Zero Balancing Wellness Center

Balancing Body Mind Spirit

My goal is to support your self-healing, wellness, and highest potential.

The Zero Balancing Wellness Center (ZBWC) is the heart of Mary Murphy’s teaching and private practice.  Originally established in Wilmette in 2008, the ZBWC is now located in Glenview, IL.  The mission of the Zero Balancing Wellness Center is to provide the highest quality of skilled, conscious touch for clients to find the optimal balancing of body, mind, and spirit.

ZB Wellness & Healing Therapy

Services

A typical Zero Balancing Session is received clothed on a massage table and lasts between 45 to 60 minutes. Sessions begin with a discussion of the client’s current state of health and priorities for positive change. This creates a frame for the session in which both client and Zero Balancer share an understanding of how the client is seeking to improve the quality of his or her health and wellbeing.


Sessions include a brief seated evaluation followed by the client resting on their back for the rest of the session. The practitioner assesses the client’s body for tension held in the bones, joints and soft tissues, inviting a release of this tension through fulcrums created by using gentle finger pressure and comfortable traction, allowing an effortless rebalancing to occur.


Zero Balancing focuses primarily on key joints of our skeleton that conduct and balance forces of gravity, posture and movement. ZB utilizes a form of touch called Interface which honors clear boundaries and connects consciously with both the structure and energy of the body. The Zero Balancing protocol addresses the entire body, encouraging a felt sense of deep relaxation, supporting the ability to easily let go of stress, and strengthening bodymind integration.

During a remote, tele-health energy balancing session, we set the intention for your session by creating a frame for you based on whatever is most needed. We share a brief grounding meditation and then you either recline or sit in a comfortable position. I utilize energetic awareness and observations to guide the session. I notice physiological and energetic changes that occur in the body of my client and register what the client's energy feels like at various places in the body. I "listen" to the non-verbal communication of the body and the vibratory qualities of bones, organs, soft tissues, fluids. The energy field can be felt as a whole or specifically in various parts of the energy "anatomy", which underlies, supports and surrounds the physical body. A remote session can be very powerful, in a gentle and effective way. Each one is unique and individualized. It unfolds organically through the natural re-balancing capacity of the body's ability to heal and self-regulate. Having a support for this unfolding deepens and amplifies the experience.

Service Time Price
Welcome Visit (initial intake appointment)
1 ½ Hour
$145
Follow Up Visit
1 Hour
$125
Remote Energy Balancing appointment
1 Hour
$100

Policies:
Your appointment time is reserved for you.

Cancellation policy
A minimum of 24 hours notice is required for canceling or rescheduling an appointment, or you will be responsible for the full charge of the session. Emergency cancellations for serious medical, illness, weather delays, family emergencies are all acceptable.

Late arrivals cannot be allotted any additional time.

Informed Consent
A completed health history form is required before treatment.  Any changes or updates to your health should be communicated as they occur to provide you with the safest treatment.  I do not diagnose any condition or prescribe medications.  I will refer if I feel I am unable to address any issue. Please see your physician or other health care professional for any medical concerns.

About Mary

Mary Murphy

Therapeutic Bodywork Experience

Mary Murphy is a licensed massage therapist, Zero Balancing practitioner and faculty member, and CranioSacral therapist who has been studying touch therapies since 1981.  Originally trained in infant massage, and various forms of energy healing such as MariEL, and Therapeutic Touch, Mary graduated from the Chicago School of Massage Therapy in 1990.  She began her study of Zero Balancing in 1993 and joined the Zero Balancing Health Association in 2004.  She founded the Zero Balancing Wellness Center in Wilmette, IL in 2008, and now holds a private practice in Glenview, IL.

Mary teaches ZB Core and advanced classes for the Zero Balancing Health Association.  If you are interested in facilitating a class locally or nationally, please contact Mary for her availability. You can also find information on Zero Balancing classes at www.zerobalancing.com.  Additional information on Zero Balancing worldwide can be found through the Zero Balancing Touch Foundation at www.zbtouch.org .

My practice philosophy:

Having studied healing for over 40 years, it is my belief that transformative touch is an essential element for self-healing, and personal evolution.  My own path in the healing arts began with the realization we do not stop at our skin. I came to cherish the transcendent mystery of the relationship between our physical bodies and the energy that animates us and enfolds us in the larger, interconnected field of all beings. Receiving wonderful therapeutic touch changed my life and gave me the courage to be myself and to aspire to live a spirit-driven life.  I believe human beings have the inherent capacity to self-regulate, heal, and evolve throughout life. It is my honor to support that process with my hands, heart, and soul.

