Craniosacral therapy is a gentle modality allowing people to deeply relax and tap into the body’s natural fluidity and rhythm; a place we rarely dwell these days as we move quickly and with stress through our daily lives. The experience of craniosacral therapy is very nurturing and satisfying to the system. Since completing a two-year course of study in biodynamic craniosacral therapy in 2009, I have been in private practice.
Craniosacral therapy taps into the primary respiration—the “Breath of Life”—allowing the inherent health in the system to express. Through the biodynamic approach to craniosacral therapy, we see the person as healthy, whole, and perfect as when they were conceived. The client and practitioner together tap into this innate wellness. No matter what circumstances occur in life, whether physical or emotional, the original perfect health is always present. The goal of craniosacral therapy is to assist the body’s cerebrospinal fluids to pulse and circulate freely where blockages resolve and release.
Sessions
We begin a craniosacral treatment by discussing how they feel in the moment. Visits are often physically motivated from feelings of pain or constriction. After identifying areas to work on, the client lies, fully clothed, on the massage table. I ask permission to touch the client, often at the feet, sacrum (the triangle at the bottom of the spine), or head, and tend to the body’s own tides.
My goal is to be a resource for the client, to ensure the physical contact feels good and I am not bringing what I think they need, but instead am guided by the client’s own body intelligence. Often during the session, I check in to see what the client is sensing, how present they are to the physical sensations. We also have time in silence and wait for the shift to happen, a moment when the fluids are activated and the system begins to relax into its own wisdom and whatever is being held—agitation, compression, pain—is resolved.
After sessions, clients report feeling rested, rebalanced, focused, and peacefully energized. Sessions last about 75 minutes—checking in before and after, and 60 are on the table. Like any type of bodywork, sometimes it’s appropriate to meet regularly (perhaps weekly) to address ongoing issues, while other needs might arise on a more impromptu and infrequent basis.