This is my favorite bone in the human body it is the Sphenoid bone. It’s beautiful butterfly shape allows it to connect to all of the bones in our skull, making it the keystone of the cranial system. It houses the pituitary gland and the optic nerves run through the anterior surface. This bone helps facilitate the smooth flow of blood and energy to the brain.
What is Cranial Sacral?
It is a healing technique created by Dr. John Upledger, an osteopathic physician. Cranial Sacral is a very gentle and sensitive healing modality that involves the cranial bones (skull and face), the sacral bones (tailbone), the spinal cord, the cerebral spinal fluid and the Dural tissue (which is like a ‘wet suit’ type of tissue that is the outermost protective layer of the spinal cord and brain). The job of this system is to pump cerebral spinal fluid throughout the whole of the body and regulate the nervous system. It is able to do this by a subtle, and if healthy, rhythmic pumping motion that is different than our heart beat or respiratory breath cycles. This system can be disrupted if there has been any type of past or current trauma which is held within the body. This can be trauma from car accidents to verbal disputes to a traumatic birth(for mom and baby), to illness, and even trauma we have forgotten about. Trauma can be psychological, spiritual or physical. The body remembers everything and if that trauma was not properly dissipated from the body, it is held onto in the form of scar tissue or restrictions within our bodies. These restrictions create a ripple effect and can cause more restrictions elsewhere in the body’s systems which can be the cause of pain, stress, fatigue, depression, imbalances, etc within the body.
The inherent rhythm of the craniosacral system is a wave like motion that can be felt throughout the body. The subtle pumping motion it creates moves cerebral spinal fluid around the cranial bones of the head down the spinal cord and back up to the head. This fluid movement of the CSF nourishes our neural impulses from the brain and spinal cord out to the rest of the body. If this system is healthy the nervous system should be in a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state which allows a person to live in a state of ease.
One of the foundational theories behind Cranial Sacral therapy is that health in a person is never lost. That the body holds onto an innate intelligence and an optimal health blueprint for our bodies. This blueprint is one that we can always return to. Cranial Sacral therapy gently guides our bodies back to this innate optimal blueprint. Cranial sacral therapists are centered and still while treating. They use incredibly sensitive and gentle touch to listen to the craniosacral rhythm. The practitioner tunes into the patient’s body helping it to release these restrictions. Since this a whole body healing technique and many restrictions have been in place for a long time, and often these restrictions are layered within the body, this technique may take several sessions to find ultimate relief. Some of the benefits a patient will discover include; symptoms and pain relief, stress relief and overall wellness, and even personal growth and spiritual connection.
