Craniosacral
What is Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral Work is a soothing, noninvasive, hands-on therapy using exquisitely sensitive and exact finger pressure on very accurate points on the body. The craniosacral system includes the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid, the system of membranes inside the cranium, all 22 cranial bones, the spine and the sacrum but a craniosacral session is not limited to those areas nor is it limited to the physical.
Craniosacral therapy focuses upon optimizing the position, the fluid movement (wave) and energy of the craniosacral system. Focusing on differing wave states and tides that often bring an opening to stillness or deep unwinding. The still, meditative quality Craniosacral work provides helps one to transition from the Sympathetic nervous system often associated with “fight or flight” to the Parasympathetic nervous system associated with “rest and digest”.
When one is able to transition into the Parasympathetic nervous system one is able to rest and digest life more fully. Often allowing one to feel their natural vitality return and restore balance. The stillness that is often discovered from these particular craniosacral holds allows ones system to settle enough and to feel held in just the right way that their body can feel safe to rest and return to health and balance.
Craniosacral Work is an evolution out of Cranial Osteopathy, a specialization of the osteopathic profession that was introduced to the world in the 1930s by an American osteopath and visionary called William Garner Sutherland. I have been studying a particular form of Craniosacral work called Visionary Craniosacral. Hugh Milnes Visionary Craniosacral work focuses on developing the practitioner’s ability to open to multiple channels of perception and create a heart connection with our clients. In particular, it deepens our ability to be present with ourselves as we connect with our client’s inner experience.
The ability to do this is called ‘the heart of listening.’ Knowing how to touch a client with precise and gentle contacts that help the client feel more aligned, and more at home in themselves. Sometimes, by touching just the right place in just the right way, it can help a client understand what troubles them, and what they need to reclaim their equanimity, and their place in life. It can give people the experience of emptiness or of sacredness. Such work can also help the client access and release their healing potential.
Benefits of Craniosacral work…This exquisitely sensitive, subtle and careful modality is highly effective in addressing common physical, emotional, and energetic issues. It may also help with symptoms of chronic back and neck pain, TMJ dysfunction, migraine and tension headaches, whiplash injury, sinusitis, chronic fatigue, depression, exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, and stress-related illness. Receiving Craniosacral work can be used as a tool for personal and spiritual growth. The meditative states that are encountered are ideal for exploring deeper realms of who we are. The use of this work may be appropriate for people working through challenging life transitions, desiring a deeper contact with their emotional body, and/or seeking greater understanding of their spiritual self.
Myofascial
What is Myofascial Release Therapy
Myofascial release therapy is a type of gentle, constant massage that releases tightness and pain throughout your myofascial tissues. First, your healthcare provider will locate trigger points, or knots, in your fascial tissues. Then, they’ll gently apply pressure until they feel the tension release.
It’s more intensive than a therapeutic or Swedish massage, myofascial release therapy aims to target the interconnective tissue that knits together the muscles, also known as the fascia.
You can think of fascia like a spider web. The stringy tissue is densely woven throughout your muscles, bones, nerves, arteries, veins and organs. Your fascia is one continuous structure throughout your body.
Each part of your body is connected to it in some way. That’s why if there’s a snag in the tissue in one part of your body, it can cause pain in another part of your body.
Normally, fascia is flexible and stretchy. But it’s strong. It provides structural support to your body and protects your muscles. Fascia is usually able to move without any restrictions. When your body experiences any kind of trauma, your fascia loses its flexibility. It becomes tightened and more rigid. The tightness can lead to pain and loss of motion, which can affect your quality of life.
Myofascial release therapy is a hands-on technique used to manage myofascial pain. “Myo” means muscle. “Fascial” refers to the connective tissue that covers and supports the muscles throughout your entire body. During myofascial release therapy, your therapist doesn’t focus specifically on your muscles. They focus on releasing tension in your fascial tissues.
Mindful Somatic Session
As a Certified Hakomi Practitioner (CHP) all sessions will be following the Hakomi method.
What is Hakomi
Hakomi is a mindfulness centered somatic experiential psychotherapy modality. In a session a client is guided into a mindfulness state where present, felt experience is used as an access route to core material/core beliefs. This core material is brought into the clients consciousness and through assisted self study a client can integrate and re-organize around this core material/nourishment barriers and be supported for change to happen in present day experiences. Hakomi is grounded in five principles mindfulness,non-violence,organicity, unity,and body-mind holism. Hakomi relies on mindfulness of body sensation,emotions,and memories which make it unique in that it conducts the majority of a session in mindfulness.
In a Hakomi session I will facilitate this method sitting across from one another or virtually. In a Hakomi session a client will not be on a massage table and this will be a session separate from a bodywork session. I will hold a loving presence, each client is given space and some time to slow down and be guided towards their inner landscape through accessing mindfulness and accessing their bodies wisdom.
It is in this space that one can learn more about the beliefs they carry, gain insight into their lived experience, and feel support to feel unprocessed memories that live with in them. It is in this that a Hakomi session can also be a resource and a guide for a client towards new perspective and a new way of relating to themself and the world around them.
The primary difference in the Hakomi work I offer compared to a licensed psychologist or licensed counselor is that I can not diagnose or treat mental illness. If you need psychological counseling or other mental health services it is your responsibility to seek the help of a licensed professional. I will use the Hakomi technique to assist you in your self awareness,self growth, and assist you in your study of your inner landscape.
