Craniosacral therapy is a gentle, non-invasive therapeutic modality that works with the Craniosacral System – the bones of the cranium, spine and sacrum, and the fluids and tissues of the central nervous system. Life expresses itself as motion, and craniosacral therapy works to restore the healthy motion and balance of fluids and tissues in the body.

Contrary to common assumption, cranial bones do not fuse into one immobile solid mass, but rather are specifically designed to allow for motion, or respiration, at the sutures. This movement allows for changes in fluid pressure within the cranium. The craniosacral system includes the electrical system of the CNS, the fluid hydrologic system in which it is housed, protected and nourished, and the encasing layers of tissue and bone, which are all designed to accommodate and support each other in maintaining functionality and homeostasis. When cranial bones become immobile or stuck, or are unable to move as they are intended, changes in fluid pressure within the cranium cannot be easily adjusted for, potentially affecting structural alignment and/or central nervous system functioning and compromising the health of the entire organism.

Using subtle palpation skills, the practitioner assesses the position and motion of bones, tissues, and cerebrospinal fluid, as well as patterns of congestion or inertia, and works with the body’s natural healing impulse to restore motion and balance.

Inertial patterns can arise from many sources, from birth trauma to physical injuries to emotional and psychological stress or trauma. Such patterns can cause pain, dysfunction, discomfort, disease or dissociation, until the body is able to access the resources it needs to process and release the inertial patterns, restoring free and healthy movement to the entire system.

Craniosacral work facilitates deep healing, rest and relaxation, mental and emotional clarity, structural alignment and balance, optimal central nervous system functioning, freedom from pain, and an increased capacity to tolerate the intensity and depth of human experience with equilibrium.

Because craniosacral work is so gentle and non-invasive, it is excellent for prenatal and postnatal women, infants, the elderly, and people working with pain or trauma.

BIODYNAMICS

In Biodynamic Craniosacral Work, and Biodynamic Cranial Touch, the practitioner is attuning to a deep level of resource and healing capacity within the client’s system and allowing, through holding a space of neutral non-invasive presence, the emergence of the Inherent Treatment Plan – the body’s own agenda for healing. The work of the biodynamic practitioner is to facilitate the healing process as prioritized and directed by the client’s physiology. Biodynamic work enhances holistic integration and the self-regulating and self-healing capacities of the body, thus empowering the organism to carry out its own healing processes in a deepening and ongoing way.

Craniosacral work is often described as both bodywork and energy work. From the biodynamic perspective, this is both reductive and redundant. In Biodynamics, tissues and structures, the fluid matrix of the body, and mind, emotions, and psyche are approached as the same stuff - all parts are reciprocally interconnected and arising from the underlying ordering principle that grows and maintains life. The biodynamic practitioner works with the whole Being as a subtle and dynamic interrelated whole, honoring the unity of and reciprocal relationships between what we call body, psyche, energy, consciousness and so on, and with whatever aspects of this intelligence arise in treatment.