her friend and I knew each other from some meditation classes we had taken together. The short history was that several years ago in another country she had been in an automobile accident and had been in a coma for 6 months. Her doctors had said there would be permanent damage to her legs and arms. She worked hard to overcome these problems and succeeded. The toothache had only been going on for a few days. At that time I did not ask what happened just prior to the toothache, or what she thought had caused it.
She got on the table and I began with a Zero Balancing. When I moved up to her head and had one hand on each side of her temples, she began moaning and writhing on the table–except for her head. This became quite alarming to me and I stopped and asked if she was OK, and asked her what was happening. She said that she didn’t know what was happening but she wanted me to go on. I then went to her clavicles and placed my hands under her back and lightly just below her clavicles (the thoracic inlet). Again her body began writhing as though she was trying to get away from something. I was not holding her down and she could have just gotten up and walked away at any time. But it was as if someone was holding her down and torturing her. I stopped and checked often and she would tell me to continue. I would move back and forth from her head to her thoracic inlet. The writhing felt almost unbearable to me at times.
Suddenly a window opened up in my mind and I saw a beautiful young woman with long black hair all the way down to her seat, lying in a hospital bed being orally raped. I thought I understood what had happened. This was a thought that was totally new to me, I had never even conceived of the possibility that that could ever happen. At that moment I stopped because I wanted to tell her what I thought had happened. But literally, my mouth was stuck closed. “Okay,” I thought, “I’ll tell her at the end of the session. It might be better timing.” This session lasted about 2 hours. I couldn’t stop until there was calmness in her body. I was so glad that her friend was there and that she knew me and had some trust in me. I think that allowed the whole process to happen. At the end of the session she said, “I don’t know what just happened, but I feel more relaxed than I can remember.” We talked for a bit and I again wanted to tell her about my thoughts, but I still I couldn’t open my mouth to tell her. “Fine,” I thought to myself with a bit of an attitude, “I’ll tell her tomorrow when I talk to her.”
The next day she called to tell me about her unusual evening. “Before I got in the car, I walked around outside for about 20 minutes because I wanted to get used to how my body felt, to feel the breeze on my body. It just felt so good. Then I went home to take a nap. I got up a couple of hours later and my husband and I went out to dinner with friends. We came home and I went to bed. Around 2:30 AM I woke up and ran into the bathroom and began vomiting. Judith, I couldn’t believe that I vomited up quarts, it seemed, of this white milky stuff. What was even more weird is that there was no food in it.” I said “Oh, how interesting.” Inside me, I was like the kid in the class who wasn’t being called on. I was jumping up and down with my hand up saying, “I know, I know.” But I said nothing, and thought to myself, “Well, I’ll tell her on the last day of class if we get a moment together.”
On the last day of the class someone from the staff came in to sell us a set of language tapes. And for some reason he said, “You probably don’t know this about your teacher, but she used to be a model in her country, and over her fireplace is a beautiful picture of her and her black hair is so long, it went all the way down her back.” I was truly speechless then, but at another level. After class, she came up to me to thank me and told me that her tooth had not hurt at all and that she had cancelled the dental appointment. That was the last time I saw her, though I heard she and her husband had divorced and she had moved. I was frustrated for years wondering why I couldn’t say anything. I told myself, “Maybe if I could have told her, she would have been able to work things out in her marriage,” and all other sorts of psychobabble.
Years later I was really grateful that I had held my tongue. I have learned that trauma can leave the body without having to relive it. I’m sure that if there comes a time when the memory of this will serve her in a good way, she will remember. And most likely it won’t be necessary. I learned so much from her and am so grateful for the entire experience.
And many years later I saw Kill Bill.
I was in Reno, Nevada, in August, 2006, to teach a Spirit of the Organs class. When I am in Reno I stay at a ranch with my friend Gayle. Wednesday night before the training started, Gayle and I had dinner with Lynn (the co-owner), Chrisanne, (her partner and a vet), and some other folks. Dinner with Lynn and Chrisanne is always fun and lively. That night it was a bit somber because a neighbor had brought her horse, who was very sick with colic, to be cared for by Chrisanne. Chrisanne had tapped her belly and there was blood in it and Chrisanne knew by that sign and others that the horse would have to be put down that night. She decided to do it early so everyone could get a good night’s sleep and went downstairs to the stable. In about 15 minutes she came back and said that though the horse was very sick, Duchess was chewing on hay and looking at her in the eye and Chrisanne couldn’t do it, and so she would probably have to do it in the middle of the night. She left the room.
