614 653-8111 Sharhartnett@aol.com

Young people and older people are getting forward neck posture. All the computers and the cell phones contribute greatly. But also all the sitting Americans do. It’s not good. If I had to do it again, I’d start squatting and learn yoga or pilates early on. I’d make them a life practice. But life being what it is in our culture- our postures are often misaligned as we get older. But there are things we can do to have more freedom of motion.

In my opinion, massage can help. But someone who specializes in fascia is the best bet. The fascia wraps around and through everything in the body superficially to the deep. From macro to micro and reversed. It’s a living tissue that contains and keeps us alive and in motion. When we nourish the fascia and help it remember its ability to be vital, pain can disappear.

I have clients in their 50’s and on up. They can hardly move their necks when they first come in. They are told it is arthritis. Well, they may have arthritis, but it’s the tissues that restrict or allow motion. It’s the fluids dancing with the structure that makes the change. If things can start to soften, spread and move, the bones can be adjusted or perhaps move back on their own. It’s like a wrapping. If it’s tight and stiff- how does life nourish or relinquish what it no longer needs?

Of course there are minerals, vitamins, PT and other things which can help (all part of the HELP team), but the fascia is key. People, whose doctors tell them it’s arthritis often don’t talk about the benefits of fascial work. I think this is a big mistake not including it in health protocols. In addition, learning Feldenkrais, Continuum and other movement exercises that are gentle can be essential and really help too. People don’t have to stay stuck or frozen internally. At any age, we can make choices that will help us. It may not correct the issue 100%, but it can make a huge difference.

Friends, move yourself in different ways. Be proactive with your health. We all have habits that aren’t easy to break, and when this happens- there is always someone out there with skill and experience who is willing to help. It may take time and patience. Take care-no matter which route you take.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D
7035091792
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Healing through Gentle Touch

Healing through Gentle Touch

Why Craniosacral Therapy Works with Gentle Touch

I could get into the whole Craniosacral System (CS), but that may or may not bore you. Not all people are physiological geeks like I am. But I will say, that by Listening well to this CS rhythmic motion that has a deep inter-relationship with the Nervous system, an experienced therapist can help you way more than you ever imagined.  With the most gentle touch they can help your Inner Wisdom guide you back to health.

Just today, I had two clients with so much pain. Unlike massage therapy (which I also do appreciate) I didn’t have to go after muscles or do anything heavy handed. Believe me too when I say many people (who are in pain) who call thinking I do massage, ask for very Deep Massage. I used to ask for and do the same thing with Structural Integration too until I learned better. I stopped doing that because, for me, I found a better way. I am not interested in a strong handed approach. I know there is a way to let go of dysfunctional patterns and to help the body integrate longer term without forcing anything.

Some Massage Therapists are excellent at learning to layer, and to help the body to release myofascially. I have my favorite people who are awesome with this. Full of gratitude for their work. However, from my most profound experience, often the best work is done by listening to the CS rhythm and allowing both the fascia and the CSR to lead to long-term change. Why? Because when gentle hands-on listening follows the body’s own inherent self-correcting direction, there is no need for the body to fight aggressive hands massaging. It focuses on the the fascial system that holds everything together, promoting health and motion. No need for defending when the pain feels to raw or too much. The fascia and CS start to unravel old patterns that are no longer needed organically. No more sessions needed feeling very sore and overstimulated.

Just today, my first client seemed astounded how great she felt after the session. Not really my doing, but my support helped. Her body’s ability to relax and let go when reminded how to did the trick! I reminded her, this is the way you feel when you are not holding tension. This is more the real you, interconnected within yourself with fluidity and healthy structure.

My second client was surprised that her arm pain disappeared when It may not have felt like a lot was happening during the session. Although, I could tell she was deeply relaxed:) Pain does not necessarily go away by forcing one to feel pain that is not ready to let go. Pain may show up even in a gentle session, but only because it feels supported enough to slip away. I wonder sometimes if we want to feel our pain pushed because it’s all we know? But I am here to say there is a new way. Also, sometimes what feels like arthritic pain, is actually fascial restriction. This can change and it can heal. Gentle nourishment may be what is needed for neck and back pain to disappear.

Yes, there is still more to align most of the time, and old patterns need to shift cause life happens, but when someone has vitality and it is tapped into with the CSS, it’s amazing how much a body can heal. We can change our posture, and make choices which help us. Sometimes it takes a long time, but each session brings a new awareness of the “essential self” and that does know how to live in ease. Trusting your own body’s “knowing” is so important. Listening to it and allowing others to listen to it with supportive touch shifts the world inside.

So next time, you are thinking you want deep massage that hurts, ask yourself if you really need that? Or might it be better to learn to live with more gentle interactions that show the body what peace feels like.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D
703 509-1792
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

How to Find Help forVertigo

How to Find Help forVertigo

From a manual approach, Vertigo can be helped if it is stemming from a structural issue. I have had clients come in with this issue, and when It began after a physical accident, we have had much success.

