Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy

“Dear Stress, Let’s break up.”

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) is a gentle, yet powerful holistic health modality that acts through the central nervous system to aid improved function and balance to the whole body. It can have a deeply relaxing effect.
BCST can influence motor, pain and coordination mechanisms, the immune system, digestive, respiratory, endocrine systems and heart function.
How does CST work?
BCST focuses on supporting the inherent ability of the body to heal itself. This process involves extremely subtle touch on the body’s surface. It is therefore safe for people of all ages; Infants to elderly. It is also a safe therapeutic choice for women during pregnancy.
What happens during a treatment ?
At your first session, the practitioner will ask you for relevant information about your health, in order to provide you with a treatment ideally suited for your needs. The examination is done by testing for movement in various parts of your system and by reducing tissue tension in those areas.
The treatment usually takes place on a massage table and will last for 60-90 minutes. The therapist mostly uses light touch and light pressure. People vary in their physical sensitivity, and each body reacts in its own unique manner. Some people experience a sense of deep relaxation; sensations like heat, tingling or pulsation are common as well. Emotions and memories may come up during a release process.
“Craniosacral Therapy helps your body release the effects of held life experiences.”
The History of Craniosacral Therapy
The craniosacral system was discovered around the year 1900 by an American osteopath named William Garner Sutherland. While studying the sutures of the cranium, he concluded that these bones were designed to “breathe” and move, against the common belief that adult cranial bones do not move because their sutures (joints) become fused. Further investigation revealed that underlying the more obvious body rhythms such as respiration, peristalsis and heartbeat, lay a more subtle pulsation. This pulsation expressed itself as a system in its own right. Over the next fifty years, he learned to feel the motion of the cranial bones and discovered the effect that this pulsation has upon the whole body. He discovered that the cause of the movement was the cerebrospinal fluid which, as we know today, is essential for maintenance of the nervous system.
Dr. Sutherland saw the craniosacral system as containing our primary life force, which he called the “Breath of Life.” The fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid within the dural membranes takes up the vital energy or potency of the Breath of Life, distributing it to the rest of the body. This means the craniosacral system represents a bridge between anatomy, physiology and energy medicine.
The medical theory:
* The brain and the spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In order to keep the nervous system well bathed, nurtured and in good health the fluid tends to flow up and down the spinal cord with a steady rhythm.
* The bones of our body are in continual motion as the CSF is being pumped. By palpating the bones the therapist is able to find restrictions in the flow of CST.
* Organs or areas of the body that are supplied by nerves originating in an area of restriction along the spinal cord, often show signs of pain or unease.
* The therapist is trained to detect tiny variations in movement as well as to perform techniques, which will free up the flow.
* Restriction patterns can be caused by emotional or physical trauma, which include accidents, illness, abuse, overwork, stress; they can even stem from dental work or birth trauma.
* The traumatic events are essentially ‘frozen’ into our body’s physical memory and are felt as pain or restriction, until they are discovered and released by the Craniosacral therapist.
