Balancing energy flow

Sessions with Ty Romijn pinpoint where tensions zero out.

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Ty Romijn’s profoundly calm nature and gentle voice are matched by his ability to listen to what you and your body are saying. And in a session with him, his seamless combination of acupuncture and Zero Balancing lets you know immediately you are in healing hands.

Over the years of my seeing him, Romijn has helped me recover from an intense back injury and a broken shoulder. When significant life stresses feel overwhelming, I see him for a tune-up to help me feel more integrated and grounded. Although I had a cursory understanding of acupuncture and Zero Balancing, our recent conversation clarified for me how Romijn and his practice help me heal.

Acupuncture as a practice has been part of the medical system in Asia for 4,000 or 5,000 years. Acupuncture practitioners use small, fine needles in order to stimulate points on our “meridians” related to particular organs. According to acupuncture, “a meridian is a line of energy moving along specific structures in the body from the organ to the periphery,” Romijn relates. “So every organ controls a muscle pathway in the body. If a meridian is moving through the bicep, for instance, that meridian controls the whole pathway, all the way down to the middle finger.”

Sometimes, when Romijn places a needle, I barely feel it. At others, it can be briefly uncomfortable, which means something is off. “Tension along a meridian reflects tension in the corresponding organ,” Romijn explains. “When you tend to the acupuncture point along the meridian, you balance the organ, which, in turn, balances the muscle pathway. Therefore, one of acupuncture’s benefits is helping from an orthopedic perspective.” He continues, “Likewise, the organs are the seats of emotions. If there is tension between organs, often negative emotions arise. If we can tend to those organs by putting needles along those points on the meridians, we can free up the tension between the organs and mitigate the symptoms.”

Zero Balancing is based on the idea that the body consists of both an energy and a physical body, and both can be accessed through specific types of touch. It emphasizes the key joints of the skeleton that are essential for balancing the forces of gravity, posture, and movement. Advanced Zero Balancing assesses and balances the organs and their relationships to one another and the skeleton. It also focuses on the skull and the membrane system surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Zero Balancing checks where tension is in the skeleton, and frees it up to help the person integrate that extra energy. “Emotionally,” says Romijn, “this can feel like you have more capacity to deal with life. It can also look like your skeleton can easily ground the tension in your legs, so you are less stressed or overwhelmed, and more connected to yourself. If tension gets stuck in the bones, other symptoms can develop.”

Like acupuncture, Zero Balancing tends to the body, mind, and spirit. “For me, the two are one system,” Romijn says. “So when I lift the legs, say, I’m listening for meridian tension. I address it through Zero Balancing, and then listen to the pulses to see if there is any tension, which I can tend to through acupuncture. The benefits are that it aligns the body’s energy with the body’s structure.”

When I go see Romijn, we begin with a conversational intake, discussing what is going on physically in my body and my life — major events, stresses, concerns. “My assessment is to discover how the person relates to the issue, which will tell me how I can support them,” says Romijn. He is also trying to determine what organs need support. “I do that by using my senses. If an organ is out of balance, it will smell a certain way. It will sound a certain way in their voice and look a certain way on their face. As they tell me what they need, their body tells me what organs I need to address.”

On the treatment table, I first sit with my legs dangling. From behind, Romijn evaluates how my ribs relate to my spine, my scapula to my ribs, and my sacrum to my pelvis. “As I do that, I listen to each organ with very light pressure,” he says.

Once I’m lying down, Romijn typically puts needles in my ears. “This is so if too much tension is released in the body, it has a place to go. We don’t want it to get stuck in a joint or between meridians or become a headache.”

The rest of the session flows seamlessly between Zero Balancing and acupuncture. Romijn utilizes Zero Balancing to connect with my skeleton and pulses, identifying where blocks exist between meridians. Then he combines acupuncture and Zero Balancing to achieve alignment. Toward the end, Romijn removes the needles from my ears. If a drop of blood appears, it indicates that there was excessive activity in one organ or another, prompting him to do a bit more work. He concludes with a closing sequence, which involves gentle pressure on the membrane system surrounding my brain and spinal cord to ensure there’s no tension. By this time, I’m in bliss, feeling an inner harmony and sense of being utterly in my body.

Romijn is working toward developing a teaching clinic here on the Island, hoping to help others learn how to combine bodywork and acupuncture. Over the years, he has accumulated many additional modalities. His journey began some 30 years ago when he was severely ill. He states, “Healing my gut and emotions and moving through my spiritual crises made me want to help others and the community.” This is promising news, as more healing arts practitioners will benefit us all.

To learn more about Ty Romijn, visit tyromijn.com. He can be reached by text or phone at 720-224-1200 or by email at tyromijn@gmail.com. Appointments can be made at Vineyard Complementary Medicine (vcmpt.com) or vineyardpilates.com.