614 653-8111 Sharhartnett@aol.com
Still Hurting After an Accident? Craniosacral Therapy May Help You Recover

Still Hurting After an Accident? Craniosacral Therapy May Help You Recover

by | Jun 19, 2025 | better posture, concussion, Craniosacral Therapy, migraine, mind body & spirit, trauma

Craniosacral therapist using light touch to help a woman recover from injury-related headaches and tension"

Find Help with a Craniosacral Therapist after head trauma. Written by Sharon Hartnett CST-D Columbus, Ohio

If you’ve been in a car accident, taken a hard fall, or suffered a head injury, you might still be feeling the effects—long after the moment has passed.

Every year, thousands of people in the U.S. experience accidents that leave invisible marks. Car crashes. Ladder falls. Horseback riding injuries. Some walk away feeling lucky—until the symptoms start creeping in.

Lingering headaches. Jaw tension. Brain fog. Dizziness. Chronic neck and back pain. For many, these symptoms don’t show up right away—and when they do, conventional medicine may not offer full relief.

That’s where Craniosacral Therapy (CST) comes in.

? Accidents Are More Common Than You Think

  • Over 6 million car accidents happen in the U.S. every year. Even minor fender benders can cause whiplash or head injuries.

  • 500,000+ people are injured annually in ladder falls.

  • Horseback riding leads to 100,000+ injuries a year—many involving the head, neck, or spine.

While emergency care addresses broken bones and life-threatening trauma, many people are left with unresolved tension or dysfunction that lingers long after the body appears “healed.”

? Traditional Medicine Offers Essential—But Sometimes Incomplete—Relief

After an accident, most people turn to:

  • Pain relievers (NSAIDs, muscle relaxants)

  • Physical therapy

  • Rest or immobilization

  • Imaging and diagnostics (MRIs, CT scans)

These treatments are critical. But for people experiencing post-concussion symptoms, chronic headaches, or nervous system overload, the path to recovery can feel frustratingly slow—or stalled.

Migraines, tension headaches, jaw pain (like TMJ), and hypersensitivity can persist long after scans show “nothing wrong.”

? Craniosacral Therapy: A Gentle Support for Deeper Healing

Craniosacral Therapy works with your body’s natural rhythm to release tension stored in the central nervous system. Using a light, therapeutic touch—no more than the weight of a nickel—a trained CST practitioner listens to subtle patterns in the body and helps unwind areas of restriction or shock.

CST may help:

  • Reduce headaches and migraines

  • Ease neck and jaw tension after whiplash

  • Support post-concussion recovery

  • Calm the fight-or-flight response

  • Improve sleep, mood, and focus

Unlike forceful manipulations or invasive treatments, CST creates a safe space where your nervous system can reset and self-correct—especially helpful when trauma is still “held” in the tissues.

? What the Research Says

A growing body of studies supports CST’s role in pain and trauma recovery:

  • One clinical trial showed reduced pain and frequency of migraines after CST compared to traditional massage.

  • Case studies report improvements in post-concussion symptoms, including dizziness, fogginess, and neck pain.

  • CST has been shown to help with cervicogenic headaches, which are often related to trauma in the neck area.

While more large-scale research is needed, evidence suggests CST can be an effective complementary therapy to traditional medical care—especially when symptoms persist beyond the acute phase.

? You Don’t Have to Do It Alone

Healing takes time. Especially after trauma.

It’s normal to feel frustrated when you’re not getting answers—or when others say “you should be fine by now.”

Craniosacral Therapy offers another way.   With a Craniosacral Therapist who meets your body where it is, listens deeply, and supports you gently back into balance.

? Ready to Explore a Different Path?

If you’re still hurting after an accident, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. Your body may just need the right kind of support to fully let go of what it’s been holding.

Reach out today to learn how Craniosacral Therapy can help you reconnect, recover, and reclaim your sense of well-being.

