TLC Intensive Zero Balancing Certification Program

Intensive Zero Balancing Certification Program 

with David LautersteinTLC Co-founder/ZB Faculty for over 25 years

100 CE hours - Offered in 4 - 25hr segments plus 1 Adv Skills day (6hrs) & Practical Exam*

$2500 (Save $200)

or

$2700 - $600 deposit  - 7 easy $300 installment payments

*First installment payment due May 25th   

Four 4-day Segments (each Thurs 1pm-5pm and Fri - Sun  9am-5pm) plus Adv. Skills Day (Sun 10am to 5:30pm)

  1. ZB I - May 4-7, 2023
  2. ZB II - July 20-23, 2023
    • Advancing Skills Day - August 27, 2023
  3. Alchemy of Touch - September 14-17, 2023
  4. Geometry of Healing - November 9-12, 2023

*Practical exams will be held on Mondays November 27, 2023 - March 28, 2024 - based on individuals scheduling availability. 

What is Zero Balancing Anyway?

about zero balancing certification

Zero Balancing (ZB) is at the leading edge of modern body-mind therapies. Certification in ZB will greatly amplify the benefits you and your clients enjoy. We believe it is the next “big thing” because of the new world we live in. Clients come to us not only with physical complaints but equally with stress-related symptoms. Zero Balancing uniquely addresses both the physical and the energetic aspects of clients’ health. It does so at the deepest level of clients’ structure and energy – the skeletal system within the musculoskeletal system.

lauterstein-conway massage school offers courses that lead to zero balancing certification

Many massage therapists knowledgeably address the muscles and fascia but yet need ways to address the deeper fascia and the deeper structures of ligaments, joints, and bones. Drawing on the background of Zero Balancing’s founder, Dr. Fritz Smith, who has in his background a Doctor of Osteopathy, an MD, Certification in Rolfing, with a Masters in Acupuncture – Zero Balancing enables you to much more thoroughly and efficiently address the full range of clients’ concerns.

"Zero Balancing (ZB) is a powerful touch therapy for body and mind. Deeply relaxing and energizing, ZB touches your core, at the level of bone, to promote wellness and balance. Zero Balancing is the most powerful modality addressing the musculoskeletal system with particular focus on the skeletal aspect of that system.  It combines detailed Western anatomical knowledge with energetic insights drawn from acupuncture and Eastern psycho-physiology. The fascinating theory and very precise techniques will add a whole new dimension to your practice!”  -- Zero Balancing Health Association

Zero Balancing Certification Process

The Intensive Zero Balancing Certification Program at The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School is open to licensed health care professionals including massage therapists, acupuncturists, physical therapists, chiropractors, movement therapists, medical doctors, and others.

  1. Apply and be accepted for the Certification Process
  2. Complete 100 Zero Balancing CEUs
  3. Take open book Written Exam: Sources for Exam
    • Core Zero Balancing Study Guide, 4th edition
    • Inner Bridges by Fritz Frederick Smith, MD
    • Zero Balancing: Touching the Energy of Bone by John Hamwee
  4. Pass ZB Practical Exam administered by ZB Faculty Member
    • David Lauterstein - ZB Faculty
  5. Complete submission of Certification Evaluation to Zero Balancing Health Association

This unique version of the Certification Process that will be taught at The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School will allow you to complete this process in just under one year!

ZB Courses included in the TLC Intensive ZB Program

Zero Balancing I: The first half of the Core Zero balancing program, introducing you to ZB theory, technique, touch skills, and the history of the art and science of ZB. You will learn a whole body ZB protocol and basic fulcrums, and be able to offer Zero Balancing to your clients ZB by the end of class.

Zero Balancing II: Provides a deeper refinement of the material presented in ZB I along with additional concepts and fulcrums to complete the presentation of Core Zero Balancing principles and the full protocol.

ZB Advancing Skills Day: This class will enhance the skills and understandings of new ZB students, sharpen the skills of those who have not taken courses recently, and develop relationships among ZB practitioners.

Alchemy of Touch: Expands on Core ZB principles and delves into working with amplified fields of vibration within the body. Such skills allow you to both address well-held patterns more effectively and to empower session frames.

Geometry of Healing: Advanced Palpation Skills Explores how to work directly with vibratory/energetic fields including expanding your understanding of free standing wave forms and how to engage them directly. Much of the theoretical material presented is based on quantum physics, holograms, field theory, and how they can inform the world of touch.

ZB Books and Other Resources

The Zero Balancing Touch Foundation (ZBTF) is a source of more information about Zero Balancing. Go to https://zbtouch.org/.

