CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY /
FASCIAL UNWINDING
The nervous system holds the key
to the body's incredible potential to heal itself.
- Sir Jay Holder
The Origins Of Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy grew from the osteopathic tradition, rooted in the pioneering work of William Garner Sutherland (1873-1954), an American osteopath and student of Osteopathy’s founder, Andrew Taylor Still.
Sutherland discovered that the cranial (cranium / skull) bones, once thought fused together, actually move independently in a subtle rhythm that is essential to health. Early in his career, he used mechanical techniques to address restrictions that hindered this natural motion, which he saw as being vital for wellbeing.
Later, following a profound personal experience he called the ‘Breath of Life,’ Sutherland’s approach became more gentle and focused on presence and stillness, emphasizing the body’s inherent ability to heal through this subtle rhythm he termed ‘Primary Respiration.’ His work was further developed by others over the years making way for various approaches to Craniosacral Therapy to be established, such as Biomechanical, Biodynamic and Cranio-Sacral Integration (incorporating both Biomechanical and Biodynamic principles).
The Living Garden
Think of your body as a living garden. The Breath of Life is the sacred presence of universal life force - like sunlight, rain, and seasons - that keeps everything growing and alive. When the garden is healthy, it has a quiet rhythm: leaves rustle, flowers open, water flows. This is your body’s Primary Respiration - its natural inner movement. Sometimes, parts of the garden get stuck or dry. A Craniosacral Therapist is like a gentle gardener - who doesn't fix, but listens deeply to this living garden and all that which takes place within it. And with the calm, quiet therapeutic presence and informed awareness of the gardener, the garden remembers how to breathe and bloom again.
What Is Craniosacral Therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy is a non-invasive, hands-on, gentle yet profoundly transformative natural healing therapy. It works with the innate healing ability of the patient's body to bring holistic harmony, balance and integration at all levels of their being - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It is suitable for all ages, from new born babies to the elderly. It has a wide range of applications and is beneficial in almost any circumstance because it is based on the underlying premise that health is always present, even amidst illness or injury.
Treatment involves a very gentle touch of the Therapist's hands. This light contact may be taken up at the Cranium (head), the Sacrum (tailbone) or any other part of the body as needed.
The Craniosacral Therapist works with the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, the spinal cord and the cerebrospinal fluid which rhythmically flows around and within the brain, the spinal cord and the sacrum. This cranio-sacral motion manifests as an expanding and contracting wave which is detectable everywhere in and around the body. This rhythm is experienced as a "breathing" of the brain and the whole nervous system. It is the deepest force that can be felt and it regulates everything that happens in the body. Disturbances to health are indicated by restrictions to this natural movement.
A Craniosacral Therapist's hands are an extension of their heart, that holds a compassionate space for a patient's system to be seen, heard and acknowledged. Through the lightest touch the therapist can listen deeply from the subtlest to the deepest of expressions in the patient's system. This can reveal layers of stress, tension and trauma stored as chronic and acute imbalances, patterns, restrictions and resistance in the body. The therapist engages with the patient's system with a trained and informed awareness that offers the body the opportunity to release these issues and reorganise itself to a more peaceful, harmonious and balanced state.
Craniosacral Therapy can be of benefit to everyone - from babies, children, during pregnancy, new mothers, adults, elderly - supporting a comprehensive range of physical and emotional issues. From headaches, longstanding stresses and strains, aches and pains to digestive disorders, emotional tensions, recovery from accidents, injuries and serious illnesses and persistent ill health.
Craniosacral Therapy is particularly recognised for its effectiveness in helping women in pregnancy and for many of the ailments of young babies and children. Please see the page 'Mother, Babies & Children' for more information.
As a Craniosacral Therapist I am currently a member of the CSTA (The Craniosacral Therapy Association), IAIBCST (The International Affiliation of Integrated Biodynamic Cranio-Sacral Therapy)and registered with the CNHC (Complimentary & Natural Healthcare Council). By choosing a Craniosacral Therapist registered with the CNHC you can be confident that they are properly trained, qualified and insured.
I have also completed post graduate Craniosacral trainings in Trauma, Distant Craniosacral Integration (Distant Healing), Connecting With The Ancestors (to heal intergenerational trauma) and Meeting The Gateway Ancestor (working with an individual ancestor as a bridge to the greater ancestral nervous system for a deeper healing of intergenerational trauma).
What Is Fascial Unwinding?
Fascia is a form of connective tissue and it is found throughout the body. It takes various forms, sometimes thicker, sometimes thinner, sometimes tougher, sometimes softer, but predominantly it is a thin membranous sheet which surrounds and envelops almost everything in the body – from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and everything in between. With there being two recognised divisions – superficial fascia (forming a thin layer beneath the skin, attaching dermis to underlying tissues) and deep fascia (which forms many interconnected pockets enveloping everything in the body).
Fascial Unwinding involves a further dimension to cranio-sacral integration and is a therapeutic process through which physical and emotional blocks held in the fascia of the body, due to injury, illness, stress or tension, can be released. All traumas, stresses and tensions leave their mark on the body and are held into the body tissues in the form of a restriction or constriction of some kind.
Fascial unwinding provides a means of discovering and releasing the effects of all such traumas and tensions, be they recent or long-standing, and which may be the cause of pain, discomfort or all manner of dysfunctions in the body.
The causes of fascial restriction may stem from many different factors – from everyday sprains, strains, twists and bruises of joints, limbs, trunk or spine to operation scars and adhesions, major road traffic accidents, minor falls, sports injuries or internal inflammation.
Whatever the cause, Fascial Unwinding when used as part of a Craniosacral Therapy treatment can help to release deep seated patterns at their root cause.
