What is Craniosacral therapy useful for?

In general Craniosacral Therapy (CST) can improve our body's ability to take better care of us.

Like many alternative approaches CST can be useful as a preventative therapy to help keep us in optimal  health.

Practitioners and clients find that it also helps relieve pain and dysfunction from may sources, often uncovering and addressing the deeper causes of our symptoms. The types of problems we find people seek treatment for are very varied but may include stress and tension related disorders, musculoskeletal pain, migraines and headaches, brain and spinal cord injuries as well as many other acute and chronic conditions. People often think of CST as a treatment for babies and indeed parents often report that many typical newborn's problems improve and that they are more settled after treatment.

Since CST is not prescriptive in its approach, we will always work by listening to and following what it feels your body tissues need to do, whatever the condition you may be experiencing.

CST is not a replacement for appropriate medical care and if there are any concerns we recommend consulting your doctor.

Upledger CranioSacral Therapy and children with ASD.

I recently had the pleasure to participate in a richly informative workshop by Rachel Lowden from Autism Sussex about the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and what we as therapists need to do to prepare our clients for their visits and how to conduct sessions and make evaluations.

What was made very clear was the disconnect these children have between their minds and their bodies and the wide range of the extent of that disconnection.

Back in 1976 Dr John Upledger began studying the effect of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) on children from the Genessee County Center for Autistic Children in Flint, Michigan. What he found was that the meningeal membranes, especial the dura mater, were not growing at the same rate as the child's growth. This disparity in growth rates leads to restrictions in the normal growth of the brain and cranial vault that stresses their central nervous system.

By using non invasive techniques and bones that attach to the dural membrane the dural mater can be manually stretched to counteract this disparity in growth rates. The treatment needs to be on a regular  basis up until the child has fully grown.

CST is a deeply profound therapy that also helps the child to quieten the chatter in their mind and give them a few moments of respite from their tireless analysis of the world.

Thank you Rachel and Autism Sussex for giving me a greater understanding of what I need to do (and mostly not do) so that I can offer CST to children with ASD.

Here are some articles from the IAHE

http://iahe.com/images/pdf/3524_001.pdf
http://iahe.com/images/pdf/3549_001.pdf
http://iahe.com/images/pdf/2294_001.pdf
http://iahe.com/images/pdf/3263_001.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-0aYkPbono&feature=youtu.be

The Craniosacral Society AGM and workshop weekend

What better value for money than your membership fee subsidising a weekend of workshops in London! So that in mind and not one to miss a bargin I headed up to Covent Garden for the Craniosacral Society AGM and workshop weekend.

Situated in comfortable rooms near the Masonic centre members were invited to participate in hands on workshops and network work over numerous cups of tea and sandwiches.

The workshops covered using multihands in a treatment; working with the Significant Detector to feel which words were important for the client to work on; being more considered with our dialoguing techniques so we don't talk too much; and working directly with the Immune System, cells and all.

So after a weekend of working on colleagues and being worked on and communally investigating the vast and deep implications of the work that Dr John Upledger left for us, I feel furthered inspired to be present for anyone that can use this wonderful work.