CLASS REVIEW
Z-Health At Austin Martial Arts Academy
by Georgia Beth Ridenhour
“While we can all have a rich inner life mentally and spiritually, we translate our ideas and thoughts into reality through the vehicle of our body. As a result, one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is a strong, healthy, coordinated and pain-free structure.” — Introduction to Z-Health handbook
 Imagine for a moment being a health care practitioner faced with the challenge of correcting an extreme hump in the upper back of one of your patients — a female, 65 years old, no less, that has been stooped over from the disfigurement for several years. Now imagine being the patient herself. Finding a practitioner and treatment that would, in a relatively short amount of time, rid you of the life-altering pain would truly be a blessing bordering on miraculous. And it was.
“I wish I had taken ‘before’ pictures — that’s all I can say,” says Dr. Cynthia Lara, D.C., of Lara Chiropractic, referring to a patient she successfully treated using a combination of chiropractic adjustments and the techniques of Z-Health, a newly introduced, holistic and scientific approach to injury rehabilitation. “Within about four weeks,” Lara continues, “there was an incredible difference [in my patient] — about a 75 percent improvement! It just blew me away! She literally had to readjust her seat and steering wheel in her car, among other things,” because she was now able to sit upright!
Lara was introduced to Z-Health by Fabian Hewitt, co-owner of Austin Martial Arts Academy (A.M.A.A.) and a newly certified Z-Health instructor, when he told her he’d “found a new movement therapy to change structure,” Lara recalls. “And physical function is based on structure,” she says.
Lara has, for obvious reasons, continued to incorporate Z-Health techniques into her health care practice, and attends Z-Health classes at A.M.A.A. — the only facility in Austin currently offering public instruction — “as often as I can, one or two times a week.”
 But you do not have to be a health care practitioner to attend the classes. And you certainly don’t have to wait until you’re suffering from an injury or condition you’d come to accept as a part of aging before applying the much-raved-about exercises and principles of Z-Health to your own wellness regime. Practicing the techniques is beneficial to everyone, of any age, regardless of physical ability or fitness level, explains Hewitt. Lara agrees: “I would definitely recommend this to everybody. And if you are an athlete, whatever you do — tennis, swimming, running or even yoga — it can change and make your body much more efficient and coordinated.”
Forty-nine-year-old Quimera Lanski says she had simply been getting “stiffer, like when I’d get out of bed in the morning,” which she believed just came with aging. After hearing about Z-Health from Hewitt, she decided to attend part of a two-day seminar held at A.M.A.A. by the creator of Z-Health, Dr. Eric Cobb. She then began attending the newly formed Z-Health classes at A.M.A.A.
“When I started doing it regularly, I noticed I could go much deeper in my yoga poses, and it wasn’t from the yoga — I had stopped going to yoga for a while but once I started back, I was going much deeper than I had before!
“And it works so quickly and so easily, without having to do it so often,” she says, “although they [Z-Health instructors] do recommend you do a little every day.”
While Z-Health has been taught publicly for only a short time — since June of 2003 — the system’s foundation is developed from seven years of research. As stated in the Introduction to Z-Health handbook, Z-Health combines the principles of several different medical and scientific fields including: kinesiology, applied anatomy and physiology, biomechanical diagnostic training, Eastern and Western sports science, martial arts movement skills, ancient and modern dance, respiratory retraining and motor learning theory.
The series of movements are actually called the Z-Health R-Phase Dynamic Joint Mobility Explorations, as there are three “R’s” involved: rehabilitation, re-education and restoration.
Rehabilitation — As our bodies age, they adopt certain physical habits, many of which are not good, such as poor posture and poor movement patterns. Z-Health exercises address every area of the body, including those areas we often use improperly, abuse or simply forget altogether!
Re-education — Once you realize the truth — that your body came with everything it needs to work properly and pain-free, you can begin to rethink those old habits and retrain your nervous system to allow your body to move effectively and efficiently.
Restoration — Restoration training is the specific “R” that serves as a vehicle for applying the principles of the first two “R’s.” Every joint is targeted in the series of movements.
Ironically, considering the amazing results seen in such a short amount of time, and the depth of research and principles applied, an observer watching students in a Z-Health class would likely perceive the exercises to be simple, almost elementary. Having taken a class myself, however, I can say they are not nearly as easy as they look.
In the class I recently attended, Hewitt began by first demonstrating, then having us mimic him, moving his neck side to side, then front to back. Once we had moved our necks in this manner for a few minutes, we were told to combine the side-to-side and front-to-back movements into a more fluid, circular pattern. It became apparent how what might have been a fluid movement had become restricted over time, perhaps as a result of our minds telling us we couldn’t move that way; or possibly due to old injuries or aging stiffness that had convinced us we’d just have to make do with the way our bodies wanted us to move.
But we forged on, moving our necks first, then our shoulders, hands and upper bodies, and eventually our feet, waking up every joint throughout our bodies, holding each one accountable. And while there was no sweating, the movements were taking place within the joints themselves, relatively noticeable but still very challenging — challenging to focus on such tiny, isolated movements, challenging to let go of that voice that kept saying, “you can’t move that way!”
I can certainly see how someone suffering from an injury would show marked improvement after a month of practicing Z-Health; I was more loose and “fluid” after a single class!
“It’s amazing just to see how someone walks differently after even one class,” says Hewitt. “Everything just really opens up.”
Hewitt suggests that anyone wanting to try Z-Health should schedule a private one-on-one session in which to focus specifically on their needs, restrictions and limitations. The student can then practice the exercises given to them at home or wherever it might be convenient, as well as attend classes to enjoy Z-Health with others.
The Austin Martial Arts Academy is located at 4615 Bee Cave Road at The Hills Fitness Center. To schedule a consultation, or to get the current Z-Health class schedule and fees, call A.M.A.A. at (512) 327-2900.
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