This first article appears in the
Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 'Body Sense' Magazine published
by the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals
(ABMP) and is titled "Craniosacral Work-Accessing The
Healer Within"
The second article below the first
article appears in the August 1st, 2011, edition of
'Massage Magazine' titled "The Healing Art of
Craniosacral Therapy: A Practitioner's Role"
Craniosacral Work-Accessing The Healer Within
By Paul Brown
It’s no secret that proper nutrition, exercise,
and living a low stress lifestyle are among the keys to good
health and longevity. If we pay close attention to these three
cornerstones of our health, our body will reward us with
vitality and well-being. Amazingly, even when our body gets a
little out of balance--a sore tennis elbow, an irritating
cold, or an achy neck from a tense business meeting--we are
each equipped with a high-performing immune system
miraculously designed to heal our body and protect us from
disease.
The demands of our modern world often challenge
our immune system’s ability to keep up. We get pulled in
competing directions-- work, kids, telephones--with everything
vying for our time and attention. Stress has a way of creeping
in cutting us off from the precious life forces that lay at
the root of our foundation for health. If we haven’t been
building and maintaining the nutrition, exercise and stress
management cornerstones we need, then the sore tennis elbow,
cold, or tense neck becomes more serious and our health
foundation starts to crumble. When this happens, we
instinctively reach out to our doctors to “cure” us. We fail
to realize that nature has already provided us with our very
own miraculous inner healing force--the craniosacral
system. My role as a craniosacral practitioner is to
help them find a way to optimize their own healing force so
they can build a solid, healthy foundation or restore it if
the crumbling has already begun.
A GENTLE TOUCH
Craniosacral therapy is a healing modality that
grew out of osteopathy, the ancient art of bone setting. In
craniosacral therapy the subtle art of precise and gentle
touch is applied to correct imbalances in the fluid and
membranes surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal
cord.
Craniosacral therapy is based on a particular
understanding of human anatomy. Imagine your craniosacral
system has a regular rhythm much like the heart only more
subtle and slower. Just as your heart pumps needed blood to
the rest of the body, the craniosacral system pumps important
fluid-- cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-- between your brain and
spinal area.
The CSF plays important roles in your immune
system’s performance. These include offering protective
covering for your delicate brain tissue, delivering glucose (a
type of sugar that nurtures and cools the brain) to the cortex
brain, inhibiting viruses and bacteria in the brain and
forming a transport medium between the blood and the brain.
CSF has a big job to do, but health problems can create an
imbalance in the flow of the CSF, limiting health and clarity.
If CSF is allowed to flow unimpeded, then the body has the
opportunity to maintain, or, restore balance.
Proper performance of the craniosacral system and
its fluids is essential and necessary to the entire central
nervous system, which is a network of specialized tissue that
controls the actions and reactions internal to the body and
your body’s adjustment to your environment. The crazier your
environment, the harder it has to work. The two main
components of this system are the brain and the spinal cord.
Think of your brain as a computer and the spinal cord as the
cable. The spinal cord links the computer’s input and output
to the rest of the body. Remarkably, your entire motor
function, learning patterns, and emotions are affected by the
craniosacral system as your whole body expands and contracts
with the rhythm of the pumping fluids. This is where
craniosacral therapy can improve the functioning of these
essential self-healing systems.
Think of your craniosacral practitioner as your
partner. You and your body do the work, but your practitioner
lends his or her knowledge and skills to help you. Together
you are able to bolster your body’s own resistance and improve
how your central nervous system responds to stress and
illness. When soft touch is applied to this system,
clients can achieve incredible releases from long-standing
restrictions, stress and tension.
Craniosacral therapy achieves, not only relief
from physical pain, but also restoration of clarity and
emotional wholeness as well.
Craniosacral therapy can successfully
address:
Central nervous
system disorders
Chronic fatigue
Chronic neck and
back pain
Digestive problems
Emotional
difficulties
Facial and jaw
problems
Headaches
(migraines, cluster, etc.)
Sinus pressure
Stress and tension
related problems
Tinnitus (ringing
in the ears)
Vertigo
WHAT TO EXPECT
During a craniosacral session, the
practitioner will have set up a space devoid of distractions.
In my practice I refer to this as the “sacred space” because I
strive to embody the philosophy that time and space are
special, unique, quiet, restful, and where stillness resides.
The practitioner will ask questions to try and understand what
health or healing concerns the client has. This is a critical
part of the healing process because craniosacral therapy
offers many techniques that can be directly customized to the
client’s needs. By having a conversation first, the
client and practitioner work together to find the best option
for healing.
