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What is Craniosacral Therapy ?
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.
Craniosacral 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.
he 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.
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. 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 available.
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 and Emotional Release are effective in the treatment of:
Myofascial pain
Headaches and migraines
Fibromyalgia and other connective-tissue disorders
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Women's health issues
Pelvic and menstrual problems
Acute and chronic pain
Chronic neck and back pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ)
Restriction of motion
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-surgical dysfunction
Stress- and tension-related problems
Attention deficit disorders
Repetitive stress and sports injuries
Rehabilitation
Scoliosis
Orthopedic problems
Neurological dysfunction
Autism
Central nervous system disorders
Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries
Infantile disorders
Colic
Learning disabilities
Emotional difficulties
Neurovascular or immune disorders
Emotional Release
We store our life experiences in our bodies. Because the Craniosacral Therapy techniques are gentle, but powerful, the effects go deep without stimulating the body's defenses. They can easily unlock the residue of trauma stored in the tissues. This unlocking and facilitated resolution process is called Emotional Release. It is an integral part of Craniosacral Therapy. Emotional Release uses dialoguing and therapeutic imagery along with other verbal, energetic and physical support techniques to initiate change. These techniques promote the discovery and gentle release of the restrictions that contribute to pain and dysfunction.
Emotions rise to the surface, but emotional release is not necessarily a painful, cathartic event. It can be a friendly negotiation between you and your various parts. When we cling to our once-helpful coping mechanisms after they cease to be useful, they remerge as sources of pain and restriction. The therapist is the facilitator and mediator as she helps guide you toward resolution. After receiving this process-oriented type of bodywork, people report greater clarity, peacefulness and insight along with positive change in their physical symptoms."
"Osteopathy is a science with possibilities as great as the magnitude of the heavens. It is a science dealing with the natural forces of the body. We work as osteopaths with the traditional principle in mind that the tendency in the patient’s body is always toward the normal. There is much to discover in the science of osteopathy by working with the forces within that manifest the healing processes. These forces within the patient are greater than any blind force that can safely be brought to bear from without".
William Garner Sutherland, D.O., D.Sc.(hon.)
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