The Healing Power of Touch: Craniosacral Therapy Columbus

by SharonHartnett | Aug 2, 2025 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, healing, mind body & spirit, move effortlessly

The Healing Power of Touch: How Craniosacral Therapy Supports Whole-Person Wellbeing in Columbus, Ohio

The Healing Power of Touch

The world today feels divided and stressful for many people. Yet something as simple as gentle, intentional touch can open the door to deep healing. Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a hands-on approach that goes beyond physical pain relief—it supports emotional balance, nervous system regulation, and a sense of being truly seen and known.

Why Touch Matters

Touch is one of the first senses we develop. It’s essential for healthy development, calming the body, and fostering human connection. When offered with presence and compassion, touch communicates safety. It helps unwind stored trauma, soften chronic tension, and restore a person’s sense of wholeness.

Many of my clients describe a deep sense of relief when they feel gently met—without pressure, fixing, or judgment. Just being held in a field of care allows something deep within them to relax.

How Craniosacral Therapy Works

CST works with the craniosacral system—the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Through light touch, this therapy helps the body shift out of “fight or flight” into a state of rest, healing, and integration.

People often describe feeling:

More grounded and calm
Reconnected to themselves
Lighter, clearer, and more emotionally centered

What the Research Shows

Growing evidence supports the healing benefits of compassionate, therapeutic touch:

Reduces cortisol (stress hormone)
Enhances parasympathetic activity (rest and digest response)
Improves emotional regulation and lowers anxiety
Increases heart rate variability—a marker of nervous system health

These physiological shifts help create space for emotional healing, trauma resolution, and deeper self-connection.

A Safe, Compassionate Space for Healing

At Lighten Up Therapies in Columbus, Ohio, I hold a space that is gentle, trauma-informed, and grounded in decades of training and experience. Craniosacral Therapy is more than a technique—it’s a way to return to your own inner wisdom and natural rhythm.

Whether you’re dealing with stress, trauma, chronic pain, or a desire to reconnect with yourself, this work offers a pathway toward balance and resilience.

Ready to Experience the Power of Gentle Touch?

If you’re curious about how craniosacral therapy can support your healing, I invite you to reach out for a free 15-minute phone consultation. Ask questions, learn more, and see if this gentle work is a good fit for you.

👉 Schedule your free consultation or call now to connect.

Located in Columbus, Ohio—serving clients across Central Ohio.

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Craniosacral Therapy for ADHD:Gentle Treatment that enhances Focus

by SharonHartnett | Jul 12, 2025 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, upledger institute

Focus with Craniosacral Therapy Columbus

Finding Calm and Focus: How Craniosacral Therapy Supports People with ADHD

Living with ADHD can feel like your mind and body are always on the go. Thoughts race ahead, focus slips away, and it’s hard to find a moment of true calm. While medication and behavioral tools help many people, some seek a more natural way to settle their nervous system and feel grounded in daily life.

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that works with the body’s deepest rhythms. Using a light touch, the therapist listens to subtle motions in the tissues and fluids around the brain and spinal cord, helping release tension and restore balance to the central nervous system.

Why Does This Matter for ADHD?

ADHD isn’t just about attention; it’s also about how the nervous system regulates itself. Many people with ADHD feel restless inside, as if their body can’t fully settle. Craniosacral Therapy helps by:

Calming the nervous system. Gentle touch signals safety, helping shift from a constant state of alertness into deeper relaxation.
Releasing hidden tension. The body often holds tightness in the head, neck, and spine that adds to mental overwhelm.
Creating grounded presence. Sessions bring a sense of stillness and connection, making it easier to focus and feel centered.
Supporting self-regulation. Over time, people find it easier to access this calm state on their own.

What Do People Experience?

Clients often leave a session feeling deeply relaxed and clear-headed. Some describe it as if the mental “static” has quieted, allowing thoughts to come through one at a time instead of all at once. Parents notice their children feel calmer and more settled, which can make daily routines, homework, and transitions feel easier.

Is It a Standalone Treatment?

Craniosacral Therapy isn’t a replacement for medical care or other therapies. It’s a supportive practice that works alongside what you’re already doing, giving your body and mind an extra layer of ease and integration.

A Final Thought

ADHD can make life feel scattered and overwhelming. Craniosacral Therapy offers a gentle pathway back to stillness. It’s not about changing who you are, but about helping your system find its natural rhythm so you can move through the world with more clarity and peace.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

614 653-8111

Serving the Columbus ARea

Imagine a Better World

by SharonHartnett | Jul 9, 2025 | change, craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, mind body & spirit, move effortlessly, upledger institute

Creating a Better World Starts Within

It’s easy to look at the world and wish it were different. Kinder. More peaceful. More connected.

But what if creating that world doesn’t start out there?

What if it starts right here – within you?

