CranioSacral Therapy
All the different nervous systems and the connective tissues that
surround and suspend them can be treated
directly and indirectly through craniosacral therapy.
Key concept: The craniosacral system is the fascia and fluids housing the brain and spinal cord,
and these methods treat this system directly. The entire body communicates and works well if this core fascia and nervous system structure are free from mechanical compromise; if the flow of cerebral spinal fluid is free from constriction or impingement. The child’s entire being can be palpated and communicated through the therapeutic touch of this method.
The craniosacral therapy (CST) methods of John E. Upledger, DO, emerged from his clinical
research in the 1970s and 1980s and further refined from his long and storied clinical practice.
Having evolved from traditional osteopathic methods of osseous adjustments, Upledger created
the specificity of treating soft tissues and fascia structures to promote self-corrective measures of
the craniosacral system. This system is comprised of the meninge tissues that surround the brain
and spinal cord and the cerebral spinal fluid it houses. Key hand placements directly treat the
tissue networks surrounding the craniosacral system to gain expansive correction of structures
that surround and lead to the central nervous system (the spinal column, the brain, and the
projecting cranial and peripheral nerve pathways). The natural inflating and deflating of the
craniosacral system is called the craniosacral rhythm and reflects the wave displacement of this
very dynamic system that “pumps” fluid through the central nervous system.
A beginner's protocol in the Upledger method is a foundational stage of learning, preventing
harm to a client if techniques when performed correctly. An extremely light therapeutic touch is
used based upon the research evidenced by Upledger that uniqueness of changes observed when
non-invasive and non-imposed touch contact is employed. Advanced skill level evolves through
honing the artful methods of "arcing' to gain information from the client's body as to primary
sites of treatment needed and staying connected to tissues long enough to get through resolution.
