craniosacral | Lighten Up Therapies

Can Craniosacral Help Resolve Post-Concussion Symptoms?

by SharonHartnett | Mar 4, 2016 | concussion, craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K

Post-Concussion Symptoms

If you have persistent symptoms after a head injury lasting over three months, your physician may diagnose you as having Post-Concussion Syndrome. Some the indications that might lead you to your doctor’s office are: dizziness, insomnia, fatigue, irritability- or just not feeling normal. If you have hit your head, make sure that you get checked out because the effects can last a very long time if left untreated.

If a concussion is your diagnosis, you may want to research and interview Craniosacral Therapists to help you recover. Personally, in my Cranosacral Therapy practice, I have worked with clients who have experienced headaches, memory issues, nausea, cognitive impairments and a sense of disorientation, along with other day to day challenges. In a matter of just a few sessions, clients begin to see improvements. The quality of their lives gradually change for the best.

Craniosacral Therapy

When clients come in with a concussion diagnosis, a Craniosacral Therapist (CST) will interview the client and evaluate the whole body. They will ask that their clients come at least 10 days after the injury before treating with hands on. This gives the client’s body time to rest which is very important. Once in the office and on the table, the CST will listen at different stations to determine how the work should move to support more optimal functioning. Often a client may think that the session should be spent on the head for most of the time, but that has not been my finding. Because the client has usually experienced a fall or been hit with some type of traumatic influence, the rest of the body can be pulling some of the tension throughout the whole craniosacral system. So it is necessary to address the symptoms as a whole body issue. It’s important to help the cerebral spinal fluid to flow and work properly along the spine and within the brain. An example might be if someone is knocked off their feet, it may be important to balance the feet, the pelvis, especially the sacrum first, to ready the body for the work to the cranium. When everything is functioning better below the head, it enhances the work around the brain. Structural restrictions release more easily and fall back into order.

What is so great about Craniosacral Therapy is that the touch is so light, yet because of its ability to work to release fascial adhesions, and to engage the Craniosacral System to support the Central Nervous System, it can boost and restore with minimal discomfort if any at all. Most clients get off the table deeply relaxed and feeling integrated in a whole new way.

There has been a recent growing attention to Concussions lately, especially with children in sports. If you or someone you know has received a blow to the head, make sure that he/she gets into see their physician. It’s best to catch and treat concussions early on. An integrative approach, including Craniosacral Therapy, may help you to feel healthier, clearer, energized and more on target.

For further information: Craniosacral Therapy Research for Concussions

Sharon Hartnett CST, SI, LMT

703 509-1792

www.massgeincolumbusohio.com

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

7 Reasons Why You Should Get Craniosacral Therapy

by SharonHartnett | Feb 20, 2016 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K

How Can Craniosacral Therapy Help You…

Simple and Easy: this is an easy way to release stress. When the mind and body can calm down and balance, the internal healing potential can do wonders.

Craniosacral Therapy

Just to name a few benefits:

Relieves Neck and Back Pain
Improves Range of Motion
Reduces Anxiety and May Help with Depression
Helps Resolve post-surgery adhesions
Boosts the immune system
Alleviates Fibromyalgia discomfort
Balances the spinal alignment with Scoliosis

Bonus: It can help with post-concussion symptoms!

Experiences vary from session to session. This light touch can bring about profound changes as it works directly with the Central Nervous System to balance. Clients may fall asleep, become very talkative, feel deep emotions that come to surface as the stress leaves the body.

CST can unleash your healing potential.

If you want to find a therapy that is gentle and effective to help you let go of tension, check out the Upledger Institute for a local practitioner near you.

Sharon Hartnett LMT

Serving the East Columbus, Ohio Area

740 966-5153

www.massageincolumbusohio.com

Can Craniosacral Help with the Winter Blues?

by SharonHartnett | Feb 5, 2016 | craniosacral, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K

Whether you are experiencing the winter blues or a more extreme case of SAD, Craniosacral Therapy can help you you to reconnect to joy and wellbeing.

What do you know about Craniosacral Therapy?

Alleviate Winter Blues

Craniosacral Therapy may help. One in five Americans fall into “seasonal mood disorder”. The shorter days and colder weather brings us inward. It’s a time when we get to be more quiet and reflective. For some people, this isn’t so easy. Women, in particular, can be negatively impacted by the lack of sunlight. By finding out more, you may realize that there is some help. Learn more about your symptoms.

Symptoms that may show up:

Low Energy
Problems Getting Along
Agitation
Staying in Bed
Depression
Overeating
Feeling Anxious
Trouble Concentrating
Losing Interest

If you are one of those people that feels more stressed and disconnected during the winter season, you might want to consider some type of massage therapy. Craniosacral Therapy in particular which focuses on balancing the Central Nervous System can help alleviate anxiety, depression symptoms, and moodiness. With its gentle touch and potential for deep connection, clients can feel more vital, more optimistic and able to face life each day. The internal process of Craniosacral Therapy often helps people to feel more interconnected inside, thus making it more possible to express that with their external environment too. With a more integrative approach, if you are experiencing more extreme symptoms of depression, combining Craniosacral Therapy with psychotherapy can increased you chances let go of debilitating patterns. Current research is showing more and more how beneficial Massage Therapy is for improving life’s outlook. Contact your local Craniosacral Therapist to see if together you can help chase the winter blues away.

Sharon Hartnett LMT, CST, SI

740 966-5153

Serving the Columbus, Ohio Area

www.massageincolumbusohio.com

What is SomatoEmotional Release (SER)?

by SharonHartnett | Dec 9, 2015 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, mind body & spirit, stillpoint

Many clients who come in for Craniosacral Therapy ask about SomatoEmotional Release (SER).