Recently, with one client, we figured out that most likely it originated with a childhood accident, and then the heavy lifting consistently at the job also contributed to dizziness. I don’t diagnose, but this is the story the client shared as the pieces came together during our time together.

What I felt during my listening palpation was that there was a lot of motion from side to side, mostly in the neck, but also in the head, and down in the body. One Side of the body was much more muscled than the other. The lateral motion was occurring from the brain all the ways down.

Easy session. All we had to do was find the primary areas to work and to help the body self-correct and self-regulate. The key issue here was in the hyoid bone. Once that released, the whole body began to open up. But its also important that a therapist knows how to work the rest of the anterior neck and the thoracic area as well. I used Craniosacral Therapy and Visceral Manipulation techniques to help toward resolution.

It’s not always the case that CST will help with Vertigo. But sometimes it is. A good question to always ask, is. “when did the symptoms begin”. If there is a correlation, it may be structural indeed! I also recommend people see a Vestibular Therapist too who has lots of experience, if the challenges come from somewhere else.
Putting a thumbs up for helping people with this uncomfortable condition. Vertigo is not fun.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D
703 509-1792
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Sooth your Anxiety: Feel Good in Your Skin

Sooth your Anxiety: Feel Good in Your Skin

Are you having a difficult time relaxing?

Have you tried everything but your body still feels tense? Craniosacral Therapy may be the ticket for you. When your brain is wired, certain triggers can set you off. Stress, when it builds up, or we become oversensitive or overwhelmed easily takes a toll.

Craniosacral Therapy uses gentle touch, and can be quite powerful in helping to reduce anxiety. With the right Craniosacral Therapist, you will remember what it is like to feel healthy boundaries, respect, and actually sense calm again.

As your brain and body start to remember, you can rebuild your sense of confidence and peace. isn’t that worth getting in touch with again.

For more information, call Sharon Hartnett CST-D who is a Diplomate Certified Craniosacral Therapist through the Upledger Institute.

Locations in both Johnstown (right outside of New Albany), and Worthington Ohio

Namaste!

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

The Importance of Feeling Understood.

The Importance of Feeling Understood.

Understood

What’s it like to be understood? Our names are a lable that identify us. I am not usually one who likes to be labeled. But there is something so vital about being witnessed, understood and heard that feels so important to our human nature. With Craniosacral Therapy, touch is also about melding and blending while listening to a person’s Central Nervous System. When the person is met, something alive and deeper awakens. It’s that place where we long to be recognized and finally are in a very sensory way understood.

Human beings are meant to be touched and understood. Craniosacral Therapy is such a great system to reflect this back. It’s so gentle and compassionate. One reason I switched my main focus into Craniosacral Therapy was because it brought so much more peace to my system.

I see this all the time with my clients as well. It may take one session to feel understood by others and ourselves. Or it may be many depending on the life circumstances. But it is oh so helpful in helping the body to deeply relax.

To find out more about Craniosacral Therapy, and SomatoEmotional Work, check out the Upledger Institute.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

703 509-1792

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Serving Columbus Ohio area

 

What Does a Craniosacral Therapist Do?

What Does a Craniosacral Therapist Do?

Craniosacral Therapist Columbus Ohio

 

My wish is that people could understand how wonderfully helpful a Craniosacral Therapist can be in almost every situation: from large to small.  The best thing about it is that stress is usually reduced significantly in so many ways.

When a person is living in chronic pain, feeling lost, anxious or afraid. What does that person need? What does he or she really need to feel better? In a world that is based on individuality and independence, its easy to forget that we are all part of the whole and completely interconnected. Both inside our bodies and to everything else in the Universe. The good news for us, is that we are always able to tap into the healing forces that exist at any time, even when we forget or lose touch with our true nature. What this healing looks like as it unfolds we never know, but in the deepest level, we will be changed and feel more deeply connected.

As a Craniosacral Therapist, my number one intention is to listen to the person on my table with my hands, with my heart, and to stay in curiosity with how their Inner Wisdom can help them find their way back to home inside. By melding and blending with the Craniosacral System (CSS), the Central Nervous System gets on board, and lights up the way for self correction and healing. Craniosacral Therapist use a very light touch and trust the body’s ability to heal and know what is best for each person. Sometimes clients can feel this during a session, other times all they can say is that they feel lighter and better at the end of the session or afterwards.

The Craniosacral System consists of the membranes and the fluids around the brain and the spinal cord. The Craniosacral Fluid is constantly being created and reabsorbed back into the blood which creates a flexion and extension movement that can be felt through the body. When a Craniosacral Therapist listen and supports this system, it helps to nourish and balance the CNS and the rest of the body, and helps to remove stress and toxins. Often when this happens, old memories, emotions and sensations arise. Like a wave, the person rides through and the tissues, soften, relax and hydrate The fascia finds new vitality and promotes better health through the continuous tissues within.

