Zen-Touch™ utilizes the expressions “empty†(Kyo) and “full†(Jitsu). The practitioner recognizes “Emptiness†as a sinking feeling, a wanting or a calling out to be held in a point, meridian, or area that craves attention. “Fullness†manifests as a feeling of rising accumulated energy that is calling to be dispersed. Common accumulated tension points (full) are found on the top of the shoulders- a “tougher†area that has the capacity to house tension with more ease in contrast to softer, sensitive, more vulnerable areas like the lower back, or abdomen ( comparatively empty).
Areas where persistent holding and nurturing feel comforting to clients most likely designate an empty area. Â Empty areas often look and feel like soft valleys. They respond with an affectionate-like gratitude for attention, usually in the form of holding. Â If an area is sharply painful, slippery, ticklish, and resistant, resembles a high ridge, or feels like a hard mountain peak, then it is most likely full, and can be stimulated to disperse its excess energy. Â The shoulders, often present full painful areas, which can signal or motivate people to change tension-producing behavior patterns. Â Full areas often change when stimulated with a more active/dispersing quality of touch in comparison to empty areas that usually transform when stimulated with a slower/nurturing quality of touch. It is also common for tension to subside by connecting full and empty areas by holding the empty with a palm mother hand while holding the full with a son thumb.
Zen-Touch™ theory commonly asserts that the original source of any challenge is  emptiness— a feeling or movement in life that has been missing. The body often displaces the awareness of this source to another area that is perhaps less vulnerable. For example, when the lower back (kidneys/adrenal glands) is overworked  from drinking coffee the tension is often carried to the shoulders because this area can hold the pain more easily than the more vulnerable lower back.
By initiating a balance between extreme empty and full areas, expert Zen-Touch™ holistic  practitioners in San Diego directly address the client’s greatest range of energy polarities while avoiding the multiple possible classifications of yin and yang.
The dynamic interaction between empty and full described so far corresponds to a philosophical model that looks for cause and effect- a model that assumes events happen in sequence. Another way to view energy is that empty and full conditions emerge simultaneously– together as a whole. Like yin and yang, they arise in chorus and live in a complementary relationship* with each other. The harmonizing interaction of the lowest empty and the highest full embody the greatest source of healing energy due to the wide range of vibrations represented in the span of their paired polar differences. Addressing these two as a unified energy field allows us to tap into the greatest source of energy available to create change. So, instead of perceiving them as negative imbalances (something wrong) they are in fact the  greatest storehouse of transformation available for us to tap in to (something right). I view them like the chorus of a song that usually stands out more than the verse (e.g. Hallelujah ).
* Empty/full relationships are interdependent- they complement and support each other through the opposite polarities of their paired existence. They sing one song as a duet.
Empty/ Full- The Transformation of Extremes
It is interesting to note that high levels of activity commonly get our attention more quickly than low levels of activity. A mosquito flying by one’s ear with its high frequency buzz will instantly illicit a response. The expression “the squeaky wheel gets the grease†is used to demonstrate how the actively complaining person will get attention before the person who behaves in a quiet reserved manner. Unfortunately, paying attention to our most obvious challenges sometimes masks or distracts us from the underlying hidden and perhaps more essential area of our life that when addressed will bring about deep healing. Addressing the obvious, more active “frontâ€Â initiates a faster, more acute attitude than facilitating therapy with the slower lingering empty places- the back that usually requires consistent attention and deeper reflection.
For example: While John’s anger could be tempered through anger management techniques like screaming into a pillow, a more complete therapy would be facilitated by uncovering and resolving the fears that catalyze his rage.
The depth of awareness necessary to feel these deeper patterns involves centering through “slowing ourselves downâ€**.  This slight deceleration shifts our attention, moderates the pace of our lives and when practiced consistently usually extends the length of time a person will live healthily on the planet. Elephants and tortoises live long lives because of the slow, even pace they maintain. In contrast, insects, which fly at accelerated speeds, live very short lives. High intensity burns energy too quickly.  Most insects spend their lives vibrating at a much higher frequency rate than humans. That may be the reason they are comfortable living in high energy environments like electrical boxes and survive exposure to radiation that kills people.
The various range of extreme circumstances we choose to participate in are the initiators or catalysts that affect our consciousness level. Every life challenge either moves us forward or back on our constantly evolving path. Finding a healthy range of experiences between higher and lower frequencies will sustain life while transforming challenges that deepen our consciousness level.
Established patterns of behavior remain relatively stable until acted upon by a complementary energy pattern.
Susan used to respond to frustration by acting out with fits of rage that included throwing objects at the cupboards of her kitchen. Afterwards she experienced exhaustion and depression. This and other extreme patterns in her life eventually led to illness- cervical cancer. What is the complementary energy/behavior necessary to transform this life threatening balance pattern? The symptom, cervical cancer is a clue. The connection to reproduction, creativity, sexual relations, children and birth were addressed in Susan’s life through nurturing herself with healthy food, slowing down her overall pace, and spending quiet times to explore her artwork. Susan’s altered behavior could be compared to a fetus being nourished in the protected dark womb for nine months. More time was spent cultivating kindness with her mother, and in all her relationships. Her anxiety and the illness it initiated were acted upon by a deeper look at the big picture of life and how to find a more flowing behavior style. –fire element was tempered by water. While Susan still has the same amount of energy available to her, it is the quality of her vibration, which has changed to the point that her physical symptoms, emotional moods, thoughts and spiritual attitudes – the whole, have changed.
As facilitators of health and healing our effectiveness is measured by our ability to mirror complementary energy patterns to the person we are working with. Rather than, what we do, its more how we are that makes the difference between being a “healer†and a practitioner (a “practicerâ€). To initiate deep changes it is important for the facilitator to be centered without thoughts and allow the client to reveal the assessment and therapy.
This is where quick assessment of the client’s condition is important.  Analysis clouds the picture and sends incongruent messages to the client.
When coming from this rapport-establishing place, our work with empty/full touches the client at the exact place that catalyzes necessary changes. A session can be viewed as a tapestry with every move weaving an essential thread that affects the whole design.
Most expansive spiritual connection                     
Lighter heart/mind
Dense physical connection/reaction
Different holistic health practitioners  in online schools get different readings with the same client based on the frequency quality they establish rapport at. A centered state of being occurs when we are vibrating with a quality that encompasses all vibrations. At this point cause and effect, time, and frequency rate disappear.
*Slowing ourselves down is somewhat misleading. In a centered state, thoughts decrease (giving our conscious awareness a sense of slowing down) while the space/time between thoughts simultaneously increases. Our sense of time decreases while our sense of space increases. Quantitatively the whole has remained constant. Qualitatively everything has changed.
“Energy Work†is as close as we may get to transcending relative time/space- duality with clients- ZEN-The TAO.
Facilitating the Empty/Full interaction is a key to this opening. Within this path lies the essence of Zen-Touchâ„¢.