Craniosacral Therapy

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Biodynamic craniosacral therapy differs from an cranial osteopathic approach ,in that the focus of sessions is not simply about mechanically fixing the body. Awareness and intention is placed on the clients' wholeness, as expressed as a combination of fluid movements and stillness. These fluid movements and central core of stillness are present in the adult and if you like form the original blue print for health. Movement to health is therefore inherent and always available, given the right space and containment.

The term 'biodynamic' comes from the work of Eric Blechshmidt in the field of embryology. Biodynamic in the cranial context, means the study of


Craniosacral Therapy is a 'hands on' therapy. During a session you will usually lie on a treatment table and experience the very light touch of the Therapist's hands. Craniosacral therapy is an extremely gentle, client led, and touch based therapy, involving no manipulation. The Therapist listens via their hands, to the gentle and deep rhythms of the body and engages in a delicate and subtle dialogue, which clients can become aware of, curious about and connected with. During this process, areas of tension can be identified and change facilitated. Clients remain fully clothed during sessions, which average around forty-fifty minutes.

Craniosacral Therapy offers clients the opportunity to be in touch with a layer of the body experience not normally accessible in every day life. Clients usually feel a profound sense of relaxation during sessions, and experience their body as a 'teacher', leading them to body areas, which have contracted as a result of past injuries or emotional knocks. With the delicate balance of reflection made during session, clients are able to begin to explore these 'held' areas and unravel the body's story, so releasing and allowing improved function on many different levels.

Craniosacral Therapy is client led your body will set the pace of work, so that you will remain comfortable and in control and since it is your body rather than your mind that sets the priorities, you may find that the reason you came for treatment is not what changes first. It can take a few sessions to get used to what you are feeling. For these reasons you may need to consider having a series of treatments to gain the full benefit of Craniosacral Therapy and it cumulative effects.

Craniosacral Therapy is becoming much better known these days. It is based on a number of findings about the body's subtle physiology, which were made by Osteopaths in the USA nearly 100 years ago.

These findings show that every cell in a healthy body expresses a rhythmic movement, which is fundamental to life - and which has been called Craniosacral motion. At the core of the body the cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes and cushions the brain and spinal cord, expresses this motion in a tide like ebb and flow; while bones, organs and other structures in the body each follow their own particular pattern of movement. This motion is so subtle that it is barely measurable with instruments, but the hand of a trained Therapist is able to perceive it.

As the implications of these findings were realised, during the first thirty years or so of this century, Craniosacral Therapy gradually developed. Since then the therapy has been refined and further developed into the subtle deep healing process, which is available today.

How Does Craniosacral Therapy Work?

In response to physical knocks or emotional stress, the body's tissues contract. Sometimes, particularly when the shock is severe or occurs within an emotional situation, the tissues stay contracted.

Any stresses strains, tensions or traumas which have been 'stores' in the body in this way will restrict the body's functioning and may give rise to problems over the years (such as back pain, migraine or digestive disorders), and emotional such as anxiety or depression.

Restrictions in the body's functioning show up in the way the Craniosacral motion is expressed. Craniosacral Therapists are trained to feel this subtle motion in the body, and can use it to identify areas where there is congestion or restriction. In this way they can identify the possible origin of a problem.

Then using the hands to reflect back to the body the pattern it is holding, the Therapist provides an opportunity for the body to let go of its restrictive pattern and return to an easier mode of functioning.

This happens at a deep, unconscious level within the body, but it occurs in the same way as we might take other, more conscious decisions. For example, if someone holds a mirror in front of you when you are frowning, you suddenly become aware of your expression and may well choose to relax you eyebrows. As well as releasing the Body's tensions, this frees the energy, which the body was previously using to hold itself in contraction. So one of the benefits of the therapy is an increase in the level of energy available.

Can Craniosacral Therapy Help Me?

Craniosacral Therapy is so gentle that it is safe and suitable for people of all ages, from babies to the elderly, and also in fragile or acutely painful conditions. It is often appropriate when other therapies may be unsafe, such as during pregnancy, after an operation, accident, fall or injury, and for young babies. As a whole body therapy, Craniosacral Therapy may aid people with almost any condition, by raising the vitality and enabling the body's own self-healing processes to be utilised.

You don't have to be ill or have any particular symptoms to benefit from Craniosacral Therapy. The alleviation of life's stresses, and the increased sense of vitality and well being that Craniosacral Therapy can bring are welcome to most of us at any time.

Clients report the benefits to be:

Emotional

• Increased energy, vitality and efficiency levels
• A sense of being in touch with present reality
• Increased ability to be able to interact from this grounded clear place and pace
• Increased self-esteem and confidence

Physical

• A deep sense of relaxation and well-being
• Improved sleep
• Pain and symptom relief.
• Increased mobility

A sense of having a body functioning as it should be having shed confining layers.

Craniosacral Therapy for Babies.

One of the joys of treating babies is that they tend to respond so well to treatment, and more quickly than adults. Many infant problems, like colic, sucking problems, breathing difficulties, restlessness and irritability, may result from Craniosacral imbalances caused during the birth process. Treatment of young infants can help to relieve such problems.

The following is a list of some of wide range of conditions, which may respond favourably to treatment.

Allergies	Hormonal imbalances
Arthritis	Hyperactivity
Asthma	Impotence
Autism	Infertility
Back pain	Insomnia
Birth trauma	Learning difficulties
Bone/joint disorders	ME
Breathing disorders	Menstrual pain
Bronchitis	Muscular aches and Sprains
Cerebral Palsy	Nervous disorders
Chronic fatigue	Post dental trauma
Colic	Rheumatism
Depression	Sciatica
Digestive problems	Sinusitis
Drug withdrawal	Spinal curvatures
Dyslexia	Stress-related conditions
Emotional problems	Stroke
Exhaustion	TMJ/Jaw disorders
Frozen shoulder	Trigeminal neuralgia
Headaches and Migraines	Visual disturbances