Zero Balancing in Charlottesville, Va.
Tammy Mundy, LMT
Certified Zero Balancer
When we release the tension in the body and align ourselves with gravity, we take a new stand in life. This allows us to be at ease with ourselves and in harmony in our relationship to others and to our planet. — Joseph Heller
About Zero Balancing
Zero Balancing (ZB) combines the best of Eastern understandings of energetic health and healing with the best of Western scientific knowledge of the musculoskeletal system. It is a gentle, yet extremely effective, mind-body therapy that uses a skilled, precise touch to facilitate total well-being.
The primary physical focus of a ZB session is relieving skeletal tension around key joints of the body that are responsible for conducting forces of gravity and kinetic energy as we move and live in the world. These are the areas where clients often report pain and/or “knots” because of held tension that inhibits movement and blocks energy flow — neck & head, along the spine, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, and feet. Many of the areas we work with also correspond to acupressure points that when stimulated relieve tension and open up the body’s natural energy pathways. The therapist engages and balances the deepest currents of energetic and structural tension in the entire musculoskeletal system, encouraging relaxation and alignment.
On an emotional and mental level, ZB helps the nervous system regulate and calm, helping to relieve anxiety and stress. As both the body and mind relax and balance, clients often report greater clarity regarding difficult life situations. They are able to cope better with stress and make better decisions for their lives.
What happens in a Zero Balancing session?
ZB can be a full body stand-alone session, or I often use it as a base when integrating other therapies, as it has a profound balancing effect that makes any other treatments more effective. Depending on your goals and needs, I may integrate other osteopathic & orthopedic myofascial techniques, craniosacral therapy, abdominal therapy, or lymphatic drainage. Client usually remains fully clothed unless we are integrating with other therapies that require lotion/oil.
I will begin by taking a detailed health history and speaking with you about your goals for your session. I will then do some evaluations of your posture and note where I need to focus the work. As you lie on my very comfortable massage table, fully clothed, I will gently align your entire body with held stretches and fulcrums (finger pressure that creates a point around which the body can relax and reorganize), meanwhile inviting any blockages of held energy in the muscles and soft tissues to melt. You will receive a full body treatment, with extra focus on any areas that may need it. The work is deeply relaxing, gently aligning, and very restorative. I also often integrate extra massage and craniosacral therapy when they are indicated. Each session is customized according to your needs.
A Zero Balancing session usually results in improved postural alignment, reduced pain, deep relaxation, easier more fluid movement, and a wonderful feeling of inner harmony and organization.
I typically integrate Craniosacral Therapy into Zero Balancing sessions.
Six Benefits of Zero Balancing:
- Improves breathing and joint mobility
- Promotes postural alignment, optimal flow of energy and inner harmony
- Addresses musculoskeletal pain and biomechanical imbalances
- Helps reduce stress-related symptoms and release tissue-held memory
- Provides support and stability through transformational processes, such as a move, a job change, a new relationship or a loss
- Deepens the body’s experience of feeling relaxed, stable and whole
The founder of Zero Balancing, Dr. Fritz Smith, is an osteopathic medical doctor and acupuncturist, hence the blending of East/West modalities. Listen as he explains what Zero Balancing is all about.