A New Year.

I usually find the eve of a new year one of tension and anxiety about what I have done or not done during the year and what I want to do in the year to come.
It feels as though I carve solid images of myself to represent what I have done and what I want to do. Structured and immovable. Devoid of emotion and separate from who I am at this very moment.
Then it occurred to me that a carved solid image is hardly a living entity and I am very much alive and breathing. So why don't I see myself as such?
So I looked at the images I made of my "last year's" self and my "next year's" self and saw them as living entities with high and lows, goods and bads but most importantly with love and compassion. Now I feel relaxed, maleable and content knowing that what has been, has been and what will be, will be and love supports it all.
Be present in that love.
Engage with the flow of life.

So what makes someone a psychopath?

At my book group this month we read a fascinating book called "The Psychopath Test" by Jon Ronson.

Have you ever met a psychopath or would you know one if you had? I wouldn't have known one before reading this book so here is a description of one:

"a person who behaves in an antisocial way and shows little or no guilt for antisocial acts and little capacity for forming emotional relationships with others."

Jon Ronson very skilfully led us past an array of people that may have been psychopaths but a definitive assessment was hard to come by except for one finding. Psychopaths all have damaged or dead amygdala!

The amygdala are almond-shaped masses of grey nerve cells located within the temporal lobes, one on each side within their anterior regions at the ends of the fornix. From the outside, they would be behind the upper eyelids and about two inches inward which, from the side view, places them about midway between the eye and the upper ear.

The amygdala receives information about problems and crises and then decides which brain areas should be activated to initiate the survival response. When the amygdala are overwhelmed by the severity or number of problems the organism may die. Also when the amygdala suffers injury in the embryonic stage, the adult may have a reduced or complete lack of emotional feelings and responses.

It makes you think!

What cleans out the brain?

In August of this year the University of Rochester USA posted a Youtube link describing their findings on research they have been doing on Alzheimer's.

It has been found that Alzheimer's sufferers have a build up of amyloid between the neurons in the brain that cause the neurons to die.

Using mice they have been trying to determine how to eliminate this build up of amyloid and they have come to the conclusion that Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) is the brains cleaning agent.

Dubbed the "Glymphatic System", the CSF follows the artery routes to the brain and then passes through the brain clearing out any debris on the way and then exits down the route of the veins. When experiments on increasing the flow of CSF in mice with amyloid build up were conducted it was found that up to 50% of the amyloid was removed.

This understanding may have implications for traumatic brain injuries, strokes and Parkinsons suffers.

As Craniosacral Therapists we know the importance of improving the flow of CSF through out the body!

Now thats something to think about.

Anything is possible.

What an amazing couple of months we have been having with the Olympics and now the Paralympics.

If there is one thing that stands out to me is the joy of realising that anything is possible. I feel it in my body as a shivering sensation of excitement and infinite possibilities.

When the athletes are in their "zone" all the years of training become intuitive and their subconscience effortlessly talks to their mind enabling them to perform beyond anything they had achieved before.

Learning to listen to our subconscience/ soul/ super conscience is something that we can all do so we to can achieve beyond what we have ever dreamed of.

Using the tools of Craniosacral Therapy "Imagery and Conversation"we as therapists can facilitate that connection between your subconscience and your mind. Enabling you to awaken to your greatest potential so you to can be in your "zone" and perhaps feel the shivery sensation of excitement and infinite possibilities.

Have fun!

Letting go makes life easy!

I had the opportunity recently to participate in a five day Tai Chi workshop that incorporated meditation and taoist chanting and if there was one thing that became obvious throughout the workshop was that  letting go made life a whole lot easier!

We practiced both seated and standing meditation and the pain in my arms and legs became quite severe after a time and all I could do was focus on that pain. Then there was a point when I couldn't take it any more and the muscles relaxed and gave way and the pain went and I was left wondering why I had held my muscles so tight when I could be in the same position with relaxed muscles and no pain!

The same applied to the chanting which we did kneeling up for over an hour. The chanting is in cantonese so you start by trying to focus on each word to say it right but the chant is so fast that you don't have time and you have to let your focus soften and breath gently to get to the end. Then after a time the knees and back begin to ache so again you allow the body to let go and relax to allow you to kneel for that bit longer.

In Tai Chi as you let your arms relax you can stretch that millimetre further which lengthens the tendons and lubricates the joints rather than using the muscles to push the arms into a stretch. It also makes the movements more flowing and graceful and less like a workout.

Letting go is a key element in Craniosacral work. When there is a dysfunction in the body or energy cyst it means the energies are not able to flow freely around the body and the body can't function in the most efficient way. As therapists we act as facilitators for our clients to help them become aware of where those energy cysts are and how to release them and let them go so the body can work easily and effortlessly again.

Have fun letting go!

Multiple Sclerosis and Craniosacral Therapy

In Upledger CranioSacral Therapy (CST) it is assumed and has been proved that all tissues, organs, glands, cells and molecules have a consciousness and intelligence.

As such it is possible to establish a dialogue between the mind and the rest of the body to ascertain the reasons and needs of a particular disease.

With MS when the immune system is destroying the oligodendrogliocytes that produce the myelin sheath on the nerve axons this is a good starting point in opening up a dialogue between the attacking immune cells, the oligodendrogliocytes and the nerve neurons. This is a dialogue between the client and their immune system facilitated by the CranioSacral therapist and is a dialogue that the client can continue on their own.

In addition CST can be helpful in reducing urinary frequency which is often a common complaint by releasing and relaxing the tissue in the area and it can be used to improve blood flow from the head and spine to the heart if the cerebrospinal venous have narrowed.

CST can also be used to improve fluid motion in the cerebrospinal fluid, blood and lymph and balance the  bodies internal systems.

Craniosacral therapy and Tourettes and Asperger's Syndrome

I recently had the good fortune to work multi hands at a Craniosacral clinic run by a colleague who has years of experience as a Craniosacral therapist and in particular in pediatrics. Together with another colleague we were able to have three pairs of hands on each client. This multi hands work enables the body to resolve its imbalances more quickly as it's supported in several areas at once.

I thought I would tell you about two of the clients that we saw.

We saw a 15 year old boy with Tourettes Syndrome. This syndrome manifestes itself in multiple bodily tics and at least one vocal tic. The boy had visited the clinic several times previously and the mother reported that he now had fewer tics and the boy said he felt calmer. He certainly came into the session eagerly and left with a big smile.

Another client we saw was an 18 year old with Asperger's Syndrome. This syndrome is seen as a mild form of autism and manifestes itself amongst other things in social aloofness and an excessive preoccupation in a specialised interest. This boy had also been to the clinic several times and his demeanour on each visit had changed from quiet, sullen and depressed to being chatty and giggly. In fact he didn't stop talking and laughing the whole way through the session. His mother also said he was much easier to live with now.

Another happy day at the office!