  • Their shop features streaming options for ZB I Core Skills with Fritz Smithvideos, 42 in total and packaged in 8 topic groups. Review and learn ZB from the founder. Study these at home, whenever you want to. This is an amazing resource for reviewing and enhancing your understanding of the material presented in ZB I.
  • They also have great information about Zero Balancing research

View the ZB Research Presentation (2021) on Vimeo which introduces Zero Balancing and explores the effects of skilled conscious touch on brain waves, expanded states of consciousness, and healing. Also presented are findings of independent, IRB approved, published research on the effects of Zero Balancing on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of health and wellness. Here is the link: https://vimeo.com/570736773.

The International Journal of Zero Balancing and Transformative Touch, (IJZBTT) is a unique, international open-access online journal: https://thekeep.eiu.edu/ijzbtt/. It is designed to share, free of charge, diverse content across a wide range of therapeutic touch modalities. Read, share and submit scientific, educational and artistic articles and papers that focus on the benefits of skilled touch in the service of wellness and personal transformation.

Zero Balancing Books: These should be available to purchase from the publishers, Amazon or other retailers.

  • Lauterstein, David and Rockwell, Jeff. The Memory Palace of Bones: Exploring Embodiment through the Skeletal System. Handspring Publishing, Philadelphia, 2023
  • Doucette, Michele. Walking to Eden. Create Space , 2010
  • Hamwee, John. Zero Balancing: Touching the Energy of Bone. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, Singing Dragon,1999.
  • Hext, Alan, Structural Energetics in Zero Balancing Bodywork, 2019
  • Lauterstein, David, Life in the Bones: A Biography of Fritz Smith, MD and Zero Balancing, Upledger Productions, 2017
  • McCormick, James, Zero Balancing: Conscious Touch and Transformation, Handspring Publishing, 2021
  • Quarry, Veronica and King, Amanda, Experiencing the Power of Zero Balancing: Case Studies of Journeys to Health and Wholeness, Upledger Productions, 2016
  • Smith, Fritz Frederick, M.D. The Alchemy of Touch: Moving Towards Mastery Through the Lens of Zero Balancing. Taos, NM: Complementary Medicine Press, 2005.
  • Smith, Fritz Frederick, M.D. Inner Bridges: A Guide to Energy Movement and Body Structure. Atlanta, GA: Humanics, 1986.
  • Williams, Gethyn, Penetrating Heaven: Adventures in Zero Balancing, 2021.

About the Instructor


ZB Faculty Member, David Lauterstein

David Lauterstein is The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School's Co-founder and has been in massage and bodywork practice since 1977. He is certified in Structural Bodywork and Zero Balancing and has been a teaching faculty member of the Zero Balancing Health Association for over 25 years.

David was inducted in 2011 into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame, honored in 2012 with AMTA’s Teacher of the Year Award, and recognized in 2013 by the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education as “Educator of the Year.”

David is the author of the books: “Putting The Soul Back in the Body”, "The Deep Massage Book: How to Combine Structure and Energy in Bodywork", "Life in the Bones: A Biography of Dr. Fritz Smith and Zero Balancing," and co-authored with Dr. Jeff Rockwell, the forthcoming, “The Memory Palace of Bones: exploring embodiment through the skeletal system.”

He has been a massage and bodywork teacher for 40 years, specializing in teaching Deep Massage and Zero Balancing throughout the US as well in England and Costa Rica.

Zero Balancing Articles

zero balancing article by david lauterstein

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The People and History of ZB


Founder, Fritz Smith

Integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Fritz Smith's observations and experiences with both anatomy and energy led him to develop the manual therapy system we know as Zero Balancing (ZB).

In the 1960s, Dr. Smith, already an Osteopathic M.D., studied at the Esalen Institute in Northern California and became a certified Rolfer®. During this time, he began to explore yoga, meditation, Eastern energy medicine, and quantum physics.

Beginning in 1972, Dr. Smith traveled to the UK to become a licensed acupuncturist, earning a bachelor's and master's degree in acupuncture. He also studied with the famous teacher, Swami Muktananda.  Zero Balancing consciously works with body, mind, and spirit.

Dr. Smith has practiced and taught Zero Balancing throughout the world for more than 45 years and continues to teach to this day.

“Beyond being a therapy, Zero Balancing is a community. Some of the most exciting and stimulating features of ZB are the people who have been attracted to study this approach, and the community and friendships we have made. When we are together, it seems that a creative field develops for everyone, where new insights, understandings, and associations occur.” - Fritz Smith

zero balancing article

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