Many people call me asking for Craniosacral Massage. The first thing I do is listen to why a person wants to come in.
People speak about their health issues, and often state that they have heard about Craniosacral Massage. Yet they don’t really know what it is. It’s important to me to take the time to explain the foundational basics, and then to make sure they question and understand if this work is a good match for what they are looking for.
So I do want to start by clarifying that Craniosacral Therapy is not actually “Massage”. Instead, it is a light touch manual therapy with a very different focus. It’s based on the Craniosacral System and how it relates primarily to the Nervous System. Just to name a few, it’s great for people dealing with:
Chronic Pain
Headaches/Migraines/Concussions
Fibromyalgia
People looking for Body Centered Help with Trauma Release
Also, there is a big difference between practitioners and therapists. Practitioners may have taken a class, whereas therapists going through a rigorous process to get certified through the Upledger Institute are much more thorough and deep into the work.
While the touch of Craniosacral Therapy is very light and simple in a way, there is actually alot of complex anatomy and techniques to learn, as well as taking the time to gain experience in order to become a professional and helpful therapist. So if you are looking for a qualified person to meet your needs, ask them about their backgrounds and specilties.
I love Craniosacral Therapy because it can help almost everyone. Craniosacral Therapy is also attentive and gentle-yet profound. It nudges the body into self-healing and deeper awareness. There are a few contraindications, but for the most part everyone can appreicate a healthier nervous system, more balance and fluidity through their bodies.
If you would like to find out more about Craniosacral Therapy, not craniosacral massage, please contact me and I offere free 10 minute phone consults.
People who come in for a Craniosacral Therapy Session are often looking for corrections to their bodies such as with balance, healthy motion and dialogue. What they often leave with is a sense pain relief, more freedom in movement, and a sense of better grounding.
What makes a session helpful to clients is that they feel like their concerns are heard and that their therapist can speak the same language verbally, but also with their presence and hands.
In my experience, for the best results, the therapist is listening from moment to moment as to what the body is saying. As a client, I can really feel the difference when I am touched as to the quality of connection. So when I work, and teach other therapists, I offer this teaching as one of the most important guide posts to providing a valuable session.
Once this criteria is met, techniques come into play that can help the body to self-correct in the most gentle way. With Craniosacral Therapy, the touch is so light, that it feels like a whisper on the skin that nourishes and promotes efficiency and wellness. This is why it is such a wonderful therapy for ages from infancy to working with seniors. Almost all people can receive this type of work easily.
A trained Craniosacral Therapist will check the motion of how the cerebrospinal fluid is moving through the Craniosacral System (CSS). What he or she will feel are the flexion and extension phases that are constantly providing information to the therapist about any restrictions or dysfunctional patterns in the system itself, or with fascia and other parts of the body.
Once the pattern expressions are presented, the therapist listens, follows, and encourages gentle changes to help with symmetry, amplitude, rate and quality. This can have a great impact on how the CSS functions. When the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) can flow freely, it allows the nerves to function more optimally. Without getting into too much detail, the clients often feel more balanced, at peace, and more centered after a session.
CST
I have been a Massage Therapist and Bodyworker for about 20 years. In the last 10 years, I have refocused much of my work into the field of Craniosacral Therapy, SomatoeEmotional Therapy, Brain Work and Visceral Manipulation because the effects are profound and yet the touch so tender and precise.
I have learned so much at the Upledger Institute because I value their contribution to the wellbeing of so many people across the globe. One man, Dr. John Upledger, explored into an unknown frontier and brought this science based medical work to hands on practitioners to bring health and joy back into individual lives. I have seen dramatic changes for people with chronic pain and energy issues, to people recovering well from TBI’s and concussions, back and and neck pain relief, fibromyalgia relief just to name a few conditions.
I don’t think that anyone can quite explain what a session is like. Yes, I could say that you come in fully clothed and you are touched this way or that. But hardly anyone expects how great they feel by the end of the session. This work goes beyond a gentle one hour treatment. Its reaches go deep into the cells along with the mind connection there. It simply is bliss. And the changes continue to happen for days, and often times longer.
As with most types of massage and bodywork, each client is unique. And each will have a different experience. One person may feel huge shifts the first time, and others- well it may take them some time to really relax. But most often they do, and people often discover new sources of tranquility, energy and a sense of Self.
So that is my take on Craniosacral Therapy at this point in my practice. I love the work. I love practicing it, and I love receiving it. It has helped me on so many levels: physically, emotionally, in my heart and with spirit. And I have been blessed to help others with it.
If you would like to learn more, or have some questions about Craniosacral Therapy, I do offer a free 15 telephone consult. I love to share this work, and hopefully I have educated and imparted an idea of how it can help you. I haven’t found one person yet who hasn’t found some benefit in CST.
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.
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
