Biodynamic craniosacral therapy has its roots in Osteopathy and is a treatment that works with the whole person (not just the head as the name may suggest!).
The therapist uses light touch to detect subtle rhythms and movements which the body can then respond to.
A heart-centred and caring approach is essential to the work as when the body feels safe, it can start to relax and start to process and heal.
Areas of tension and restriction can often be felt in the body and supported to allow them to release and move with more ease. This can facilitate improved movement patterns, reduce pain and loads on other areas of the body.
How does Craniosacral Therapy work?
Craninosacral therapy relies on the creation of a supportive and safe environment for therapeutic interaction which facilitates the body to heal. In this place, the body can shift from a state of fight, flight, freeze and move into a more relaxed way where healing can happen.
Sometimes this transition can take a while; it maybe unfamiliar and may sometimes feel scary or unsettling. If this is the case I can work with you to transition slowly and provide support. At other times, and as you become more familiar with the process and sessions it can enter this state with relative ease and speed.
Through biodynamic Craniosacral therapy, the practitioner can help downregulate the nervous system and provide guidance on how to help it spend more time in this state and thus heal.
How does Craniosacral Therapy help with stress and trauma?
Stress or trauma can often be at the core of many chronic conditions and can affect every system in the body. Working as a physiotherapist I frequently witnessed this when people had ongoing health problems or injuries that weren’t improving. (I’ll touch on the effects of stress and the different systems within the body in a subsequent blog post.)
The past decade has seen a large expansion in our understanding of trauma, how it can be ‘stored’ and how it can present in different ways. Alternative therapeutic interventions have been well documented by Peter Levine and Bessel Van Der Kolk. In his book, ‘The Body Keeps the Score’, Bessel Van Der Kolk sites Craniosacral Therapy as one of the body therapies that can help support and process trauma.
It has become clear that trauma doesn’t need to be a one-off catastrophic event but can be anything that has caused the body and /or mind to feel stressed.
‘An accumulation of smaller or less pronounced events can still be traumatic’
Elyssa Barbash, 2017 (Psychology Today)
Examples of this may be an operation, an unhappy time at school, a relationship breakup or a fall. If traumatic events don’t get the chance to process, they can show effects in other ways both physically and emotionally. Everyone responds and reacts to events in different ways, what may seem insignificant to one individual may affect another a lot more and for a variety of reasons.
For advice about whether craniosacral therapy is right for you please speak to a qualified and registered practitioner.
How is Craniosacral Therapy different from Physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy aims to restore, maintain and optimise an individual’s mobility, function and well-being. It uses thorough assessment techniques, and treats with both hands-on techniques as well as exercises. I have found that whilst there can be enormous success and benefit by assessing and treating in this way it often doesn’t take into consideration the whole person and overlooks the more subtle but crucial aspects of wellbeing and health.
My background in physiotherapy has given me an invaluable understanding of anatomy, injuries, disease process and movement patterns. It has also given me a knowledge of the scientific research process and a desire to seek out current advances to inform my current practice whilst maintaining a holistic approach.
Healing and well-being are and continue to be at the core of my practice.
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