Zentherapy® is a word, and like many words in the English language, it can have more than one meaning. It does infer any religious, spiritual, or dogmatic connotations. In its use here, it is best to start with the description of its overall intention given to it by its founder and master body worker William (Dub) Leigh. The scope of Zentherapy® is divided into three main approaches which are Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy, Zen Bodytherapy 10 session recipe, and Advanced Zen Bodytherapy.

Zentherapy® recognizes that from birth to death, life is a flow of energy. This energy takes shape by our attitudes, our emotions and our bodies. Zentherapy® releases the natural form of the body from the aberrations caused by physical, chemical, psychological and spiritual traumas.

These aberrations misalign the body and block the free flow of energy within the body and between the person and the universe. The blocks and misalignment prevent a person from realizing their full potential and experiencing the oneness of all life. Once the blocks are removed and the structure is aligned, the body, mind and spirit will move to a higher plateau.

Zentherapy® is a synthesis of Eastern and Western cultures. Many different methods and techniques are used to process the body; this includes Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, Lauren Berry and Raymond Nimmo. Tanouye Tenshin Rotaishi’s teachings are the underlying source of all Zentherapy® sessions.

Consciously experiencing and using universal energy is what makes Zentherapy® unique.

It is the goal of Zentherapy® for both the practitioner and the client to become as a child: free of fear, hate, greed, and pain. Fully living each moment by moment by moment.

The International Zentherapy® Institute set the foundation of the work into three basic units of training and development; Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy®, Zen Bodytherapy®, and Advanced Bodytherapy®.

Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy®

Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy® starts processing the body by feeding ki while clearing the body of pain and dysfunction associated with both acute and chronic conditions of trauma. Usually the body has a specific area or symptom of discomfort which can range from just a minor irritation to severe pain. Other areas of the body may be unable to function properly or move a joint without pain or fear of pain.

What are Triggerpoints?

In Janet Travell and David Simmons’ book Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, the definition of a triggerpoint is; … “any area of the body with hypersensitive stimuli that when locally compressed give rise to certain autonomic phenomena.”

A triggerpoint is a tight, tender spot in a muscle or other soft tissue, that refers pain or ‘triggers’ pain or tenderness to other areas of the body. They can cause ongoing pain and dysfunction to the affected areas even after an injury has appeared healed. Triggerpoints can be one cause for reoccurring headaches, or almost any problem that returns year after year.

These can be like ropes, grains, knots, or similar descriptions for what the soft tissue of the body feels like when palpated or investigated with the hands.

Most of the time, Triggerpoints have a distinctive pain referral source and can make the muscles, tendons, ligaments and even organs in the body unable to perform the way they were meant to. Because the tissue tightens and becomes unable to function properly, nutrients and oxygen cannot get in to nourish the area and in turn, waste products cannot get out. Over time, the area becomes thickened and sticky, gluing the individual fibers and surrounding layers together, creating adhesions. Adhesions are like the collagen build up seen in any surface scar where the skin has been broken into deep enough.

Two types of triggerpoints:

Active- current pain Active trigger points keep the muscles tight, restricting blood flow and compressing nerves, which perpetuates a pain-spasm-pain cycle in the muscles. The effect of decreased flexibility limits movement, encouraging poor postural patterns which may sustain the cycle for years.

Latent- hidden pain

Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy® works by using compression and feeding ki. The treatment of trigger points consists of application of sustained pressure for a long enough time to inactivate the muscle spasm. Pressure can be applied with a thumb, finger, knuckle, or elbow depending on the size, depth and thickness of the muscle being compressed.

• It focuses on specific pain and dysfunction.
• It restores circulation, nerve impulses and vital energy to affected areas.
• It helps to create a feeling of well being.
• It is often used as a first aid approach for acute or chronic discomfort and pain.
• It is highly effective on its own and is often used to as preparatory work for the Zen Bodytherapy® ten session series.

