Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy treatments for adults, children & babies with Sarah Lloyd
At Vibevadgaard, Lejre, Denmark.
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle hands-on treatment, which supports the body’s journey back to health and wholeness. In the modern world, we are experiencing greater levels of stimulation and stress, with constant demands on our time and energy. To balance this, we need time to rest and recuperate. Over time, if this is not available, we can become fragmented, drain our resources and diminish our vitality which can then lead to disintegration on physical, emotional and mental levels. Our intelligent body physiology is remarkable and in response to the continued stress, it naturally seeks and orients to a state of balance and health: continuously adapting and accommodating through self-regulatory processes. However, there can come a moment when our bodies cannot adapt anymore and we fall into ill health and injury.
CST offers a gentle journey back to this state of balance and harmony. The CST practitioner is there to facilitate this journey through respectful holding, quiet invitation, subtle listening and specific touch and dialogue. Inner resources have a chance to rebuild and strengthen so that the body has the vitality to restore and heal itself again. Areas of stasis, chaos, imbalance and constriction can be released and integrated in relationship to the whole self again. Time and space are given for this shift to happen so that the body slows down and enters deep rest. As the body realigns and releases, the process brings about positive changes within and outside of the treatment session.
Who is Craniosacral therapy for?
Due to its gentle approach, CST is suitable for everyone from babies and children to the elderly. This gentle, sensitive process may help to relieve a wide range of conditions including:
Chronic neck and back pain
Whiplash
Migraines and headaches
Tinnitus
Digestive disorders
Stress and anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Insomnia
Chronic fatigue/ME
Long Covid
Immune disorders
PTSD
TMJ/Dental problems
Post-operative recovery
Birth trauma
CST can also be beneficial for those just needing a restful space. Regular sessions provide the opportunity to calm a tired nervous system and reconnect with breath and a sense of physical wholeness. It is a time of rebalancing, nourishment and regeneration; a way to maintain good health.
Craniosacral Therapy Treatment
At an initial CST appointment, a full consultation/case history is taken. The session usually takes place on a treatment table but with mobility issues or if people feel less safe/comfortable on a table, sessions can take place from a chair. It is recommended that loose, comfortable clothing is worn for the session. Light contact is made on different parts of the body as required, so that areas of tension and restriction can be identified and released in a supported and gentle way.
People often settle into a deep place of relaxation during the session. They may experience different body sensations, such as tingling, pulsations, heat, cold and fleeting aches and pains. This is all normal experience as the body enters a process of release and realignment. Post-treatment effects can emerge as the body continues to integrate the changes taking place, such as tiredness, minor aches and feeling emotional. It is suggested that rest and space is given for this over the next few days and drinking plenty of fluids will assist the healing process.
Craniosacral Therapy Prices
Initial consultation & treatment - 900 kr. (90mins)
Subsequent treatments - 650 kr. (1 hr)
Babies and children - 400 kr. (30 mins)
CST and Pregnancy
CST is a safe and supportive choice for women in pregnancy and may help relieve symptoms such as lower back and neck pain, breathing/rib restrictions, heartburn, cramps and swollen feet, tiredness and general heaviness. Sessions may have a calming effect on stressed nervous systems, help rebalance endocrine (hormonal) systems and provide a restful, nurturing space for continued bonding between mother and baby.
CST and Babies
The birth process is a miraculous event but it can bring with it an exhausting labour; difficulties may arise during and after a stressful birth experience. Common problems include early infant feeding problems (colic, reflux, allergies, constipation), cranial/skeletal misalignment issues, torticollis, breastfeeding issues, sleeplessness, excessive crying and bonding issues with parents and siblings. CST sessions are held sensitively with the gentlest of contact and the baby is given the space and opportunity to unwind physical and emotional tensions, coming into a happier, more balanced place. It is encouraged that parents bring their babies in the early weeks following birth and parents are invited to be part of the session.
CST and Children/Young Adult
Craniosacral therapy may be beneficial for both children and young adults. Many common behavioural, social and learning difficulties may respond well to treatment. Children and young adults are given the space and permission to express, release and rebalance emotional, mental and physical challenges within a safe and sensitively-held environment.
CST has its roots in cranial osteopathy which was conceived by American osteopath, Dr William Sutherland in the early 1900s. Later in his life, Dr Sutherland’s research led him to the discovery of tide-like rhythms that could be felt throughout the body’s tissues and fluids as an expression of health and vitality. He called this cyclical rhythm, Primary Respiration, a subtle ‘breathing in’ and ‘breathing out’, generated by the inherent life force of the body. It arose from the core of the body and expressed through the central nervous system, the cerebrospinal fluid and surrounding fascial and bony structures. When the body's health was compromised in any way, there were noticeable changes to these subtle, involuntary movements of ‘inner breathing’ within the body, thus providing a wealth of clinical information for a CST practitioner.
Withering Fields
‘He who is able to reason
Must see that this great `River Of Life’
Must be tapped
And the withering fields irrigated
At once,
Or the harvest of health
Will be lost forever'
Dr Andrew Taylor Still. Founder of Osteopathy