Craniosacral Therapy
What is Cranosacral Therapy?
It is a ‘hands on’ therapy .For treatment, you
will usually lie on a treatment table and
experience the very light touch of the therapist’s
hands. You may feel a deep sense
of relaxation, and possibly become aware of heat, tingling,
pulsations or other
sensations.
This extremely gentle therapy uses no manipulation. The
therapist uses their hands,
to sense what is going on in your body, and in this way
both identifies and relieves
pains or tensions held in the body.
Craniosacral Therapy is client-led. Your body will set
the pace of work, so you will
remain comfortable, in control and able to integrate the
changes that occur.
Since it is your body (rather than your mind) that sets
the priorities, you may find
that the reason you came for treatment is not what changes
first. Also, some people
find that it can take a few sessions to get used to what
they are feeling. For these
reasons, you may need to consider having a series of treatments
to gain the full
benefit of Craniosacral Therapy and its cumulative effects.
Craniosacral Therapy is becoming much better known these
days. It is based on a
number of findings about the body’s subtle physiology,
which were made by
osteopaths in the USA nearly 100 years ago.
These findings show that every cell in a healthy body expresses
a rhythmic
movement which is fundamental to life and which has been
called craniosacral
motion.
At the core of the body the cerebrospinal fluid, which
bathes and cushions the
Brain and spinal cord, expresses this motion in a tide-like
ebb and flow; while bones,
organs and other structures in the body each follow their
own particular pattern of
movement. This motion is so subtle that it is barely measurable
with instruments,
but the hands of a trained therapist are able to perceive
it.
As the implications of these findings were realised, during
the first thirty years or so
of this century, Craniosacral Therapy gradually developed.
Since then the therapy
has been refined and further developed into the subtle,
deep healing process which
is available today.
How does Craniosacral Therapy work?
In response to physical knocks or emotional stress, the
body’s tissues contract.
Sometimes, particularly when the shock is severe or occurs
within an emotional
situation, the tissues stay contracted
Any stresses, strains, tensions or traumas which have been
“stored” in the body in
this way will restrict the body’s functioning and
may give rise to problems over the
years. The effects may be both physical (such as back pain,
migraine or digestive
disorders) and emotional (such as anxiety or depression).
Restrictions in the body’s functioning show up in
the way that craniosacral motion
is expressed. Craniosacral therapists are trained to feel
this subtle motion in the
body, and can use it to identify areas where there is congestion
or restriction. In this
way they can identify the possible origin of a problem.
Then, using the hands to reflect back to the body the pattern
it is holding, the
therapist provides an opportunity for the body to let go
of its restrictive pattern and
return to an easier mode of functioning.
This happens at a deep, unconscious level within the body,
but it occurs in the same
way as we might take other, more conscious decisions. For
example, if someone
holds a mirror in front of you when you are frowning, you
suddenly become aware
of your expression and may well choose to relax your eye-brows.
As well as releasing the body’s tensions, this frees
the energy which the body was
previously using to hold itself in contraction. So one of
the benefits of the therapy is
an increase in the level of energy avail-able.
Can Craniosacral Therapy help me?
Caniosacral Therapy is so gentle that it is safe and suitable
for people of all ages,
from babies to the elderly, and also in fragile or acutely
painful conditions.
Indeed, it is often appropriate when other therapies may
be unsafe, such as during
pregnancy, after an operation, accident, fall or injury,
and for young babies. As a
whole body therapy, Craniosacral Therapy may aid people
with almost any
condition, by raising the vitality and enabling the body’s
own self-healing processes
to be utilised.
But you don’t have to be ill or have any particular
symptoms to benefit from
Craniosacral Therapy. The alleviation of life’s stresses,
and the increased sense of
vitality and well-being that Craniosacral Therapy can bring
are welcome to most of
us at any time.
Craniosacral Therapy for Babies
One of the joys of treating babies is that they tend to
respond so well to treatment,
and more quickly than adults. Many infant problems, like
colic, sucking problems,
breathing difficulties, restlessness and irritability, may
result from craniosacral
imbalances caused during the birth process.
Treatment of young infants may help to relieve such problems.
The following is a list of some of the wide range of conditions
which may respond favourably to treatment:
Allergies
|
Hormonal
imbalances |
Arthritis
|
Hyperactivity |
Asthma
|
Impotence |
Autism
|
Infertility |
Back
Pain |
Insomnia |
Birth
Trauma |
Learning
Difficulties |
Bone
/ Joint Disorders |
ME |
Breathing
Disorders |
Menstrual
Pain |
Bronchitis |
Muscular
Aches and Sprains |
Cerabral
Palsy |
Nervous
Disorders |
Chronic
Fatigue |
Post
Dental Trauma |
Colic |
Rheumatism |
Depression |
Sciatica |
Digestive
Problems |
Sinusitus |
Drug
Withdrawal |
Spinal
Curvatures |
Dyslexia |
Stress
Related Conditions |
Emotional
Problems |
Stroke |
Exhaustion |
TMJ
/ Jaw Disorders |
Frozen
Shoulder |
Trigeminal
Neuralgia |
Headaches
and Migraines |
Visual
Disturbances |
Information Courtesy of
:
Cranio-Sacral Therapy Association of the UK (CTA)
Monomark House
27 Old Gloucester Street
London
WC1N 3XX
Tel: 07000 784735
For Further information visit the website
www.craniosacral.co.uk
Where To Find Help
There are registered craniosacral therapists throughout
the UK and abroad. If you
would like to know who is practising in your area, please
send a large (A5) s.a.e. to
the Craniosacral Therapy Association for a list.
Registered therapists are graduates of a training course
recognised by the
Association, and are involved in on-going training in this
or related therapies. They
are covered by professional indemnity insurance and are
subject to supervision.
They are entitled to use the letters RCST (Registered Craniosacral
Therapist) after
their names.