I started asking Lynn about colic and horses and found that colic is descriptive of something being wrong in the horse’s digestive tract, not a real diagnosis, and not like the colic that babies get. One of the helpers came up a few minutes later and said Duchess was doing much worse and we should go right down and look at her. I asked Lynn if I could put my hands on her to see what she felt like. Lynn said yes. When we went down I decided that first I needed to put my hands on a well horse so that my hands had a basis of comparison. I checked her cranial rhythm and then went over to see Duchess. The first thing I noticed about Duchess was that she was bone cold. It felt like rigor mortis was setting in. It was a shocking feeling. Then she looked at me with big brown limpid eyes and we fell in love. (Any good story needs a romantic interest.) I put my hands on her nasal bones and noticed that there was no cranial rhythm. I kept them there just to be with Duchess, not that there was anything I could do. After awhile I noticed that the cranial rhythm had started up. We were getting ready to leave and I went back to the first horse to check her cranial rhythm to see how different it was from Duchess’. It was pretty similar. Then I told Lynn I just wanted to put my hands on Duchess once more.
My first impression then was that Duchess was warmer, but thought it was just my imagination. Then Lynn said, “Judith, I think that Duchess feels warmer, what do you think?” Soon after, the rest of the folks came down from dinner and we all just held Duchess. She stood there without moving while we had our hands on her. Chrisanne came down and said that Duchess was resting well, but probably wouldn’t make it until morning.
At 7 AM Chrisanne called me and said that Duchess was still alive, which in itself was pretty amazing. I celebrated internally! Chrisanne said that the horse had peritonitis and that peritonitis was very dangerous for an adult in a hospital with surgical intervention and drugs. Chrisanne was doing no surgical intervention but was giving her heavy-duty antibiotics and pain medication. I asked her if she minded if the class worked with Duchess a bit every day and she said it would be fine. That day, I told the class about Duchess and she became our extra-curricular project. We took the class work we had done that day on the organs, found a good horse anatomy book and then worked on Duchess in the evening. Not only did we do the organ work and Zero Balancing, but we threw in anything else we knew as well. Some students did Reiki, Healing Touch, etc. Bodie and Sue who are both bodyworkers and horsewomen and who also do massage on horses made sure we didn’t get stepped on as they shared their wisdom with us. However, Duchess was still whenever we were there working with her.
One day Bodie asked if pulling her tail would be a good idea (Pulling a horse’s tail in a certain way is doing a ZB fulcrum called a half-moon vector.) I thought it would be fine, so Bodie pulled her tail. We would wait for the horse to let us know when to stop (this is called “working signs”), so at the appropriate moment, big breath, fart, chewing, Bodie let go. We thought we were done for the day and stepped out of the stall and were standing around the stall talking. Duchess turned and backed up with her rear end towards the door. Bodie and I looked at each other. “Well,” Bodie said, “do you think she wants more?” “Yep,” I replied. And Bodie took Duchess’ tail and pulled. And Duchess leaned into it and pulled back, squishing Bodie up against the door. I grabbed on to Bodie and others grabbed on to me creating a chain. We must have held that for about 10 minutes. When Duchess was finished she relaxed out of position.
On the third day of the class, Duchess was outside grazing in the grass when we arrived. We all worked on her, sharing different energy techniques as well as mobilizing the organs and working with her structure and energy. Duchess and I had developed So she went over to the water trough, looked at it and then looked at me; looked at it and then walked away. I swear she rolled her eyes. I went over to her and again told her that she needed to drink water. She dropped her head and went over and drank the water. Honest. After the last class, four of us went over and worked on her one more time. I walked her a bit. It was interesting to see how her energy would go up and down. It was important to walk her and also important for her not to lose too much energy because walking made her tired.
On Monday, Gayle and I met Lynn and Chrisanne for lunch before my plane left. Chrisanne said that Duchess would be going home the next day. This was a case of both good conventional and complementary health care, and also taught me the importance of presence and compassion in the healing relationship. I was just there for Duchess as was everyone else. I had no illusions that anything I could do would help her that first evening. It seems that something energetic shifted which opened the potential for healing and allowed the structure to change. In recent reports I have heard that Duchess is doing well. She agreed to give me a ride the next time I’m in Reno.