Commonly people who start with the Triggerpoint work will come in with symptoms such as:

• Migraine headaches
• Tension headaches
• Painful and stiff necks
• Painful and tight shoulders
• Tennis and golf elbow
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Arthritis
• Breathing difficulties such as Asthma
• Upper, mid, and lower back pain
• TMJ syndrome
• Pelvic and groin pain
• Sciatica
• Hip joint pain
• Sports injuries
• Knee pain
• Ankle pain
• Numbness in the hands or feet
• Pain from Scoliosis

Zen Bodytherapy®

Zen Bodytherapy® is a series of ten sessions that starts by releasing the pain and then addresses the structural integration and alignment of the body. While feeding ki, we work towards freeing the fascia or webbing that holds the body together then realign it to allow greater freedom in movement, a vertical lift, and reeducate the nervous system by teaching awareness through movement as we proceed.

Essentially with practice its learning how to breathe, walk, and develop a feeling of being in the body all over again. The principal tangible influence of resistance is the field of gravity and its effect on the body along with the history of trauma and patterns built into the structure. When the body lines up better within its self and the earth’s line of gravity, then the ki, chi, or universal energy flows freely again and less energy is wasted, creating renewed strength, balance and harmony in the body.

When we are more alive, conscious, and working towards perpetual refinement of our being, then those around us can be affected in a positive way.

Some of the feedback from clients who go through the ten session series say they:

• Feel more alive
• Improved their posture
• Have more energy to do more
• Recover faster in sports and physical demands
• Feel better prepared for pregnancy and post partum
• Increased their ability to be aware of the body’s changes and needs
• Reduced or eliminated the original symptom they came in to get rid of
• Felt more of a positive attitude
• Renewed their sense of well being
• Gained trust in their body to heal itself
• Increased their mental clarity and decision making capacity
• Can handle stressful conditions better
• Got involved with community service and helping others
• Increased the quality of their relationships
• Started taking better care of their health
• Felt a deeper connection to the world around them

Advanced Bodytherapy®

Advanced Bodytherapy® work adds to the quality of good work done in the ten session series by continuing to clear pain out of the body then, reposition the joints and strayed tendons, nerves, cartilage, and fascial membranes to create the optimal state of balance in one’s life. There is more emphasis on reeducating the nervous system to feel the movement of the body in relationship to the environment and at the same time working towards developing sensitivity in ones self to know how to keep the results longer.

Clients who go through Advanced Bodytherapy® work have said they:

• Feel that they are more grounded
• Move with less effort
• Feel the body move as a whole unit with grace and confidence
• Are emotionally more stabile and secure
• Creatively inspired more often
• Have less pain less often and recover faster
• Increased the quality of practice in their faith
• Had a better appreciation of life and that it was magical again
• Feel younger

I have been honored to work with people from all walks of life from infants up to ninety four years old as of yet. The key to getting good results, from my experience, is that a person must be totally present (mind and body) in each session and be willing to make the change for the better. I facilitate the sessions. However, it is important to note that a person makes the change him/herself. If he/she wants to be different than he/she is right at that moment, the desire to be different and willingness to be open and allow the change will make it happen.

Willingness to refine one’s self and confront the difficulty of change is of great importance. Through this work, the body, mind and spirit can be at the optimal state of being for one to mature their view of all there is. This has been my experience. It can be a tough challenge for some people, especially when one starts seeing the underlying patterns that manifest what end up as the distractions of pain that they live in their physical, mental, and emotional experience day in and day out. Then again, the fear is only fear, it is not who we are. With most of us, pain is one indicator manifested by ignoring what our body’s messages have been telling us without acting in a positive way to the messages.

I believe that the fastest and easiest way to understand the relationship between developing awareness and creating the possibility to make a change, is to start by better understanding the body you own, yes own. It is the living history book of our experience in life. The physical body has been well documented by medical science, and for you to know more of how it is put together gives you enormous power in keeping it running in tip top condition.

The benefit of understanding how something operates comes from being present to every aspect of it in relation to the environment. Any machinist, architect, or scientist knows that to begin the process of understanding, one starts with being curious. We all make mistakes. However, if we are able to see these mistakes as opportunities to learn something new about ourselves, then positive change becomes interesting.