What is Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy BCST?
“The symbols of the self arise in the depths of the body.”
My approach to Craniosacral Therapy is through the biodynamic lens of orienting to the body’s natural wisdom and allowing innate intelligent processes to arise and bring about authentic change. It is a non invasive approach. These changes will be physiological and psycho-emotional. The body’s own priorities for change are listened for and encouraged to arise. As a therapist, the art is to connect with the underlying forces of health and facilitate a process of natural reorganization. These forces express as subtle motion of tissues and fluids that you and I track and feel in different ways.
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) takes a whole-person approach to healing and I deeply honor the inter-connectedness of mind, body, heart and spirit. The relationship that develops between myself and my clients is essential, as it establishes a ground for trust and safety. It is in this relational field where there is a great potential for healing. I bring warmth, openness, curiosity and sensitive listening to support this therapeutic process.
BCST is an effective healing modality for a range of physical and emotional health issues.
Benefits Include Relief From
TMJ Temporomandibular joint syndrome
concussions
anxiety
inflammation
depression
support for positive body image
breathing difficulties
headaches and migraines
birth trauma
digestive distress
recovery from surgery
PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder & trauma resolution
car accidents
stress and nervous system tension
muscular tissue tension
MORE
In a session
In a Cranio session a client is fully clothed, resting on his/her back, and sometimes lying on his/her side. The holds can last from 5 to 20 minutes. The goal of the session is to support the fluid body as a whole and to promote relaxation, health and balance in the nervous system. The session supports communication between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system.
The Sympathetic branch supports - Active states / Alertness/ Play / Stress Responses of fight & flight
The Parasympathetic branch supports - Rest / Digestion / Repair / Pleasure / Deeper stress responses of shut down or freeze
Sometimes, as the parasympathetics come online, there is quite a relaxed and dreamy experience that can emerge, and this can feel wonderful. Also, as a client begins to relax, other sensations can emerge in his/her awareness. Sensations, thoughts, images and feelings can all arise and a client is encouraged to learn to be with these embodied experiences, thus learning to welcome them without having to immediately explain or understand them. Meaning making might arise naturally, but is often not the first step. Speaking with clients at times throughout the session allows clients to feel and track this inner experience of the healing process in a safe and spacious relational container. It is a collaborative process.
Working with Stress, Pain and Trauma
The process of healing that expresses in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is supported by the power of the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. It is common to feel both deep relaxation in sessions as well as an unraveling of symptoms, much like the “peeling an onion” metaphor. When symptoms shift and release there can be discomfort. This discomfort often shifts naturally.
When working with unwinding and resolving trauma I bring an awareness of titration to our work together so that at any time clients can shift from pain/discomfort to a safe felt-sense resource in real time with my guidance and support. This way, if there is an intensity of feelings, they can be managed for each person’s comfort level, unraveling step by step rather than too quickly.
Working with chronic pain & acute injuries, emotional distress & trauma lodged in the body, I find it is most effective to slow down to allow the body/mind/heart connections to lead the way in unwinding the neuromuscular and emotional patterns that reinforce physical and psychological pain cycles.
- Excavation: allowing inner material to arise without force, in a safe environment.
- Titration: shifting between discomfort and support/relief/comfort as needed.
- Resources: Present moment support as well as naming what can be practiced outside of sessions for on going support & integration.
“The forces that can be manifested from within are far greater than anything that we can apply from the outside”