CranioSacral Therapy:
A path to deeper Healing
Pronounced Cray-Neo-Sake-Rull
What is Craniosacral Therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) utilizes a light, gentle touch to help release restrtictive patterns like pain and imbalances that occur from the imprint of physical, psychological, and emotional stress on the body. It is a hands-on, non invasive style of bodywork that focuses on the wave-like pulse from your Craniosacral System.Your Craniosacral System is composed within the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and includes the membranes that surround the brain, the spinal cord, as well as the attached bones; like the cranium, pelvis, neck, thoracic rib cage, vertebral column etc.
Although Craniosacral Therapy is a branch of Osteopathy, it has a natural and nurturing approach to working WITH the body. I emphasize “with” because when you work with an experienced and well trained practioner, they are letting your body’s Inner Wisdom guide the way. When i’m working with clients, I will feel for restrictions in the Craniosacral Rhythm, the ebb and flow of your CSF, and utilize specific techniques to gently manipulate the tissues and bone structures, opening up pathways for these restrictions to be released in a organic and somatic way, making it deeply restorative for the Nervous System.
To sum it up for you, Craniosacral Therapy techniques promote deep relaxation and helps to regulate the nervous system, thus allowing your body’s innate healing process to self-correct.
A quote
from
Dr. Upledger
“Somewhere inside of you is the answer to every question that can be asked about you. That is your Inner Wisdom.”
The Inner Wisdom
I get asked a lot if Craniosacral Therapy is like Reiki or energy work. My answer is always “No, I’m working on the physical tissues of the body, but there is definitely an energetic component to this work” Most forms of bodywork have a natural transference of energy, because we are energetic beings. I like to describe CST as if it’s 5 grams of pressure blended with a pound of intention. This type of therapeutic touch can have profound physical shifts that have been well documented in research as it allows the client to access a deeply restorative part of the parasympathetic nervous system.
We can feel things we can’t always explain, but the body always knows. The shivers down your spine when something feels “off” or the warm comforting sensations when you’re around a friend who feels safe, that’s your body speaking to you through it’s own language. There is a part of every person that has a deep knowing. It’s more than intuition, or maybe it is intuition itself, but it’s a natural intelligence that lives in the body, that knows exactly what it needs to heal.
I call this the Inner Wisdom.
This Inner Wisdom is your inner healer that carries an intrinsic ability to see beyond what we cannot see with our eyes. It’s truth, it’s balance, and it’s ancient. Attuning ourselves to learn the language of our inner wisdom is some of the most powerful healing we can give ourselves. It requires a deep listening that isn’t spoken in words, but felt experiences. I talk of the Inner Wisdom because it is of most importance for myself, bodyworkers, and for you readers to understand that this is the foundational piece to Craniosacral therapy (or really any type of healing modality). When I perform CST, i’m turning into this part of you, listening with great depth and patience as it guides my hands where it wants me. Naturally, there is energy that is conducted from my hands and the Inner Wisdom knows exactly how to use it.
I would never call myself a healer, and if you’re working with a practioner that calls themselves that…I would stay far away. You are your own healer because your Inner Wisdom and your body knows what it needs to heal. Sometimes we just need the right conditions, and a somatic touch with an intuitive listener to help us remember the language of our body.
What are the benefits of Craniosacral Therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy has wide range of benefits that overall helps restore interconnectedness of all of our parts - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. It can relieve compressions in the neck, head, and back, helping to release both physical and emotional tension and stress, soothing pain and restoring cranial and back mobility. This can have a wonderful effects like mental clarity, enhanced mood by releasing endorphins, groundedness, increased blood circulation, improved sleep quality, repaired immune function, and enhanced tissue regeneration; the list goes on! Clients of any age from infancy to adulthood can receive CST because of its gentle approach, and has been known to be very supportive during pregnancy.
Craniosacral Therapy has profound effects on our Nervous System and has been documented in research on how the brain and central nervous system responds to these techniques. I’m not one to explain the specific biochemical breakdown of what’s happening, but if that’s your jam click the link at the bottom of this section to check out the documented research! What I can tell you, is that our Nervous System is responsible for almost all of our functions and systems of the body like our blood circulation, our digestive functions, our breath and respiratory system, liver and gall bladder bile production, our thyroid and hormone production, sensory input through our skin and eyes, and especially our cognitive functions and brain processing. So, because we can receive input through our skin from touch, this means that our skin is like an extension of our Nervous System, therefore when you or someone is touching your skin, they have a direct connecting to your Nervous System. It’s all connected!