If you would like to find out more about how a Craniosacral therapist can help you,check out the Upledger Institute. Dr. John Upledger created the Institute many years ago, and his osteopathic approach to healing has spread across the world with much success. If you live in the Columbus Ohio area, I offer free 15 minute phone consultations and would be happy to address any of your questions at 703 509-1792

Warmly, Sharon Hartnett CST-D

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

How Does Craniosacral Therapy Help Anxiety?

How Does Craniosacral Therapy Help Anxiety?

Calming Anxiety

I could get into the physiology of the body to explain why Craniosacral Therapy helps alleviate anxiety. Instead, I want to talk about gentle touch and listening.  How beneficial it is for all human beings to be in a supportive physically safe experience.  Anxiety doesn’t have to run your life.

What I have noticed with many of my clients who suffer from constant anxiety, is that often 1: They were not held much in safe arms. 2. They were in environments where there was lot of verbal and physical abuse. 3. They weren’t allowed to express how they felt. 4. Some type of abrupt trauma occurred.

Most of us have heard of the autonomic response of fight or flight. With the engagement of the sympathetic system, there is a chain reaction of body responses that happen to protect.  That’s the short explanation of anxiety.

When there isn’t an opportunity to process these stressful events, a person may continue to hold the energy of the event/s that brought on the fear inside.  The brain also gets hardwired and often gets very hypersensitive. What makes this even more difficult, is when the original issue is not cleared, the way a person interacts in the future can re-create more examples and overlays of the original fear and anxiety.

I think it’s important to ask- what was missing in those times of stress and fear?  What turned healthy fear into ongoing anxiety?

Craniosacral Therapy directly addresses that question. First a therapist brings a neutral presence into a session. A place that feels safe and nurturing. Secondly, the therapist listens and melds with the person as they begin to move through a process that was left incomplete. This is done with gentle touch and care, along with techniques that work to balance the Craniosacral System (CSS). When the CSS is functioning well, it helps to balance the overly sympathetic Nervous System.

When someone is living with anxiety, it’s important to get grounded, to embody, and to feel safe again. This is done through a trusting relationship, that will bring you what was missing in the original situation where it felt like there was a real or perceived threat.

If you would like to find out more about how Craniosacral Therapy can help you-if you are experiencing high anxiety, PTSD, or panic attacks, call Sharon Hartnett for a free 15 minute phone consultation.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

703 509-1792
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

 

Experiencing The Power of the Witness in Craniosacral

Experiencing The Power of the Witness in Craniosacral

Witness

One of my teachers from the Upledger Institute Posted something about Witnessing, written by Dr. John Upledger. It made me take some time to reflect on the how powerful this Craniosacral Therapy is simply by offering each person on the table a witness. When we stay by the side of our clients, we bring our presence, our listening, and a person who can witness what may have been hidden in the dark for so long.

The body holds cellular memory, and when the Craniosacral System is touched, it realizes when it is being held in a sacred space with care.  It understands that it is being understood in a fresh perspective.  The body responds, and so do emotions and beliefs that arise as a result.

How many secrets need to come to light? And what would it feel like to trust someone who can touch us in a way that we can express all that has been hidden?

Craniosacral Therapists do this by staying neutral.

If you have more question, please call Sharon Hartnett at 703 509-1792

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Post-Op Pain Relief

Post-Op Pain Relief

In my experience of close to 30 years in bodywork, I have noticed how my clients often experience significant decreases in anxiety, pain and tension after surgery. Controlled Trials have also found the same effectiveness with Hands On Therapies, from what I read in my Massage Therapy Journal.

Remove the stresses in the body which limits the healing process. Gentle listening and addressing the Nervous system to calm and work more easily can do wonders in Post-Op people in getting back to their lives. Craniosacral Therapy in particular is very gentle and supports the body to find its own intelligence to get well again.

If you have any questions, feel free to call me for a no cost 15 minute phone consultation.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D
703 509-1792
www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

Healing With Heart Energy

Healing With Heart Energy

Most of my practice is based in Craniosacral Therapy Work. I also went to the Barbara Brennan School of Healing for 8 years, and taught there, I have a strong foundation in Energy Healing, and it flows in every session.

While Craniosacral Therapy is primarily about allowing the client’s system to navigate back to health, often in energy work, facilitators will see the aura or pick up things with their clients that could be helpful and shared. Quite often when my clients ask me what I see with my eyes open, it is a beautiful green light that is enveloping us both. The longer the connection, the more the color green becomes more and more clear. Also, in my heart, there is often a deep peace. My clients feel this as well.

Anyone can learn how to work with energy. You too if you are open. We are all Energy Beings. We are all Created in Love.

Sharon Hartnett
703 509-1792

www.craniosacralatherapistcolumbus.com