Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
When You Feel the Body From the Inside, There is a Door
-E. Gendlin
The gentle contacts in BCST work with the membranes that surround our Craniosacral system– the brain and the spinal cord down to the sacrum- which exert pressure and tensions around the skull, along the spine down to the sacrum. Gentle tractions at the sutures of the skull & jaw, intra-oral work for the jaw, contacts along the spine and sacrum are why this work is particularly effective for concussions, migraines and temporal-mandibular junction syndrome (TMJ)
Biodynamic Craniosacral is a deep listening to the body. It attends to what is already there in the body, acknowledging its' presence so “what is” can be expressed in its own particular way. Listening to the "silent music*" of the body is core to biodynamic craniosacral work, that embodied awareness serves as a guiding compass orienting to health & well-being.
Gently contacting the body with a nonjudgmental perspective, a ’non-knowing,” supports both body & mind to settle. When one's system recognizes there is nothing it needs to attend to in that moment, nothing it needs to respond to or take care of, there is a shift, a settling that occurs which allows the nervous system to calm & shift into a restorative state.
From that place of stillness, a place of 'non-doing' for the body, arises a noticing of the interplay of forces– tension between softening & tightening, constriction & expansion, the relationships between muscle & bone, breath & joints, emotion & heart- making room for more space, presence and breath. As one's perception turns inwards- interoception- one can be more present with what is happening in the body.
‘This breathing body is how we experience & inhabit the world,
how we are visible & sensible to one another’
~David Abram
When the body perceives a calm, still, listening presence it can feel the safety to express, and perhaps release what it has bound up– adaptations to a chronic state, an illness, injury or surgery. Offering a skillful and perceptive touch the practitioner respectfully guides the client through a healing process that organically unfolds from within the client’s system rather than a plan or protocol that comes from the practitioner. Your system leads the way.
The body’s only intention is to help. But the body can misjudge just as the mind does & like a horse that follows a well-trodden path, clings to familiar, ingrained patterns of being. Responses to stressful or unhealthy stimuli are absorbed and imprinted on our bodies without our awareness, remaining held there below consciousness. Untangling those imprints, integrating & awakening what pain, & protection from pain has cut off, numbed or disconnected, returns us to our wholeness in the present moment, instead of caught in an eternal past.
Biodynamic Craniosacral's grounding in a solid knowledge of anatomy and physiology, and appreciation for the intelligence inherent in the tide-like movement of cerebrospinal fluid, serves to recognize areas of restriction and imbalances, torsions and misalignments that impact one's health. As the practitioner's hands cradle an area in the body, listening to the rhythms and motions of the system, that touch "amplifies" what was imperceptible so it becomes noticeable.
The body is then able to make adjustments, to shift and soften toward greater ease and health, allowing a natural unwinding of deeply held tension, gathering the impetus to reimagine how to hold itself in balance. The body’s intelligence recognizes that perhaps now it can let go of the vigilance that's been held, locked in a shoulder. What may be released is a belief that one has to shoulder it all alone, that there is no support.
Change is not conscious, it can't be managed by the mind but only on the level of the body-
a deep knowing in the body's lived practice when encountering new situations.”
~unknown
Change happens inexplicably in a moment, when what was perceived as an unconquerable, immense, solid brick wall suddenly appears to be one brick high. It is a transformation, an alchemical result of the effort in paying attention to “what is.”
A deepened awareness of what the body expresses invites greater choice and an enhanced ability for change-- be it to breathe more deeply, move more freely, or feel more connected- reminding you the agency you have in your own health. Resilience is the product of that agency- recognition of the vast resources you can harness to sustain and augment your inherent physical and energetic vitality.
This work offers support for a wide range of conditions
Migraines & Headaches, Concussion Recovery, TMJ Release, Exhaustion & Fatigue,
Immune System Support, Insomnia, Anxiety & Stress, Nervous System Regulation,
Shock & Trauma Release, Kidney & Adrenal Support, POTS &
Long-Covid
Gregory Halili
*William Harvey, 17th c. Physician "the silent music of the body"
That was truly mind bending. I felt like I experienced something that I’ve heard people say- that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience here on earth. Somehow I could feel in my body that that was true, that it is true. ~Anne M.