“…you’re one of those people, watching, listening, a witness to whatever this is, for as long as it is, amazing, isn’t it, that I could call you right now and say, ‘They still can’t talk to dolphins but are closer’, as I still can’t say everything I want to but am closer, for trying, to God, if you must, to Spirit, if you will, to what’s never easy for people like us: life, breath, the sheer volume of wonder.”
-Bob Hicok
The CranioSacral System
CranioSacral Therapy was developed by Dr. John Upledger and has been described as the space where the physical being meets Spirit. CranioSacral therapy is a potent tool using the functions of the Cranial System which maintains the environment in which the Central Nervous System functions. It consists of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord, extending from the bones of the skull, face and mouth (which comprise the cranium) down to the area of the tailbone (sacrum).
Like the pulse of the cardiovascular system, the CranioSacral system has a rhythm that can be felt throughout the body. The whole body expands and contracts with this rhythm. The core of your being, motor-function, learning patterns, emotions and ways of perceiving the world, and your experience in it, are affected by the balance of your CranioSacral System.
Using a touch generally no heavier than the weight of a nickel, a skilled practitioner can monitor this rhythm at key body points to pinpoint the source of an obstruction or stress.
By balancing the CranioSacral System we have an effect on the brain, spinal cord and thus the whole of the individual. Messages travel from the brain down the spinal column to the sacrum and to the tip of the coccyx. From there, messages travel from all parts of the body via the nerves exiting the spinal cord.
When the cranial bones are well aligned and the spinal cord is free of tension, then the cerebral spinal fluid flows freely. This is why cranial work has such a profound effect throughout the entire body.
Effects of CranioSacral Work
Most people feel a deep sense of relaxation during a CranioSacral Session. At times a certain degree of emotional processing and an opportunity for repatterning occur.
When a practitioner assists the client to relax and facilitates release of tension, the body moves into a state of rest and relaxation. A body that returns to a state of relaxation allows nature to take over. The innate ability of each person to heal themselves lies naturally within every body when that body is in a state of ease rather than dis-ease.
Reduction of pain or an increase in function may occur immediately after a session, or it may develop gradually over the next few days. Since CranioSacral Therapy helps the body resume its natural healing processes, it isn’t unusual for improvement to continue weeks after the session. For some, there may be a reorganization phase as the body adapts to the release of previously held patterns.