CranioSacral Therapy

What is CranioSacral Therapy?

CranioSacral Therapy works by helping the body’s natural healing mechanisms dissipate the negative effects of stress on the central nervous system. This is accomplished through utilizing a physiological body system called the craniosacral system, which maintains the environment in which the central nervous system functions. It consists of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord, extending from the bones of the skull, face and mouth (which make up the cranium) down to the base of the spine, the sacrum. The role of this system in the development and performance of the brain and spinal cord is so vital that an imbalance or dysfunction in it can cause sensory, motor and/or neurological disabilities.

By complementing the body’s natural healing process, Craniosacral therapy is an excellent way to take preventive health measure for its ability to bolster the immune system, decompress the nervous system, and is effective for a wide range of physical symptoms associated with pain and dysfunction. Craniosacral has particularly beneficial results for migraines, TMJD, stress, neck and back pain and sciatica.

While craniosacral work focuses on facilitating the cranial wave flow more freely through the head, spine and pelvis, it is not limited to those areas. Craniosacral therapy is also used to work with painful or restricted conditions anywhere in the body. Craniosacral work helps the client access their own clarity and insight, and hence it is used not only to relieve pain, but also to help empower the client to deal successfully with many various life situations.

In unraveling chronic (and acute) health imbalances, often complex layers of injury and trauma mask the original cause of the problem, as well as the body’s learned defense mechanisms. A craniosacral session can help achieve this by reorienting to your primary health, available beneath the current imbalance. A relationship with a therapist you can trust and feel safe with is imperative as you enter these territories. Change is possible on a deep level when the right therapeutic environment is in place.

CranioSacral Therapy is a journey into being. The purpose of this journey is to access the health within, dissipate restrictions and stress and restore vitality. Along the way we listen for your body’s intellect and wisdom and connect to the deepest layer, your soul.

CranioSacral Therapy is unique in that it encompasses the three keys to healing simultaneously and fluidly. Mind, body, spirit; the whole being is attended to within this healing modality. Some folks are more attuned to or comfortable with their mind, some to body and some to spirit. Sessions with Stephanie provide an opportunity to relate to and better understand the aspects of the self which are suppressed. Inviting the full vitality and life force of the whole to come forward provides an ability to function at a greater capacity. While allowing the full expression, mind/body/spirit to merge and grow, true health becomes possible.

A practitioners job is to help someone be in their radiance, not to simply let go of a symptom. It is my intention to help create an open heart, a clear head and a free body.

We use all our senses to feel the innate movement of the central nervous system. We blend and listen as the cranial rhythm guides us to tissue restrictions. Then by way of gentle techniques and good intention, we invite the body to change.

CranioSacral Benefits are many. While you never need a physical “problem” to initiate a session, CranioSacral therapy offers relief from chronic pain, migraine headaches, stress, depression, anxiety and the effects of trauma on the nervous system.

“The honoring of stillness is a spiritual practice to me, so meditation is my preparation for Visionary work. Rumi said, ‘There is a way between speech and presence where information flows. In disciplined silence, it opens. In wandering talk, it closes.’ When I get silent, the channel opens. On a good day I’m picking up information with my inner ear. I’m sensing the client’s soul journey with my own heart and soul. And I’m doing my best through tactile and verbal means to help my client regain their inner path.”

—Hugh Milne, Visionary Craniosacral teacher

The body:

It’s a Rhythm Thing! When your body has lost it’s way with it’s natural rhythm, it is out of tune and harmony with it’s environment. Craniosacral therapy accesses the body’s many layers and intricacies. Using educated hands to sense and adjust tensions of fascia, viscera and subtle pressures of fluids, revitalizing organs and restoring underlying rhythms toward their inherent balanced state.

CranioSacral Therapy works by helping the body’s natural healing mechanisms dissipate the negative effects of stress and trauma on the central nervous system.

There are 26 bones in the head and they are all in slight rhythmic motion along with the central nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid, membranes, and sacrum. These bones fit together like gears and are dependent on and influenced by each other.

The joints (or “sutures”)  in the head are comprised of connective tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. These sutures are like any other joint in the body and are designed for motion.

By complementing the body’s natural healing processes, Craniosacral therapy is an excellent way to take preventive health measure for its ability to bolster the immune system, decompress the nervous system, and is effective for a wide range of physical symptoms associated with pain and dysfunction.

While craniosacral work focuses on facilitating the cranial wave flow more freely through the head, spine and pelvis, it is not limited to those areas. Craniosacral therapy is also used to work with painful or restricted conditions anywhere in the body. Craniosacral work helps the client access their own clarity and insight, and hence it is used not only to relieve pain, but also to help empower the client to deal successfully with many various life situations.

