It all started when a dear friend Mary Lea Burden invited me to be her guest at the annual AAUW luncheon at Beacon Hill Country Club. Of course, I couldn’t resist taking chances on some of their magnificent gift baskets, with funds going towards scholarships for young women to attend college. Then I was fortunate to win a lovely basket that included many things, but most of all, a $150 gift certificate for a massage at Balance Massage and Somatic, 1715 Union Avenue, in Hazlet.
And therein lies this story.
Amelia is the owner, sole operator, masseuse, and charming talented lady who has faced some pretty heavy struggles in her own life, but has overcome them all with determination, confidence, and belief in herself.
Raised in the Amazon jungles of Ecuador, as a child she learned massaging and other healing practices from both her grandmothers, one a native of the South American country, the other from Egypt., both healers in their village. It is because of that upbringing that Amelia knew she had a distinct talent and had a special connection to nature and the earth itself. It encouraged her to travel, meet healers and shamans and become more attuned to how she could help others.
Her travels brought Amelia to the United States where she married, had a child, then faced the upheavals of a bitter separation, divorce, loss of home and a new home in a women’s shelter where she cared for her young daughter and tried to bring new light to her life.
Uneducated in the English language, she learned it on her own, begged the leaders of a trial program in Monmouth County to let her attend a class for masseuses, even though she would have to catch up a semester. But she did it, earned her certification and the necessary license to become a masseuse in New Jersey then worked for a family-owned salon for ten years.
When the owners retired from the business, Amelia felt it was time for her to start her own, and the result is a second floor, serene, restful, unique two room piece of healing, relaxation, and inner power.
The massage itself is wonderful. Unlike most masseuses, Amelia works on mind, body and spirit in her hour-long service. She works at improving circulation, introducing ways to bring fresh oxygen into muscles and joints and easing tension. To do all this, she uses more than aromatic oils, soft music, dimmed lights and a comfortable and a perfectly heated massage table. She also uses Swedish therapy, hot crystals, cupping and stone, which she said, pulls poisons and bad tissues from the body.
Her aim is not only to relax her customer, but also to rejuvenate and recharge them for the future. Her massages, she explains, are geared to inducing deep relaxation, something that will promote better sleep later on, thanks to the improved blood flow and lack of muscle tenderness. She accents attention on the tender, sore, or tense parts of the body to achieve results. And she does it with perfection.
But that’s only the Massage Room at this second-floor peaceful place. Her other room is devoted to Shamanic healing practice that includes spirit healing, drumming, chanting, and holistic healing.
Amelia’s beliefs focus on balance, shapes, colors, light, and the earth, how they all blend, how they all relate to each other, and how everyone who understands this can become a vital part of the world, albeit their own small world.
In this practice, Amelia blends the rituals and common sense of ancient wisdom with modern science to be able to connect with universal energies. For those fascinated by the subject, the connection of past to future, this wise and talented self-made woman will give you a brief history of Biogeometry, a science that combines the wisdom of ancient Egypt with the energy of the environment and technology.
Called Biogeometry by Dr. Ibrahim Karim, an architect and scientist, biogeometry reflects the holistic essence of a science that uses shapes, colors, motion and sound to induce harmony. Karim’s theory is based on energy quality found in the centers of various sciences that work together to produce a new quality that uses both science and spirituality to produce harmony. Amelia has decorated the room with the various signs and symbols of the different energies and parts of the anatomy, and uses a hammock for sessiona, the only force, she says, that moves the body just as the earth itself moves in its orbit.
That it all works is cited and praised by her customers, Amelia explains, confident herself that she understands the challenges people face, both spiritual and physical and sees a difference in them between when they enter and when they leave after their energy healing procedures.
“Life can be challenging at times,” Amelia concedes, “and both men nd women should realize they have an obligation to face and work on these challenges.” Having a bit of spiritual help, a lot of relaxing massaging, and a perfect blend of both in a session concentrating on yourself helps make it all easier and more successful.
To learn more about Balance Massage & Somatic therapy, visit Amelias’ webpage or call for an appointment at 732-791-8222.
It’s an experience you won’t forget and will leave you refreshed, relaxed, energized, and healed.
