What is Craniosacral Therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle touch modality with roots in Osteopathy, a branch of medical practice that emphasizes treatment through massage and structural balancing. Our focus is on the nervous system and what it may be holding: calm or agitation, emotion or trauma, chronic muscle tension or stress.
By balancing the nervous system we are given a doorway into the soft tissue (muscle, fascia and fluid systems) of the body where unwinding and tension release can happen on a deeper level than many other bodywork modalities.
Working in this way makes Craniosacral Therapy ideal for babies and children who may be experiencing tension or nerve issues and need a lighter touch as well as older people enduring chronic stress, PTSD or disruption of the nervous system resulting in disruptions of digestion, sleep and focus.
A calm, restful nervous system state facilities repair and healing in the body that is otherwise inaccessible when under stress or duress.
Do you only treat babies?
I treat all ages. While I specialize in adults and newborns/infants (especially those with feeding difficulties) I see people of all ages!
What does a treatment look like?
For an adult Craniosacral session, the client stays fully clothed, lying on a treatment table like we would for massage. For bodywork sessions, the client undresses and is draped (under sheets and blankets) just like a regular massage; the difference is we incorporate manual bodywork into the treatment along with CST.
For babies and children, sessions vary depending on age. I will often work with infants in my arms or the caregiver’s.
Toddlers and crawling babies are given free reign of the office play space where we treat and assess in short bursts as they play and roll.
Older children sometimes enjoy the novelty of being treated on the table, others choose a parent’s lap. We leave it up to what feels best for them.
How many sessions do I need?
Babies and children usually benefit from 3-5 sessions with check-ups at milestones for ongoing issues. Feeding issues often resolve with 3-5 sessions.
Adults are recommended 3 CST sessions to begin with allowing them to reflect on what changes they’ve experienced over the course of treatment and if they’d like to continue.
Craniosacral Therapy and Integrated Bodywork sessions are wonderful ways of maintaining our flexibility of mind, body and calm on a regular basis.
What can I expect after a treatment?
Adults often report feeling a new level of calm and deeper rest. This is often accompanied by a new level of mental clarity and a rearranging of their outside world, be that in their physical space or relationships. Other physical symptoms include an increased need for rest and hydration in the first day or two followed by greater energy and freedom of movement.
Parents report many of the same reactions as adults: their child slept longer, wanted more water or specific foods.
I often hear, “they are so much softer in their body,” “they are feeding so much better and less gassy!” Babies are less tense overall facilitating better breastfeeding, digestion and sleep.
Some experience a bit more emotionality the first day or two as the body recalibrates bringing greater range of motion, better feeding, clearer focus and less stress.