I see each session as a success in that in opening to the healing process the results are not always what we might logically hope for and yet are always in step with our personal path to wholeness. The following stories of the healing journey represent some of the possibilities within the broad spectrum of Craniosacral practice. I guarantee you that your story will also be unique. All of the names have been changed to protect the client’s privacy.

Marnie

Marnie came to me with a mean case of vertigo. She could hardly stand without crashing into the wall. The nausea and dizziness was precipitated by using earplugs for the first time. It seemed to me this was a case of the straw that broke the camel’s back. Marnie’s history was a litany of trauma with both emotional and physical abuse and multiple accidents. I usually start at the feet with the client lying on their back on the massage table. I immediately noticed that her fluid body felt static and congested especially around the area of the lumbar spine and sacrum. She confirmed that she had several fused lumbar vertebrae, bulging discs and had been diagnosed with stenosis and scoliosis. I also noticed pressure around the frontal area and at the base of the skull. Moving slowly and allowing her body space it required I witnessed the opening and re-balancing of the sacral-lumbar around the mid line of her body. Biodynamic craniosacral allows us to get in touch with our original blue print for health which resides in the fluids, manifests at conception and is with us all our lives. In this case Marnie had a severely restricted sphenoid and although her body vital forces were rebalancing from the inside out it was apparent that gently manually decompressing the sphenoid from the occiput would be efficacious.

Marnie returned for a follow up session two days later. She reported that the nausea and dizziness was much reduced. We continued to support the health in her system through tracking the deep slow rhythms in the fluids and supporting the fluid mid line especially through the pelvis and the cranium. When she returned for a third session.Marnie was free of her initial symptoms. She is aware that her journey to health and wholeness continues.

Alex

Alex’s parents brought him to me at six weeks of age. Although he had had a seemingly normal birth he was extremely unhappy baby, screaming and inconsolable much of the time. Assessment revealed a slight twist in his stomach and small intestine. His abdomen was very tight. It was a simple matter to help this restriction correct. His parents happily tell me that he is now a contented baby.

Jordan

Jordan arrived complaining of temporal headaches, seizures that were increasing in frequency and discalcula (difficulty with mathematics). We had several sessions while he waited for the whole gamut of tests and scans that his neurologist had ordered. His diagnosis came back positive for a left temporal tumour which was operated on soon after. His Mom and naturopath agreed that he should resume CST especially since he was developing scoliosis in response to restrictions that had developed in the cranium and tentorium post surgery. For a time his posture worsened. The area on the left side of the occiput and temporal was difficult to access but with repeated sessions we were able to support the rebalancing necessary to alleviate the twisting in the spine. It took some encouragement and over twenty sessions, but with the addition of Pilates to strengthen the core muscles Jordan now stands tall and straight. I still see him occasionally for a “tune-up”.

Joan

Joan has been a regular client of mine for over six years. She is body aware, active in a variety of sports and never wastes any time getting treatment when she has an injury. She showed up in my office the day after she was thrown from her horse when it refused a jump. During her time in the emergency room she had been diagnosed with a concussion. She apparently landed on her shoulder and somehow rammed her knee into her jaw. Joan was shaky, pale, nauseous, headachy and disorientated; her voice was a whisper compared to her usual boisterous self.

I often see clients who have had concussions long after the original event so that they have had many weeks and sometimes months of suffering. Often the bones of the head are jammed together at the site of the blow stopping down blood and fluid flow throughout the area and impeding recovery. In Joan’s case we were able to help disimpact the mandible, maxillae, ethmoid and frontal fairly quickly thus allowing her body the space to deal with her poor bruised brain. We had two sessions, two days apart and a third the following week. It was great to see the vibrant happy Joan I know walk into my office the following week. She had taken my advice and that of her doctor and had rested through the weekend, which knowing Joan was very difficult for her. Although she still had had some headaches she was feeling full of energy and well on her way to recovery.

Joey and Jill

I am including this story to show how incomplete traumatic events can affect our ongoing health.
Sometimes a session can take us in an unexpected direction. Consider the case of Joey and his mom Jill.

Jill  called me to have a preliminary chat regarding her four year old son. He was born with Down Syndrome and required surgery to reconstruct his anus at birth.

He  was not eating on his own, had to be spoon fed all his food, only spoke the occasional word and had severe bruxism (teeth grinding). During the conversation Jill volunteered that she was in poor health and suffered from auto immune disease and headaches.  She was experiencing extremely heavy periods and had surgery scheduled for the following month.

The first two times that I worked with Joey I noticed he became quickly frustrated and angry at the slightest provocation. Still, with the help of Jill, we managed to have sessions that created some ease and harmony in our relationship which of course is necessary to work together. I located and supported his body in releasing restrictions in the membranes of the cranium and fascial restrictions at the anus and fluid and energetic restrictions of the anus and throat.

For his third session, because of a scheduling conflict, Jill interrupted his regular daycare routine to bring him to my office. Joey was furious. He threw toys, kicked his mom and screamed inconsolably. Jill of course tried to rescue the situation by reprimanding him. I casually suggested that we take our attention from Joey and I would work with her instead. Jill mentioned that she did have a very bad headache. The minute I put my hands on Jill, Joey stopped screaming and looked right at me.

I said, “Hmmm looks to me like you think this is a pretty good idea that I treat your Mom.”
“Yes” he said.
“I am wondering if you can feel your Mom’s headache.”
“Yes” he said.
“I have an idea. How about if your Mom takes this session and from now on I come to your house and work with you when you are sleeping? Would that be a good idea?”
“Yes” he said.

What you have to understand is that Joey’s behavior changed abruptly from a full on tantrum to complete and utter calm. He had a sweet smile on his face. I casually gave him a few toys to play with and proceeded to continue the session with the mom. Jill reported that the headache faded away before the end of the session time and she had a deep and restorative sleep that night.

The following week Jill came in for her session. After a few preliminary exchanges and contact negotiations I placed my left hand under her sacrum and my right hand under her thighs contacting her coccyx with my finger tips. I suddenly noticed that the tissues of the pelvic floor felt “buzzy” and I heard the garble of many voices.

A voice inside me said. “I wonder if she has had any other pregnancies.” When I posed the question to Jill she was surprised and asked why I was asking. I explained what I had noticed. She emotionally told me of her first pregnancy which was multiples. She was not able to carry them to full term. Premature, all three died. She wasn’t given the opportunity to hold the little ones nor was she able to say goodbye to them in a way that satisfied her need for completion. She felt that those around said some cruel words while trying to console her.

I suggested that she might like to create a  ritual of some kind that would help her heal the wound and say goodbye. She asked if it was OK if she spoke to them quietly inside her own mind. I respectfully withdrew my attention while Jill said her goodbyes.

Jill has had normal periods since that time. She has indefinitely postponed her surgery.

I continue to see Joey regularly while he is asleep. He is babbling and trying to form words. Jill reports that the bruxism has been markedly reduced.