Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST)
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a time-tested bodywork modality that supports a gentle resolution of stress and trauma (of varying degrees and types). Tension patterns held within the body and autonomic nervous system (ANS) begin to unwind in a way that is unusual, often profound and much more naturally experienced than put into words. However, please read on for more of a description...
Craniosacral therapy has it's roots in the work of Andrew Taylor Still (founder of Osteopathy) and William Garner Sutherland of the early 1900's, though many of it's principles are ancient and far-reaching --linking us to some of our earliest ancestors of health and healing. (For a more extensive history of the orgines of BCST). In short, there are several branches within Craniosacral therapy. The Biodynamic branch is most closely geared towards non-invasive, non-manipulative micro-adjustments. Your practitioner is trained over two year+ period (not a weekend training!) to create a subtle, neutral field via hands-on contact at various spots along your body. This neutral contact creates conditions for your innate healing capacity to come on-line more easily. The body becomes it's own healer as tiny micro-adjustments begin to take place naturally. (Again, this is really best experienced, much harder to conceptualize without that foundation of a first-hand experience.) Over the corse of a session, health and healing are promoted and the 'breath of life' moves more freely throughout the body/mind/being with more ease and flow again.
What does a session look like?
During a BCST session, gentle and informed hands-on contact are made along the spine, joints, limbs, head, abdomen, hands and or feet. Your practitioner will help guide you towards regulating your nervous system, supporting calm and a sense of coming home to your body gradually. Oftentimes, a gentle inquiry into the felt-sense experience in the present moment can support this process and help bring the mind more fully into the body. A growing awareness of your felt-sense experience helps to naturally build neural pathways of interoception (learning to track internal felt-sense experience/sensations).
Throughout a session, at times there will be quiet and at times there will be a gentle inquiry through interoception, and ultimately it's a process of settling into deeper states of ease while be given the support to get there. Many people find this work to be as rewarding as massage, but also quite different and hard to compare. They really can stand alone or blend well together.
What is BCST recommended for in particular?
Alongside the benefits mentioned above (stress relief, deep relaxation, nervous system regulation, healing trauma imprints) there are a wide variety of life-experiences that might bring us to the table for a session or a series of sessions. Here are a few:
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD)
low back, neck and spinal pain/dysfunctions/injuries
sleep disturbances
healing from a recent injury
healing through grief and loss
healing through past/recent traumas, physical/emotional
postpartum depression & miscarriage
anxiety
head injuries
a wide variety of nervous system disturbances
for strengthening a secure attachment style and bonding (at any point in life)
healing birth-process imprints (at any age)
life transitions
in preparation for surgery or recovering from surgery
for children and adults (though sessions for ages 2-4 roughly can be quite short given their nature to be on the move at this stage in their development.)
BCST can also be a wonderful support when you're simply feeling fine and would just like to go deeper into cultivating a reserve of resource (for when times may be harder...or not :)
And for developing a richer relationship to your felt-sense experience!
Can I keep my clothes on?
Yes! Unlike, massage therapy, you may remain fully clothed on the bodywork table for the duration of your session. Blankets and a warm heating pad are still provided for extra comfort and coziness.
Resources for further support and inquiry:
Dr. Kristin Neff's website with many great resources for building self-compassion in times of stress
More information about the ANS and the Poly Vagal Theory
Diane Poole Heller's Attachment Style test
