Deep Massage Society

05/18/2026

Years ago, I was lucky to be included in an unusual group of people which sometimes included Humberto Maturana, the Chilean nurobiologist. I had to stretch to understand what he was saying and, to this day, I still do. Today I was excited to see his work mentioned by Maria Popova. His work and many others point us to the centrality of LOVE in life. Let's stretch our minds and hearts with this knowing. Find our way back to love again and again.

Once, in an extreme of despair, I posed to my therapist a version of the haunting thought experiment Mary’s Room: How, I asked her, can a person who has never been modeled healthy, secure, st…

05/11/2026

Today is the birthday of Dr. Fritz Smith, one of the greatest teachers in the history of massage and bodywork and a wonderful, kind human being.

I loved studying with him for 35 years. I encourage you to read his biography. It is the only biography of anyone in the history of bodywork - and a well-deserved tribute.

https://shop.iahe.com/Product-List/New-Releases/Life-in-the-Bones?fbclid=IwY2xjawRvP6pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEefRt-3fzAShzKIH9GVmU7NYNRZt9o-t_2Nw-9UYVB7wnZlJc7gp13l6WxELs_aem_tGhMBfLD7ZULw2uTaUUmaQ

05/02/2026

Reminder and info -
Tomorrow's special afternoon - is FREE!
It is open to people who've had at least ZB I.
It's at The Lauterstein-Conway Massage School from 1-5.
Come celebrate and share what it is so wonderful about our bodies, minds, hearts and ZB!

05/02/2026

05/02/2026

"...Who only by moving can balance,
Only by balancing move."

dedicated to Zero Balancing and our every move -

MACHINES

Dearest, note how these two are alike:
This harpsicord pavane by Purcell
And the racer's twelve-speed bike.

The machinery of grace is always simple.
This chrome trapezoid, one wheel connected
To another of concentric gears,
Which Ptolemy dreamt of and Schwinn perfected,
Is gone. The cyclist, not the cycle, steers.
And in the playing, Purcell's chords are played away.

So this talk, or touch if I were there,
Should work its effortless gadgetry of love,
Like Dante's heaven, and melt into the air.

If it doesn't, of course, I've fallen. So much is chance,
So much agility, desire, and feverish care,
As bicyclists and harpsicordists prove

Who only by moving can balance,
Only by balancing move.


- written by Michael Donaghy

04/27/2026

SIMONE WEIL, PHILOSOPHER AND SPIRITUAL ACTIVIST

INSIGHTS FOR POETS AND BODYWORKERS

"Two forces rule the universe: light and gravity."

"There is only one fault: the incapacity to feed upon light."

"To come down by a movement in which gravity plays no part...
...Gravity makes things come down, wings make them rise: what wings raised to the second power can make things come down without weight?"

note from DL:
Doing ZB with someone last week, she said something I think is quite beautiful (if you know ZB it makes even more sense): She said as she stood after the session - "I feel more weighty without feeling heavy."

04/27/2026

We are approaching on May 11 what would have been the 97th birthday of Dr. Fritz Smith, the founder of Zero Balancing, who passed away days before his 95th. His favorite song was "The Land is Your Land." That song was written by Woody Guthrie in protest to Kate Smith's blaring version of "God Bless America."

Fritz was a peaceful man and taught with the enthusiasm of someone who exuded hope, curiosity, insight, and enthusiasm for universal healing. May we resonate within us the melody, words and deepest meanings of this land - your land is the body, the mind, the forests, the wheat fields waving, the animals, mountains, rivers, seas, the endless skyway and the freedom highway.

83K likes, 11K comments. "Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land"

04/22/2026

ALL ZB STUDENTS - SUNDAY, MAY 3rd ZB GATHERING!

Whether you've had just one course years ago, are a recent student, are certified or in the process, we are having a special afternoon program on Sunday, May 3rd at the Lauterstein-Conway School in Austin from 1-5pm. We will be checking in, trading, and I'll be sharing new ways to work with all the ribs.

People suffer from "frozen ribcage" more than frozen shoulder!

We will learn how to address each rib simultaneously from in front and in back. In this way, we will affect the back and front torso muscles, the meridians flowing here, and through enlivening the ribs themselves, liberate the movement and energy of the heart, lungs, etc. The ribs also act as levers that help free and align the vertebrae themselves.

So there is no end to the benefit of our practicing this work!

I look forward to seeing you all there!!

The ribs take their long and winding roads around our hearts and lungs. In 24 ways, they embrace the history of our loves, our griefs, joys, our furies and so much more. The history of the human heart is the emotional history of each one and every one of us.