Like Snow Falling on Cedars*: Light Touch May Be the Right Touch

Craniosacral Therapy:
Unwinding the Soul
by Jean Bodeau, L.Ac.

 

…the craniosacral system and the fascia are very tangibly linked with the soul and spirit.

Craniosacral Therapy for Children

Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a powerful method for restoring balance in infants and children. During birth, the bones of a baby's head glide over each other to make the head small enough to pass through the birth canal. After the child is born, the bones slide back to their optimal positions. Often, however, especially after a prolonged or difficult birth, the bones don't return to their proper places. This is even more true if forceps, suction or other interventions were used during the birth. The misplaced bones can restrict movement of cranial membranes and fluid, thus creating unbalanced pressures in the brain. This can lead to discomfort, crankiness, or even the appearance of brain disorders. The imbalance may also manifest in the limbs and spine, or, because of the critical role of the brain and spinal cord in overall functioning, it can impact any system in the body. CST can help the bones find their way back to their balanced positions, which helps the baby to naturally settle into optimal health.

A new mother, Kristine, noted that her baby's spine was curved and his head was always turned to one side. At the recommendation of a chiropractor, she took her baby for craniosacral therapy. Kristine said that after only one session, not only was her son's spine corrected, but also "he stopped being colicky and his digestive problems went away." The results were so dramatic that Kristine later took her second baby for CST even though he didn't appear to have any obvious difficulties.

Other conditions in children for which CST has been found to be helpful include: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, and learning disabilities, among other things.

How does craniosacral therapy work?

At its most fundamental level, craniosacral therapy balances the system that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. These organs float in a bath of cushioning fluid - cerebrospinal fluid - inside a system of membranes. The membranes, fluid, brain and spinal cord, are in turn held in place by bones: the skull and face bones, the neck and spine, and the sacrum and tailbone.

The craniosacral system pulses slowly and nearly continuously, at a rate of six to twelve pulses per minute. Each time it pulses, the cerebrospinal fluid washes around the brain and spinal cord, transporting nutrients and hormones, and refreshing the brain, pituitary gland and spinal cord. If the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid is restricted, the system is not thoroughly nourished and refreshed.

The bones of the skull and backbone give structure and protection to the precious nerve, intelligence, and hormonal centers of our being. At the same time, the bones are subject to stresses exerted by muscles and organs. Because everything in our body (every muscle, muscle fiber, organ, and bone) is covered with a very thin cobwebby-layer of connective tissue called fascia (pronounced FASH-a), a stress anywhere in the body is transmitted throughout the body. Thus, any stress or tension in the body can and does affect the craniosacral system, and vice-versa.

For example, Lucy, a 50-year old woman, came to me for sinus trouble. She had low back pain, knee problems, and a history of mouth and dental trauma as a girl. She had worn dentures for years. I could easily feel that her facial bones were jammed, thus blocking her sinuses. It was also immediately apparent that the dentures were preventing her cranial rhythm from pulsing freely, and that her sacrum was stuck. By doing craniosacral work with the dentures out (a necessity) to correct the original bone-jamming trauma, her sacrum was able to release. In turn, her low back pain disappeared and knee problems improved. At the same time, her sinuses have continued to clear and are "better than they have been in many years." She is in the process of getting flexible dentures that can respond to the cranial rhythm.

The practitioner of craniosacral therapy balances that system, and may work anywhere on the body. The CST therapist adjusts and releases the cranial rhythm, the bones, the fascia, and the muscles. The session is usually done with the client's clothing on. Fascial work is often called myofascial release, or unwinding. In general, the touch is very light and subtle, since the craniosacral system and the fascia respond best to light touch, and to deep "listening" to the tissue. Most people find it extremely relaxing, and may even fall asleep during treatment. The effects, however, can be dramatic.

Unwinding the Soul

The craniosacral system and the fascia seem to be involved in linking memory and emotion with the body. Emotional memory in particular seems to be stored in the fascia and membranes. When fascial restrictions are released, a memory will often come to light and/or "old" emotions will be experienced. Releasing the tissue can be a critical step in healing trauma. For example, one client came to me with shoulder and side pain. In listening to and following her body, her arm wanted to move to an awkward position behind her back. It turned out that she had been tied in that position while being raped. Doing bodywork in that position was the only way to release the injury. She had been working on issues related to the assault in therapy, and the bodywork supported her moving through things more quickly and completely.

While verbally processing during the actual bodywork sessions can be helpful, it is not necessary. In fact, unskilled attempts to lead a person to verbally process something may restimulate the trauma rather than helping to resolve it. A sensitive and skilled practitioner can "listen" to the tissues to feel where they need to move in order to release. Guidance from a client is not necessary, and often the connection between an injury and a memory is not consciously available.