Next, the client lies on a traditional massage
table, fully clothed, and the practitioner begins to apply a
slight amount of pressure (about the weight of a nickel) to
the craniosacral system. In my case, I draw on more than a
hundred different techniques from my years of training and use
a precise, gentle touch to areas such as the brain, spine, or
other parts of the body. Intuition, perception, and intention
come into play here and I use these gifts to direct me to go
to those places needing the most attention. Once the body is
in a relaxed state, craniosacral therapy has the ability to
teach on a cellular level. The body knows this; that is, every
cell in the body will remember the connection with the forces
of healing and the more the body remembers those forces of
healing, the more it can allow itself to heal. For example, if
you’ve had a stiff neck in the past due to stress, it is
likely next time you have stress your neck will get stiff
again. The cells in your body remember and now equate stress
with a stiff neck. This same “cellular memory” can be achieved
in a similar, but positive, way by giving the body--and the
central nervous system--an extreme and wonderful experience of
deep and often profound relaxation through craniosacral
therapy. The more the body remembers this natural state, the
more it can allow itself to heal.
By the time you leave your session, you will most
likely feel relaxed, refreshed and re- energized. Some clients
even report “a reawakening of power” as the body, mind, and
heart find their own profound medicine.
THE STILLNESS
Most of us have mastered the art of “doing” in
our crazy, activity-filled world, but “being” is actually
tougher, much more rewarding, and is truly a gift. Lao Tzu,
the prolific sixth century B.C. E. philosopher, said ‘The
source of all great movement lies in stillness’. I’ve often
been awed by what the body can do when we give in to the
stillness--when we slow down enough for the body to respond
positively to its own healing ability.
While craniosacral therapy is a complementary
practice, I also view it as a spiritual practice. Now, more
than ever before, we are witnessing a return to healing that
encompasses the totality and wholeness of the body, mind,
spirit, and psyche. We are paying more attention to what we
eat, we are looking for alternatives to drugs, and we are
stopping to think for a moment before we make that call to the
doctor. We are flexing the muscles of a deeper consciousness
as we strive to experience what it means to live a healthy and
authentic life. In many ways, we are reaching out to the
spiritual roots of our healing. By tapping into our
inner healer, craniosacral therapy helps us get there.
The Healing Art of
Craniosacral Therapy-
A Practitioners Role
By Paul Brown
Craniosacral therapy is a healing modality that grew from
osteopathy, the ancient art of bone setting. The subtle art of
precise and gentle touch is applied to correct imbalances in
the fluid and membranes surrounding and protecting the brain
and spinal cord. The practitioner uses specific techniques,
along with presence, where sacred space is held by means of
mindful awareness for healing. This allows the client to
achieve releases from restrictions and tension throughout her
entire body. This, in turn, brings about relief from physical
pain, restoration of clarity and insight, and the optimization
of emotional wholeness.
Craniosacral therapy is valuable for many medical problems and
is routinely used as a preventive health measure, as it
increases resistance to many ailments. People of all ages,
from children to seniors, can benefit from this form of
therapy.
The difference
The difference between craniosacral therapy and other
modalities is the duration of the techniques that are held on
the client, as well as the moment-to-moment attentiveness the
practitioner holds to the client's needs.
The craniosacral practitioner facilitates the healing of the
client's own healing process, and in doing this the
practitioner slows, broadens and eventually stills his
attention to the intelligence of the client's primary
respiration system (the totality and complete submicroscopic
self-organizing movement of the fluids in the body). When this
is done, the body then knows what to do.
What a practitioner does as a
skilled technician
As a practitioner, the ultimate priority in this work is to
hold the well-being of the client and value the uniqueness of
each individual. The client's body is empathetically
connected, allowing for emotional safety. While instinctively
remembering the individual's wholeness, scared space is held
within the dynamic stillness that permeates the room. In the
session, this leads to the pain and suffering that is felt
inside the client's body, mind and heart. The practitioner
consciously breathes in the pain and suffering, synchronizing
with the primary respiration that is different with each
client, while exhaling loving kindness. Full intention is used
for the connection of primary respiration as when we find
cohesion with stillness, moving at its own pace. Elevated
consciousness is brought about between the client and the
practitioner, as he proceeds to be present with an open and
loving heart that is necessary for optimal healing.
If the body is carefully listened to, the body will tell the
practitioner which pertinent techniques to use during a
session depending upon the client's specific needs. A gentle,
sensitive finger touch is used that optimizes the slow
and steady (depending on the health of the client) movement
within the body known as the cranial wave ( the explanation of
the cranial wave is discussed later). In addition to this,
precise touch at specific points on the body monitor and
interface with the oceanic environment of the cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF). This offers relief from pain, deep relaxation and
maximum revitalization of body, mind and heart, allowing for
the individual to find her way to a state of health and
wholeness.
Who benefits from this
technique?
Craniosacral therapy is often used as a preventive health
measure and as a way for many people to maintain clarity and
balance in their everyday activities. Craniosacral therapy is
also an excellent complement to many other healing modalities
and can assist with pain and dysfunction for many specific
medical problems, such as
Sinus pressure
Chronic neck and back pain
Central nervous system Disorders
Scoliosis
Learning disabilities
Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries
Vertigo
Motor-coordination impairments
Emotional difficulties
Tinnitus (ear ringing)
Orthopedic problems
Stress- and tension-related problems
Digestive problems
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Chronic fatigue
Headaches
Neurovascular or immune disorders
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-surgical dysfunction
Fibromyalgia and other connective-tissue disorders
What makes craniosacral therapy unique
The most unique aspect of the role of the practitioner is the
visionary approach (one who perceives outside, senses what is
inside and trusts both at the same time) that allows for him
to meet, greet and hold united consciousness with the
client—all while waiting for nature to heal the disease.
