Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) puts ease back into your life by treating your nervous system. How is this possible? Great question.
First, what to expect. You are fully clothed when you receive this treatment and lying on a massage table. Loose-fitting clothing is best so the practitioner can get a good feel for the flow of your cerebrospinal fluid. Sessions last one hour with a brief discussion time before and after.
What happens during a session: You lay on your back and focus on your breathing. Your practitioner will start at your feet, getting a sense of how your cerebrospinal fluid is flowing through your body. Think of this flow as the third rhythm:
1) Pulse
2) Breath rate
3) Cerebrospinal fluid flow
The cerebral spinal (CS) fluid flow is expected to closely match the breath rate in a resilient nervous system. If a CS flow is not in sync or weak, the practitioner will work on getting it to flow with symmetry and appropriate strength.
It is a gentle, hands-on method that helps the body tap into its own ability to find relief and heal. Five grams of pressure (the weight of a nickel) to sense and ease restrictions in the skull (cranium) and the base of the spine (sacrum). Because these areas are deeply connected through membranes, fluid pathways, and connective tissues, CST is really a whole-body approach, not just something limited to the head or neck. This is why practitioners can sense the rhythm all the way down to your feet.
CST aims to support pain relief (headaches, neck pain, back pain), improve mobility while easing tension, and help with multiple symptoms that seem disconnected (e.g., digestive issues, vertigo, chronic stress). It promotes a sense of balance, calm, and better overall function to feel like yourself again.
From a personal standpoint, when going through palatal expansion as an adult, I was experiencing irritability and a tightness in my neck. After receiving a few sessions of CST where a focus was made on my cranial bones (since they were receiving outside pressure from an expander) and my sacrum to balance the flow, my symptoms dramatically reduced. I was a believer. So if you have gone through any dental work that has left you feeling imbalanced or “off,” I encourage you to give craniosacral therapy a try.