Craniosacral Therapy relieves the constant overwhelm caused by chronic stress.
It alleviates:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Mental / emotional overwhelm
- Nausea
- Shoulder and muscle tension
- Insomnia caused by stress
- Ongoing frustration and sense of no control
Craniosacral Therapy acts as a massage for the body’s messaging system which relaxes, balances + optimizes your overall system.
During a session, the Craniosacral Therapist will re-train the brain to process and reset the fight-or-flight mechanism.
Stress & Craniosacral Science
“It has been estimated that 75 – 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.” – AIS
Studies show that Craniosacral Therapy is a successful way to reduce chronic stress.
In a 2009 study – “Anxiety, pain, sleep quality, depression and quality of life were determined at baseline and at 10 minutes, 6 months and 1-year post-treatment. State anxiety and trait anxiety, pain, quality of life and Pittsburgh sleep quality index were significantly higher in the intervention versus placebo group after the treatment period and at the 6-month follow-up.” – Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine – Volume 2011, Article ID 178769 (Influence of Craniosacral Therapy on Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Fibromyalgia)
In a 2007-2008 study – “Patients’ ages ranged from neonates to 68 years. Seventy-four percent (74%) of patients reported a valuable improvement in their presenting problem. Sixty-seven percent (67%) also reported a valuable im-provement in their general well-being and/or a second health problem. … Seventy percent (70%) of patients on medication decreased or discontinued it, and patients’ average general practitioner consultation rate fell by 60% in the 6 months following treatment.” – The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine – Volume 17, Number 1, 2011 (Multipractitioner Upledger CranioSacral Therapy: Descriptive Outcome Study 2007–2008)
What is stress?
Stress — whether physical, emotional, or mental — is a natural, ongoing and unavoidable part of being alive. We often think of stress as caused by certain life events, and most often negative ones. Even positive events such as a promotion at work, or taking a trip can be stressful.
If we have too little stress in our lives, our experience or performance in life may also suffer. Yet most people struggle with too much stress and just reading or hearing the word may evoke tension or images of what may be stressful personally to each of us. Some of us find ourselves past the point of optimal stress load and unable to restore ourselves, whether from chronic conditions, our day to day lives or a particular event. Too much stress has become an epidemic.
How Does Craniosacral Therapy Relieve Stress?
The health of your nervous system determines the quality of your human experience.
The Cranialspinal System is proposed to have a pressure-stat model for Cerebrospinal Fluid. That is, it turns on the production of CSF until the system is “full,” then turns the production off until the system is “low.”
This low and full cycling creates a palpable pulse.
The quality of this pulse’s rhythm, strength, and balance determines the overall health of the Central Nervous System. CranioSacral Therapy reads and adjusts this pulse creating a well-functioning nervous system. A well-functioning nervous system is trained to turn off the fight-or-flight mechanism and employ the Parasympathetic nervous system without having to run from a saber-tooth tiger… or get in a fist-fight.
Saber-tooth tiger? Fist-fight? …What?
Our nervous system is designed to help us get out of trouble; it reacts to threats with a stress response called “fight-or-flight” – coined by Walter Bradford Cannon. A series of neurological events triggers the production of cortisol activating the “sympathetic” nervous system – preparing us to fight a security threat or run from a predator. The flood of cortisol increases blood sugars, blood pressure, and boosts energy.
Once out of danger, our Parasympathetic nervous system returns our system to balance, reducing the effects of the cortisol boost.
The Nervous System consists of:
- the brain
- the spinal cord
- the nerves that run throughout the body
The Central Nervous System (CNS) is typically considered the brain and spinal cord. Both the Sympathetic nervous system and the Parasympathetic nervous system originate in the Spinal Cord.
The Spinal Cord sits in a flexible “skin” called the Dural Tube. The Dural Tube and the Brain contain a fluid – Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). CSF is created by the brain, becomes spent, and is reabsorbed.
We know that our current lifestyle is no longer compatible with our evolutionary impulses. We just don’t have saber tooth tigers to run from anymore – our threats to security have more to do with finances than other people – and fist-fighting simply isn’t a socially acceptable response to a parking ticket.
Evolution built this amazing system and our current lifestyle is out of sync with it. In other words, there’s nothing built into our environment to trigger the Parasympathetic nervous system back into “control.”
Many cope with stress with practices such as yoga, meditation, counseling or psychotherapy, music, and exercise. Even for those with strong coping skills, high cortisol and other stress symptoms can create or worsen anxiety, migraines, sleep problems, and many other health conditions. We may be discouraged after changing our lifestyle to be “low stress” and still find ourselves suffering from stress related health conditions.
What to do when stress impacts our health?
While stress is innately part of our unique response to any given situation, what remedy is there if our usual ways of de-stressing and staying healthy aren’t working as well as we need?
Whatever the source of the stress, whether exceptional, routine, happy, or painful, all of us may need help from time to time resetting our nervous systems to make ourselves more resilient to stress or recover from stress. In other words, we need help activating our parasympathetic nervous system. After all, we can’t beat evolution. Or can we?
Craniosacral therapy can release the effects of stress starting in the initial 45-60 minute session.
Is Craniosacral therapy right for you?
What People Say
[CST] improved my ability to move in this world and for that I’m am grateful.I left feeling relaxed and much more balanced. As an anxious person, being able to relax for a full hour is truly a gift![CST] is settling down my overactive system, allowing me to recover rapidly from any experiences that spark anxiety.Craniosacral Therapy is a very easy way to eliminate stress.
If you imagine a 10 mile drive. If it’s raining. You get caught in traffic. There’s an accident. The 10 miles takes 45 minutes. You wind up late for your appointment despite giving yourself plenty of time. You get out of the car frustrated and agitated. This continues to affect your appointment and the way you move through the day.
On the other hand, if during that same 10 mile drive, the weather is perfect, no traffic, window rolled down and your favorite song comes on the radio. You arrive early to your appointment and the drive feels like a mini-vacation.
Craniosacral Therapy is designed to give all the messages from your body to your brain – and your brain to every place in your body – a smooth path back and forth. So, your day-to-day feels more like a mini-vacation than frustration and agitation.
Craniosacral therapy can release the effects of stress starting in the initial 45-60 minute session.
More About CST | Session Description
Are you ready for a profound shift in your stress healing?