The practitioner comes in touch with spirit as a quiet,
intuitive presence. This moment-to-moment stillness allows him
to be guided, as his hands become receptors of healing energy.
The practitioner expresses his highest knowing, moving to the
place that supports the body, mind and heart as it finds its
own profound medicine; a reawakening of the power within each
client to come into a place for optimum health. As a
practitioner, this carries forth into the work, giving him a
deeper sense of love, compassion and, most importantly,
presence. Presence then becomes more important than technique.
Craniosacral therapy in the
community
Craniosacral therapy has come forth in the world community as
a modality that encompasses compassion and a real sense of
love while promoting healing. The work of a craniosacral
therapist is to reach out in service to satisfy the continuing
hunger for renewed spiritual growth as we, in communities,
seek wholeness of body, mind and hearts through maintaining
good physical and mental well-being.
Another extraordinary quality of visionary craniosacral
therapy is it has the ability to touch the depths of one's
being and find access to a greater sense of clarity, serenity,
release of archaic wounds, dealing effectively with old habits
and patterns, and a renewed sense of emotional wholeness.
Craniosacral therapy is redefining communities in the sense of
healing by regaining the spiritual roots that connect each one
with common respect, loving kindness and a deeper
consciousness for living a healthy life. This includes the
communities of chiropractors, massage therapists, kinesiology
practitioners, reflexology practitioners, dentists, etc.
Craniosacral therapy as a
spiritual practice
This work becomes a spiritual practice. In order to do the
work that needs to be done, the practitioner allows time to
slow down, creating sacred space and holding the client's
dream body (the totality and wholeness of the client) with
reverence and awe. Through the many techniques available that
deal directly with craniosacral therapy, a process is used of
extreme gentle sensitive touch, a form of Taoism, the "doing
non-doing" to optimize a movement within the body known as the
cranial wave. (The cranial wave seems to have its source in
involuntary movement of muscle contraction and is triggered
into an oceanic tidal motion that in a healthy body has a
range of 8 to 14 cycles per minute.)
Problems such as the ones mentioned above can create an
imbalance in the flow of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF),
limiting health and clarity. As the work continues and if the
practitioner is open to the process, the body will direct
him/her to open up sutures, air sinuses, rigidity and
blockages in the body to free up CSF—and the healing processes
will naturally follow. In essence, sacred space is being held
for these other forces. This is more that can be physically
seen, touched or healed, and is something beyond our knowing
and is timeless.
This now brings the opportunity to use these gifts, apply
intention and intuitive perception, along with a visionary
approach to the craniosacral techniques as a way of allowing
the body to heal itself. Healing happens on both physical and
emotional levels, but the deepest healing takes place when the
practitioner stays in the moment and is truly present, serving
as a channel for this love that reaches down to the innermost
part of the client's being, where the real healing takes
place.
The responsibility of the practitioner is to reinterpret
everything according to a deeper reality, and this happens
when he lets go of what he thinks and knows and touches into
the dynamic activity of stillness. It is this stillness that
everything settles into a subterranean level, where all things
have the potential to come into optimum health.
Using the inner eye, inner ear and his heart, the practitioner
is the watcher of the temple and helps clients come to know
that their bodies are also temples that connect them with self
(the higher state of consciousness). During the practice, both
practitioner and client meditate together and this approach is
profoundly healing.
Craniosacral therapy has the ability to teach on a cellular
level. The body will remember this; that is, every cell in the
body will remember the connection with the forces of healing
and the more the dream body remembers those forces, the more
it can allow itself to heal. This will remain as indelible
lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives the
practitioner touches, both now and for years to come.
The satisfaction that comes from the sense of service fills,
feeds and has the potential to complete the practitioner in
his life. Craniosacral therapy is the catalyst for this. The
more the intention is exercised, the more effective and
powerful it becomes. The practitioner is then ready to hold
the container for healing, to grow into greater autonomy,
authenticity, and wholeness, and through this he can help
clients find their own sense of healing. When the practitioner
is freed from any preconceived expectations, healing is more
likely to take place.
This work brings forth the simple life of integrity and
passion: to live and work from "still point" and from
"silence." The more one enters into this blessed work, the
more that is asked to work with consciousness and find this
place of stillness. Stillness invites an awareness of
compassion, humility and trust. It does this not only for the
practitioner, but also to those he works with.
As the poet T.S. Elliot wrote:
Except for this point, this still point
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance.
It is important, as a practitioner of this work, to come from
a place of unconditional love and inner stillness. By holding
this, there is a sense of synchronicity with the client.
The practitioner serves as a channel for clients, providing
direction to their own healing ability. From there, the
practitioner's healing hands and nature itself do the rest.
805-637-8756 paulbrowncranial@gmail.com