Every time you choose to listen with compassion instead of reacting in anger, you create a small shift. When you speak with honesty and kindness, you create trust. When you soften your judgments and open your heart, you create space for healing.

These choices may seem small. But together, they become a ripple.

Your relationships change. Your community feels it. The world feels it.

We often forget how much power we hold to create change. Not by controlling others, but by becoming the person we wish everyone else would be.

Imagine the world you long for. Feel it in your body. Live it in your daily choices.

Because creating a better world starts within you… and then expands outward, touching everything you’re connected to.

You are that powerful.

As a Craniosacral Therapist and Healer for close to 30 years, I see the need that is here right now. Especially for women. To find this sense of power. To feel it in the bones, To move with the body. Let this mindful work help you to discover your deepest truth.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D through the Upledger Institute and Barbara Breenan Energy Healer/Reiki

614 653-8111

Serving the Greater Columbus Area.

The Ripple Effect of Kindness…..

Deep Healing Shifts That Unfold Gradually with Craniosacral Therapy in Columbus

by SharonHartnett | Jun 22, 2025 | change, craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, healing, healthy

Healing is an Inside Job that expands over time and usually through slow change.

Don’t Rush Healing. It won’t work. Healing Takes Time.

Do you expect immediate healng results? Welcome to the club. I have seen so many people come into my office and they expect a lot in the first session. Often they have tried so many healing modalities and nothing worked. Understandably, they are disappointed and they learn to give up rather quickly.

The thing is- healing does work. The body has it’s own ability to self-correct, and often comes back to equilibrium. The best time to begin a healing process is when something goes awry-act immediately. This can mean rest. Going to a physician. Seeing a Craniosacral Therapist, and/or eating healthy. Whatever is needed to balance the body and move it closer to health and wellbeing.

The longer a person procrastinates, the mind-body-spirit begins to place band-aids on the experience. Compensations begin. The intricate webbing of life, and the fascia, along with all the other internal systems re-organized in a more sporadic challenging fashion.

With Craniosacral Therapy, the work is so subtle. Some people may not feel much in the first session. A reason for this is that the pain or the past experiences keeps the mind from feeling deep into the pain of an old habit and experience. It takes time for a relationship to develop and for healing to unfold. Often many sessions.

The gentleness and the listening of the body may be a new experience for someone. They may need to open to being held and supported. This seems like it should be so easy, but for many people it is not. So many people live with anxiety for example. They don’t feel centered, safe, or secure with new sensations and feelings. What many of us need is to slow down, be heard, to have our bodies supported compassionately and with skill. This is the key doorway into discovering our own healing abilities.

I like to remind people, often it took time or a severe accident to go into chronic or acute pain or suffering. It takes time for healing too. Be patient with yourself. Breathe through it all. Be kind to you, and be patient with the healing work you choose. It takes time to shift gears and wind down into healing mode.

I recommend at least 4 sessions just to see how your process shows itself. Remember too- it doesn’t have to be painful aggressive work that changes you. Sometimes it’t the opposite of anything you have ever experienced before.

As a Craniosacral Therapist, Somatic Healer and Energy Healer for over 30 years, I can honestly say that there is an easier path. But it is never always easy to navigate until your surrender into your own intention to heal. Your commitment is needed to change. You must allow the greater good to direct your process. Like I said, “it’s an inside job.” But not meant to be done in isolation.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

Working in Worthington, and surrounding Columbus area.

614 653-8111 Business

703 509-1792 Cell

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Brain Healing Through Craniosacral Therapy: Manual Biomechanics for Individual Recovery

by SharonHartnett | Jun 21, 2025 | concussion, craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, healing, Healthy Body

Craniosacral Therapy for Brain Health: Gentle Healing Through Mindful Touch

Discover how Upledger craniosacral therapy uses gentle manual techniques and biomechanical listening to support natural brain healing and nervous system wellness.

In our fast-paced world, many of us are drawn to gentler, more nurturing approaches to health and healing. Craniosacral therapy (CST) offers a beautiful pathway to brain wellness through the profound power of mindful touch and biomechanical awareness. This manual therapy embraces the craniosacral system—the delicate membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect our brain and spinal cord.

What is Craniosacral Therapy? Understanding the Craniosacral System

The craniosacral system operates on its own natural rhythm, distinct from heartbeat and breathing patterns. This intricate system includes the bones of the skull, face, and mouth, extending down to the sacrum at the base of the spine. Cerebrospinal fluid flows within this system, nourishing and protecting the central nervous system while removing waste products.

Craniosacral therapists are trained to detect the subtle movements and rhythms of this system through light touch, typically using pressure no greater than the weight of a nickel. This sensitive palpation allows practitioners to “listen” to the body’s inherent wisdom and identify areas where natural movement may be restricted.

