Craniosacral therapy – tapping into the body’s healing ability

therapy Tapping into the body’s healing ability Craniosacral

Craniosacral therapy or CST is an offshoot of Osteopathy, sometimes called cranial osteopathy, that’s growing in popularity. Dr William Garner Sutherland (1873-1954) an American Osteopathic physician, first identified and started to develop cranial osteopathy as a way to assess and improve well-being and the health of the whole body.

Dr. Sutherland became fascinated with anatomy of the skull, spending many hours dissecting and examining the human head. Noticing the unusual way in which the skull bones connected with one another, he was struck by the phrase ‘Bevelled like the gills of a fish, indicating …mobility for a respiratory mechanism’. He considered if the edges of the bones were jagged and bevelled, there must be a reason for it.

Dr. Sutherland’s Eureka moment came one day in the early 1900’s, when he realised that he’d only ever examined the skulls of cadavers - what if the connective tissue between the bones remained elastic throughout life and the bones were moveable until death? To test this theory, he wore adjustable leather straps to prevent movement of his skull bones and discovered that the resulting pressure on his head created physical symptoms and personality changes. This led him to understand that if a human skull was rigid, then the various pressures of the helmet shouldn’t have affected him.

The term Craniosacral therapy was coined by John E Upledger who took on and developed Dr Sutherlands ideas and techniques to create a powerful yet simplified system of treatment, capable of being learned by those outside of the medical and osteopathic professions.

What exactly is Craniosacral therapy?

Craniosacral therapy involves very gentle touch or holding of the body, largely focusing on the head and spine, including the sacrum. Thus the name, ‘cranio’ – head; ‘sacral’ – sacrum/ triangular bone at the base of your spine. Although hands can be placed anywhere or alternatively hardly moved around at all.

What happens during a treatment?

The client remains fully clothed except for shoes and generally lies on their back on a treatment bed. Covered in a blanket, they engage as much or little as they like with the practitioner. The body often responds very well when the client is relaxing or napping, although talking about sensations in the body and emotions as they arise can have an extremely therapeutic effect. There is something powerful in acknowledging the pain or emotions that have been held in the body, which often encourages releases and further shifts in wellbeing.

Everyone’s experience is different – bodily sensations like tingling, fizziness, cold, warmth, and sometimes a sense of discomfort can occur. Thoughts, memories and emotions can also arise. Alternatively, it might feel like nothing’s happening at all - it’s a very individual experience.

How and why does it work?

Dr. Sutherland talked of five characteristics of the body which give us some idea as to how and why Craniosacral therapy works:

1‘The mobility of the cranial bones’

Medical professionals will tell you that most of the bones in the head are fused from around the age of around two. However there are

“My belief is in the blood and flesh as being wiser than the intellect. The bodyunconscious is where life bubbles up in us. It is how we know we are alive.”

two key bones in the head that are joined by cartilage. The Spheno-basilar synchondrosis – joint between the big bone at the back of the head (Occiput) and the butterfly shaped bone in the centre of your skull (Sphenoid), which your pituitary gland sits on. The fact that this joint is made of cartilage indicates to some that it’s actually been designed to move. The edges of many other bones in the head are bevelled in a way that permits tiny movements.

2‘The reciprocal tension of the

membranes’

Membranes or Fascia covers everything in the body and runs from the top of your head to your toes, covering organs and bones – everything is therefore connected. This is why if you bump your right hip this can have repercussions in other parts in your body, for example pain in your left shoulder or discomfort in your left knee and so on. This is one of the reasons working on one part of a body can have an impact elsewhere.

3‘The motility of the

Central Nervous System’

There are 12 cranial nerves that originate in the brain and travel out though various holes in the bones of your skull, down the neck and spine, and travelling out to the organs and muscles in your body. These nerves are continually feeding messages back and forth between brain and all of the bodily systems - controlling the organs

“Treat everyone, and every part of everyone, as equal. Every cell in the body has consciousness.”

(including lungs (respiratory system); stomach, intestines & gall bladder (digestive system); kidneys, liver & bladder (excretory system), immune system and hormones (reproductive system & endocrine system)), limbs and emotions. Working with the nervous system, via gentle touch at the head and spine, can thus improve all manner of problems; from anxiety, insomnia and depression, to teeth grinding, IBS and the functioning of the urinary system.

4‘The fluctuation of the Cerebrospinal

Fluid (CSF)’

This fluid is made in the brain and surrounds both the brain and spinal cord, as well as the entire surface of the central nervous system. Craniosacral therapists understand that this fluid moves up and down the spine supported by a movement of the sacrum and causing minute movements of the bones in the face and head, as long as these bones are not wedged or trapped in some way as a result of tensions in the muscles or fascia.

5‘The involuntary motion of the sacrum’

Minute movements of the sacrum generate a wavelike motion of the CSF which bathes the nerves in the spine and brain. This motion is sometimes described by Craniosacral therapists as the ‘breath of life’ or ‘primary respiration’ as Dr Sutherland called it. If spinal bones are misalignment or there are other blockages, the motion can be inhibited and have negative effects on wellbeing. Craniosacral therapy also helps to release tensions in the muscles and body generally, which can support a well-aligned posture and flow of cerebrospinal fluid.

Craniosacral therapists work with the whole body via the bones, nervous system, fascia and the Cerebrospinal fluid. By ‘listening’ to the body through gentle touch, restrictions or blockages are identified and released. These releases of tension can maintain health, wellbeing and immunity, as well as ward off depression, musculo-skeletal dysfunction, pain and stress. It’s also great for babies, as well as many postnatal

issues - from colic to crying - are often a result of shock and trauma associated with birth and these are commonly released and remedied by Craniosacral therapy.

Supporting the free flow of this ‘breath of life’ through craniosacral therapy often means the body is able to successfully find its own way back to health.

Lindsey practices in Canterbury, Kent. She graduated in 2016 from the College of Craniosacral therapy in London, is a member of the Healing Hands Network and has volunteered at the Helen Bamber Foundation in London who support victims of human cruelty. Lindsey also works with Bach flower essences and aromatherapy, and teaches meditation.