Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, noninvasive, yet effective type of bodywork. Seldom does the therapist use more than five grams of pressure (the weight of a nickel).
The Craniosacral System
The craniosacral system consists of the membranes and fluid that surround and support the brain and spinal cord. It extends from the bones of the head (cranium) down to the bones at the base of the spine (sacrum). The fluid within the membranes is continuously draining and refilling.
The filling and draining creates gentle, rhythmic, expanding and contracting movements that can be felt anywhere in the body by the trained therapist. These movements are the craniosacral rhythm. They occur at a rate of about six to twelve complete cycles per minute.
The therapist gains valuable information about where the body would most benefit from change by monitoring the craniosacral rhythm. The source of pain isn't always obvious.
Benefits For All Ages
CST is helpful for people of all ages. It has successfully been used to treat such diverse conditions as headaches, TMJ dysfunction, chronic middle ear infections, vertigo, depression, back pain, joint immobility, neck pain, sinus congestion, migraines, learning disabilities, the effects of childhood trauma and negative touch.
In infants, it is used to treat colic, sleep disorders, feeding problems, breathing or digestive difficulties, various congenital, neurological and genetic problems, plus the effects of forceps, vacuum extractor or cesarean delivery.
A Typical Session
You rest fully-clothed on a massage table while the therapist monitors your craniosacral rhythm with her hands. She conducts other gentle assessments and corrects the sources of pain and dysfunction using gentle manipulative techniques. This sets the stage for your body to most efficiently use its own power to heal. Because the body exerts considerable energy to adapt to its restrictions, most people find the sessions to be deeply relaxing.
Somato-Emotional Release
We store our life experiences in our bodies. Because the CST techniques are gentle, but powerful, the effects go deep without stimulating the body's defenses. They can easily unlock the residue of trauma stored in the tissues. This unlocking and facilitated resolution process is called Somato-Emotional Release. It is an integral part of CST.
Somato-Emotional Release uses dialoging and therapeutic imagery along with other verbal, energetic and physical support techniques to initiate change. These techniques promote the discovery and gentle release of the restrictions that contribute to pain and dysfunction.
Emotions rise to the surface, but emotional release is not necessarily a painful, cathartic event. It can be a friendly negotiation between you and your various parts. When we cling to our once-helpful coping mechanisms after they cease to be useful, they reemerge as sources of pain and loss of function. The therapist is the facilitator and mediator as she helps guide you toward resolution.
After receiving this process-oriented type of bodywork, people report greater clarity, peacefulness and insight along with positive change in their physical symptoms.
© 1998-2010