I was working with a client, I can’t remember now exactly why she came to see me, but that day something pulled me to her liver. I sat there holding the liver for awhile and nothing happened, no movement, no heat, nothing. So I moved my hands over a bit to the gall bladder and sat, feeling into it. Here, I started to feel movement and heat being released, so I just sat there paying attention while it happened. Suddenly, I was in the dream state, having high tea with the Queen Mum. She was sitting on a couch with cabbage roses. We had our hats and gloves on. The tea service was quite lovely of course, the porcelain beautiful with a rose or flower pattern. There was lace everywhere. Several plates of little tea sandwiches were on the table between us. As I listened, I noticed that she was talking with a certain attitude. I heard such words as, “Can you imagine,” and “Of all the nerve.” It was clear that the attitude was righteous indignation.
Then I was back in my office. The process under my hands was complete and I was wondering if I should mention any of this experience to my client. I checked inside and it seemed OK, so I asked her if she had ever had any experience with righteous indignation. At that point she became animated and sat up and said, “Righteous indignation almost killed me! My husband and I were biking and a driver cut us off and almost hit my husband. I was so angry that I gave him every obscene sign I could think of, lost my balance, fell off my bike and rolled across the highway where I could have been run over. Righteous indignation has come up frequently in my life.” As I told her what happened in the dream state, she also told me she was born in England.
Several years later I was teaching a class about the organs in the U.K. and told this particular story. After class a student came up to me and told me that the Queen Mum had been famous for her formal teas and for having righteous indignation, that she never forgave King George for marrying Mrs. Simpson and abandoning the throne. This was an external reminder to really trust the depth of the information I was receiving.
I was seeing Diane throughout her pregnancy and she was doing well. She came in the day after her due date and told me she had fired her OBGYN because her doctor said he was going to schedule a c-section. Diane had been a candidate for a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean). The doctor thought that since it was after her due date and the baby was large that a caesarean was the only option. When Diane told him he was fired, he reconsidered and said he’d let her go another week or so. That day, as I worked with her I felt the baby’s head engage. We laughingly made an appointment for the following week knowing she wouldn’t be coming.
I looked out the window a week later and saw her trudging across the parking lot to my office. Again we worked and this time I “saw” her walking up and down the hospital corridor in labor. She got off the table and had her first contraction. That night she went to the hospital and gave birth to an 11 lb. 6 oz baby boy without any drugs. She also delivered a gigantic hemorrhoid and had surgery for it two days later!
Sharon came to me because of her right shoulder. It was sore much of the time and she wasn’t quite sure why. She may have hurt it playing tennis, but then she didn’t play that much tennis. It had been sore for a couple of years and physical therapy hadn’t helped it much. As I worked and checked her liver (often times a sore right shoulder is related to a liver issue), I found some dense scar tissue around her gall bladder which she had had removed when she was 16. I released some of the scar tissue and the whole area softened quite a bit.
A month later she called to say that she was pregnant. I didn’t think much about that until she told me that she had never used birth control and never gotten pregnant before. A month later she had a miscarriage. She came back in another month and I worked the area around her gall bladder again, and released more scar tissue. A month later she was pregnant again and carried this baby to full term. Since then it seems I have helped several women get pregnant or hold a pregnancy. Even a couple of women who had tried in vitro fertilization and been unsuccessful were then able to carry a pregnancy to term.
Why am I sometimes successful? There are several reasons. First, being relaxed and balanced is going to help anyone become pregnant. Zero Balancing is fabulous for that. Secondly, some restrictions around the liver may have an impact on the arteries that serve the uterus. Third, any restriction or lesion in the coccyx (a bad fall that you can still remember, for instance) may have a deleterious effect in the pelvic cavity causing such symptoms as dysmenorrhea, constipation, feeling of not being able to get grounded, feeling like one is not connected to one’s legs, or circulation problems in the legs. There are many reasons a pregnancy won’t occur. But if the reason has to do with a dysfunction, bodywork (Zero Balancing, CranioSacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, or Chua Ka bone work) can be very helpful.