On a spiritual level, I have noticed (as have many others, practitioners and recipients alike) that the craniosacral system and the fascia are very tangibly linked with the soul and spirit. During and after sessions, people tend to feel more harmonized with those aspects of themselves. At the time of death, the cranial rhythm is the last body pulse to cease. It continues for several minutes longer than the final pulsing of the breath and the blood.

Craniosacral Therapy and Acupuncture

As an acupuncturist, I find that craniosacral therapy dovetails beautifully with acupuncture to deepen and enhance treatments. They overlap and support each other, as both therapies deal with the fascia, the subtle body, and the bioelectric field of a being. Interestingly, recent research has demonstrated correspondences between the acupuncture meridians and the fascial planes as they develop in the womb. The work of either or both therapies can invigorate a deep constitutional rebalancing that goes to the core of who we are on our human journeys.

References/Further Reading: Matsumoto, Kiiko and Stephen Birch, 1988. Hara Diagnosis: Reflections on the Sea, Paradigm Publications, Brookline, MA. Milne, Hugh, 1995. The Heart of Listening, A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work, 1& 2, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley. Upledger, John and Jon Vredevoogd, 1983. Craniosacral Therapy, Eastland Press, Seattle. Upledger, John, 1987. Craniosacral Therapy II, Beyond the Dura, Eastland Press, Seattle.

Jean Bodeau, L. Ac., M. Ac., is an acupuncturist and craniosacral therapist in Anchorage. She is the owner of Moonstone Acupuncture and Healing Center, 308 "G" Street, Suite 309, Anchorage, telephone 243-5033.

Pediatric Cranial Sacral Therapy
by Jocelyn Paine

 

I have seen absolutely astounding changes in infants: from fussy, head banging, or chronically crying babies to peaceful and happy babies.

Although giving birth is one of the most profound experiences in a mother's life, being born can be one of the most traumatic experiences for an infant. Even a normal birth has potential difficulties and may have lasting effects on the life of the child throughout adulthood. Fortunately, most of the negative effects on the child can be quickly and permanently corrected through Pediatric Cranial Sacral Therapy.

In the birth process, the baby must pass through a narrow canal, past hard bony structures, from the warm, wet comfortable womb into the huge, cold, airy world. The mother's pelvis has relaxed from the hormonal changes pre-birth. The bones literally spread wider. The mother's muscles also push - hard - on the baby to help it in its travels. Meanwhile, the soft cartilaginous bones of the baby's head squeeze together in carefully designed predictable patterns. First, the baby presses against the cervix. The baby tucks its chin down and flexes its neck and upper back. The bones in the baby's skull overlap to make the baby's head smaller. Continuing down the birth canal, the baby's left cheekbone brushes past the mother's hard tailbone. This is one place where the mother's body is not designed to give; what gives and accommodates are the baby's facial bones. If the baby stays for a long time during labor pressed up against the tailbone, his or her facial balance can change significantly as can, by extension, the balance of the bones of the skull.

Most babies (95%, in fact) are born head first, with one side of the face turned toward the tailbone. About 80% of babies born head first, or vertex, present the left side of the face, while 20% present the right cheek. Headfirst births can have some complications. Sometimes, the baby's head and face are turned or tipped differently: face first, with the neck cricked backwards, the baby facing forwards, instead of toward the back, breech, with the baby staying upright in the womb. Some of these presentations currently result in the mother and child experiencing a Caesarean section.

Caesarean sections, along with the use of forceps and vacuum extraction, have their own sets of complicated and profound effects on the lives of those born through these methods. Needless to say, surgical birth cannot provide the infant with the same experience. Emotional and psychological effects follow a person throughout his or her life. Only some of the effects of a surgical birth can be corrected by cranial sacral pediatric work. The sooner the baby is worked on, the easier it is to make those changes and the less trauma is experienced. A child born with surgical assistance may grow up to need more touching and emotional support because he or she didn't receive the "stroking" of the vaginal canal. These individuals may show adult characteristics of being too goal oriented if born by C-section, or too dreamy if born with vacuum extraction. They may also have anger issues or difficulty inhabiting their own body or sexuality.

Pediatrics is the care of children from the moment of birth until they individuate, or become aware of their own being. Depending on development, this point is reached around 12 to 16 years of age. Many systems in the infant are still in the developing stage when they are born: kidney and urinary systems are not complete until two years of age; the medulla of the brain is not fully grown; nerves are not at their full development. The growth plates of the skeletal structure allow growth until the second decade of life. This lengthy maturation allows Pediatrics Cranial Sacral techniques a substantial period of time to correct some of the possible birth/uterine problems.

