Waking Up
I know… sometimes life feels difficult.
But you are not alone!
Uplifting
Breath
Allow Structural Integration to help you to find your breath and breathe freely again.
Breathing is actually more than bringing air into the lungs and then expelling it out. While breath is the primary life force in sustaining life, it is also a natural massager of the most internal areas of your body. When you breath in, the strong diaphragm moves and the ribcage and everything within is in a state of constant expanding and contracting. Gases and circulation are being engaged. Fluids are rushing through the veins and arteries. The wave of movement can actually reach down to the tips of your toes which you can experience if you take the time to be mindful of breath and its’ far reaching capacity to nourish life. The body is a miracle and unlabored smooth breath can keep you healthy.
Positives of Healthy Breath- sleeping better, reducing the effects of high blood pressure, when there are good levels of oxygen in the system-cancer finds it more difficult to live, anxiety and depression can be relieved with fuller deeper breathing. The heart is supported when there is less tension with the ribcage. People who practice yoga and breathing techniques feel more connected between the mind body & spirit to name a few.
One of the best things you can do to open up the breath is receive work that lengthens and softens the surrounding fascia around the ribcage and and by releasing any restrictions nearby. Gentle and more detailed work with the connective tissue under and on the ribs allows more movement and freedom and relief is often experienced. Often ribs get stuck or moved our of alignment and when freed up, global pain in all parts of the body can diminish dramatically too. With just one session of Structural Integration or diaphragm releases, you should feel more centered, healthier and flexible.
Freedom Within
To find out more benefits of finding your breath, check out Dr. Weil’s recommendation for mindful breath:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises.html
Sharon Hartnett LMT
Columbus Ohio
Gentle Touch with Craniosacral Therapy
Touch is a magical way to enter into another’s space.
It is a way of expressing and nurturing life.
When this contact of touch happens, nerve cells send messages to your brain about tactile sensation. One kind of receptor is the mechanoreceptors that give you information about pushing, pulling and movement. The second group is the thermoreceptors that tell you about sensations of temperature. These are the physiological responses that occur in your body that help you to learn to navigate and live in a physical world. The body listens and it then dances with its environment through this type of dialogue.
Informational Communication
While this is a basic understanding on the physical level about our inner workings, the next question is what else happens?
When information is digested, emotions and thoughts can arise. Often unresolved patterns that are frozen and need help to complete their natural organic cycle of life show up. Everything changes in the Universe and everything concludes in itself and gives birth again when given the opportunity. Touch is an excellent way to initiate the new movement Within to support change.
As a Massage Therapist and Craniosacral Therapist, again and again, it is easy to see that gentle touch can be very heart-centered and healing. Often when clients have felt abused or traumatized, gentle touch can help clients to relax and feel things that have felt stuck. Clients often gain insights and new understanding into their beliefs and limitations. Old feelings are unleashed and are able to integrate so that people can find the balance they seek. Unlocking old configurations is freeing and unburdens us to live more in the moment.
From my Craniosacral Therapist Perspective: While the brain may be the thinker of humanity, it is the Sacred Human Heart and it’s ability to shine through that brings us back into harmony and our Divine Essence. Having the technical know how is important but learning to reach other human beings through compassionate touch is life saving to some. Allowing the mind to serve the heart rather than the other way around is important if we want to connect to Source.
As human beings, when we touch with compassion, we enter into a doorway to open our limitations into a more unitive state of being.
Not only is touch healing, but it is a remembrance that we are not alone in this world. Connection is so essential to the human soul. We always yearn for it… Many are seekers of it. In our society touch is very compartmentalized and minimal. Massage Therapy and other types of bodywork give us permission to open up again on so many levels of consciousness.
One research that I just read….left me more clear about how touch relieves pain. I’d like to share it with you-
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/hands_on_research
It’s is positive thing to have science behind the benefits of touch to remind how essential connection is…. So spread some compassion with touch today if you dare!