What I’ve found with clients over the years is that they drop into a very deep state of relaxation or Delta / Theta brain wave state with sensations of floating or being held in the womb. Delta brain wave state is a process of the brain in which the unconscious is opened, it’s a part of sleep before REM where brain activity is very slow and we can receive physical and emotional healing. Theta brain wave state is light sleep with deep relaxation, as if you were in an hour long meditation. This state awakens our intuition and emotional processing and can have heightened effects of creativity and insight. This is important to know because when we access these states of frequency in our body while receiving touch like CST, it can bring us meaningful healing and significant moments in our healing journey. Naturally, because of these emotional and spiritual affinities with Craniosacral Therapy, many have been reported a sense of groundedness, peace with oneself, an opened heart, and supported overall well being.
CST has also been known to help with:
Headaches / Migraines
TMJ
Fatigue
Insomnia
Mild - Chronic neck & back pain
Nerve pain
Vertigo
Stress
Pregnancy / Fertility
Anxiety
Depression
PTSD
Musculoskeletal pain
Digestive imbalances
Hormonal imbalances
Autoimmune disorders
Addictions
Central Nervous System Disorders
Nervous System Dysregulation
Spinal Cord Injuries or Concussions
Imbalanced Immune function
Brain fog or mental dysregulations
I studied and trained with the Upledger Institute, the founders of Craniosacral Therapy, and they have a large vault of research for utilizing Craniosacral Therapy on various conditions. You can read them here!
Who cannot receive Craniosacral Therapy?
There are very few Contraindications with receiving Craniosacral Therapy, but it’s important to note because of the nature of fluid pressure changes within the spinal and intracranial structures. My suggestion is if you have any of these conditions, ask your Doctor for approval before receiving any Craniosacral Therapy.
Please avoid Craniosacral Therapy within 12 weeks if you have any of these conditions:
Acute Stroke
Cerebral Aneurysm
Recent concussion or skull fracture
Herniated Medulla
Cerebrospinal fluid leak or recent epidural
Unshunted swelling of the brain.
The History of Craniosacral Therapy
in the 1800’s during the Civil War, a Doctor of Osteopathy named Dr Sutherland started experimenting with therapeutic techniques to help correct abnormal cranial and spinal bone motion. Dr Sutherland realized that if one part of the body is involved in an injury, the whole body is affected. He pursued a passion within cranial structure and continued more experiments on himself with leather helmets he wore designed to create compressions on his brain to start to understand symptoms and their specific affinities on the bone structures. Along his successful career, he developed the field of Cranial Osteopathy and stated the Cranial Academy that still continues today. His biggest note ws that the sutures in the cranial bones are not fused together, but they are designed for motion, which was a huge innovative discovery of that time while many surgeons and doctors before him thought the skull was completely fused together.
In the mid 1960’s and 70’s along came Dr. John Upledger who found a peculiar interest in Dr Sutherland’s work. He attended the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University and practice integrative Osteopathy with Acupuncture. While Dr. Upledger was assisting performing a spinal surgery, he discovered the interesting rhythms of the dural tube, which is the tissue that surrounds and protects your spinal cord. He noticed these rhythms were not the same rate as the pulse or the respiratory rate, but it was its own pattern. This was the discovery of the Craniosacral System and the beginning of his Craniosacral Therapy journey. His curiosity and humility, while also being incredibly intelligent is what allowed this discovery to be recognized by researchers, doctors, surgeons, and bodyworkers. He spent many years developing techniques, understanding the importantance of a neutral therapeutic presence, and honring the client’s Inner Wisdom and has gone on to help thousands of people with all sorts of conditions. Dr Upeldger created the Upledger Institute where he continued to learn, teach, and share this profound work with others and he died at 80 years old in October 2012, but his groundbreaking work continues on.
Words from a wise bodyworker
“May our hands be the doorway to someone else’s emotional freedom”
What you can expect during and after your Craniosacral Therapy session.
Arrive with intentions, not expectations and be open-minded. Every single session is different. and dependent on what you and your Inner Wisdom need most from the session that day.
My Craniosacral Therapy sessions are 60-75 minutes long, and my CranioFacial session is 2 hours long and blends facial massage with CST- a beautiful combination!
It is gentle, nourishing and does not require you to remove your clothes, however I do recommend you wear loose clothing and avoid jeans and restrictive materials.
You. may feel sensations like heat, cold, pulsing, tingling, and a deep sense of relaxation.
You may notice emotional releases during the session like tears or memories that arise. Your emotions are welcomed here and encouraged to be felt. I may utilize a technique called Somatic Emotional Release to assist you to let go of held or stuck emotions in the tissues. “The issues are in the tissues”.
You will feel safe, present, and grounded in your own body after your session.
It may take up to 1-3 days to feel the benefits of the session as the body continues to harmonize and heal while you sleep. Every body is unique and heals at their own pace, however most people feel amazing after!
I recommend not making any big plans after a session as you may want the space to continue processing and allow your body to fully integrate.
3-6 sessions are recommended to start with, however for chronic conditions, more sessions may be recommended, but as always- listen to your body, it knows best!
Where can I experience Craniosacral Therapy?
If you are not in my area, you can find trained practitioners all over the world at this link here.
