What is Craniosacral Therapy (CST)
Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a gentle, non invasive but potent way of working to support your body’s innate ability to balance, restore and heal itself, as well as helping to reduce stress and build your underlying energy. The practitioner senses tensions in the body and helps to release them in a supported and comfortable way. During or after a session you may feel calm and energised, with increased clarity of mind and a feeling of wellbeing.
CST uses gentle pressure on the head, neck, and back to relieve the stress and pain caused by compression. In relieving compression, this type of work often assists in treating a number of non related conditions. Through the gentle manipulation of bones in the skull, spine, and pelvis, the clear flow of cerebrospinal fluid is passed through the central nervous system, removing blockages and improving the body’s ability to heal.
Craniosacral therapy’s objective is to find areas of restricted movement which compromise function and help re-establish normal movement. These imbalances are usually due to trauma, which may be physical, emotional or psychological and can often be a combination of these factors. Because the craniosacral system encloses the brain and spinal cord, it influences the entire nervous system and affects many body functions, including the brain’s important pituitary and pineal glands. These glands, in turn, have the potential to affect the body’s entire hormonal balance as well as the central nervous system so the body is able to relax, self correct and improve health and performance.
By releasing restrictions in the body, all its systems are able to perform at their optimum, which helps in naturally relieving pain and stress. This may support resistance to disease and enhancing health and well-being.
Source www.kmackinnon.com
You may like to watch this short informative video for more information about Craniosacral Therapy (CTS)
What does a CST session involve?
On arrival Susan will listen with care to the reasons for your visit. This part of the session is important, both for gathering information and to establish a good understanding of your needs. You will then be invited to take your shoes off and lie fully clothed on a treatment bed. You may be asked to remove your glasses, belt or jewellery if they will be in the way or affect your comfort. If you are unable to lie flat, you can be on your side, or in a chair there are several pillows to accommodate your comfort.
During a typical session Susan will use a number of gentle hand contacts on the head, the base of the spine and other areas, allowing the client to lie still, encouraging your body to relax and begin to make the changes it needs. Because the body functions as a whole, your practitioner may focus on areas other than where your symptoms occur.
After a session there is occasionally a short period of adjustment as part of the healing process, when you may become more aware of symptoms. Sometimes people report relief after only one or two sessions, for long-standing problems further sessions may be needed. Some people find they benefit from regular treatment over an extended period and say that, as well as noticing improvement in their physical or emotional symptoms, they feel they have increased self-awareness and improved quality of life.
Craniosacral therapy is not intended as primary healthcare but to work alongside the service provided by your chosen healthcare professionals.
Where did Craniosacral Therapy come from?
Many ancient traditions from India, China, the Middle East and North America show traces of craniosacral work. However, in the Western world it was not until 1899 with the work of William Garner Sutherland, who at the time was a young Osteopathic student, that this system was recognised for its potential. Sutherland’s work was based on subtle movements of the cranial bones, the sacrum and the membrane and fluid system surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It was, the underlying membrane system and the craniosacral rhythm, which Sutherland called ‘The Primary Respiratory Mechanism’. He developed specific techniques for improving the functioning of the entire system. As he grew older he moved away from the practice of adjusting the cranial bone and began working more with what he referred to as the tide, the potency in the fluid and the Breath of Life.
In the 1980’s another osteopath, John Upledger slightly modified Dr Sutherland’s work and began teaching it outside of the osteopathic profession. Calling his practice Craniosacral Therapy, a powerful yet simplified system of treatment capable of being learned by anyone of good intent wishing to study the system. The unique feature is that it does not require extensive medical training to be effective.
In the late 1990’s the teachings of an English therapist, Franklin Sills, started to gain traction. He brought the therapy back to the intention of Dr Sutherland, reintroducing the spiritual dimension, working with slower and deeper rhythms in the body. Following developments in Cranial Osteopathy he called his method Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.
The theories of both Still and Sutherland have evolved in Upledger’s lifetime to become an holistic therapy which is aimed at assisting those interested in employing their own body’s healing capacities and trusting that all bodies have an inherent intelligence that keeps them in balance