How does craniosacral therapy help trauma symptoms?

A word about trauma. In my view, trauma occurs when we go through an experience that is overwhelming without adequate supports. Accidents, falls, surgery, deaths/losses, birth issues, abuse - these can be traumas. They don’t necessarily cause trauma if you have internal and external resources to help you through them at the time they occur.

When an experience hasn’t been acknowledged, resolved and cleared, tension patterns appear in response to physical, emotional or spiritual injuries. Our tissues can contain unresolved experiences in a holding pattern - sometimes for years - without symptoms. When the body can no longer compensate - symptoms beset us. As examples:

·      after surgeries where tissues have been cut, scar tissue has formed that has less flexibility, causing tissues that connect with it to be strained

·      in an emotionally painful relationship without safety a body can become accustomed to being tense, on high alert

·      spiritually, someone may believe that God/life has treated them unfairly and a chronic illness may develop

Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy effectively and gently releases the tensions, constrictions, emotions, pain and energy that is showing up as symptoms. When the holding pattern shifts, symptoms discontinue.

What does "craniosacral" mean?

This therapy is named after the bones at the two ends of the central nervous system: top cranium and bottom sacrum - thus CranioSacral. The founder of the work, W. G. Sutherland was an osteopath who began teaching this work in the 1920s. 

What does the therapist 'listen to' in my body?

The originator of biodynamic craniosacral therapy was a medical specialist who worked with bones, an osteopath. Through the years, craniosacral therapy has evolved to 'listen to' far more than bones! Through training, my hands have learned to notice subtle movements of tissue, fluids, electrical impulses/energy, and neurochemical processes. For example, I tune into the subtle movement of primary respiration, which is a natural everyday rhythmical movement of bones and organs - an expansion and contraction like breathing. I also am aware of the fluids that move in a tide-like surging and receding that many clients report feels like a wave. And of course I tune into the electricity of the nervous system and the energy field around the body. I 'listen to' all of these processes and if you are curious, I can help you to feel them too.  

Can you treat [this] symptom in [this] part of my body?

I could give a list of symptoms or diagnoses that craniosacral therapy treats effectively. I'm talking about symptoms such as pain, swelling, inflammation, tightness, congestion, stuck-ness, feeling 'revved up'. You may be experiencing these kinds of symptoms in any part of your body - in joints, muscles, organs, soft tissues. Holding-patterns of muscles and fascia that started recently or years ago to cope with an injury result in symptoms such as these. By listening to your nervous system and tissues, you and the therapist enable the wisdom inherent in your body to bring you to better health. Clients report increased energy, a sense of peace, greater resilience, and mental clarity and focus - as well as relief of symptoms. BCST can positively affect the chemistry, the alignment and the nervous energy of the body.

A Video by Kate Mackinnon

This is an excellent video showing and explaining how craniosacral therapy is done. Kate is one of my heroes!