I love the practice of CranioSacral therapy (CST) and I find that it combines well with massage. While practicing massage, I found that many clients kept coming back with the same issues and complaints, without much awareness of how their tension patterns were related to other parts of the body. As I started to study and practice CST, I began to see how chronic holding patterns were connected to deeper holding patterns elsewhere in the body. As the deeper holding patterns unraveled, the tension in a client’s body began to shift, and they became more aware of the interconnectedness of everything in the body. Because the field of CST allows one to experience their entire body in a way that focused massage doesn’t allow, I love to see how it can integrate into every session I give.
While massage has its place, it can only go so far. With the combination of CST, a massage is much more effective because deeper holding patterns are able to be addressed. As these patterns begin to unravel, the body opens new spaces for consciousness to travel and these places hold a lot of information for both practitioner and client. As we gain more information about the body, it naturally begins to heal. Sometimes the body doesn’t even realize it’s holding a certain pattern, so when information about that pattern is present, it has the option to adjust, shift, and open up space for a change to occur. When this happens, the body begins to trust itself more and the field of trust is truly what creates the greatest opportunity for healing to occur. As we begin to trust ourselves, our nervous system can relax into a deeply healing state. Combine that with a field of trust between client and practitioner and this is a ripe place for transformation.
CranioSacral Therapy helps me trust in the innate intelligence of the body to heal itself. Everyone has this capacity, and when we are given the space to do this, our body can relax in a way that many never even experience. In our society, we sadly aren’t taught to trust the body. Many of us don’t even know how to listen to its innate wisdom. When we can listen to the body, like we do in CST, it tells a story that needs to be heard. It’s amazing how soothing it is for someone when they are truly heard. The nervous system relaxes and another level of consciousness opens up. It is in this place where healing occurs, not in the mind. Most bodywork modalities work through the mind trying to figure out a holding pattern and how to exert force to change it. While this may temporarily shift a pattern, it can be difficult for the nervous system to integrate a forceful approach. Hence why you need to keep going back to the chiropractor or massage therapist every week.
CST, on the other hand, listens to the body to hear, see, feel what’s occurring. By observing the health of the system and where there’s energy for change to occur, this modality respects the intelligence of the body and listens to how it wants to work on something and change. With this guidance, the practitioner is allowed to support the transformation in a gentle, non-invasive way. Healing that happens on this level can be integrated into the nervous system for long lasting support.