Manual Biomechanical Listening: The Heart of Craniosacral Therapy

Central to craniosacral therapy is the concept of biomechanical listening—a practice that requires practitioners to develop extraordinary sensitivity in their hands and awareness in their touch. This listening involves:

Tuning into Subtle Body Rhythms

Practitioners learn to feel the gentle expansion and contraction of cranial bones, the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, and the movement of fascial tissues throughout the body.

Following Natural Movement Patterns

Instead of imposing corrections, skilled craniosacral therapists follow the body’s natural movements and allow the system to find its own path toward balance.

Whole-Body Awareness Integration

While focusing on the head and spine, practitioners maintain awareness of how restrictions in one area may affect the entire body system. They can also touch anywhere on the body and feel the rhythm. In the Upledger protocol, there are 10 basic steps to listen from a whole body perspective.

Mindful Cranial Sensitivity: The Therapeutic Power of Presence

The therapeutic power of craniosacral work lies not just in technique, but in the quality of presence and intention that practitioners bring to their touch. This mindful cranial sensitivity involves:

Present-Moment Therapeutic Awareness

Practitioners cultivate a state of calm, focused attention that allows them to detect the most subtle changes in tissue quality and movement.

Non-Invasive Healing Touch

Rather than manipulating or adjusting, therapists often simply hold space for the body’s natural healing processes to unfold. This gentle holding can create a sense of safety that allows deep relaxation and self-correction. This is different than energy work though, because CST is based in science and working with the anatomy and physiology of the body.

Therapeutic Stillness and Deep Listening

Sometimes the most powerful moments in a craniosacral therapy session occur in stillness, where both practitioner and client experience a profound sense of peace and connection.

Craniosacral Therapy Benefits for Brain Health and Healing

Improved Brain Circulation and Fluid Flow

By addressing restrictions in the craniosacral system, therapy helps optimize the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and blood circulation to the brain, supporting optimal brain health.

Natural Stress Reduction and Nervous System Regulation

The deeply relaxing nature of craniosacral work activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting the body’s natural healing responses and reducing the harmful effects of chronic stress on brain function.

Enhanced Sleep Quality for Brain Recovery

Many clients report improved sleep patterns following craniosacral therapy sessions, which is crucial for brain detoxification and memory consolidation.

Emotional Release and Mental Well-being

The gentle, supportive environment of craniosacral therapy can facilitate the release of stored emotional tension, supporting mental and emotional well-being.

Central Nervous System Support

By working with the central nervous system directly, craniosacral therapy helps improve overall nervous system function and resilience.

The Healing Power of Therapeutic Relationship in Craniosacral Work

One of the most profound aspects of craniosacral therapy is the quality of therapeutic relationship it fosters. The practitioner’s mindful presence and gentle touch create a safe space where the client’s nervous system can shift out of protective, high-alert states and into modes that support healing and regeneration.

This therapeutic holding—both physical and energetic—can be particularly beneficial for individuals who have experienced trauma, chronic stress, or neurological challenges. The non-invasive nature of craniosacral work makes it accessible to people of all ages, from newborns to elderly individuals.

The Individual Journey: Unique Healing Experiences

One of the most powerful aspects of craniosacral therapy is that it honors the deeply personal nature of healing. Each person’s experience with craniosacral work is entirely unique, reflecting their individual body wisdom, life experiences, and healing needs. What emerges during a session—whether it’s deep relaxation, emotional release, physical relief, or subtle energetic shifts—is completely individual to each person.

Some clients feel profound changes immediately, while others notice gradual shifts over time. Some experience physical sensations like warmth or tingling, while others feel emotional releases or simply a deep sense of peace. This subjective healing experience is not only normal but celebrated in craniosacral work, as it reflects the body’s own intelligence guiding the healing process.

Real-World Results: Case Studies and Individual Benefits

While each person’s journey with craniosacral therapy is unique, individual case studies consistently show remarkable benefits for people dealing with various health challenges:

Chronic Pain Relief: Individual case studies document significant improvements in people suffering from chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, and persistent musculoskeletal pain. Many clients report not just pain reduction, but an improved relationship with their body and enhanced quality of life.

Stress and Anxiety Support: Personal accounts reveal how craniosacral therapy helps individuals manage chronic stress, anxiety, and trauma responses. Case studies show improvements in sleep quality, emotional regulation, and overall nervous system resilience.

Concussion and Brain Injury Recovery: Individual case studies highlight the potential of craniosacral work in supporting people recovering from concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries. Clients often report improvements in symptoms like headaches, dizziness, cognitive fog, and emotional instability that can persist after head injuries.

These individual success stories remind us that while healing is deeply personal, the gentle power of craniosacral therapy consistently creates space for the body’s natural recovery processes to unfold in their own perfect timing.

