Craniosacral therapy has a broad range of styles nowadays. I have come to appreciate the value of both the Biodynamic and the mechanical/functional models of craniosacral therapy, practicing and teaching a non-manipulative integration of the two.
It has its roots in osteopathy, a hundred years or so back. A basic tenet of osteopathy is that the body is a unit whose structure and function are reciprocally interrelated, capable of self-regulation and health.
The 22(ish) bones of the cranium are designed for motion. Unrestricted movement is essential to the health of the whole body. Blood vessels and nerves run through spaces in and between the cranial bones and membranes. The cerebrospinal fluid needs to flow freely. It aids neurochemical communication, provides nutrients to the brain, and carries away its waste.
Craniosacral Therapy helps restore balance and function by working with (though not being limited to) the environment of the central nervous system.
In some craniosacral approaches, the practitioner’s fingers offer subtle suggestions to the body to increase mobility between bones, connective tissues, fascia and muscles, freeing the fluids and blood flow, and easing nerve compression (think of loosening shoelaces or unkinking a garden hose).
Biodynamic Craniosacral is not protocol-driven. Practitioners attune to the whole of the client - sometimes via bones, tissues and fluid rhythms within the body to help them self-correct. The inherent health that holds a person together is at the heart of biodynamic practice. Practitioners quiet their own system down first, then use finely tuned palpation skills to "listen" with their fingers to address what underlies, organizes and maintains that health. It's the only modality I'm aware of in which the body is the boss and the practitioner is the support staff.
We view the person as a fluid continuum, kind of like shaped protoplasm. That may sound goofy, but that's the deal. This "fluid body" has been dictating your form and function from conception onwards. Those developmental forces continue to function throughout life. They are accessible and can offer a deep level of healing.
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy helps reduce the charge of the sympathetic nervous system through containment and transformation rather than cathartic emotional release. That is to say, you can create change and move forward without having to stir up the story.