Warmly,
Sharon Hartnett CST and LMT
740 966-5153
www.massageincolumbusohio.com
Craniosacral Massage: Listening is the Key to Success!
How can a massage therapist treat you effectively with good listening skills?
It’s not enough for a therapist to go through a routine with you during a session.
If your body is in pain or feeling out of alignment, it’s necessary to look and feel where the dysfunction, rotations, or twists are occuring.
Belief it or not- your body has the information it needs to reconnect to healing. You may need external help too, but by accessing your internal environment, the body gives you cues what needs to be done to get you moving toward health again.
In Craniosacral Therapy, the session begins with Listening.
As Craniosacral Therapists, we go to the Listening Stations to get an idea what is going on with the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). This clear and colorless liquid that bathes the brain and spinal cord is primary to cushioning the brain within the skull and also serves as a shock absorber for the central nervous system. The CSF also allows for the circulation of nutrients and the chemicals filtered from the blood and rids the waste products away from the brain. Thus, the CSF is responsible for keeping the brain and surrounding membranes and spine healthy. So when Craniosacral Therapist using mindful curiosity to gather information about flow and circulation- rich information is collected that will aid in balancing and removing restrictions that may be causing pain and other ill effects. A healthy spine and brain are key for overall health and wellness.
Craniosacral Therapy Listening
The above picture is a good anatomy representation of how the fluid moves and bathes the nervous system. It doesn’t show much about how the semi-hydraulic system operates, but it does give you a useful model to see the proximity to the brain and the basics of the CNS. It’s enough to know that by using the bones as fulcrums or just listening quietly to the rhythm anywhere on the body that by following and making small adjustments, that better balance is established, restrictions are released, and enhanced circulation and communication in the human body can take place.
Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle and non-invasive practice that creates positive changes in your life on many levels. When pain and dysfunction begin to dissolve on a physical level, the emotional and belief systems begin to shift too. As flow is increased, often clients walk away with more energy, feeling healthier, and more flexible in movement and in life as a whole.
Craniosacral Therapy works well with the following conditions:
- Back and Neck Pain
- Brain Trauma
- Headaches and Migraines
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- Fibromyalgia
- MS
- Learning Disabilities
- Colic
- Autism
- TMJ
- Post Surgical Conditions
- Scoliosis
- Central Nervous System Disorders
For more information on Craniosacral Therapy in Columbus Ohio, please give Sharon Hartnett CST a call for a free 15 minute consultation.
Sharon Hartnett: (614) 372-6598
www.massageincolumbusohio.com
www.upledger.com
Trusting the Wisdom Within With Craniosacral
One of the greatest things about Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is that this modality is all about trusting your own body’s wisdom to heal.
Yes it is important to find a Craniosacral Therapist who is knowledgeable and has good experience with your issues. However- the best session will be all about having faith in the process.
During a Craniosacral Session, the first thing your practitioner will do is listen to your body to find out where there might be dysfunctional patterns that lead to pain and other ailments. This is done by starting at the feet and moving up to the head in order to check for amplitude, symmetry and other qualities of the craniosacral rhythm throughout the body. Once the primary lesion is discovered, it is easy to go to that area and start the session for healing. The rest is about following the body’s response to the work.
During evaluation and thereafter, Craniosacral Therapy touch is gentle and non-invasive. There are very few contra-indications with CST, yet the effects are far reaching and profound in your healing process. The primary benefits that you will first feel are relief of pain, more flexibility and often more vitality. By working primarily with the Central Nervous System as the focus, a Craniosacral Therapist can dialogue with every other body system to support the integration of full body functioning. Often clients are unexpectingly surprised that there can be so much change in attitude, feeling and sensation after just a few session.
Craniosacral Therapy as taught by the Upledger Institute
If you would like to find out more about Craniosacral, please contact Sharon Hartnett for a free 15 minute telephone consultation: (614) 372-6598.
Craniosacral Therapy is a self-discovery process of remembering your own light! It’s always present.
Website: www.massageincolumbusohio.com