They have usually heard from their friends or associates how much better they feel after a few sessions. Yet they are not quite certain what SER is. So in order to educate potential clients, I’d like to take the Upledger’s description to share,

“ SomatoeEmotional Release may be defined as a release from the body tissues of energy that has been stored in the tissues for some time subsequent to an incident resulting in the placement of this energy in those tissues. The energy, which is foreign to the tissues in which it resides, almost invariably has within it an emotional component. When the SomatoEmotional Release technique is effectively carried out, the emotion is re-experienced by the patient/client and, most often, a rather vivid memory of the incident during which the energetic placement occurred comes into conscious awareness.”

The most important intention that comes to my mind as a Craniosacral Therapist who works with SER, is to create a sacred environment that focuses on working with unity of the mind, body and spirit. By holding space for the whole person, whatever shows up during a session can move forward, all taken care of by the client’s own “Inner Physician (IP)”. That inner intelligence that lies within regulates the session and helps the client to release energy that is caught up. The Therapist is connected to the IP and follows its guidance without judgment. This helps to complete unfinished cycles so that the client can feel finished with whatever unconscious material shows up.

SomatoEmotional Release

Clients who have experienced trauma, anxiety and other emotional extremes often feel much better balanced after an SER session. Not only from a feeling perspective, but also physically as well. When the client is able to move through fear along with letting go of dysfunctional tissue patterns, they are often able to move more freely into their future.

SomatoEmotional Release can be an excellent addition to psychotherapy. While students are trained in this type of work at the Upledger Institute , the foundation of the training is on working with the Craniosacral system. I like to think that this training helps manual therapist to be prepared for whatever shows up in the session without trying to control it or working towards fixing things. This is a journey of discovery and self-awareness.

If you are interested in finding out more about SER, please call Sharon Hartnett CST, at (740) 966-5153 for a free 15 minute phone consultation.

www.massageincolumbusohio.com

Basics about Your Nervous System

by SharonHartnett | Nov 21, 2015 | craniosacral, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K

What is the Nervous System in Human Beings?

The nervous system is a complex and intricate network that is set up to help facilitate informational dialogue and exchange within you and throughout all the relationships around you. The Nervous System consists of basically two parts: The Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System. You can think of these two different systems as a computer that relays information from one place to the other. In the Case of the Central Nervous System, we are focusing on the two structures: the brain and the spinal cord (long bundle of nerves). The brain is the control center and the spine transmits information to and from the rest of the body. The Peripheral side of things include the nerves or ganglia found outside of the Central Nervous System.

Craniosacral Therapy supports the health of the Nervous System

As you can see by the above picture, the CNS and PNS are extensive. In Craniosacral Therapy, we use this knowledge to help clients to optimize their health benefits by keeping the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and soft tissue flow smooth and balanced. By working with the Craniosacral System, we can subtly listen to how the tissues around the brain, along the spine and throughout the body are responding. By working with symmetry, rate, amplitude and quality of the rhythm, we can help release restrictions and adhesions from around the nerves. It’s important to allow for nervous system functioning to keep organs, muscles and intelligence of life operating in ease.

From my perspective, with Craniosacral Therapy, the primary focus is keeping the Nervous System healthy, and by doing this- we are also encouraging everything in the body to relate more efficiently and with proper functioning. When we feel good with our internal links, our external links and relationships feel better too.

Sharon Hartnett LMT, CST, SI

Advanced Certified Craniosacral Therapist

740 966-5153

Columbus, Ohio

(Most people have a basic understanding of the brain, but for a good resource to find out more about the Peripheral Nervous System, check out:

Peripheral Nervous System Disorders

Through the Mayo Clinic link)

What is a Stillpoint?

by SharonHartnett | Nov 19, 2015 | craniosacral, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage License in Ohio: 33.007505-H-K, stillpoint

The Benefits of a Stillpoint

As taught by the Upledger Institute, the Craniosacral System is a semi-closed hydraulic system that is held within the membrane of the Dura, which contains the brain and the spinal cord. The functioning aspect of this system that contributes to human life is the circulation and reabsorption of the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF).

When a Craniosacral Therapist is working with clients, we are listening to the continuous rise and fall of this fluid rhythm by its subtly felt expansion and contraction throughout the whole body. We pay attention to the ways the bones and membrane dance with the CSF through symmetry, quality, amplitude and rate. The intention is to use our listening and help the body to self-balance through gentle melding by touch.

Craniosacral Therapy

When Craniosacral Therapists use the term, “Stillpoint” what we are expressing is the gradual stopping of the system through a gentle manual technique. In particular, one way that is often used is the CV4 by using cupped hands to bring the occiput and surrounding tissues into a therapeutic stop. The Craniosacral Therapist induces the Stillpoint by creating a barrier at the end of either the flexion or extension movement. As the fluid quiets down, pressure is built back up, and when the tissues are released, a gentle cleansing flow can move through the body, releasing restrictions and adhesions. This is very healthy for the Central Nervous System. Stillpoint can be applied anywhere on the body for positive therapeutic results.

For clients who have experienced Stillpoint, many have stated that they felt much less stressed, and some have had the experience of feeling a re-organizing type of sensation in their bodies. Headaches can disappear, aches and pain go away . Stillpoint is a wonderful technique that can have profound life effects. The Upledger Institute sells Stillpoint Inducers that can be used everyday from about 30 seconds to 10 minutes to create more freedom and flexibility in the body. Yet the experienced hands of a Craniosacral Therapist can take you to la la land.

If you would like to learn more about Craniosacral Therapy in the Columbus, Ohio area, call Sharon Hartnett CST-D

703 509-1792

www.craniosacralatherapistcolumbus.com

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