How Does Craniosacral Therapy Work?
Like your cardiovascular or circulatory system, your craniosacral system follows a rhythm. Its pulse, though more subtle and difficult to feel, is as tangible as your heart rate.
Similar to how a cardiologist might investigate the heart or the lungs, a craniosacral practitioner focuses on the cranial bones, spine, and sacrum. By applying a light touch to the bones and fascia of these areas, the practitioner can monitor the rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid in order to pinpoint the source of an obstruction or stress.
Once a source has been determined, the therapist assists the natural movement of the fluid and related soft tissues to help the body self-correct. A light touch is often all it takes to remove a restriction around the central nervous system. Other times, CST can be combined with complementary therapies to help restore the body to its optimum level of functioning.
Though a physical practice, there is an energetic and intuitive component to CST. It takes presence and deep listening for the practitioner to follow the client's body and allow it to show where the restrictions need to be released.
Also, because it works along the spine, CST follows the pulse of energy that flows between the head and pelvic area. In ancient meditation and healing, this same area houses our Chakra system—a line of energy centers that are focal points in the health and vitality of the mind, spirit, and subtle body.
What Can You Expect During a Typical Craniosacral Session?
In a CST session you are fully clothed, reclining on a massage table in a quiet and private setting. Treatment typically lasts one hour to 90 minutes. During this time, I sit or stand positioned at your head, torso or feet. Using a 5 gram touch—the weight of a nickel—I palpate your body to monitor the rhythm of the fluid that is flowing around your central nervous system.
By carefully listening with the hands, I am able to locate areas of weak fluid flow or tissue motion, tracing them to the original source of the dysfunction. I then support those areas to release restrictions.
What you experience during a CST session is highly individual. Some say they feel deeply relaxed and grounded, while others describe feeling unwinding sensations as the body releases tension. You may even recall circumstances surrounding a past trauma or injury that caused your body stress. While it doesn’t occur in every session, this aspect of the process is perfectly normal and helps the body reverse dysfunction and restore optimal levels of mobility and health.
Because each individual response to CST is unique, the number of sessions needed to resolve any particular condition varies widely. While one session may give you the relief you need, your situation may require more therapy before it’s completely alleviated.
What to Expect After Your First Craniosacral Therapy Session
After your Craniosacral Therapy session, you may feel relaxed, refreshed, tired, or just “different”. Your body goes through a lot of internal change, letting go of old patterning and integrating new healthier patterning. It is a lot of work for your body, even though it may not appear that way from the outside. Listen to your body and rest if you need to.
Please drink plenty of water after your session (water that has been boiled and allowed to cool down is optimal, as it is more easily absorbed into your system). This helps your body to flush out toxins that have been freed up during your session.
Do not do strenuous exercise or activity after your session. Your body needs time and space to integrate the changes that occurred during your session, and if you do vigorous exercise your body uses its energy for that instead of for integrating the changes from your session.
For the next couple of days your body will continue to process changes from your session.
Be aware that emotions may come up more freely or unexpectedly. Sometimes a new layer of awareness comes to the surface and old symptoms may be stirred up. Things come to the surface for healing. So again, rest if needed and continue to drink plenty of water. Take your time with any big decisions that can wait.
Over the next few days, you may wish to give yourself 10-20 minutes each day to “listen to your body” or even to make this a daily practice. The “Breathing Practice” on my website may be helpful to you.
If your baby or child has received treatment, remember that their sleeping patterns may change for a day or two. They may feel tired. Like an adult, they are processing and can feel more emotional.
A mindful daily breathing practice can help your body and mind integrate and maintain the benefits of your craniosacral session.
Interested in exploring if craniosacral therapy is right for you? Schedule a free consultation.