In Cranio-Sacral Therapy, the therapist has been trained to be deeply attuned to subtle innate movements within the clients body. Through palpation with the hands, the therapist is able to reflect back to and interact with the body’s self healing mechanism. The treatment is simultaneously diagnostic and therapeutic Cranio-Sacral Therapy is both very gentle and extremely powerful and as such is highly effective for almost any condition and in particular in the treatment of trauma and problems affecting the elderly, the newly born and anyone suffering from painful conditions.
Cranio-Sacral therapy is responsive to how we function in mind, body and spirit, in very subtle layers of our physiology. The therapist is able to listen to a series of tide-like rhythms that are generated in the body by the life force energy, that Dr. Sutherland called ‘the Breath of Life’. He recognized that this energy is contained in the cerebrospinal fluid which bathes the brain and the nervous system. The therapist can palpate the potency held in the fluid which acts as the basic ordering principle of health on a cellular level. Increases in potency and thus improvements in metabolism, immune functioning and energy levels can be facilitated through encouraging the body of the client to go into ‘still-point’. This is a temporary cessation of the primary respiratory motion and deep physiological rest whilst the fluids recharge with potency. In a healthy individual, still-point happens spontaneously. In those with diminished health it happens less easily and the assistance of the Cranio-Sacral Therapist is invaluable.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy is an extensive subject and is based on research done by Dr. Sutherland nearly 100 years ago. In recent years further studies of it has been done by (amongst others)Dr. John Upledger and Franklyn Sills; both pioneers in broadening the understanding of it’s subtle dynamics and spiritual significance. One primary aspect of the work is that of deep respect by the therapist for the client and the building of trust between them. The initial training of therapists is how to be very clear about their own boundaries and how to be ‘present’, deeply aware and fully conscious. The work is enhanced considerably by their ability to hold a wide perceptual field of the client’s physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual process. Therapists are usually deeply empathetic with their clients without being ‘sucked’ in. The client’s experience of this it often of being safely ‘held’ ‘heard’ and touched in a way which is entirely untainted by any kind of wanting on the therapists part. As such this is a very safe and protected experience which can be powerfully healing.
Dr Sutherland encouraged practitioners to sense the dynamic stillness which is at the heart of the ‘Breath of Life’. Franklyn Sills describes an occasion when working with a client who had been through incredible suffering and was highly traumatised. He felt helpless to bring about change and thus had surrendered into not knowing the solution to the clients pain. He says that at that point ‘we entered a stillness together much deeper than I had ever encountered in clinical practice. Gradually we settled into a timeless state,. Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, yet everywhere all at once, a presence came to the forefront. I sensed something moving through me and it was as though my heart burst open with love and joy both my client and I were deeply moved. As the intensity subsided I sensed a radiance permeating the client’s system. This process marked a dramatic change in our work and the client’s life.’