Bio-Dynamic Craniosacral Therapy
What is it?
Bio-Dynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) is a gentle, hands-on therapy that is holistic in its approach. It recognises that the body, mind and spirit are absolutely and inextricably intertwined. Working at the deepest levels with the fundamental life forces that are present within all of us, BCST engages with every aspect of our being to establish a healthy balanced underlying state, enabling the body to utilise its own potential to self-heal.
As BCST is a safe and non-invasive therapy, it can be used for everyone from new born to the elderly and for a wide range of issues – simple aches and pains to the most chronic or persistent conditions.
How does it work?
Imagine the sea and how the water moves via currents and tides. As we largely consist of water, we too, have similar flows and tides moving in subtle rhythmic ways within our bodies, just like the sea.
Now picture the sea moving around a rock or outcrop. As we live our lives, our bodies hold our experiences of shock, stress and trauma within our cells and tissues. These areas can then become the ‘stuck’ rock or out-crop within our ‘sea’ or system, which our fundamental life forces have to work around, to negotiate and contain.
By using perceptual awareness and gentle contact with different parts of the body (including the head, the spine and the sacrum), I listen to these subtle rhythms and help the body facilitate its own natural healing processes. My aim is to bring the whole system into a better state of balance and wellbeing. Hence encouraging the fundamental life forces to breakdown or shift the ‘stuck’ rock/boulder, so the tides and currents in the system can flow more freely again.
As with all therapies, the relationship with the client is central to success. I aim to create a calm, quiet holding space in which the body can be supported to relax and open up, enabling the craniosacral process to penetrate to the deepest levels of your being.
What happens in a session?
Craniosacral therapy is carried out fully clothed, in a quiet peaceful environment. Whilst most teen/adult sessions are conducted with the client lying on a treatment table, there may be times when it is more appropriate to work whilst sitting in a chair. Young babies may be cuddled or fed during treatment or laid on a blanket on the floor, whilst older babies and children may play with their parents and the therapist – Toddlers are quite often treated whilst on the move!
Whilst the first session is longer, subsequent sessions usually last approximately an hour.
I will begin by taking a brief case history, understanding some of the historical library of information that is held in your body or your child’s body. I will then work with you to settle your system helping you to understand the value of ‘resourcing’ yourself.
Having taken time to settle in each other’s presence, I will work with the flow of events as they unfold. Session work usually involves making gentle contact with a part of the body, such as the feet, the shoulders or the head. I will always explain what I would like to do, asking for your or your child’s permission to engage contact, and check back re; the quality of this contact. All contact is consensual, negotiated and gentle. During the session, it may be appropriate to change my position of contact, and again this will always be negotiated. I may also check in with you or your child from time to time, to understand and acknowledge any feelings, sensations, and /or emotions that you/they may be sensing at the time. In order for the body to heal, it is really important that you and your child feel safe, acknowledged and supported. My role as your therapist is to work to provide such a safe space – it really is your time to be heard.
During the session, you may have a sense of deep relaxation; you may also experience pleasant sensations such as tingling, stretching or heat. As we are all individuals, every person will react differently and heal at different rates. It is a special journey which allows your own body to self-heal at the pace at which it can cope.
How will I feel after a session?
Most clients feel deeply relaxed and spacious after a session. Sometimes there may be some physical symptoms as the body readjusts and realigns. It is advisable to drink lots of water after a session and not to engage in any other body therapies for at least the next 48 hours in order for the system to integrate and process what it needs to process.
How many sessions will I need?
Due to the nature of the therapy, each client’s journey is a very personal and individual one in which the therapist works in deep relationship with their system. Hence it is recommended to initially commit to six sessions, with progress being reviewed after session four. Having attained a more balanced sense of wellbeing, some clients find it beneficial to have monthly or seasonal treatments going forward.
For specific queries, please check the following pages:
BCST in Pregnancy, Childbirth and Post-Partum
BCST for Babies, Children and Adolescents