Craniosacral Therapy
Few body structures have a greater impact on our health and well-being than our central nervous system. And few body systems have a greater impact on our central nervous system than the craniosacral system, the soft tissues and fluids that protect our brain and spinal cord.
What is Craniosacral Therapy (CST)?
When you are stressed and under the strain of everyday life, your body absorbs it. But your body can’t handle that much tension. Over time, the tissues begin to tighten, potentially affecting the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, this can compromise the function of the central nervous system and almost every other system in your body.
CST releases these tensions and allows the entire body to relax and heal. Using gentle touch, the therapist will assess your internal environment and then, through light touch techniques, release any restrictions they find.
By freeing the central nervous system to function at its best, CST naturally eliminates pain and stress, strengthens your resistance to disease, and improves your health and well-being.
CST is a gentle therapy with a light touch approach to healing that can bring about dramatic improvements in your life. It releases tension deep within the body, relieving pain and dysfunction and improving not only physical but also mental health and performance of the entire body and mind. Essentially, CST supports the body’s natural healing processes.
What is CST for and who is it for?
“For me, Craniosacral Therapy is the “golden grail of therapies” because of its unique and comprehensive approach to healing, focusing not just on symptoms but on the overall state of the body and mind.” Monika
What makes this therapy unique and contributes to its designation as the “golden grail”?
1. Comprehensive approach: CST focuses on the whole person – physical body, emotions, and mind. It does not just provide relief from specific symptoms, but seeks to restore overall balance and health.
2. Natural self-healing: This therapy supports the body's natural regenerative abilities. It helps the body heal itself and restore optimal function, which can lead to lasting results.
3. Relief from a wide range of problems: The therapist can help with a variety of problems, from chronic pain, migraines and muscle tension, sleep disorders and post-traumatic stress, to anxiety and emotional problems. It helps to release deep-seated tension anywhere in the body, which can be the cause of many physical and emotional problems. It removes waste and toxins from cerebral metabolism
4. Gentleness and safety: The method is very gentle, making it suitable for people of all ages, including infants, the elderly and people with sensitive health conditions.
5. Long-term results: Thanks to its holistic approach, this therapy can bring about lasting improvements in overall vitality and quality of life.
The Origins of CST
Osteopathy gave the foundations of CST
Dr. William Sutherland, an osteopathic physician, laid the foundation for cranial osteopathy in the early 20th century, spending nearly twenty years researching the theory that the bones of the skull were structured to allow for subtle movement, which contradicted the teachings of his time.
In 1948, William Sutherland had an “Aha” moment that expanded his perspective on cranial osteopathy, a field he created that eventually gave birth to three CST bodies: Upledger, Biodynamic, and Visionary.
Cranial Sacral System
In the mid-1970s, an osteopath named John Upledger assisted in an operation to remove a growth from the membrane surrounding the spinal cord. His job was to “tighten the cord” so that there was no movement that could cause the surgeon’s blade to slip in this delicate area. Upledger became aware of the rhythmic wave motion of the fluid moving up and down the membranes. He went on to study this motion in great detail. Upledger’s explanation of wave motion is one of several theories about the origin of the waves of motion felt in the human body and around the central nervous system. It focuses on the hydraulic motion created by the filling and emptying of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord within the membranes. He also describes the movements of the bones of the skull due to filling and emptying.
The movements of the skull and membranes are transmitted throughout the body by a tissue called “fascia.” Fascia is also known as “connective tissue” and is present throughout the body, from the walls of individual cells to the coverings around groups of cells to the tendons and ligaments that hold us together.
Through this fluid matrix, information is exchanged, nutrients and waste are exchanged…
All of which contribute to the health of the body.
When the body is injured, the healing process can lead to “restrictions” within the fascia. Restrictions can occur for many reasons, not just because of an obvious injury. It can occur with disease processes, inflammatory processes or chronic conditions, or with immobility caused by habitual postural patterns or habitual positioning created by bracing, such as orthodontics. It can also occur as a result of emotional trauma.
With restrictions in the fascia, the original problem is compounded, exacerbated. Without normal fascia function and normal tissue circulation, healing is difficult or sometimes impossible.
It was this idea of restriction that started Andrew Taylor Still on the path that led to osteopathy. It was the concept of fluid/wave motion changes from the skull (cranio) to the sacrum, created by these restrictions, that led John Upledger to call the work of releasing restrictions “craniosacral therapy.”
CST therapists
Darina Szabo SK
Monika Malikova CZ