29 March 2024
I keep asking myself, when do I get to write some fun stuff? Not that blog posts are ever the life of the party, but I do genuinely enjoy the writing process, especially when I feel I can share or express something novel or entertaining. The answer I got: after you slog through the obligatory introductions, marketing ahem education, and proclamations regarding your goods and wares are finished.
So, the order of business today is to explain my motivations for offering a holistic modality as a physical therapist. And to give a little background and explanation to my relationship to the work itself. I plan to say only a little bit today. But believe me that time on the table yourself will only deepen your knowledge.
Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy is a gentle and more subtle form of manual therapy for the whole body. When you receive a session, you will likely be invited to lie down on a massage table fully clothed and be offered options to make you feel as comfortable as possible. The touch given is light and will contain longer holds of the body including the lower and upper body, the head and face, feet, or the torso including the pelvis. The process is very slow, and incredibly still. Our sessions focus on supporting the inherent health of your whole being, with a special interest in balancing the nervous system.
Craniosacral therapy is often attributed as a form of osteopathy due to the involvement of western Osteopathic physicians dating back to the late 19th century. However, many sources agree that the foundation of all types of craniosacral therapy have their roots as a form of American Indian Bodywork and traditional indigenous healing techniques. Simply naming this does not feel like enough. I am continuing to open my eyes to the ways I have been conditioned to accept a white-centered history. And I am grateful to those practitioners who are diving into the true history. I am listening, and learning.
I am also grateful for the training I have received, and am receiving through my own practice, and am constantly learning while receiving this work.
Here the tldr; for why I love biodynamic craniosacral work:
- The emphasis on consent and respect: I will ask you permission – regaining bodily autonomy is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.
- It is slow, like really, really slow sometimes: As someone who has a brain that runs at 100 thoughts per moment most of my waking life, I always thought running after it (with actual running, or fast yoga, or vigorous massage) was going to be the answer. Nope. It turns out slowing down has been the way in, through, and out of the constant monkey mind.
- Externally the movements and holds are slow or completely still. Magical things happen when our nervous system feels safe enough to move into parasympathetic rest or ventral vagal connection. Both allow boundless and infinitely powerful shifts. For example, organ systems might function better, muscle tension patterns might retreat, the mind can reset/rest and this is deeply beneficial to our daily life and relationships.
- And lastly, (for now) it places the relationship between practitioner and client at the forefront, holding both parties accountable for a safe healing space, and it takes the onus away of both parties. Sessions are no longer burdened by the sometimes impossible task of fixing or perfect performing. The space and the relationship create a place for the healing to occur.
