If you’ve never had a session before, here are a few ways to prepare.
Cranio or CST is not REIKI or Massage Therapy. CST is a therapy that directly works with your oldest, most ancient and last wild part – your nervous system. This watery, expansive, elusive system behaves just like wild, willful thing – this brilliant sensory hub, constantly at work for your ultimate safety does not want to be rushed, trapped or forced. This wild thing seems to ask for deep patience, curious listening and reverence.
Working with this system involves gentle, hands-on manual therapy. Most of the work occurs on the cranial (head) bones, vertebrae of the spine, and sacrum (tail bone).
What does a session look like?
A craniosacral session is often received clothed. Please wear loose clothing, no denim. Every session takes place on a massage table, usually face-up. Your legs and neck are supported with pillows, positioned for alignment and comfort. Some people fall into deep slumber, and this might be exactly what their system needed. Some stay alert and communicate throughout the session, and this too, could be exactly what their system needed. There is a wonderful aspect of working with the nervous system, should one choose, to access old wounds that still exist and take up real estate. We call this Somatic Unwinding, and it can be a profoundly cathartic piece of discovering ourselves and healing.
Why do we work with the bones?
Bones and joints are part of the incredible undulating fascial system that brilliantly support the whole spinal cord to pump the Cerebral Spinal Fluid up your spine, into your brain. The movement and current of this electrical wave are crucial to the health of your spine. In CST we are traccking this movement, and following this motion, up through the entire spinal system. In doing so, the system upregulates, stimulates and tone the nerves, and produces a general feeling of well-being, lightness, and clear sense of presence. Some people describe the sensation as meeting their true self for the first time. Others describe it as a deep rest, with effervescence. Everyone’s experience is different – but the common denominator is it feels good to dip into such a deep, still, warm state of calm.
If you’re hungry before your session, it’s okay to eat – keep it a light meal that is not hard on your body to digest. Have some water on your drive up, but don’t overload your system trying to hydrate fast… (After your session, I’ll suggest you begin hydrating immediately, so please bring water with you for drinking on your drive home.)
As you’re traveling to your appointment, prepare yourself with intentional calm. Avoid taking stressful phone calls or emails / communication just before you arrive. Avoid social media for at least a half hour before your session. Knowing you’re coming in, and giving me the honor of working this wild, old, vital part of you, give yourself the gift of intention. Prepare your mind and body by giving yourself a moment of a few deep breaths. A moment of quiet with yourself. And then, we can begin.