Integrative Craniosacral Therapy in Charlottesville, Va.
“The CSF [cerebrospinal fluid] swells and recedes rhythmically like the tides of the ocean… And when it is brought down to a still point, there is an interchange between every single fluid and every single cell in the body. It happens in an instant. You have transmuted the breath of life into every cell… for every cell to take into itself and revitalize itself”
~Dr. Rollin Becker
Within that cerebrospinal fluid there is an invisible element that I refer to as the “Breath of Life”… [A} fluid within this fluid, something that does not mix, something that has potency as the thing that makes it move… Visualize a potency, an intelligent potency, that is more intelligent than your own human mentality.
~Willian Garner Sutherland
“To find health should be the object… Anyone can find disease.”
~Andrew Taylor Still
The craniosacral system is the deepest, most potent organizing force in the body. It holds the original blueprint of health imprinted into our bodies from the first spark of life in our mother’s womb. In a Biodynamic Craniosacral session, we work with the subtle rhythms that are produced by the Breath of Life, which extends throughout the body via the fluids, especially the cerebrospinal fluid.
Working with the craniosacral system I listen to the fluid dynamics and notice patterns of restriction, while holding therapeutic space and inviting the health blueprint to strengthen. I witness as the body gently unwinds the restricted fluid movement patterns, and the deeper tissues around the cranium, spine, allowing the health to rise. Together we create conditions for your own innate health and healing to arise.
Receiving a craniosacral session can also be a time for you to experience your own body and all the ways it communicates. Be held, supported, and witnessed as you pay attention to what is coming up. What are you sensing and noticing in your body? What stories and memories are coming to mind? What emotions are welling up? These questions can be powerful portals for you to access deeper physical and emotional healing.
Experiencing Craniosacral Therapy
This therapy supports optimum function in the central & peripheral nervous system and the entire fluid crystalline body. When the craniosacral system is functioning optimally the whole body and mind benefit.
Clients often report less pain, renewed vitality in their bodies, and even profound inner awakenings with this therapy. Supports chronic pain relief, reduced stress patterns, personal growth, self healing, and overall wellbeing. The body responds to this therapy in profound ways, and often results in long lasting, or even permanent, changes.
Clients experience the work as a very pleasurable relaxation, often with a deep sense of relief when troubling symptoms begin to subside. Since we often store emotions around traumas in the body, sometimes as the body releases patterns of held tension the client will also experience an emotional release, which can be a significant turning point in their journey.
Client usually remains fully clothed unless we are integrating with other therapies that require lotion/oil.
History of Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) arose from osteopathic medicine and was developed into a method of evaluating and treating tensions in the connective tissues of the craniosacral structures (cranium, spine, and sacrum) that can restrict movement, fluid flow, and interfere with healthy nerve function. The craniosacral system nourishes and protects the brain and spinal cord, the central nervous system, which is ultimately involved in every aspect of our health and well being, from clear mental functioning to a healthy immune system, to a balanced musculoskeletal system. Relieving tension and restrictions allows the system to function smoothly and facilitates a healthy mind and body.
Out of this work grew Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST), which operates on the underlying principle that our bodies have an inner wisdom that knows how to heal itself. Consider how, when faced with an injury or illness, the body sets to work to destroy pathogens and knit tissues back together again. It is this somatic intelligence with which BCST works. Although cranial, spine, and sacral work is part of BCST, the body’s healing intelligence (engaged via the connective tissues, peripheral nervous system, and fluid movement rhythms) can be accessed anywhere on the body to facilitate health and balance.
VIDEOS about Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
Janet Evergreen has been one of my most influential teachers of craniosacral therapy. In the interview below she explains craniosacral therapy for babies, children, and adults.