Sharon Hartnett CST-D

614 653-8111

For more answers to questions, go to Craniosacral Therapist Columbus Ohio

 

How to Free Yourself through Breath

How to Free Yourself through Breath

by | Jun 7, 2025 | Craniosacral Therapy, fear, grounding, healing, healthy, mindfulness

A picture of the book Breath

The Breath: A Path to Healing and Inner Calm

By Sharon Hartnett CST-D | Craniosacral Therapist in Columbus, Ohio

?️ The Sacred Breath of Life

Why do so many of us hold our breath—or barely breathe at all? As a Craniosacral Therapist in Columbus, Ohio, I’ve asked this question for years. I see it daily in my clients… and I’ve seen it in myself too.

Shallow breathing has become the norm in our fast-paced world. But our breath holds the key to a more relaxed, resilient, and nourished life.

? My Journey to Breathing Better

Years ago, I enrolled in a yoga teacher training course, partly to deepen my understanding of breathwork. I enjoyed it, but honestly—I didn’t keep up with the practices. They didn’t quite stick.

Later, I read Breath by James Nestor, and it sparked something deeper in me. I tried mouth taping at night (as he suggests), and noticed my jaw relaxed, and I breathed through my nose more often. But again… I fell off the routine.

Creating new habits takes effort, and I’ll admit—like many of us—I didn’t always make it a priority.

✨ A Turning Point: Breath & Awareness

Eventually, I discovered a breathwork teacher who helped me realize something important:
My exhale was restricted, and the pause after exhaling was even harder. But through consistent practice, I noticed improvement. My breath began to shift, my awareness deepened.

More recently, I took a five-hour course on The Breath and Digestion with Nikki Kenward and another brilliant teacher. This time, it landed differently. The experience was informative and embodied—helping me understand how deeply the breath is connected to our digestive health and nervous system regulation.

With mindful breathing, gentle touch, and a calm presence, I could feel my body soften and re-energize.

?‍♀️ Breathing in My Craniosacral Practice

I’ve shared simple breathing techniques with clients for years, but this workshop gave me new insight. Breathing—especially with awareness—can support digestion, emotional healing, and a balanced nervous system.

Now, I’m weaving breathwork more intentionally into my Craniosacral Therapy sessions. When clients tune in to their breath, it opens the door to inner wisdom, subtle motion, and profound relaxation.

? Why Breathing Efficiently Matters

Efficient breathing means slow, intentional, and diaphragmatic breathing. Here’s why it’s so powerful:

? Physical Benefits

  • Better oxygen flow: Nourishes tissues and supports healing

  • Improved posture: Strengthens the diaphragm and core

  • Lower blood pressure & heart rate: Activates the parasympathetic response

  • Enhanced digestion: Calms gut tension and supports regularity

  • More energy: Oxygen supports every cell in the body

? Mental & Emotional Benefits

  • Reduces anxiety: Signals safety to the nervous system

  • Increases focus and clarity: Breath calms the mental chatter

  • Supports emotional balance: Builds capacity to respond, not react

? Nervous System & Sleep Support

  • Moves you from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest”

  • Improves sleep quality and supports gentle recovery

? A Simple Practice to Begin: The 4-6 Breath

This is one of my favorite practices to return to—especially when feeling anxious or disconnected.

The 4-6 Breath

When to use: Morning, bedtime, or anytime you need calm.

  1. Sit comfortably or lie down

  2. Inhale gently through your nose for 4 seconds

  3. Exhale slowly through your mouth or nose for 6 seconds

  4. Repeat for 2–5 minutes (or longer if you’d like)

Optional: Place one hand on your chest, one on your belly. Let the belly rise more than the chest. This signals the nervous system to soften.

? Closing Reflections

I still return to this truth: Breath is medicine.

Breathing mindfully—especially with longer exhales—helps us release fear, calm anxiety, and reset the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our system. I can feel it shift my mindset and open space for healing.

If you’re on a healing journey, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, try reconnecting with your breath. And if you need support, I’m here.

Let’s explore how Craniosacral Therapy and mindful breathing can help you feel more whole, more connected, and more at ease in your body.

With breath and presence,
Sharon Hartnett CST-D
Craniosacral Therapist Columbus Ohio
? Worthington, Ohio
? 614-653-8111
? www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

How to Feel Awesome? Releasing the barriers to Healing

How to Feel Awesome? Releasing the barriers to Healing

by | Mar 3, 2025 | change, Craniosacral Therapy, Energy Healing, healing, healthy, Healthy Body, love, upledger institute

Creating an Awesome Life from Within

Unlocking the Awsome in Your Life!

