What Is CranioSacral Therapy?

CranioSacral Therapy is a gentle “hands on” body work technique which has positive effects on your CranioSacral System. (CSS) The CSS is composed of your brain and spinal cord and structures surrounding them.  The CSS is filled with Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)  and a CranioSacral Therapist is trained to feel the subtle rhythm of fluid flow in the tissues of your body as the CSF flows throughout the CSS.  

The rhythm felt by a therapist is created by the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as it moves through the ventricles of the brain and spinal cord.  As CSF is produced within the CSS, the brain and spinal cord fill and expand and nutrients are received.  As CSF empties from the system the brain and spinal cord contract and waste is eliminated.  Throughout the body when in flexion, the body expands and when in extension the body contracts. 

 A CranioSacral Therapists is trained to recognize when patterns of flexion and extension within the CSS are out of balance by assessing symmetry, quality, amplitude and rate of the CSR.  An ideal CranioSacral Rhythm would be symmetrical with Right and Left sides expanding and contracting in symmetry, the quality would be smooth and even, the amplitude would be robust and the rate would be somewhere between 6 to 12 cycles of flexion and extension per minute.  When there are patterns of tension or strain in the CSS, they can affect the shape and flow within your CSS which in turn can affect your health and well being.