Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy

“Every treatment protocol should be dictated by the wisdom of the patient’s own body.” – John E. Upledger

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle, yet powerful, hands-on approach to wellbeing where the practitioner uses a skilled sense of touch and perception to communicate with the body’s innate healing potential, resolve physiological, emotional, and psychological patterns of tension, and help restore health and balance to the system. CST is suitable for people of all ages, from babies to the elderly.

My special areas of interest are in supporting individuals who want to gain a deeper sense of calm and connection with their bodies, overcome the impact of trauma (developmental, sexual, dental, surgical), stress, and chronic pain, and those traversing major life transitions such as relationship breakdown, bereavement, and illness.

How does Craniosacral Therapy work?

One of the core principles in craniosacral therapy is the relationship between the cranium (head) and the sacrum (base of the spine) – hence the term craniosacral therapy, and the meningeal membranes and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which surround, support and protect the brain and spinal cord.

Just as our lungs expand and contract, taking in oxygen and eliminating waste gases, osteopathic research has demonstrated that every cell, tissue, organ, and actually our entire body, expands and contracts at regular, rhythmic intervals. In a healthy body under the influence of the craniosacral mechanism, the cerebrospinal fluid is in constant motion, expanding, contracting, pulsing, and circulating its vitality throughout our bodies.

When this flow becomes blocked or restricted due to mental, emotional, or physical stresses (e.g., birth trauma, accidents, falls, operations, grief and loss, emotional and relationship challenges, stresses and strains of daily life, etc), our system experiences a state of disharmony and we develop symptoms such as persistent pain, aches, weakness, tension or, without intervention, disease.

Craniosacral therapy focuses on getting to the source and changing the underlying patterns that are creating the symptoms, releasing underlying shock, tension, and restriction, enabling greater mobility and spaciousness, and promoting healing, self-repair, and integration of the whole system.

What happens during a session?

In the first session, a full case history is taken followed by treatment, where the client lies fully clothed and face up on a massage couch. Positioning is adapted to the needs of the client. The light contact of the therapist’s hands is similar to that of a butterfly’s touch. The client may experience qualities such as softening, tingling, twitching, shaking, a greater sense of space, temperature changes; emotional releases that can range from tears to laughter; and meaningful insights.

Other examples of why clients attend Craniosacral Therapy include:

Feeling chronically stressed or overwhelmed and experiencing recurrent stomach or digestive problems, tension in the shoulders and neck, and disturbed sleep.

Undergoing maxillofacial, cosmetic, or dental surgery (including extractions), or orthodontics, and experiencing ongoing pain or tension within the head, face, neck, or further afield that is unexplainable.

Feeling challenged with self-expression and experiencing tension in the neck, throat, and chest, or the sense of a lump in the throat (aka. Globus), or that the throat seems to close when trying to communicate authentic self-expression.

After a traumatic birth involving head (cranial) compression, the child presents with colic, constipation, disturbed sleep, and persistent crying.

Having been chronically shamed as a child, the individual experiences a lack of vitality and aliveness in their body, which has been replaced by a sense of numbness and dissociation.

Following a traffic accident where the person suffered whiplash, they experience ongoing neck pain of unidentifiable cause.

Unable to fully grieve the loss of someone or something, the person experiences a persistent ache in the chest and stomach and a sense of disconnection from themselves and life itself.

Growing up in an environment that lacked safety, or one which did not meet the person’s basic needs, the person developed holding and bracing patterns, a lack of symmetry, and subsequent stiffness that caused chronic back, hip, and knee pain.