THE OTHER MASSAGE
The headache had been lingering for three days when I decided to do something about it. The ad said ‘headaches’ so I decided to give this strange-sounding therapy a try. “Cranio-sacral,” I thought. “Must be something to do with the head.”
After answering the therapist’s questions about my history of falls, car accidents, blows to the head, (and even my birth!), I removed my shoes and lay down, face up and fully clothed, on the massage table. I felt her hands carefully sneak in under my head, and a light, motionless pressure which lasted 3 minutes or so. A strange sense of peace and well-being came over me. The headache seemed to be fading a bit.
“That was a still point,” she explained. The first of ten craniosacral moves called ‘The Ten Steps.’
Then came a hand under my pelvis, and one over my abdomen; after a minute, I felt a churning and pulsing inside, and when it subsided, she moved on, to apply a similar procedure in three other locations up my body: my stomach, above my chest, and on my neck. “Just releasing the diaphragms,” she informed me. “You understand, most of the connective tissue in our body runs longitudinally--top to bottom--but these four areas have transverse layers of tissue, and must first be released if I am to successfully clear the longitudinal restrictions.”
I was drifting more and more into relaxation, and noticed my breathing becoming deeper. I thought about that lake we’d hiked in to last summer, and the fish that didn’t bite.
I felt her hands lightly touching my temples. She was now sitting out of sight, at the end of the table behind my head. I could feel the slight finger pressure towards the ceiling, and the roominess increasing inside my head. I couldn’t really register the headache anymore. I was enjoying this, and thought about the squirrel that watched us pitch the tent.
“That was the third step--stretching the falx,” I heard her voice say. “It’s a membrane inside your skull that probably tightened when you had that whiplash two years ago.”
Then I noticed her fingertips in the hair an inch above my ears. “This is the parietal lift,” a voice said, “The fourth step.” I felt only a slight, even tug in the direction of the top of my skull. The space inside my head was becoming a very pleasant experience, and I could no longer locate my headache. I didn’t care.
The other six steps came and went, and I was only vaguely aware of the therapist working on me. She said something about “The ear pull” and later the “Decompression of the sphenoid,” but I was in a dreamland, and only feeling more and more relaxed. I awoke after about an hour. Standing up, I felt a sense of relief throughout my body, and a wonderful blend of energy and lightness. My headache was a distant memory, and the aches in my neck and shoulders were also gone. I felt a new sense of balance.
The ‘ten steps’ is a series of adjustments suggested by John Upledger to balance and improve the function of our craniosacral system. This series is the first treatment given by many practitioners of craniosacral therapy, and solves most problems related to stress and tension experienced by people in today’s hectic everyday.
Treatment consists of gentle, hands on manipulation of the cranial bones and sacrum, in order to free up restrictions within the craniosacral system.
Headaches, stress, and neck, shoulder, or back tension, are only a few of the symptoms commonly improved or cured by the ten steps. Other situations may require additional sessions--such things as whiplash, chronic fatigue, TMJ, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, central nervous system disorders, autism, depression, tinnitus, scoliosis, learning disabilities, and more.
The craniosacral technique is also effective as a preventive health measure, because it bolsters the immune system and aids overall good health.
The poetic beauty of craniosacral therapy lies in the fact that the healing effect takes place entirely by the client’s own self-correcting mechanisms. I consider the therapist’s role to be two-fold: To be sensed as lovingly listening to the client’s core craniosacral system; and to provide the light, suggestive pressures which tip the balance and prompt the client’s own healing processes into action. (Back to top)
Our craniosacral system consists of bones (cranium, vertebrae, sacrum and tailbone), connective tissue (dura mater, falx, and tentorium) and fluid (blood, cerebrospinal fluid). Our central nervous system--the brain and spinal cord--is surrounded by a water-tight envelope, containing cerebrospinal fluid-CSF. (See Diagram 1. The envelope is constructed of a tough membrane called the dura. This membrane, along with the spinal cord, leaves the skull through the foramen magnum, an opening an inch or so in diameter in the base of the cranium. The dura surrounding the spinal cord is called the dural tube. It is attached at two upper vertebrae, and again in the sacrum, but is otherwise free to glide within the spinal column. A primary function for this construction is to absorb shock from the outside environment.
The CSF also carries nutrition to, as well as waste products away from the central nervous system. CSF is simply, and ingeniously, filtered from the blood by the ventricles of the brain, and is circulated throughout the system in surges called flexion and extension, creating a craniosacral rhythm. This rhythm can be felt as a pulse almost anywhere on our body, and is intimately bound up with the harmonious and coordinated movement of the skull bones. The frequency of pulses in a healthy craniosacral system varies from 7-12 times per minute.
Problems arise when restrictions occur within the system. For example, a blow to the head can ‘jam’ two skull bones together, or change their normal patter of movement. Such displacement of skull bones (lesions) can likewise result in abnormal twisting or tension of the supportive membranes strategically placed within the brain--the falx and the tentorium. (See Diagram 2). These structures tend to hold their new, unhealthy relationships, giving rise to stress, physical, and psychological symptoms.
Within our skull, nerves and blood vessels pass through small openings (called foramen) in the bones. If the bone has been moved by trauma, undue pressure may be applied to the nerve or vessel, and far reaching results may accrue. Insufficient blood flow to, or from, the brain can bring about headaches, ‘heavy’ feelings inside the head, problems with concentration or learning, dizziness, difficulty in reading, and more. Impinged nerves may cause problems with numbness, digestion, elimination, sight, muscle control, sensation, to name a few.
In my practice, clients are often reporting back changes having nothing to do with the symptoms I was treating, such as: “My feet are no longer cold!” “My sinus problems are gone!” “I’ve started dreaming for the first time in years!” “I sleep better now!” Such incidents are probably due to release of pressure on a nerve, or improved circulation. (Back to top)
In the 1930’s, an osteopathic physician named William Sutherland was puzzling over the jagged edges of the skull bones, and hit on the idea that such a structure allows them to move, but not glide uncontrollably apart!
Mainstream medicine dismissed this notion for decades, and many anatomy books still consider cranial bones to be immovable. Sutherland explored the implications of bone movement for more than 20 years, founding a system of treatment known as cranial osteopathy.
Dr. John Upledger, in the 1970’s during research at Michigan State University confirmed empirically the movement of cranial bones, as well as the presence of nerves and blood vessels in the sutural membranes. While assisting in a spinal operation, he also experienced the actual movement of the dural tube up, and down, in the craniosacral rhythm.
He continued his work, building on Sutherland’s theories, and has been a leading force in contemporary craniosacral practice and development, establishing also a wide network for training of practitioners. His recent work includes more psychologically oriented approaches and techniques, including somato emotional release, therapeutic imagery and dialogue, and the forward-looking multiple hands/multiple therapists treatment. Upledger has authored many books on the subject.
Another important force in the craniosacral field is Hugh Milne, who advocates a more ‘psycho-spiritual’ approach, including also, for example, sitting quietly with the client, and sensing what he needs.
Alain Gehin, of France, is on the leading edge of new techniques in the field, and has authored a respected compendium of ‘techniques’ for the cranial bones. (Back to top)