CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY

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Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a type of bodywork with the potential to create dynamic improvements by releasing soft tissue strain patterns running deep within the body, thus relieving pain and dysfunction to improve whole-body health and performance.

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People generally use craniosacral therapy treatment to relieve symptoms from stress and tension related disorders, musculoskeletal pain, and other acute or chronic conditions, such as:

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• Collective Trauma & Grief

• Generational Trauma

• Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Migraines & Headaches

• Chronic Neck & Back Pain

• Stress & Tension Related problems

• Ear & Jaw problems

• Post-viral fatigue

• Accidents & Falls

• Whiplash

• Motor-Coordination Impairments

• Central Nervous System Disorders

• Orthopedic Problems

• Traumatic Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries

• Scoliosis

• Learning Disabilities

• Chronic Fatigue

• Emotional Difficulties & Dependency

• Fibromyalgia & other Connective-Tissue Disorders

• Neurovascular or Immune Disorders

• Post-Surgical Dysfunction

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SOMATO-EMOTIONAL RELEASE (SER)

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SER was a term coined by Dr John E. Upledger to describe a naturally occurring process often observed during craniosacral therapy treatment. It describes the genuine process whereby an emotional release occurs simultaneously with a release in the tissues of the body during a craniosacral therapy session. The SER can be associated with memories of past events and the process supports the synthesis and release of stress and emotion from the body.

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IMPORTANT: SER is NOT psychotherapy. A craniosacral therapist is not trained to manage the emotional release from a psycho-therapeutic perspective. Therefore we recommend that folx should also have the support of a counselor trained in either psychotherapy, clinical psychology, or counseling to reach out to after your sessions.

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HOW CST WORKS

 

Your craniosacral system is comprised of the membranes and fluid that surround and protect your brain and spinal cord (your central nervous system). The fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord pulsates rhythmically (around 10 cycles a minute). A craniosacral therapist tunes into the craniosacral system to feel this rhythm to determine its rate, amplitude, quality and symmetry through the body, factors which also reflect information on a person’s general health. Areas where the rhythm is restricted indicate where disease or injury might be having an unfavorable effect on your craniosacral system and in turn your central nervous system.

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The therapist then works to release osseous and soft tissue restrictions to improve the flow of fluid and restore a balanced rhythm throughout, improving your body’s innate ability to self-correct and heal.

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Treatment improves your craniosacral rhythm and releases areas of excess strain and tension throughout your body to alleviate many neurological, physical, and emotional dysfunctions to restore health and well-being.

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WHY THE CRANIOSACRAL SYSTEM BECOMES RESTRICTED

 

Every day your body endures emotional and physical stresses and strains that it must work to compensate for. Often, the way our body compensates is to cause change in our body tissues involving a tightening or increased level of tension, which frequently distorts the craniosacral system. These distortions around the brain and spinal cord  can create a barrier to the healthy performance of the central nervous system, every other system it interacts with.

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BRIEF HISTORY OF CST

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CST started with the work of osteopath Dr. William Sutherland in the early 1900’s in the USA. Dr. Sutherland noticed the subtle rhythmic pattern that we know today as the craniosacral rhythm. Sutherland found light touch on the skin surface could influence areas of restriction in the body to ease and release tension and then restore the craniosacral rhythm to its optimum rhythm for that unique individual.

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It was then during the 1970’s that osteopathic physician Dr. John E. Upledger began research on the craniosacral rhythm in his role as Professor of Biomechanics at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University.  Here he explored the influence of therapy on the craniosacral system (the bones, soft tissues and fluid that surround and nurture your brain and spinal column). His research also showed how light touch therapy could evaluate and treat this system and have positive effects on the brain and spinal column. The Upledger Institute continues to teach Dr. Upledger's bio-mechanical approach to the treatment of the craniosacral system.

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Dr. Sutherland’s work was also developed by others, such as Becker, Stone, Fulford, and Franklyn Sills. Craniosacral therapy has thus developed into multiple different approaches, the two main ones are known as bio-mechanical and bio-dynamic.