Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral therapy is a way of improving the environment in which the brain and nervous system live and work. It is an effective enabling activity for facilitating functional activities. Therapists use it to decrease pain and spasticity, increase range of motion, encourage optimal immune and parasympathetic nervous system functioning, facilitate autonomic flexibility, decrease tone and edema, break up scar tissue, balance the spinal and pelvic structures, relieve stress, and promote relaxation. It can also be used to find and eliminate emotional issues stored in the tissues.
Light touch coupled with intent and direction of energy is used to bring the cranial, spinal, and pelvic structured back into balance and to remove blockages that the body s own physiologic forces have been unable to overcome. One of the hallmarks of craniosacral therapy is the use of a very light touch. The amount of pressure used is seldom more than 1 ounce, and is often more on the order of 5 grams the weight of a nickel. By using such gentle pressure, the therapist assists the client s body to self-correct and avoids encountering resistance. An experiential example can facilitate understanding of how light touch decreases resistance. For example, imagine a hard pull on one of your arms. Your immediate reaction is to resist by holding back against the pull. Thus protecting yourself. The use of light touch is a way of not engaging the body s natural tendency to resist change. Reliance on the inherent self-correcting mechanism of the body is another of the hallmarks of craniosacral therapy. This approach relies on the body s own wisdom and desire to move toward homeostasis to guide the treatment session. Treatment is a cooperative effort between the therapist who is trying to help the system work more effectively and the person receiving treatment. For this reason, treating the craniosacral system is not only useful for correcting disease, but also for promoting a high level of wellness.
Douglas Adams is the owner of http://www.allwellbeing.com , a website dedicated to increasing knowledge of health related issues.



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