A Holistic Path to Brain Wellness

Craniosacral therapy offers a beautiful integration with your overall wellness journey. The gentle nature of this work creates space for deep healing while honoring your body’s innate wisdom. Many people find that craniosacral sessionsenhance their overall sense of well-being and support their body’s natural capacity for self-healing.

Finding Qualified Craniosacral Therapists

For those interested in exploring craniosacral therapy, it’s essential to seek out properly trained practitioners. Look for certified craniosacral therapists who have completed comprehensive training programs and maintain continuing education in this specialized field. Many practitioners are also licensed healthcare providers such as massage therapists, physical therapists, or osteopathic physicians.

What to Look for in a Craniosacral Practitioner:

Craniosacral therapy certification from recognized training institutes
Ongoing continuing education in craniosacral techniques
Experience with manual biomechanical listening
Training in mindful touch and therapeutic presence
Understanding of the craniosacral system and nervous system function

Conclusion: Embracing Gentle Brain Healing Through Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral therapy opens a doorway to the body’s remarkable healing wisdom through the practice of mindful, sensitive touch. By learning to listen deeply to the subtle rhythms of the craniosacral system and offering gentle, supportive presence, practitioners create sacred space where the brain’s natural healing processes can flourish.

The practice reminds us that healing often happens not through force or intervention, but through the simple yet profound act of being truly present with another person’s experience. In our increasingly busy world, the gentle power of mindful healing touch offers us a pathway back to our innate wholeness and the remarkable healing capacity that lives within each of us.

Whether you’re navigating stress, seeking to nurture your brain health, or simply feeling called to explore gentle approaches to wellness, craniosacral therapy offers an invitation to slow down, tune in deeply, and trust in the profound healing capacity that flows through us all.

Ready to experience the gentle healing power of craniosacral therapy? Find a qualified craniosacral therapist near you and discover how this mindful approach to brain health can support your wellness journey.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

614 653-8111

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

For more question and answers about the Craniosacral Therapy Sessions go to FAQ page.

What Should I Expect in a Craniosacral Therapy Session?

by SharonHartnett | Jun 3, 2025 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, fear, mind body & spirit, mindfulness

Craniosacral Therapist Columbus vs. head massage

What Should I Expect in a Craniosacral Therapy Session?

Craniosacral Therapy in Columbus, Ohio

If you’re curious about craniosacral therapy in Columbus, Ohio, you have come to the right place. Many people are looking for natural and organic ways to feel better in their bodies—and craniosacral therapy (CST) offers a deeply relaxing and effective option. Some of the things that you can expect to have in a professional space:

A Neutral and Compassionate Space

This creates a safe therapeutic relationship with your Craniosacral Therapist—one that is compassionate, neutral, and professional.

Especially when fear is being held or recycled in the body, having a calm and peaceful therapeutic space and presence can help the nervous system settle. This sense of safety supports the mind in letting go and allows the body to begin healing more deeply.

A Gentle Yet Deep Experience

Craniosacral therapy uses very light touch to release tension in the nervous system. The body responds well because the approach is so gentle—it doesn’t resist the change, it welcomes it. This allows the healing to ripple through all systems in the body: muscular, skeletal, digestive, and emotional.

Many clients report feeling calm, centered, and more connected after just one session.

What Happens in a Session?

Sessions are typically 60–90 minutes, depending on the therapist. You’ll lie fully clothed on a comfortable treatment table. The practitioner uses gentle hand placements to encourage the release of restrictions and integration in the tissues, and to hold a space for embodied healing.

Because the body holds cellular memory, it’s not uncommon for emotions, images, or old thoughts to arise during or after a session. This is part of the body’s natural healing process. You can check into Somatoemotional Release to find out more.

Choosing the Right Craniosacral Therapist Matters

Not all craniosacral therapy is the same. Every practitioner brings a different level of training, experience, and personal approach to the table. Some may weave craniosacral work into other bodywork modalities, while others have made it the core of their practice through years of advanced study.

Before booking a session, take time to learn about a therapist’s background. Ask about their certifications, where they trained, and how long they’ve been practicing. For example, practitioners certified through the Upledger Institute have completed extensive hands-on education rooted in the foundational principles of this gentle, powerful work.

Because this is such subtle and deeply transformative therapy, finding the right match can make all the difference. Sometimes that means traveling a bit farther to work with someone whose approach truly resonates with your needs.

Your healing journey is personal—choose a therapist who brings presence, skill, and heart to the table.

Feel Better in Your Body

Clients often seek craniosacral therapy for chronic pain, stress, trauma, or simply a desire to feel more at ease. Over time, CST helps you feel more grounded, resilient, and balanced.

Looking for Craniosacral Therapy in Columbus, Ohio?
Reach out to a certified practitioner in your area to experience the value of feeling better in your body—gently and naturally.

If you are local to Columbus, Ohio, call:

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

614 653-8111

FAQ

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