Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) has its roots in Osteopathy and was developed through the work of Dr William Garner Sutherland. It centres on the principle that the body-system is a self-regulating and self-healing mechanism. As such, whatever experiences the body-system encounters, whether physical or emotional trauma or stress, the potential for the body to heal itself is always present. The growing pressures and stress of modern life, however, can take its toll on the system's capacity to express optimum health. Parts of the Nervous System can become impaired causing sites of inertia. If untreated, the body can compensate by isolating the effected area, impinging on the surrounding tissues and muscles to function optimally. This can affect mood and personality and manifest as physical pain or discomfort.
How does it work?
The natural motion of the cerebrospinal fluid coating the Central Nervous System from the base of the spinal cord to the brain, creates a tide-like motion that ripples throughout the cells and tissues of the body. Where motion expresses within the structures, health is present; where there is restriction within the fluid-drive of the structures, potential for ill-health.
Through light contact, the trained Practitioner uses palpation skills to identify areas of stagnation or restriction, and gently facilitates the client’s system back to health.
The Practitioner helps to down-regulate the Nervous System from the Sympathetic stress-response “fight or flight”, to the Parasympathetic “rest and digest”, encouraging the system into a better state of balance.
What can i expect during a treatment?
During a treatment session, you will lie fully clothed on the treatment table and experience the light touch of the therapist’s hands. Using gentle verbal orientation, you will be guided to connect to your felt-sense and invite the often busy mind to drop into the physical body, and begin to become aware of deep and superficial physical sensations occurring within your system.
Each session is different; however, clients often express a state of deep relaxation or becoming aware of heat, tingling, pulsations, vibrations, softening of the tissues, or the sense of fluid moving and shifting throughout the system, and a general sense of connecting to the physical body. Sometimes sensations of discomfort can present, but this is part of the system processing any held trauma or shock. Clients often leave with renewed vigour and feeling more energised.
In the longer term
After a session there is occasionally a short period of adjustment as part of the healing process, when you may become more aware of symptoms. Sometimes people report relief after only one or two sessions.
For long-standing problems further sessions may be needed. Some people find they benefit from regular treatment over an extended period and say that, as well as noticing improvement in their physical or emotional symptoms, they feel they have increased self-awareness and improved quality of life.
Who is it for?
Because it is so gentle and non-invasive, CST is suitable for everyone from newly-born babies to the elderly. Women often come during pregnancy, and mothers and their babies for problems associated with difficult or traumatic births. Letting go of tension and fear held in the body enables both mother and baby to settle into calmness.
Some conditions that commonly respond well to Craniosacral Therapy include:
Stress & Anxiety, Back & Neck pain, Physical Misalignment, Joint & Bone disorders, Depression, Digestive disorders, Emotional issues, Headaches, Insomnia, Birth Trauma, Sinusitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Frozen Shoulder, Sciatica.