WHAT IS CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY?
CranioSacral Therapy is a very gentle, hands on manipulation that allows the therapist to access the core nervous system in an unobtrusive manner. Inside the lining of the head is a membrane system, called the dural membrane system, which also extends downward into the lining of the spinal cord and connects to the sacrum. Hence the name cranial for cranium and sacrum for sacrum. Inside the lining of this membrane system, which is only about as thick as a newspaper on end, flows the cerebral spinal fluid or csf. The motion of this fluid is able to be felt anywhere on the body. As I palpate, or listen to your CranioSacral rhythm, I am able to tell where there are restrictions, or areas that are less mobile, and where the body is more mobile and less restricted. As I listen at specific points on the body, I am drawn to areas that would like to be released, or made less restricted or more mobile. I then use specific techniques which release restrictions and help bring the body into greater balance. The result is greater relaxation, more balance in mind and body, and a restoration to greater health and well being.
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) has a wide range of applications to the treatment of the ‘whole person.’ Based on the original precepts of Osteopathy founded by A.T. Still over a century ago, this innovative branch of mind body medicine calls upon the inner intelligence of the body to self regulate and heal itself.
How can CranioSacral Therapy help me? That depends to some extent on what your body has to say. What I mean by that is depending on your medical, emotional, and physical history, CranioSacral Therapy may be more useful for some applications than others. I’ve found that for headaches, digestive disorders, tmj, head trauma, car and horse accidents, post operative recovery and physical insults to the body, to name a few, CranioSacral therapy can be quite effective. It can also be effective in addressing traumas that have an emotional component, and that this can be addressed, if necessary, in a very safe way.
In the most general sense, CranioSacral therapy works for balance, and to restore harmony to the body at the level of the core nervous system. Because CranioSacral therapy works by directly accessing the central nervous system, we allow the body to most effectively use its inner intelligence to repair, re-regulate and reharmonize old traumas and insults that we have experienced in life, whether they are recent or very old. It may help you to completely release something that has never ‘gone away’, make you more comfortable or function better for a condition that is chronic or irreversible, or just simply allow you to feel more relaxed and in touch with your body.
Interview with former NFL player Ricky Williams on CranoSacral Therapy
For more information, watch the video below!
