Cranio-sacral therapy

Craniosacral therapy is an extremely gentle and non-invasive way of building health and wholeness and resolving issues from physical injuries to emotional traumas. It is gaining popularity as people recognise its gentle effectiveness for conditions of all sorts, perhaps particularly in situations that are difficult to help by other means.

Because CST builds our vitality and responds to the individual it can help with almost any condition, stimulating our body's innate healing and self-repair ability. It is a truly holistic therapy, recognising that a symptom such as a headache may come from many sources, such as an old injury to a knee that has led to compensation patterns through the body, or habitual stress that causes contraction in the muscles of the neck, affecting blood supply to and from the brain, or countless other possibilities. The body itself guides the practitioner to work in whatever way is appropriate to that individual, so patterns become resolved at their roots, enabling very deep releases that are genuine and lasting. Some of the many conditions it has successfully helped are:

• acute and chronic pain, postural imbalances, injuries and strains, whiplash, sciatica
• stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety and trauma
• low energy and M.E., recurrent infections, digestive problems
• migraines and headaches, menstrual disorders, fertility difficulties
• dental and TMJ problems, sinusitis, tonsillitis, ear infections and glue ear
• asthma, hyperactivity, autism, epilepsy and learning difficulties
• babies' colic, feeding problems, poor sleep, restlessness and failure to thrive

Any injury, stress, shock or trauma that is too much to process at the time will tend to become held in the tissues of the body, causing obvious or more subtle effects on bones, tissues and nerves and restricting the flow of energy, blood and the cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds and bathes the brain and spinal cord. In a CST session the client is usually lying down, fully clothed (please wear comfortable clothing if possible), and the practitioner makes gentle contact with the body, "hearing" these contractions and restrictions with the hands whilst also feeling the wholeness and potential for health that is available in every situation and allowing the body to rest deeply in peaceful stillness. This enables the body to hear itself more clearly and begin to make the changes that are needed to restore health and vitality, both generally and with regard to specific symptoms. Different people will have different experiences of this profound process, commonly deep relaxation, warmth, tingling, and feeling some of the subtle movements that are occurring in the body.

Physically, CST can help to relieve postural imbalances, scar tissue, recent and long-standing injuries and strains, both those currently causing symptoms and those which may be basically recovered but leave an underlying weakness and susceptibility.

Everyday stresses and emotional tensions can also build up over time in our bodies, affecting our nervous system, energy levels, concentration and emotions. Because CST is truly led by the body it gives the system time to "catch up" with itself and resolve stresses through its balancing, calming effect, and build a healthy immune system with enough reserves to meet life's challenges.

More serious traumas, whether recent or from long ago, are particularly well helped by this extremely gentle treatment, which recognises the connections between emotional and physical issues and helps build up sufficient energy and resources to allow gentle resolution. CST allows the body and mind to rest in a deep stillness that emphasises wholeness and does not judge our feelings, and so creates a very safe, nurturing and supportive space.

CST is also truly a journey into oneself, and one doesn't need to be ill or have problems to benefit from this – because of the peaceful environment and allowing of the truth of the body it can help us to initiate change on many levels.

CST is especially suited to babies, children and the elderly as it is so gentle. Older people are often taking many pills and are uncomfortable with more invasive therapies. CST helps resolve aches and pains without any need for manipulation. Energy levels often increase as the body is given a chance to rest deeply after perhaps many years of gradually increasing symptoms.

Babies and Children

CST has become known for its gentle yet effective treatment of "typical" conditions of babies and children such as colic, feeding problems, restlessness, disturbed sleep and recurrent infections. During birth the baby's head is subjected to strong compressive forces. Particularly with a long or difficult labour, forceps or ventouse intervention, there may be residual effects which need some help to clear. CST recognises the subtle effects of birth trauma on the still-forming bones of the skull which if left untreated may lead to more persistent problems. Caesarean birth presents a different set of challenges to the baby, which again can lead to symptoms that may tend to become ingrained if not addressed. For these reasons it is recommended that babies receive a CST check-up as soon as possible after birth, to allow the best possible start in life. For women who have had CST during pregnancy I offer a reduced price check-up for their baby.