My mission is to be a strong advocate for the role that skilled, conscious touch plays in human health and flourishing.  I do this through research, writing and community service along with my individual work with clients and students.  My work is a contemplative practice of holding space for others to self-heal, grow and thrive.  If you are interested in connecting, please contact me at zbinfo@zbwellness.com or by leaving a message at 847-920-9292.

 

More Details:

Education

Georgetown University, BA

Naropa University, MA Contemplative Education

Professional Development:

Massage Therapy Certification

International Academy of NeuroMuscular Therapy Certification

CranioSacral Therapy Diplomate Certification

Zero Balancing Certification

Zero Balancing Teacher Training Certification

Additional training in neurological, visceral, and energetic bodywork therapies 


Professional Experience
Owner Zero Balancing Wellness Center 2008-present

Research Consultant Zero Balancing Touch Foundation 2015-present

Editorial Board Zero Balancing Touch Foundation Journal of Transformative Touch 2019 -present

Zero Balancing Touch Foundation Board of Directors Member 2013-2020

Zero Balancing Health Association (N. America) Board of Directors 2005-2013

Zero Balancing Health Association Faculty Member 2004-present

Adjunct Faculty Soma Institute of Clinical Massage Therapy 2001-2008

Zero Balancing and CranioSacral Therapist, Pathways Center for Children 1999-2002

Director of Therapeutic Bodywork, Advocate Medical Group’s Center for Complementary Medicine, 1998-2008

Staff Therapist, Center for Muscle Therapy, 1991-1993

American Massage Therapy Association Member 1990-present


Teaching Experience

Zero Balancing Health Association, 2004-present

Upledger Institute Certified Presenter 1999-2007

Soma Institute for Clinical Massage Therapy 2000-2008


Classes Taught 
All classes are 4-day unless otherwise noted)

Introduction to Zero Balancing (1 day)

Zero Balancing 1

Zero Balancing 2

Alchemy of Touch

Zero Balancing - Geometry of Healing: Advanced Palpation Skills

Freely Moveable Joints

Zero Balancing Expanded: Addressing the Viscera

Zero Balancing Expanded: Addressing the Skull

Fabulous Fulcrums (2-day)

Advancing Skills Days (1-day class for any of the above 4-day classes to revisit and renew class skills)

 

Research Consultant

Zero Balancing Touch Foundation, 2015-present

Beta testing, exploratory studies, and pilot studies on the effects of Zero Balancing. Participation in research design, written dissemination of findings, oral presentations on findings indicating participants experienced greater perceived feelings of decreased stress, and increases in wellness, positivity of self and relational ease with others, mental clarity, and harmony.

Research in Progress

Rhoads, M., & Murphy, M. (2022). Exploring the Feasibility of a Body-Mind Therapy (ZB) in Reducing Anxiety IRB # 21-136

Rhoads, M. & Murphy, M. Investigating the Effects of ZB on the Dimensions of Health. [White paper]. Zero Balancing Touch Foundation. March 2022

Rhoads, M., Murphy, M., Doucette, M., Gentile, T., Watson, J., & Rhoads, D. Investigating the Effects of Zero Balancing on the Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Dimensions of Wellness: A Phenomenological Mixed Methods Pilot Study. International Journal of Zero Balancing and Transformative Touch. Spring 2021

Murphy, M. (2019) Cultivating Embodied Connection: The role of contemplative practices in bodywork education. (unpublished Master Thesis) Naropa University. May 2019.

Murphy, M. (2013) Bone Deep Energy. Natural Awakening Magazine. October 2013.

Murphy, M. (2003) Integration and Balance: Using Zero Balancing to Enhance Bodymind Stability. International Alliance of HealthCare Educators publication.

Contributor to a Publication

McCormick, J. (2021). Zero Balancing: Conscious Touch and Transformation. (Chapter 5: Research on Zero Balancing). Handspring Publishing.

Sullivan, J. (2014). Zero Balancing Expanded: The attitude of awaiting a fish. (Chapter 5: Cranial Cavity). Palm Beach Gardens, FL: Upledger Productions.

Testimonials

Dr. Fritz Smith, MD,
Founder and Developer
of Zero Balancing and Mary
Mary Murphy is one of our star Zero Balancing practitioners and teachers.  I fully endorse her in every respect.”
Fritz Smith MD, founder of Zero Balancing.

© 2023 ZB Wellness

  • Phone: 847-920-9292
  • Address: Glenview, IL