CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
Craniosacral therapy is a light touch approach that can create dramatic improvements in your life. It releases tensions, deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction, and improve whole-body health and performance. Few body structures have more influence over your health and well-being then your central nervous system. And few body systems have more impact on your central nervous system than the craniosacral system.
The craniosacral system involves the soft tissues and fluid that protect your brain and spinal column. You endure stressors and strains, and your body absorbs them. But your body can only handle so much tension before the tissues begin to tighten, and potentially affect the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, this can compromise the function of the central nervous system, and nearly every other system in your body. Craniosacral therapy releases those tensions to allow the entire body to relax and self correct. Using a gentle touch starting with about the weight of a nickel the practitioner evaluates you for strain patterns. Then they use distinctive light touch techniques to release any restrictions they find. By freeing the central nervous system to perform at its best, craniosacral therapy has been shown to naturally reduce pain and stress, strengthen your resistance to disease and enhance your health and well-being. And because it's so gentle craniosacral therapy has been shown to be effective for all ages from newborn to elders.
A typical craniosacral therapy session takes place in a quiet, relaxing setting. You remain fully clothed as you relax on a comfortable warmed padded table. Your therapist begins by gently, touching various parts of your head and body to monitor the rhythm of the fluid that is flowing around your central nervous system. By carefully, listening with the hands to locations of weak fluid flow or tissue motion, your practitioner can trace those areas of weakness through the body to the original source of tissue dysfunction. Delicate manual techniques are then used to release those problem areas and improve the form and function of your central nervous system. Craniosacral techniques may also be integrated with other therapeutic massage or techniques.
What conditions can CST help?
Craniosacral therapy, improve your body's ability to self, correct. It has been shown to help a full spectrum of pain and dysfunction, including:
- migraines and headaches, chronic neck and back pain, stress and tension, related disorders, motor, coordinating, impairments, infant in childhood disorders, spinal cord, injuries, post, concussion syndrome, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, TMJ syndrome, scoliosis, central, nervous system disorders, learning disabilities, attention, deficit, or hyperactivity disorder, posttraumatic, stress disorder, orthopedic problems, Communication, disorders (seeAOE below), and many other conditions.
AVENUES OF EXPRESSION (AOE)
Have you ever had difficulty using your voice, expressing yourself or feeling like you are not being heard? Did you know that silencing your voice/expression can have detrimental health effects?
Opening the Avenue of Expression (AOE) in you can have profound life changing effects.
When the AOE is open it allows you to:
- Express who you are
- Stand up for what you believe
- Say no when you need to
- Be honest and open in what you say
- Relieves stress
So where is this AOE located and how do I open it? The structures involved are the upper chest, face & neck. This includes the muscles of the neck that connect with the hyoid bone and the bones of the face and jaw. Most importantly some of this work is done inside the mouth. The above are the structures, tissues, fluids and energies involved in the expression of words, images, feelings and flow of energy.
Each of these components has at least some influence over the ability of the client’s ability to express him/herself. These expressions can either be in words, sounds, or expressions of emotions. It is quite common for the AOE structures to become “stuck” or “jammed” when we do not express or restrict our communications for any reason. Lines of tension are created over time and some of the health issues we can start noticing are headaches, migraines, TMJ syndrome, vertigo, tinnitus, anxiety & depression, to name a few.
How do we open the AOE? This is a CranioSacral technique protocol. The same gentle light touch craniosacral techniques applied in a general session are applied when working with the structures of the AOE. There can sometimes be slightly tense areas when working inside the mouth but the relief that is created when the tension is released makes all the difference.
The work is very client specific. The connection between your body, its memory of all your life experiences, and what you have to say in the world is unique to you and will come together with release to flow more genuinely.
The techniques for freeing the Avenues of Expression have been shown to: * Facilitate the ability to articulate, communicate and speak ones truth. * Improve swallowing, breathing, teeth alignment and temporomandibular mobility *Assist in the release of structural issues, such as cervical, lumbar and pelvic dysfunctions *Support the therapeutic capacity for imagery and dialogue *Be an essential aspect of SomatoEmotional Release (SER) *Enhance self awarenes.