03/17/2025
April is CST Awareness Month!
April is right around the corner! I wanted to let everyone know that April is CranioSacral Therapy (CST) awareness month! A time to raise awareness and promote the benefits of this wonderful healing modality! Sharing an article I wrote in the past that describes CranioSacral Therapy well. Please contact me to set up an appointmemt and see how great you can feel after a CST session!
Close your eyes and try to feel what it would be like if the restrictions in your body released and the tension unwound. Imagine feeling completely relaxed, lighter, and even standing straighter. These are only a few of the comments I have heard from clients after they have experienced a CranioSacral (CST) session.
Dr John Upledger, founder of CranioSacral Therapy, studied at Michigan State University from 1975 to 1983. He worked at MSU as the Professor of Biomechanics and as a clinical researcher. The Upledger Institute in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida is one of the leaders in training various therapists in gentle hands on therapies. It is through this institute that I received my CranioSacral training and education. As stated on Dr Upledger's website, www.upledger.com, “By complementing the body's natural healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction.”
CranioSacral Therapy is a light touch modality done on a client who remains fully dressed and either lies on a massage table or at times sits or stands while restrictions in their body release. A trained CST practitioner, like myself, either gently places his or her hands on the clients body and holds areas and waits for restrictions to release or supports a limb such as a leg, arm, or the clients head, and follows the innate movement of the fascia as it unwinds and gently releases the restrictions in the fascia that may be causing pain or a limited range of motion.
CranioSacral Therapy has proven to be beneficial for numerous issues, including but not limited to, headaches, migraines, neck aches, back aches, emotional issues, past trauma, and various other types of chronic pain. Our bodies are incredible in the way that they can retain past traumas, but even more incredible in the wonderful ways they are able to release them.
I would like to take you, the reader, through what a CST session would be like. When you first come into the treatment room, we will talk for a minute so I can get a sense of how you are feeling that day and any issues that you may be dealing with. You will be asked to lie on the table and remain open to changes occurring in your body. You do not need to help or assist me during any part of the treatment, but to remain relaxed and willing to let go of whatever needs to be released for that day. I will feel drawn to different areas on your body that need to be worked on. While I'm holding an area, I may feel drawn to a different location based on how I feel the CranioSacral rhythm is moving. I wait for the restrictions to release and then move to the other area. If I am drawn to support a limb, I will gently pick up an arm or a leg and feel the ways in which the fascia wants to move, unwind, and release. By gently following this movement and allowing the fascia to fully release, the restrictions which may be causing pain are also able to let go.
While working at your head, I gently follow the flexion and extension of the CranioSacral rhythm and softly correct any imbalances found in the cranial bones. By using a light touch I am able to decompress the bones that I find that are restricted and are not allowing you to function optimally.
One of the important goals of CranioSacral Therapy is to allow the cerebrospinal fluid to flow more evenly throughout the body. Cerebrospinal fluid is what is surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. According to Dr John Upledger in an interview on “ShareGuide – The Holistic Health Magazine and Resource Directory”, “CranioSacral Therapy is a very soft touch, hands-on method of treatment. It deals with what we have named the craniosacral system which is composed of a membrane that is waterproof that encases the brain and spinal cord and carries within it cerebrospinal fluid. The pressure and volume of the fluid go up and down. That makes it a hydraulic system, which needs to be free to move all the time because the fluid should be moving and bringing nutrients to all the neurons and taking away wastes and so forth. With CranioSacral Therapy, we have several entries into this system--most of them through bony attachments or through direction of energy or pulling of fascia--for alleviating any restrictions that might have accumulated due to injuries or illnesses. This therapy improves the health of the brain and spinal cord, which in turn, affects the whole body.”
If you are experiencing pain in one area of your body, there is a good chance that the origin of the pain is coming from a completely different location. For example, pain in your low back may be coming from your neck or cranial region or vice versa. Pain in your shoulder may be coming from your hips. The pain is not always coming from the exact location you are feeling the sensation. A trained CST practitioner is able to find the areas of restrictions and where the pain is coming from and is then able to release those areas, often times causing a ripple effect that allows many other areas of discomfort to release as well.
Pain can be happening for a number of reasons, including emotional disturbances. After any kind of trauma, our bodies sometimes hold on to those emotions which can cause continual pain. If we don't have an effective way of letting those emotions go, we can develop chronic pain. Often times people try many different treatments to get relief from the constant pain, never really knowing the real reason they have it in the first place.
SomatoEmotional Release (SER) can get to the core of the pain and help it to release. SER helps people let go of past trauma and allows people to truly let go of the emotional pain that is causing other bodily aches. Our bodies know when they are ready to let issues go, so it is important to know that SomatoEmotional Release is not something that your body can be made to do, but rather it is something that is gentle and, when your body is ready to fully release, it will. During an emotional release, sometimes dialogue is done between the client and therapist and other times it is silent. Everyone has their own best way of leaving unneeded matters behind. The therapist quietly follows any movements your body wants to do and assists you in whatever way you need at that time. After people have experienced a release of this type, they leave feeling a great sense of relief and lightness that they have been unable to find anywhere else.
CranioSacral Therapy is very close to my heart. After a serious car accident when I was younger changed my life and resulted in emotional and physical chronic pain, CST was able to show me that I could live with less pain and with more clarity and ease. Being trained in this therapy since 2003 has given me ample time to truly understand the subtlety of this therapy and the incredible effects it can have on a person's life. I am truly fortunate to be able to assist people in the many different types of healing that can take place during a CranioSacral Therapy session.