The Mind:

Restoring balance to the physical and emotional body requires consciousness.

At the core, we are all innately whole, healthy and vital beings. Our subconscious beliefs and thoughts influence our health and the quality of our lives. Beliefs that do not serve us lead to ill health, emotional pain, relationship difficulty, spiritual disconnection, strife, and lack of prosperity. Beliefs are thoughts that we think over and over. This work allows you to bring your subconscious beliefs into focus in your conscious mind, where you can then choose to permanently change and replace them with new beliefs, which will allow and support your health.

One of the purest descriptions I have heard about craniosacral therapy came from a student who, upon finding her own craniosacral rythym said in awe, “it’s like finding my own ocean inside of me”. This ocean has tides, and currents and life within it.

We are all born with an essence that holds the key to our health and vitality. This essence flows in the system beneath all the emotional and structural imprints, beneath the trauma and beneath the stories. In a craniosacral session that essence is contacted and the space is held for it to grow and move into the areas that can benefit from it’s vitality and health.

The Spirit:

Craniosacral therapy is a place to connect with your soul and respond a sacred way. Each session is a gently facilitated inner journey. Your process is honored, deeply respected and heard. Personalities disappear, egos step aside and we unite in the great mystery. I believe that by becoming present with your deepest heart, your soul can remember itself and fill you with a new vitality. This creates fertile ground for healing. While your central nervous system does its job of “dropping off stress”, and your spine is bathed in it’s own healing ocean of craniosacral fluid, you are reconnected to your divine state of being. Staying “awake” to this part of ourselves in everyday life becomes our goal.

CranioSacral Therapy is a journey into the body where we listen to its soul story, it’s intellect and wisdom, and bring back the messages from our deepest self to integrate and heal on a physical and emotional level.

What conditions can CranioSacral Therapy help?

I believe fully in the importance of craniosacral therapy and it’s ability to bring balance to illness, dis-ease and disorder. You do not need to have physical pain or dis-ease to benefit from this therapy. Deepening your relationship with your mind/body/spirit from a place of health is a profound experience and commitment to health of the whole self.

Because of its influence on the functioning of the central nervous system, Craniosacral Therapy can benefit the body in a number of ways.

Chronic symptoms that haven’t been aided by other approaches are often successfully responded to with craniosacral therapy. Craniosacral therapy is beneficial to those with head, neck or back injuries resulting from trauma and accidents. The light touch involved in the facilitation of this therapy makes it a safe approach for children, infants and newborns with early traumas, including birth trauma. They especially can benefit from identification and release of restrictions in the craniosacral system, thereby preventing future difficulties such as learning disabilities or hyperactivity.

Craniosacral therapy is also effective with stress related imbalances. Migraine headaches, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, poor digestion, anxiety and temporomandibular joint (TMJD) dysfunction are a few examples. Craniosacral Therapy works to reverse the debilitating effects of stress by providing the conditions in which the nervous system can rest and rejuvenate. Craniosacral Therapy has also shown to be effective with various sensory disorders such as motor coordination problems, autism, dyslexia, loss of taste or smell, tinnitus, vertigo and neuralgias such as sciatica and tic douloureux. Craniosacral work can also be highly effective in helping the return of mental clarity and abundant energy after a life-crisis, and sometimes helps alleviate chronic depression.

In unraveling chronic (and acute) health imbalances, often complex layers of injury and trauma may mask the original cause of the problem, as well as the body’s learned defense mechanisms. This is achieved by reorienting to your primary health, available beneath the current imbalance. A relationship with a therapist you can trust and feel safe with is imperative as you enter these territories. Change is possible on a deep level when the right therapeutic environment is in place.

“I think I had some cranio sacral therapy before”.

Some massage schools offer an introduction to craniosacral therapy as an invitation to further study this modality. Often therapists leave an intro class and do not pursue further study, though practice with their clients what they have learned. This can often be a relaxing experience and provide some benefit, however if you are seeking craniosacral therapy, please be sure you are working with someone who is a licensed practitioner. Stephanie specializes in and has been trained through The Upledger Institute completing their Advanced CranioSacral Therapy program, The Hugh Milne Institute, and in BioDynamic CranioSacral Therapy.

How often should I receive a session?

When working with a chronic or acute condition it is recommended to schedule a series of six weekly sessions and then reasses your treatment goals with your practitioner.

Many people like to maintain a regular schedule of monthly for maintenance sessions, or more or less often, according to what fits for their individual lifestyle and preference.

I am committed to CranioSacral therapy and have practiced it since 2000, and received it since 1997, when it saved and changed my life.  Feel free to ask me about my personal journey with CranioSacral Therapy.

We can begin to heal our lives at the deepest levels when we value our bodies and honor their messages.