Allow me to invite you to expand your perspective on bodywork and massage. I know there are some of you that love your deep tissue massage and like the feeling of something "hurting so good".. But hear me out... Maybe even suspend some beliefs for the time being.. Let me explain why I really love Craniosacral Therapy. I would like to talk about why I chose it as my modality of choice and it's alignment with my bodywork practice.
The major paradigm of Craniosacral therapy is the body/mind/spirit is self-healing. Imagine there is an inner being that is already whole, perfect and healed residing within us all. This is the part of us that knows how to heal. Regardless of what we may consciously understand about what a healing should look like or how it should happen, if we ignore this major tenant of this inner wisdom, our efforts may work against our client's innate ability to be whole. What does it mean to be whole? To me, it means to be fully present in your body while on this physical existence regardless of traumas and/or life experiences. It means to be the fullest version of yourself and being able to express that fullness in your physical existence. It's not so much about overcoming obstacles but working through them. Facing these obstacles takes a lot of courage and can be difficult. In our Craniosacral training, we learn that resistance is a therapist's friend. When a client shows signs of resistance and something comes up in the tissues, it means there is something quite significant. Working with this significance creates a tremendous healing opportunity. Each Craniosacral session is client-driven. This means the client's tissues and inner wisdom guide the therapist through the session rather than techniques and/or protocols. I liken this work to a dance where the client leads and the therapist follows. While this seems like an effortless modality (and it is with the necessary training and background) , without the knowledge and training at a therapist's disposal, a session could be as limited as the therapist's comfort level and skill set. In other words, if a client's inner wisdom reveals a need to perform work intra-orally, the therapist's training and comfort level with performing these techniques determine if it occurs during the session. This is an example where training can either expand the possibilities for healing or diminish it. I personally have found intra-oral work to be vastly profound in my own healing journey. According to Dr. Upledger's teachings, the overall goal of Craniosacral Therapy is self-realization. This is where unconscious information becomes available to the client's conscious awareness. Facilitating this awareness for the client is very powerful. This is what allows the inner wisdom to allow the session to unfold gracefully and in a manner that has the client's highest and best interest. I always tell a client that I never know what a healing will look like for them, it is up to their inner wisdom. I receive this work often for my own well-being. I am here to tell you, I am always amazed at what comes to light in my own sessions. It is never what I expected or necessarily wanted but always what I needed What makes a Craniosacral session so powerful is tissue response. There is so much unexpressed information within our tissues, once it is revealed in a session, a profound shift will occur. Deeper information about traumas are realized and the client will be that much closer to self-realization. Once this unconscious information is reconciled with the conscious mind, the client is able to move forward in their healing process. This reconciliation process can be very palpable to the practitioner as tissue softening and or lengthening. The client may let out a deep sigh or move part of their body. The client may also report an alleviation of pain or direct the therapist to another area of significance. I truly enjoy this work because I feel it really can help clients on so many levels. Even I enjoy a therapeutic deep tissue massage from time to time. For me, this gentle and very effective approach to bodywork has been life-changing. It has been a profound tool for me to help me move forward in my journey not just as a practitioner but as a human being.
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AuthorJoAnn Clinton Archives
March 2015
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