Craniosacral Therapy

This therapy can help your over-active nervous system to re-set itself so you can experience greater rest, peace, and wholeness. Instead of constantly running in “fight or flight” mode, you can slow down and relax in a way that supports self-repair and rejuvenation functions like sleep and digestion.
This is particularly helpful to…

• Release trauma
• Recover from the daily stresses of living in our fast-paced world

As your nervous system functions better, you may feel more at ease in every aspect of your life, work, body, and relationships.

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

There is an intelligence your body-mind uses to heal itself. That intelligence is linked to the “Breath of Life,” a name given to it by Dr. William Garner Sutherland, who studied it for over 40 years.

Through his research, Dr. Sutherland found that this mysterious force expresses itself through subtle rhythmic motion in the body, and that these motions are essential to your:

• Physical health
• Mental clarity
• Emotional well-being

Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle, profound bodywork involving these subtle rhythmic fluctuations within the body.

The therapist is trained to listen to these inherent health mechanisms within the body and typically looks for and encourages the forces of health to set the priorities of the session and to bring about natural adjustments from within the body’s own resources. It is hallmarked by a strong interest in the holism of the human experience where both the body’s anatomy and physiology are related to in real time with the subtle forces of life that act through the interface of the body’s fluids. Subtle movements in the body’s fluid and tissue fields are being listened for and the natural movement towards stillness is seen as deeply resourceful.

The simplicity of this therapy is its beauty. The practitioner takes up a position of being neutral and allows the process of the treatment to unfold. The practitioner is interested in facilitating the body towards deep intrinsic reorganizations across the body’s tissues, its fluid matrix and its energetic and emotional layers, so that there is a holistic movement towards greater health. The therapy creates a safe space for traumatic experiences to emerge and resolve smoothly without being overwhelming or re-stimulating.

What does a Craniosacral Therapy session look like?

We usually begin by sitting and talking about your concerns and your intention for the session.

During the session, you will be fully clothed, usually lying on a massage table. It is important that you feel comfortable and safe. I will ask you from time to time what you are experiencing, and help you to stay present with whatever arises for you.

Sometimes coming into contact takes some negotiation to get the touch just right so you can deeply relax. I will guide you in this process which, in itself, can be very healing.

Craniosacral therapy involves a very light, gentle touch, often applied to the head (cranium) or sacrum (the triangular bone at the bottom of the spine). At times, I combine this with other forms of bodywork, breath or movement work if it seems helpful. We will probably talk some during the session, although some sessions are much quieter than others.

Sessions usually last about an hour. During that time, I will quietly, gently hold parts of your body, listening to the subtle rhythms and tracking changes in your system.

During the session, you may:

• Relax so deeply that you fall asleep
• Enter a quiet state of meditation
• Feel as if you are dreaming while awake
• Experience memories or insights while on the table
• Enjoy a pleasant sense of warmth, softening, widening or floating

At times, you may experience other kinds of sensations as energy that has been held in the body is released. If this occurs, I will assist you in staying present with the breath and bodily sensations to facilitate the discharge and help you to integrate and benefit from the experience.
At the end of the session, you may:

• Feel relaxed, but also energized
• Find yourself breathing more fully and deeply
• Stand straighter and taller
• Feel more comfortable in your body