...And Now for Something Completely Different

What is, for many, the most cost-effective and versatile health care modality available today? Based on osteopathic principles, which note that function follows structure and the body is self-healing, CranioSacral Therapy can address a wide range of ills, both physical and emotional. Restrictions in the fascia, or thin layer of connective tissue surrounding every internal structure (organ, muscle, bone, etc.) constrain the movement of bone and muscle--holding muscle spasms in place, causing stress feedback to the nervous system, compressing nerves and restricting blood flow, thereby impeding the fluids and nerve impulses that conduct operational instructions for the body. This can result in discomfort and a loss of feeling of well-being and proper system function, caused by the nutrient, neurotransmitter, immune and other hormonal "instructions" not reaching their end destinations in the body, causing accelerated deterioration, imbalances and eventual dysfunction or disease. By reversing the root cause and eliminating interference, this therapy allows the body to restore its own ability to heal itself.

How Does it Work?

A CranioSacral Therapist, using the subtle rhythmic pulses of cerebrospinal fluid felt throughout the body,

can detect where these restrictions originate, and use the fascia as handles to the restrictions (including within the spinal canal), slowly and gently freeing them. These restrictions are often remote from where the symptom is felt, which can be misleading to the person residing in the body. Often using no more than five grams of pressure, or the weight of a nickel, the therapists relieves restriction, and the client often enjoys a "floating," "tingly" or "warm" sensation, often drifting off into a dreamy or even euphoric state. Rather than manipulating muscles or bones alone, working with the fascial connective tissue that holds, separates and defines the relationship between all of these structures can facilitate the entire structure restoring its overall integrity back to its original tensile design of struts (bone) and natural compressive forces (muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia), working in balance to provide proper mechanical functioning relationships of all of the body components.

Is it All in Your Head?

Another unique function of CranioSacral Therapy in the bodywork field is its attention to the bones of the skull. Using the fascia as handles, and a very light touch, a practitioner can relieve restrictions in the skull plates caused by compressions or misalignments. The U.S. allopathic medical schools teach that the skull plates are fused sometime between infancy and adolescence, but it is well known in numerous foreign countries, such as Israel, as well as in some chiropractic and osteopathic circles, that they are not. Skull plate compressions can cause, even decades later, such symptoms as headaches, migraines, ADD, anxiety, allergies, sinus problems and chronic fatigue, and the human body can stop activating symptoms when its cry of discomfort is heard and addressed correctly, even decades after the initial offense. This author was relieved of 30 years of chronic fatigue when her body self-corrected after her first CranioSacral session.

The technique is named after the sites where the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord attach to bone-at the cranium and sacrum.

There are many powerful healing modalities that involve manipulating the energy field of the body. CranioSacral also includes this in its arsenal of healing tools, but uniquely combines the use of energy with structural manipulation, where the two inform each other in an intricate dance in the hands of a highly trained practitioner. Such a practitioner can channel energy along the fascial lines, which travel contiguously all throughout the body, as well as using physical traction, to reach areas even far removed from the site of physical contact, as dictated by the body's own inner wisdom, as well as be guided by the energy how to move the structure, such that it feels as though it moves itself. This path of energy conduction likely has to do with the nature of fascia, made of a grid of collagen and elastin, to conduct heat and energy apparently like tiny wires or like the defroster bars in the back of a car windshield. Energy can also be conducted secondarily through the meridians, nerves and fluids. Most clients can feel the heat from the energy work which, combined with slow pressure, also softens the layers around the fascia in a phenomenon called thixotropy, where the gelatinous components of the body take on a more fluid nature and denser structures can more easily glide back into place.

Another very special effect of this work, in the hands of a practitioner with specialized training (called SER, or somatic-emotional release), is emotional release. Often the "anchor" for a particularly stubborn injury or condition, a memory may spontaneously arise and unexpectedly powerful emotions may be felt by the client. When this occurs, the injury usually spontaneously regresses and tissues may normalize in a matter of moments, to weeks. It is theorized that the neurochemicals that represent the emotions and belief systems (as per Candace Pert's* work "Molecules of Emotion) lie along the fascial lines, and are more easily accessed and liberated when the fascial adhesions, or stuck areas, are released. Fascia is generally meant to glide against the surfaces it touches, allowing for easy movement and free range of motion, but adheres to adjacent tissues when they remain immobile for too long, as in bed rest, overexertion or repetitive strain, or to prevent muscle injury from overextension. Other respected fascial techniques include myofascial release and rolfing (structural integration), but CranioSacral Therapy is unique in its incorporation of energy principles, and its interactivity with structure, to maximize the depth and breadth of the physical area affected, and its specialized ability to address emotional storage within the body. It is also observed that the body is the recording device for the events of a person's life and, with proper training, contacting the area of an injury in a particular way can reactivate memories even long forgotten. Many are familiar with Louis Hay's book "You Can Heal Your Life," with its correlations between physical dysfunctions and disturbed emotional states; this work encompasses the same principles.