What are some normal developmental signs to look for in an infant or young child? What, as a parent, can you observe that will help you identify potential dangers and maximize your baby's future? Shortly after birth and before the end of the first four months of life, the parent might check some reflexes, if the midwife or pediatrician hasn¹t already done so. Here are a few simple tests:

1. Observe baby's mobility: does she turn her head smoothly?
2. If you put your finger gently in the corner of baby's mouth, will he stick out his tongue or start sucking? A baby with neurological problems will get excessively fussed, red or sweaty when this is done.
3. See if baby's hand can reach across her body and touch the opposite shoulder when she is on her back. Flex baby's foot back; the toes should touch the leg. See how tightly baby can hold your finger. These evaluations test the integrity of the spinal cord.
4. Holding baby in your extended arms, sharply and safely "drop" the infant. Your child should exhibit what is called the Moro Reflex -- arms and legs fly out in a startle reaction.
5. Scrape the bottom of baby's foot with something hard; the other side of the body should pull away. Look for baby to turn his head toward the side that is stretching out and extending. This reflex checks the medulla development in the brain.

Once it is established that the baby is responding well to all the reflex tests, a cranial sacral practitioner can work to correct possible birth trauma. The areas to check are where the bones have overlapped to allow birth: the parietals, or top of the head; the frontal or forehead; and especially the occiput at the back of the head. The occiput may be one of the most important bones in the skull. All the membranes that extend down the body are "hung" from the occiput. In the natural process of birth and development, the occiput unrolls. If it does not follow its normal pattern, the child will have balance and muscular/skeletal problems, showing up in crawling and walking. The visceral system, the organs and their connective tissues, are greatly influenced by the occipital position and mobility. In all Pediatric Cranial Sacral work, the body's visceral balance must also be restored.

I have seen absolutely astounding changes in infants and children. I have witnessed visible outward cosmetic changes in the shape of heads and faces. I have seen character changes from fussy, head banging, or chronically crying babies to peaceful and happy babies. Infants with chronic ear infections respond favorably to Cranial Sacral correction of the angle of the sphenoid and inner ear canal. In children (even up to pre-teenage years) who have not had the benefit of early work, it is still possible to change the course of their development. Cranial Sacral therapy can be effective with autism, retardation, emotional problems, lethargy, attention deficit syndrome, sleeplessness, clubfoot, sinus problems, asthma, and sunken chest.

Though birth may be an intense, sometimes painful and huge event, it is a natural process. The forces exerted on mother and child are normal, expected, even required. After birth, the act of nursing helps some in correcting skull shape. A gentle, non-invasive Cranial Sacral checkup will accomplish the rest. All mothers believe their babies are perfect. Pediatric Cranial Sacral ensures they will grow up to be the best they can be.

Jocelyn Paine has practiced bodywork for 30 years. Though she has no children, cranial/sacral therapy has given her the joy of making life-long changes in her young clients. Contact her at 276-8195.

The Power of Multiple Hands-On Therapy
by Mike Macy

 

If I was a trout in a fisherman’s hands, I’d be very worried.

Thirty minutes into a CranioSacral Therapy session at the Soma Therapy Center, a world-class clinic in Vancouver, BC, I am on the table, surrounded by four practitioners. Zannah, the lead therapist, has one hand on my occiput, the other on my frontal bone. My sacrum is in Erin’s palm. Beth pushes down on my left thorax. Merrill’s hands bear down on my liver. My head is bent so far to the left and backwards that my ear is jammed against my shoulder. My neck is close to the point where muscles, tendons, and ligaments could tear. If I was a trout in a fisherman’s hands, I’d be very worried.

And yet, I feel safe, despite the pain. I have confidence in the practitioners, their training and skill. They can feel each other’s hands through my body. Thanks to their training in CranioSacral Therapy, they are fluent in a common language and are all, simultaneously, communicating while listening to my cranial rhythms. By its presence, absence, intensity, and distortions, the pulse-like rhythmical widening/shortening, narrowing/lengthening of my body tells them where to work, when I’m on something significant, when I’m going deeper and when I’m not, and when a particular piece is finished.

Moreover, they didn’t put my neck in this neck-breaking position, my neck did. Had they forced the position, I’d probably already be paralyzed. The trade calls this a “therapeutic position,” meaning that the body has positioned itself in such a way that the stored trauma now has an avenue of exit. Typically, therapeutic positions are identical to the positions the body was in when the trauma entered.

