Words by: Tanya Drayton
Imagine…
If you already feel pretty darn good and get a lot done, what could you do if you felt even better?
How much more could you get done, or better yet, how much would the quality of your work and play output increase and how far?
How fast?
Our bodies, by default, get used and abused as we go about our days. They are put through the wringer physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, everyday, day in, day out. Some of us handle the challenges well and others struggle with pain and mobility issues. So what do we do?
Have you heard of Craniosacral therapy?
The CranioSacral System is a physiological system in your body just like your respiratory system and your cardiovascular system, which incorporates the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. CranioSacral Therapy is a very gentle, touch method of assessing and facilitating this physiological system. The CST approach allows the body to relax and release deep tensions, which in turn facilitates the relief of pain, trauma and dysfunction and improves your body’s ability to become and remain healthy and active.
Releasing restrictions within your fascia, cranial & dural tube membrane systems helps to normalize the environment around the brain and spinal cord. This, in turn, facilitates and enhances your body’s self-correcting & self-healing ability and in so doing is able to alleviate a wide variety of pain, injury and dysfunction issues. CST facilitates bringing your body back into a state of homeostasis and health.
How does it work?
In that place of balance lies a zone where there is a marked increase in function and mobility and a marked decrease in pain. To get to that zone, you first need to make sure that your occiput (the bone that makes up the back of your skull), sphenoid (s-fee-noid: the bone that joins with the occiput to make up the base of your skull) and the sacrum/coccyx (the last bones of your spine) are functioning in balance.
You see, you have tissue (all vertebrates do) called the Dura that surrounds your brain and spinal cord. As it leave your skull to follow the spinal cord down the spinal column, it forms a hard fibrous attachment at the foramen magnum (the hole your spinal cord leaves the skull from). It flows rather freely down to the base of your spine where another hard fibrous attachment is formed to anchor it. These bones move in response to your brains production and reduction of cerebral spinal fluid, expanding and contracting at a rate of 8-12 cycles per minute. This cycle is known as the CranioSacral Rhythm. The sphenoid is the peacemaker and it positions itself to maximize the mobility of the sacrum and the occiput.
Now imagine you are out skiing one day and you fall backwards and land on your bum. Ouch!
That can cause quite a bit of tissue tension at the sacrum. That tissue tension will flow all the way up your spine to the occiput, potentially causing dizziness and headaches.
The reverse is true too.
You get whiplash from an accident that causes increased tissue tension at the occiput, the tissue tension will travel down your spine to your sacrum and many experience chronic lower back pain and/or sacroilliitus (severe chronic hip pain).
Throughout all of this, sphenoid is doing her level best (you can think of the sphenoid as a “momma” bone. If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!) making sure everything continues to work as well as possible.
Maybe, you don’t feel any of this as “pains”, but instead you feel a general stiffness that you attribute to the aging process. For all of this, and so much more, Craniosacral therapy can facilitate the improvement of your body’s everyday performance. Whether you are an “average Joe” or a world-class athlete, your body’s functionality can be optimized.
Visualize how much more efficient and enjoyable other aspects of your life could be if the vehicle you are experiencing life through performed at its optimal level!
Imagine the possibilities…
Tanya Drayton LMT, RM, CST is a Techniques certified CranioSacral Therapist who facilitates the body to a better place of health and balance. For more information, visit: http://learnreikitoday.webs.com/
