Craniosacral therapy is a light-touch therapy that allows the body to correct itself and encourages it to heal. It is a therapy that began in the early 1900’s by William Sutherland, and did not become popular until the 1980’s when Dr. John Upledger, an osteopath, did more research to prove its effectiveness. Now it is a therapy used by many practitioners, including our staff at Natural Elements Health Center, to help with many conditions from ADHD, TMJ dysfunction, trauma from a fall or accident, chronic muscle or joint pain, and many more.
You will be fully dressed so prepare to be comfortable and wear loose fitting comfortable clothing as you will be moving in many different positions.
Craniosacral therapy balances the central nervous system by directly affecting the membrane restrictions that may be around nerves, muscles, joints, and bones. By relieving the restrictions with this therapy, the environment for the central nervous system, which runs your senses, motor skills, and neurological function, is normalized. Thus, when the environment for your central nervous system is healthy, your body can begin its healing process to allow you to feel healthy.
Craniosacral therapy works with the Craniosacral System, which includes the bones and the surrounding membranes of the skull and the sacrum. This membrane surrounds the brain and spinal cord, the home of the central nervous system. Between this membrane and your central nervous system is a vital substance called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). For a body to be healthy, this fluid must bathe the brain and the spinal cord with no restrictions and at a healthy speed, and is often referred to as the craniosacral rhythm. When the CSF does not flow as a rhythm set by your own body, there often becomes disease and pain.
When restrictions or displacement occurs within the bones of the skull, the abdominal, respiratory, and thoracic diaphragms or connective tissue (also called fascia), our craniosacral rhythm can be affected by sometimes slowing or stopping the rhythm. These restrictions can be the result of bumps and tumbles, car accidents, how we were positioned during pregnancy, presentation during our birth, and often stress whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. The interruption of the cerebrospinal fluid rhythm in turn can affect blood flow, nerves, organs, and energy centers within the muscles, nerves, leading to many symptoms such as fatigue, achiness, pain, foggy thinking, poor digestion and pain in your abdomen, anxiety or depression, and other chronic issues.
Through gentle compression or distraction of the cranial bones and fascia, the therapist assists the body in releasing the cranial and fascial restrictions and imbalances, allowing the body the freedom to heal itself, and to reset the balance of the craniosacral rhythm. With the rhythm back in balance, the central nervous system can then begin to heal itself, and many people notice changes in sensation, muscle pain, and in how their body functions.
A variety of symptoms and illnesses can be assisted with this therapy. Any person, from newborns to the elderly, can benefit from this type of therapy. Craniosacral therapy has helped alleviate a range of illnesses, pain, and movement dysfunction.