As usual, while I wait for a memory or image, my over-active mind tries to make sense of my awkward position: When did this happen? What was happening? Was it an accident, or was someone trying to break my neck? Who was it? “Stay with us,” says Zannah, intent on bringing me out of my head and back into my body. “You’re doing great. Breathe slower, deeper.”

I focus on breathing deeper, but it feels like it’s all I can do to maintain an airway. And I’ve been in this position for at least 20 minutes! At some point, I become aware of the absurdity of the situation – namely, that I’m paying a significant amount of money for the privilege of having my neck almost broken. I can’t help it, but I laugh, at least to the extent that you can laugh when you can barely breathe. This laughing seems familiar somehow, in an odd, twisted way, the way you laugh when someone gives you a charley-horse. And within seconds, the tears come as I finally acknowledge how much pain I’m really in.

As I continue to cry, waves of heat rise from my body. Erin reports that my coccyx, once twisted and side-bent, is releasing and moving toward the midline. “Wow, your whole head is softening,” says Zannah. “Your sphenoid is decompressing, too.” “Things are softening in the left lung,” says Beth. Merrill leans back to avoid whatever energetic gunk emanates from my liver. An hour, and several more releases later, we are done—at least for the day.

Though I get bodywork regularly, that was the first time in years, I’d had an overt emotional release. This is not unusual. For many of us, survival required stuffing trauma, and we became very adept at doing so. As a result, some colleagues had long since concluded that I wasn’t serious and found other trade partners. But that wasn’t the case. I was simply very resistant and guarded—and the session just described offers some clues as to why: Prior to that day and setting, I didn’t feel sufficiently safe, but I’d been edging closer for several years thanks to the colleagues who had stuck with me. It was the presence of four highly-skilled therapists that was finally enough to tip the balance.

Some people can contact old emotional trauma easily, others only with the greatest difficulty. Though many people say that they “would rather be caught dead than do emotional process work,” I suspect that very few actually feel this way in their core. All living creatures are homeostatic (designed to heal), and who honestly and truly enjoys their emotional baggage? For those of us in resistance and those whose internal resources have been so drained by chronic health challenges, healing deep trauma often requires extra help.

That extra help is essentially what you get from multiple hands-on therapy. Instead of one therapist and the resources he or she can lend you, you have the energy, intent, support, love, and collective wisdom of two, or more. From a practical standpoint, the impact of additional hands is more than additive, more than multiplicative: it’s exponential. For most of us, most of the time, it’s a luxury. But for those with chronic illness, entrenched resistance, repeated injury, and complex histories, it can play a critical difference.

Multiple hands-on therapy offers more than sheer horsepower. Often problems in one part of the body (such as restrictions, adhesions or stored trauma) are energetically and mechanically linked to problems in another part of the body. In such cases, it is most expeditious to treat the entire linkage at once. This can be difficult when you have only two hands. Why? Working on one piece of problem at a time runs several risks. First, the client’s subconscious can shift these treasures to another site, leading the therapist on a wild-goose chase, if he or she is even aware of what’s going on. Secondly, if the whole complex isn’t treated, the restriction may return, as happens when you fail to get all the roots while weeding.

Despite the pain I experienced in my session, I consider myself exceedingly lucky to have encountered Zannah and her team when I did, especially given that I went to Vancouver on other business and found the clinic by serendipity. For starters, the trauma they released from my neck and head had been creating neurological problems and a gradual, but perceptible, loss in overall vitality. A process of calcification had started in one of my intracranial membranes, the falx cerebri, which divides the brain into right and left hemispheres and plays a critical role in evacuating venous blood and metabolic wastes from the brain. Had the calcification continued, I’m quite certain that my health would’ve failed and allopathic medicine would not have helped.

Now, two years later, I still don’t have any more information about how my neck was almost broken, but it hardly matters. I’m alive and well. Thanks to additional multiple hands-on treatments, the neck trauma seems to be gone. Best of all, I’m now in a position to provide multiple hands-on therapy here in Southcentral Alaska. These sessions are not always emotionally traumatic or physically painful, but they’ll get you moving if that’s what you need—and are ready—to do.

Mike Macy specializes in acupressure, CranioSacral, Visceral Manipulation, and multiple hands-on therapy. He can be reached at the Alternative Health Clinic in Anchorage, 770-2722 or mmacy@acsalaska.net

 

Some may think otherwise, but whiplash is no joke. Even minor fender benders produce 5 to 10Gs. This is more than enough force to cause temporary loss of consciousness; damage nerves, blood vessels, and internal organs; and turn your life upside down. You can get whiplash from car accidents, falls, and collisions with people and objects. 