There are many levels of training of CranioSacral practitioners, which is available to anyone with a license to touch. A practitioner can make significant changes for clients after only one course, while a few choose to take up to the several dozen available in the curriculum, which normally require the dedication of out of state travel for four-day courses. The Advanced and Advanced II levels of training, and Diplomate level of certification, also are ways for practitioners to achieve excellence and prove a certain level of mastery within the field, as well as becoming a teaching assistant or instructor. Over 100,000 practitioners are trained worldwide, in all disciplines of licensure, by the Upledger Institute. The technique's founder, Osteopath Dr. John Upledger continues to develop top specialty courses involving understanding the structure and function of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, immune and brain systems, as well as a pediatric specialty course. He appreciates the special sensitivity that massage therapists bring to the work. He also observes the ability of the inner wisdom of the body, which he refers to as the Inner Physician, and which guides the work in the sensitive practitioner. Trainings may include dialoguing with the Inner Physician and components of the body to engage their cooperation and obtain information. As unusual as this approach may seem, it is uncannily effective, and clients themselves are often amazed at the words that come out of their own mouths.

So, in a typical CranioSacral treatment, especially with an Advanced therapist, it is not unusual to experience the most profound relaxation, rehabilitation from even a decades-old injury, and a deeply healing emotional release of old trauma, all in one session. As such, it is a highly cost-effective preventative and rehabilitative treatment, which works all the way down to the cellular level; effectively one-stop shopping for your body-mind needs. As it addresses the structural and emotional aspects of the body/mind, it is important to also address the third (biochemical) component of health with attention to good diet and awareness of body toxicity. (CranioSacral Therapy addresses many biochemical and detox issues as well, but if necessary it can also be beneficial to work with a practitioner specialized in applied kinesiology which, like CranioSacral Therapy, does not conflict with any other modality as it uses the body's own wisdom to heal and address biochemical imbalances.) Also, clients must cultivate awareness of how they contribute to their own health through diet, ergonomic awareness, and exposure to toxic thoughts and substances, and it is imperative that the client come with an open attitude and willingness to heal, even on the unconscious level. Clients are amazed at the range of experiences possible from session to session, and generally the intention for the session is achieved, whatever its scope. No person can "heal" another, but we can help remove the interference and mediate communication to allow a person's body to better heal itself. CST courses teach that the body is in a state of organized dysfunction, a compilation of accommodations to life's slings and arrows. This therapy disorganizes the clients, allowing them new opportunities for choice of how to "be in their skin." As such it often takes a few minutes to compose oneself after a session.

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About the Author

Sandy Hanne, LMT

Locally in Dallas, TX, Sandy Hanne, LMT is an Advanced II level therapist, practicing for eight years, and trained in all of the latest cutting edge courses, taught by Dr. Upledger himself. She is a teaching assistant for his Advanced II level class, which he teaches only once a year to ten students. She also incorporates the work with a nervous system soft tissue technique called Flow with Life, which is a derivative work taught by one of the top instructors of Network Spinal Care. The two techniques work together like two halves of a whole, and the Flow causes clients to drop tension very quickly to allow the structural/energetic manipulation to begin almost immediately in most cases. She is also a longtime Reiki master with course work in lymphatic drainage, myofascial release, shiatsu, and other techniques, and has a specialty in rapid postural rehabilitation. Her work involves exploring with the client the source of the dysfunction, whether structural, emotional or biochemical, and addressing it at its root cause, in the simplest, most enjoyable way that empowers the client, not only to relieve suffering, but to see how good life can get. Her website is: www.iahp.com/sandyhanne .

Outside the Dallas area, a CranioSacral Therapist can be located by doing a therapist lookup on the Upledger site (www.upledger.com), by the first two or three letters of your zip code. Be sure to specify the CranioSacral curriculum on the right side of the chart. A practitioner's skill level will correlate loosely with the number of dots representing their education level, and the list of courses taken, though it is impossible to tell their years in practice, case load and natural gift.

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*Candace Pert, PhD, as seen in the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know?," and author of the audio series "Your Body is Your Subconscious Mind" did the groundbreaking research that led to the initial discovery of the endorphin, and her work was given Nobel consideration (Lasker Award) for the discovery of the mechanism of neuropeptides as chemical representations of emotions within the physical tissue.