Children's day-to-day bumps and knocks also respond very well to CST, again avoiding problems building up over time. Other issues such as failure to recover from infections, or persistent colds or ear infections, are also helped by CST's effect on the drainage of the head as well as support of the immune system and building-up of reserves. It is perhaps unique in its ability to work with the often unrecognised after-effects of meningitis and other infections that can leave lasting and disturbing symptoms such as headaches and restlessness.

Pregnancy and Post-natal

Pregnant mothers can also benefit from CST, as it tends to balance the whole body and emotions, supporting the mother's vitality which inevitably affects the baby and birth process. After birth, CST can help realign the pelvis and release the tensions that have been held in the body during pregnancy and the birth process itself, restoring vitality. For Caesarean births, CST can help with physical recovery of the scar tissue as well as clearing anaesthetic and the stress of the operation from the system.

Our therapists...

Amanda Biggs ~ Shaminic Healer, Cranio-sacral therapist

My interest in complementary health began when I developed M.E. as a teenager. I gained much from nutrition and relaxation/ meditation and later was handed a book about the shamanic path, which made total sense to me and began my explorations into these ancient ways. My use of shamanic techniques on myself coincided with making a full recovery after 8 years of varying degrees of illness.

In 2000 I received energy healing from a friend and realised I was also able to sense and work with energy in others. I began to explore this, working informally and intuitively at first. I then began looking for ways to combine energy work with my shamanic perspective and underwent various trainings. I finished the most recent of these in 2004, derived from the techniques of the Q'ero tribe, a still-living lineage descended from the ancient Inka in Peru. This included visiting Peru and working with the Q'ero in their own cultural setting, the high Andes mountains. I particularly like their wisdom teachings and their way of working as it very gentle, non-dramatic and empowering. I like the fact that shamanic work is unashamedly about wholeness and walking in beauty, honouring all of creation, yet at the same it is completely practical, requiring no beliefs of any kind but simply using what has been found to work for many thousands of years for all sorts of conditions and problems.

I was also fascinated with bodywork and particularly the 'crack between the worlds' of body and energy, matter and spirit, and this is what led me to craniosacral work, as it is energy work that is totally rooted in the body. For me in many ways it is but a hair's breadth from shamanic work, the same thing from a different perspective. The anatomy and physiology are there and are a fundamental part of the work but one also needs an intuitive sense of energy and the interplay of body, mind, emotions and energy, and how these are ultimately just different expressions of the same thing. This fits very much with eastern as well as shamanic ideas about non-duality, and of itself creates a very supportive and non-judgmental space. In craniosacral work we are simultaneously aware of the symptoms that may be causing difficulty, and the vitality and potential for wholeness and health that is always present in any situation, however unlikely this may seem. I especially value working with the Stillness that we see as being the source of health and vitality (the Q'ero would call this 'infinity'), never imposing our own ideas but always allowing the innate wisdom in the body to guide the treatment. I am constantly inspired by the subtle power and magic of this work, and its suitability for all types of people from babies to the elderly and all conditions from physical aches and pains to emotional traumas and spiritual issues.

As well as working with shamanic healing and craniosacral therapy I am also a tutor at the College of Craniosacral Therapy in London, and it is wonderful to be able to share my passion for this work. My love of energy also finds expression through drawing and painting.

Having moved back to the area after spending many years in Cornwall and abroad I am delighted to have found Shiva Rooms and feel very at home working here – as a yoga practitioner I feel that yoga and craniosacral therapy have a special affinity for each other.

Jyothi Shepherd ~ Quantam Angel Healer, Craniosacral therapist, Creative Healer

Jyothi Shepherd is a qualified nurse, qualified Hatha Yoga teacher and CranioSacral Therapy Practitioner. She did her Quantum Angel Healing ® training with the founder, Eva Maria-Mora and her husband Michael Mora

 

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