Whiplash consists of rapid acceleration followed by rapid deceleration. During acceleration, forces propagate upward through the body, compressing internal organs, the brain, spine, and supporting structures. In deceleration, forces propagate downwards, tensioning everything.

High-speed collisions can produce 100Gs, many times more than enough to kill you. Research on pigs shows that the forces generated in high speed crashes literally explode their brains. Even low speed collisions produce strains, tears, and spasms in the brain, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. To be effective, treatment must address these issues. Otherwise the effort will be largely wasted.

The body is highly intelligent and highly hierarchical. Less important structures are continually being sacrificed or recruited to protect more important structures. Job number one is keeping the lights on upstairs, and this requires delivering adequate quantities of oxygenated blood to the brain. When there is an injury like a whiplash, the forces often end up in denser structures such as the nerves and arteries and veins of the neck, which can significantly impede the flow of blood to and from the brain. In order to minimize this vascular challenge, the body will recruit the bones and muscles of the neck. 

As a result, whiplash patients often present with chronic musculoskeletal complaints. Since chronic muscle tension and spinal misalignments are so obvious and produce so much pain and discomfort, many therapists focus their efforts on the muscles and the spine. But this is only the packaging, and as long as the underlying problems are ignored, this approach generally fails—even if it provides short-term relief. Trying to impose a solution on tissues may exacerbate the problem. 

Often, I see patients who after months or years of treatment are still experiencing pain and mobility issues from whiplash. One would think that the prognosis in such cases would be poor. Not so. Typically, they respond quickly. 

It’s more effective to focus on the underlying problems first. We check to make sure that the four arteries servicing their brain are working properly. If not, we find the restrictions and free them up. This may entail manual therapy, emotional work, or real-time self-repair using the immune system. Once vascular circulation is optimized, we can address any damage to the brain and its components, the central and peripheral nervous system, and then the internal organs. 

In serious accidents or when there are prior histories and conditions (for example, surgeries or physical or emotional trauma), it may take a dozen or so treatments to get a patient back to where he or she can enjoy life. However, except in all but the most serious accidents, significant relief should be evident after three or four sessions (absent re-injury). Generally, only then does it make sense to focus on spinal and soft-tissue problems and do therapeutic exercises.

If an emotion, issue, attitude or belief accompanies the physical trauma, this must be dealt with also. This is common in humans where purely physical injuries are relatively rare. An emotional or spiritual injury nearly always precedes, accompanies, or follows and joins the physical injury. If this is not dealt with, even when the treatment initially appears to be successful, the likelihood of re-injury is high. 

Since the trauma is likely concentrated in extremely delicate, sensitive structures like nerves, blood vessels, internal organs, and the brain and its structures, for best results find a practitioner with advanced manual skills, anatomical fluency, and facility with emotional and spiritual release. 

In some cases, because of the body’s ability to compensate, especially when people are relatively healthy and free of prior injuries, years may pass between the time of an injury and the onset of troubling symptoms. Therefore, it’s important not to assume that you’ve walked away without a scratch even if it appears that you have. If you have any muscle soreness or tension, I can almost guarantee that there are deeper problems. The best strategy is to not wait for the big upset or the onset of symptoms, but to clean house of all the traumas that you’ve collected over the years. Doing this and getting regular bodywork will not only optimize your health, it may also keep you from having a major accident down the road.

Make no mistake: whiplash is nothing to trifle with. If you’ve been in a car accident, had a hard fall, or major blow to the head or body, get fully checked out by a physician, osteopath, or chiropractor. Then find a manual therapist capable of safely releasing the trauma from your body’s deepest and most delicate structures so that vital systems like nerves, blood vessels, and internal organs can function as designed. One good place to find these practitioners is www.iahp.com, an international directory of manual therapists.

Mr. Macy, I want to thank you for your article in the July/August issue of Alaska Wellness--especially for integrating some talk about the importance of parents dealing with their issues in order to assist their children in not "taking on other people's feelings, attitudes and behaviors". I work in child protection and have done my own "work" at the White Raven Center here in town. That in combination with receiving body work assists me in working more effectively with families that are in crisis. So many of my clients don't realize how their unresolved issues affect their children and the entire family. Having that understanding myself has greatly improved my ability to work with the families as well as this "system" in general. I appreciate your contribution to the publication as well as the hand you have in your patients’ healing. The work you do is so important to healing our awesome state and community. Thank you! Rebecca Morino, BSW

 

Trained in Visceral Manipulation and CranioSacral Therapy, Mike Macy specializes in treating trauma and whiplash.  He can be reached in Anchorage at 258-7261 or mmacy@acsalaska.n