Craniosacral Therapy

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Are you in pain and discomfort? Have you heard of how effective Craniosacral is helping your body heal? If like most people you can’t remember how to say it, that’s ok you are in good company. Sacrocranial, cranial, cranio are all terms people have used. Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle and effective way of working with the body using a light safe touch. It reinforces your body’s innate ability to return to balance, restore and heal itself. By reducing stress and enhancing vitality it helps you to return to wellbeing. Craniosacral Therapy is suitable for everyone, from newborn babies to golden years retirees and all in between. How can it help you? Do you have chronic pain? Headaches? Sleep issues? Digestive issue? A chronic condition that has yet to heal? I can help you with craniosacral therapy. You and your loved ones are safe in my hands as I have over twenty years experience with craniosacral, and have helped thousands of people and children. In 2007 I appeared on RTE “Baby on Board” as their expert Craniosacral Therapist where the 18 month child went from waking every 1½ hours to sleeping to 13 hours after treatment.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle hand on therapy that uses the wave-like motion of the spinal fluid to detect and facilitate the release of restrictions in the body tissues wherever they may occur.

CST is the result groundbreaking work of William Sutherland Doctor of Osteopathy who pioneered the concept. Thanks to the genius of John Upledger, Doctor of Osteopathy it expanded into a full system of healing. CST is working on the craniosacral system where the Cerebral Spinal fluid (CSF), as it is created and pumped through the brain and spinal cord, generates a wave-like motion, which is felt throughout the entire body similar to the heartbeat and respiration, but subtler. As your therapist I tune in and listen to your system and where required work with it to return it to balance. This results in your system easing and equilibrium returning to your health. Cranio refers to the head and Sacral the base of your spine and the Craniosacral system is the membrane system and CSF within these areas. CST works on the whole body. 

Wherever the wave is not perceived fully, this provides me with the signal that there is a restriction which, if not relieved will eventually produce symptoms which may be as mild discomfort or as severe as crippling pain or organ dysfunction. Once restrictions are detected, and with just a minute amount of guidance the body will attempt to restore balance. Often relief can be perceived in one session, or it may take several depending on the nature of the problem and the rate of speed at which the individual heals.

The energetic impact of trauma, if not released from the body immediately (or soon afterwards) will remain trapped in the tissues. Since our body will always attempt to maintain the balance and integrity of the whole, it often traps the unwanted and embedded energy until it can do so no longer, and the cry for help begins, mostly in the form of pain or discomfort.

In an effort to rid itself of the offending stuck/trapped energy, the body attempts to recreate the same, or a similar situation, hoping to find the appropriate pressure release valve. Have you ever noticed and been puzzled by the fact that some people just seem to run into things all the time, or have had several motor vehicle accidents that “always” result in whiplash, for example? This demonstrates just a couple of ways in which the body attempts to eliminate the original “stuck” energy and return to wholeness.  So instead of bemoaning a reinjury see it as a great opportunity to heal at a deeper level and shift old patterns.

Letting go of the trapped energy is known as Somato (body) Emotional Release, and frequently occurs during the course of a session, but only when the body is ready to do so.I as the practitioner follow the signals your body gives, gently encouraging, but never forcing the process.

Often people think due to the name, “craniosacral therapy”, that it only addresses the head and think it only refers to the head. CST works with the whole person, resulting in positive changes in body, mind and spirit during and after sessions.

As it is so gentle and non-invasive, CST is suitable for everyone at all stages and ages, from newborn babies to the elderly. Women often find it helpful during pregnancy, and both mothers and babies for problems associated with difficult and traumatic births. Releasing tension and fear held in the body allows both mother and baby to settle into balance, calmness and wellbeing.

CST supports your body’s innate ability to rebalance, restore and heal itself, as well as helping to reduce stress and restore your underlying energy. Where I sense tensions in your body and accordingly help them release in a safe,supported and comfortable way. During or after a session you may feel calm, relaxed and energised. This can result in you feeling increased clarity of mind, being more in sync and a feeling of well-being. A Craniosacral treatment with me is a gentle respectful hands on approach that helps your body, in a relatively short period of time to release embedded trauma and develop healthier new response patterns as well.

During your first appointment I will take a case history, noting your reason for visit and investigate historical issues that may have contributed to your current challenge. The treatment lasts an hour, although it can vary. You will remain clothed and will usually lie face up or on your side, or you may be seated. I will make light contact with various parts of your body from your head, the base of your spine and other areas that require attention. This aims to encourage your body to relax and allow it to make the changes it requires. As the body functions as a whole, your therapist may work on areas other than the presenting area.

After your appointment sometimes there can be a momentary period of adjustment as part of the healing process, that you may become more aware of symptoms. Sometimes people report relief after only one or two sessions. For long-standing problems further sessions may be needed. Some people find they benefit from regular treatment over an extended period and say that, as well as noticing improvement in their physical or emotional symptoms, they feel they have increased self-awareness and improved quality of life.

Craniosacral Therapy is not intended as primary healthcare but to compliment and work side by side with your medical doctor. 

Quantum science shows that each of us is a biomagnetic field, and that each of us is an integral part of the wider universal electro-magnetic field. Quantum science also demonstrates that everything, every person, every subatomic particle, is connected in a time-space continuum. In Quantum science this is known as non-locality.

Quantum science therefore shows us that we can connect with anyone or anything, anywhere in the universe – and what determines that connection is our focus of attention, our consciousness.

So while Cranio-Sacral Integration is very clearly working with the anatomy and physiology of the physical body, we can also do this at a distance. I undertook postgraduate accreditation with The College of Craniosacral Therapy in London where I originally trained in 2002.

Client Testimonial

As an informed consumer I strive to understand the services I engage, but sometimes that which can be explain does not fill the existential void of that draining indescribable feeling of angst and worry, the malady of modern society. I still don’t know what Orla did to me, but my body does and I feel both lighter and more grounded as a result. As I lay in the surgery the magnetic field emanating from her hands pushed and relocated my spine in a totally non-invasive manner that defies all logic – but I don’t want to understand – I want to shed the profound anxiety and insomnia that has plagued me for late. I still have more work to do, but I sure feel an improvement, not to mention that as a side effect, my spine feels as if it has been ironed. I’d swear I feel taller, but maybe I just feel lighter.  

I.S. (Lecturer)