TMJ, insomnia, back pain, shoulder pain, anxiety, depression, stress, tension, emotional distress, post-surgery pain. What do they all have in common? They’re all related to stored experiences held in the body’s nervous system. When we’re in fight-or-flight, our body cannot experience the needed rest and restoration for relief. Transitioning to a state of rest-and-digest is imperative for moving from maintenance to healing.
This nervous system state of rest and digest means coming out of the mind and into the body. It means feeling the bodywork table against your back, feeling your shoulders drop, remembering what it means to let go and be held in all of your emotions and sensations. It’s not just about relaxation, although that can be part of it. It’s about processing physical and emotional experiences we all hold in the body.
When something difficult happens, it can cause grief, shock, anger, fear. In our society, we’re often taught to ignore our emotions and distract ourselves by constantly keeping busy or on a screen. This can cause disconnection from the body and lack of processing. How would it feel to really sit compassionately with your body? With what you’ve been through? It’s been a past year of grief and loss for many. When was the last time you simply compassionately were present with yourself?
It can be difficult—Craniosacral can very much help. We are relational beings by nature, born in relation to another being. Touch is primal and the sensation of being held in a wide heart-field can allow us to drop into our bodies and feelings in ways we haven’t for a while. Sessions can also be more physically focused, with sensations of nervous system discharge, like tingling and deeper breaths. Post surgery pain, back pain, TMJ, and other pains and tensions can start to find relief within the first session and continue over multiple sessions as the body’s inherent wisdom enters the forefront.
It is a modality with light touch and no manipulation, yet has been described as gently yet powerful by many. The focus on the spine (from the sacrum, the bottom of the spine) and brain (up to the cranium, where the top of the spine is) means a focus on the central nervous system, the control center for the organs, the senses, the muscles, the tissues.
When we are an embryo, the brain and spinal cord are the first part of us that develops. The spinal cord is literally made of light before it solidifies. Our nervous system is a network of interconnected electric light. If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is! Furthermore, our spinal fluid has the same balance of salt and water as the ocean. It has properties that cause it to move up and down the spine in waves! The spinal cord and nervous system hold these early imprints of being born into this life and hold spiritual significance across the globe.
Cranio is something that has helped reconnect with the magic of the body, the ability to restore when held in compassionate space. Not everyone resonates with the approach, but if you’re curious about trying a gentle bodywork, something physically, emotionally, and sometimes spiritually focused, please come try Craniosacral with me! It can be a life-changing modality for many.
Book a private session, or a spot at the next cranio community clinic on November 13th.