“Be Still and Know”.  A quote by Dr. William Sutherland sums it up best.

Right now in the world, there is so much chaos and a push to divide. I have clients who are cancelling because they are breaking away from those whom they love, and they don’t want to drive back up here because it’s too emotionally painful.  Families and friends are fighting because they are so involved with the outer conflicts in the world, but don’t remember how to find peace inside.

If you want to re-discover your awesome Self, it may take some quieting down and mindfulness.  Healer- you must learn to heal yourself before you can mend breaks that you don’t understand.

As a Wellness guide and a Craniosacral Therapist, I would recommend acknowledging  releasing and transforming any obstacles that are in the way of feeling your awesome self.  Bring awareness to your breath and breathe,  connect with your body, and deeper wisdom. Some tools you can use are:  self-inquiry (check out www.thework.com ), connect to nature and grounding. Most importantly, remember compassion over judgment and the power of community and service connection!

When the world is feeling loud, it’s enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed, fearful, angry or lost. If you are feeling that way, know that your emotions are valid. They are your understanding about how you feel.  However if they are keeping you get stuck move forward with some help.

Take some time to breathe, and to slow down.  It’s there that you can anchor it to your inner resources.

If you are having a difficult time doing this by yourself, an ally can help.  Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle manual approach to working with the body to alleviate chronic stress.  It’s great in helping to release physical barriers to deeper healing, but also with Somato-Emotional Release, it can help move that energy that is keeping you feeling stuck and upset.  

Your inner wisdom knows how to ground and release. It’s just sometimes easeir to have someone help facilitate the process.

To learn more about Craniosacral Therapy, check out www.Upledger.com.  It’s a fantastic way to awaken your awesome self again.

If you are local to the Columbus, Ohio area, give me a call, and I offer free 15 minute phone for any Craniosacral Therapy questions you may have.

Move from overwhelm into the Best Verstion of yourself.  You can Do it!

Warmly,

Sharon Hartnett

703 509-1792

www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com

For google reviews: https://g.co/kgs/v2UxQEt

 

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How to Best Express Your Emotions Effectively

by | Feb 9, 2025 | Craniosacral Therapy, Energy Healing, fear, grounding, healing, Healthy Body

Emotional Intelligence

The Transformation of Raw Emotions Into Emotional Intelligence

Speaking to Neurodivergence

Living with a neurodivergent mind can come with a range of emotions and challenges. As each individual is unique, this can show up in many ways. When I speak of neurodivergence, I am referring to those of us who cognitively process information differently than neurotypical thinkers.  This can include:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Unique social communication challenges, sensory sensitivities, and repetitive behaviors.  I recommend the Telepathy Tapes to learn more about this.
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Features of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
  • Dyslexia: Difficulty with language skills, especially reading.
  • Dyscalculia: Difficulty with performing basic arithmetic.
  • Dyspraxia: Issues related to physical coordination.
  • Tourette’s Syndrome: Involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalizations.
  • Down’s Syndrome: Genetic disorder causing developmental and intellectual delays.

Stress, in particular, among neurodivert people may play a big part in keeping neurodivergent thinkers feeling isolated and alone. Our feelings, emotions,  and expressions can easily be misunderstood or misinterpreted. However, as we learn to understand our raw and vulnerable selves better, and also as more people learn to understand and accept people who seem different, for the whole, it allows for more diversity and creativity. We each have our gifts as well.  Neurodivergent thinkers can actually be super creative out of the box thinkers, and help come up with innovate ideas to help resolve problems.

Common issues with Emotions with Neurodivergence:

Social Anxiety

I know that sometimes just being in the same space as other people alerts the nervous system into hypersensitivity. A neurodivergent person could end up feeling sensory overload when they detect conflict or too much energy around them. Maybe it is pressure to perform or to look like everyone else.  Maybe coming up with words to communicate is hard.  In this case,  the healing response might be to ground or to limit overstimulation so that we can feel safe in our emotions.

Time Management

It may be difficult to keep focused or on schedule. People may become impatient or uncomfortable if they don’t understand or feel at ease with the boundaries and patterns  which are unfamiliar.  Especially with procrastination. It’s easy for people to think we are lazy or that we don’t want to partipate, or do the work. For healing, it’s important to realize that everyone is organized differently and healthy processing time for some may be to do nothing until ready to make the next move.

