Craniosacral Therapy – Holistic Path To Healing
July 2, 2018 Conscious Community Magazine, Features - Health, Health, Healing & Wellness, Review of Healing Modalities
By Brigita CRP, PT (LT)
Craniosacral Therapy – Holistic Path To Healing
Review of Healing Modalities
Craniosacral Therapy has been becoming more popular in recent years due to its gentle, noninvasive nature and its benefits to health and wellness. It is a very light touch holistic therapy that helps to bring the body into balance and heal by itself.
Craniosacral Therapy has its origins in Osteopathy – a sister healing art of Chiropractic. In the 19th century, the founder of Osteopathy, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, treated many illnesses and diseases by mechanically adjusting the bones, muscles and soft tissues. His student Dr. W.G. Sutherland took it further and experimented with the bones of the head using his own skull. He discovered that the bones of the skull actually move like fish gills. Obviously, these movements are very subtle and not seen by naked eye and are palpable with a very precise touch of the fingers. The biggest question lied in “What makes these bones move?”
How does it work?
Craniosacral Therapy works around the cranial rhythm. Cranial rhythm is a pulsation of cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid in which the brain lies.) In normal states, this rhythm is about 6-12 times per minute. Cranial rhythm is most evident in the head, however, it may be palpable around other areas of the body. With the precise palpation of the client’s body, the practitioner can feel this rhythm and decide whether it is in or off balance. When there is a pathological process going on in the body, cranial rhythm is disrupted. It may be more rapid or very shallow, irregular or barely palpable. For example, if the sacral bone is shifted to one or the other side, it may pull on soft tissue around the spine and cause back pain. Another example, if someone had a concussion in the past, the skull bones may be compressed, which restricts normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid. That later may cause many other health issues such as sinus problems, jaw pain, headaches, anxiety, etc. These are only a couple of examples of how the body creates an imbalance.
Who can benefit from Craniosacral Therapy?
First, it is important to understand that the practitioner, who applies Craniosacral Therapy, does not intend to fix any health or medical issues. The practitioner looks for health and balance rather than trying to treat the symptoms. “On talking of balance, we think beyond the three dimensions. There is front to back, left to right, top to bottom, deep to superficial, psyche to soma, the whole body to its surroundings, and the dimension of time in terms of past, present and future.” 1
There is a lot of listening and stillness involved in the healing process on the side of both the client and the practitioner – the deeper the stillness, the greater the healing. “The craniosacral wave (cranial rhythm) isn’t just a physical phenomenon…It’s also a field of information and intelligence…When client and practitioner have no connection, there sometimes is no efficacy.” 2
Craniosacral Therapy is a truly unique form of healing where people with chronic back pain, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, chronic fatigue, joint and muscular pain find relief in more or less than five sessions.
Who can do Craniosacral Therapy?
Usually, professionals who are already involved in therapeutic work (massage therapists, physical therapists, psychotherapists, acupuncturists, physicians of some specialties) add or integrate craniosacral therapy into their service.
Craniosacral therapy is safe and non-invasive with minimal or no side effects. The healing effects are long-lasting and touch the body, mind and soul.
Reference:
1 Wildy, Jo. “Ineffective Unscientific Magical Thinkers.” Sutherland Cranial College Magazine, Summer 2012: 6-11. No 34.
2 Milne, Hugh. The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work. North Atlantic Books, 1998. Hardcover.