I am asked this all the time! It's such an unfamiliar term to most people. I'd like to start by telling you what it does.

What does craniosacral do?

It quiets your central nervous system. It relieves pain. It brings balance so that the tensions and strains in your tissues let go. One of my clients said at the end of a session, "This is the way my body was meant to feel!" 

How does craniosacral work?

The gentle craniosacral touch feels the movement of fluids, tissues and electrical energy within your head, as well as in other parts of your body like your legs or your digestive system. These movements are meant to be rhythmic like a dance. Instead, the movement may be jerky or blocked or strained. Your body responds to the craniosacral touch. In its own way and pace, it begins to shift and release tensions that have been created to accommodate injuries - physical, emotional, spiritual, moral injuries.

What is an unhealed injury?

Perhaps you were in an accident and your neck still feels tense. You may have scar tissue from surgery or a deep wound. Or perhaps you had a pregnancy loss and are still grieving. Sometimes, the nervous system still carries the shock or trauma of injuries, even years later. Recovery has not been possible up until now - you have not had the resources for it.

What’s a resource?

When I go to the ocean and hear the rhythm of the waves, I can feel something in my body drop and I feel easy. Even looking at a photo of the ocean will do that. For me, the ocean is a resource. It readies my body, provides me with serenity, hope even, and and puts me in touch with a power greater than the usual resources I depend on. In craniosacral therapy, we call it the “Breath of Life”. A resource may also be a location in your body that feels safe, easy and comfortable, like the palm of your right hand. Or it may be a memory or an image in your mind of a happy child. Whatever you choose, this resource gives you the strength to do a difficult thing like deepening into an injury of some kind.

How does craniosacral therapy make a difference?

In my experience with clients, 1) acknowledging what’s going on (the sensations or emotion), 2) accepting what is, and 3) observing without judgement - these simple actions have tremendous healing powers. I invite you to be an observer to your own bodily sensations, to listen to them in a way that doesn’t try to change them, to acknowledge any emotion that arises (maybe fear), and just hang out with that. I’m there with you, perhaps with my hands on or near the part of your body that is distressed. We may be dialoguing or not.

For those who are unable or unwilling to communicate directly with their bodies, I may be the one who is holding the space for the unhealed injury. I may be the one who is acknowledging, accepting and observing with no judgement and gradually the system begins to shift. The vitality (we call it potency) within you is doing the healing.

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

I return to this question. Craniosacral therapy is a therapy of touch, a light gentle listening touch. I listen to what your body is ready to tell me, and I support it in making shifts – musculoskeletal, nervous system, emotional and energy shifts. It may sound woo-woo to some. I wouldn’t have believed it until I experienced it in myself and in clients. Come as a skeptic if you like. Let’s see what your body has to say - when you’re ready.