    Self Blame

    It’s easy to blame oneself when others who are neurotypical don’t understand why we don’t have the same social cues or regulation. Many neurodivergent people might believe they are the problem, when actually they are not. They are just different. It’s vital they they are reflected back as valuable in their authenticity and contributions.  They should not have to “mask” in order to be accepted or valued.  Once we all see the light in each other, the more the Whole can evolve.

      Emotional Woundings

      Neurodivergent individuals can feel emotionally chaotic at time. Their experiences may feel more hightened, and they don’t know the best way to respond.  It’s important that they find supportive people to help them to understand.  In today’s world, sometime emotions get a bad wrap.  I’d suggest that many neurodivergent thinkers are actually more emotionally mature if they decide to work through what comes up for them.  They have to work and move through so much more.  It’s an art and a skill to relate when it doesn’t come easily.

        Physically

         

        They may need more rest and down time to integrate with introspection.

         

        Unique Communication Styles

        While neurodivergent people may not always communicate in ways that others expect, their style can bring fresh insights or directness. For example, individuals on the autism spectrum might be incredibly honest and straightforward, offering clarity in situations where others might shy away from being so direct.

         

        Being good at understanding and managing emotions can be a challenge for neurotypical thinkers. However, with healthy support, they can learn how to deal with life and make better decisions based on their unique perspectives in life.  Being mindful, as we learn to stay more in the moment, and get to know ourselves, moving from stress to emotional intelligence moves us and humanity forward.   We are all in this thing called humanity together.

         

         

         

         

         

        If you are interested in a body centered therapy to help you to ground, feel more embodied and integrated, check out the Upledger Institute for a therapist near you.

        Sharon Hartnett CST-D

        703 509-1792
        www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com
        How to Develop a Good Plan for Stress Management

        How to Develop a Good Plan for Stress Management

        by | Jan 24, 2025 | Craniosacral Therapy, Energy Healing, grounding, healing, healthy, Healthy Body, meditation, mind body & spirit, mindfulness

        Stress Management

        Who needs stress?

        Well, stress can be beneficial.  It can help your performance in any part of your life if it is used in a positive way. However, chronic stress is a different matter. Long-term stress can be a major contributor to numerous health problems.

        Fortunately, there are some tools that you can learn to help you stay healthy in your mind and body connection. Addressing stress as soon as possible can significantly shift your mindset. An intentional practice of committing to self-care can help avoid or minimize anxiety, depression, cardiovascular diseases and chronic pain.

        If you haven’t already come up with a plan for stress managment, here are a few ideas:

        1. Mindfulness, prayer and meditation can help reduce cortisol levels and bring one to center. This is a practice of becoming fully aware in the moment through experience and observation.  Curiousity also helps set the stage for discovering inner peace.
        2. Holistic and Complementary practices like Craniosacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, Acupuncture have shown to be very helpful with stress management.
        3. Breathing Exercises can shift you more into a calm state.  One that I recommend is breathing in to a slow count of 4, exhale to 6 and pause. In your practice continue to lengthen the pause at the end of the exhale. Also, practice diaphragmatic breathing, imagining your breath filling the whole ribcage as it expands and contracts. Allow the breath to move all the way to the pelvic floor.
        4. Check with your physician about the Role of Nutrition:  omega 3, magnesium and certaine B vitamins support brain health, and help to regulate emotions.
        5. Sleep.  It’s so important to get enough rest.  When you sleep well your brain is able to clear through the glymphatic system.  This can help you to feel much better restored, and to heal.  A good sleep routine is imperative to good health.

        Being in a Healing Practice for close to 30 years, I have seen so many people with chronic stress.I want you to know that it’s possible to step away from that. However, it does mean making a choice to change your life.  Your power comes in the form of doing things that bring you back to your balanced and healthy Self.

        If you have any questions, how I can help you as a Craniosacral Therapist, I offer a free 15 phone consultation.

        Sharon Hartnett CST-D

        7035091792

        Serving the Columbus Ohio Area

        www.craniosacraltherapistcolumbus.com