Finding equanimity through presence.
What is craniosacral therapy?
Craniosacral therapy is a subtle yet profound and powerful hands-on technique that developed from osteopathy, which has its roots in the traditional indigenous bodywork and healing arts of the Cherokee and Shawnee Tribes.
Craniosacral therapists are trained to feel rhythms, motions and patterns in the body which are more subtle than the heartbeat and lung breathing that we are all familiar with. Biodynamic craniosacral therapy supports the body’s natural tendency to find health and balance by relieving the body of restrictions and alarm and allowing it to settle and realign. Craniosacral therapy often effects structural change, but can also have much wider implications psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. It can be a tremendous agent in nourishing individuals on a journey of deep healing and growth.
It can feel like a deeper rest than sleep when we connect with natural forces of health through the support of skilful relational touch. Some clients emerge from sessions feeling grounded and pleasantly stilled while others leave enlivened, a spring in their step.
Over time it is common to experience a deepening of ones own sense of embodiment and the emergence of a more loving relationship with ones body and oneself.
Craniosacral therapy is not intended as primary healthcare, but to work alongside the relationship you have with your doctor. It work very well alongside medical treatment for a condition and talking therapy or other complementary therapies that you may already be receiving.
Who is craniosacral therapy for?
People often come to craniosacral therapy for remedial reasons. The catalyst might be pain, injury, illness, psycho-physical ailments, mood changes, or a bereavement or trauma of some sort. Biodynamic craniosacral therapy can also act as a kind of grounding or ‘ignition’ resource for people who are on a threshold or feeling stuck or thrown by events in their lives.
Conditions I can work with:
Pain - Back / Neck / Joint
Headaches / Migraines
Stress / Anxiety
Digestive problems
Depression / Hypomania
Grief
Muscular Tension
Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue
Please get in touch if you would like to enquire about your particular issue.
Craniosacral therapy is well known for treatment of newborns as it is so effective at resolving birth trauma and any feeding and digestive issues that may crop up neonatally. It is less well known but can be equally efficacious as a palliative end of life care treatment, helping people to have an easier death.
What happens during a session?
After taking notes about your health history and any issues, symptoms or desires that have brought you to this practice, you will be invited to lie on a massage table fully clothed and I will talk you through a simple body check-in before beginning the hands on work.
The hands on treatment part of a session typically lasts 30-40 minutes and involves the therapist coming into contact (hand holds) at different places on the body – for example at the ankles, pelvis, shoulders and head.
I aspire to cultivate an active dialogue with my clients. I ask for the ‘okay’ before making a contact or coming out of a contact. I won’t assume it's a 'yes' before beginning a hold, and I won’t be offended if you say 'no' to a contact that I propose for any reason, or change your mind about a hold. You’re the boss.
You are welcome to share anything that comes up or feels relevant in confidence; the content of sessions is strictly confidential and only shared (anonymously) in the context of sessions with my supervisor, which I am required to have as a professional member of the CSTA.
At the end we will usually have a brief discussion about how it was and how we felt about it.
How long will it be until I feel better / normal / like myself (again)?
Unsurprisingly, the answer will be different for everyone and greatly depends on the nature of the health condition/s you arrive with. When it comes to longstanding and acute issues and illnesses, biodynamic craniosacral therapy actually aspires to slow, complicated healing, as advocated for by the Slow Medicine Movement and Coyote Institute.
As a baseline it’s important to understand - and this can take time literally lying on the table to truly ‘land’ - that we have to become present in our bodies for healing to be possible. The amount of time it takes for each person to become present (rather than disassociated) - and we need to feel safe in order to really feel our bodies - can vary enormously depending on their history and circumstances, or more broadly speaking how ‘resourced’ they are when they start sessions. My aim is to cultivate clients’ resources and embodiment skills from treatment one. Receiving craniosacral therapy can be restful but it is not passive. My sessions are collaborative; I don’t wish to sleepwalk into a patient-healer dynamic.
For people who have experienced complex trauma or a lifetime of neglect, building up resources and a felt-sense of safety and boundaries can take 1-2 years of work. In these instances, one can think of biodynamics as being like talking therapy for the body.
