Craniosacral Therapy

All healing is self healing. The body seeks balance. Structure and function are intimately interrelated.

Craniosacral Therapy is a very gentle manual therapy originally developed by American Osteopaths and continued by various types of bodyworkers. All ages benefit greatly for overall health, chronic health issues, pain and even emotional release. We follow the wisdom of the body and encourage movement allowing the body to restore it's own structural balance, improving function, and promoting self healing.

I can see babies 0-12 mo old at your home, or in the office.

A newborn CST session can minimize or eliminate the repercussions of difficult births and help ensure good health and well babies. All babies should receive newborn Craniosacral treatments as soon as possible after birth. Children should continue to receive pediatric CST periodically throughout childhood as they grow and develop. At home appointments must be booked over the phone.

A typical pediatric CST session.

Children rest fully clothed on a massage table or in my lap or their parent’s lap. Sometimes children sit, crawl, walk, stand or play with toys on the floor during the treatment. They don’t need to hold still.
I adapt my techniques to the attention span and needs of the child. I monitor the craniosacral rhythm with my hands. I conduct other gentle assessments and correct the sources of pain and dysfunction using gentle manipulative techniques.
Sometimes children release emotions or cry during treatments, but the techniques do not hurt babies and children. Seldom does the pressure exceed five grams (the weight of a nickel). The work is very gentle.
CST treatment sets the stage for the body to most efficiently use its own power to heal. Most children find the sessions to be deeply relaxing. Babies and children will often sleep for a longer stretch than usual after a session.

Being born.

During the birth process, the baby’s head molds to fit through the mother’s pelvis. It is normal for the cranial bones to override each other. After birth, these overrides and other accommodations in the baby’s skull should not persist. If they do not correct themselves, they can interfere with proper cranial nerve function leading to colic, breathing, swallowing, digestive or sensory-motor impairments and more. Sometimes babies are injured in the birth process. The injuries may be both physical and emotional. CST can address these injuries as well as the effects of lack of normal mobility in utero, precipitous or prolonged labor, vacuum extraction, forceps or cesarean birth.

Surgical births.

Cesarean birth can be harder on babies than we imagine. Cesarean-born babies have lower Apgar scores, more respiratory distress, more abnormal neurological exams, and more abnormal Craniosacral evaluations. They have more chronic middle ear infections and other problems throughout childhood. The birth process is more abrupt and potentially more frightening than vaginal birth. Surgically born infants have fewer quiet alert periods right after birth and have less opportunity to share bonding time with their mothers who may be unconscious or recovering in another room. CST can effectively address all of these things.