Has Bodily Discomfort Caused Emotional Distress?
Are you experiencing physical pain, fatigue, or trouble focusing on a daily basis? Do you suffer from migraines, dizziness, hypersensitivity to light and sound, or reduced tolerance for screen time? Is your immune system weakened or compromised as a result of a medical condition?
You may be struggling with a debilitating physical hindrance that has impacted your emotional state, causing anxiety and depression. Or perhaps you suffer from insomnia or disruptive sleep, leading to chronic fatigue.
It may be that you experienced trauma at some point in your life. This may have taken the form of a car accident, physical abuse, assault, or medical/surgical trauma. Trauma can also stem from as far back as birth or early disruptions in attachments or bonding. Having a safe and caring attachment early on allows for infants to thrive and learn self-regulation. If you were, for example, separated from or abused by caregivers during childhood, you may have not formed the attachments that were essential for you to thrive and it’s likely that such trauma has impacted your ability to be both physically and emotionally resilient.
Regardless of the cause or source of your pain or adversity, when your nervous system becomes dysregulated, it can affect your physical health, mental and emotional wellness, and the quality of your relationships. If you are having a hard time functioning due to pain, sleeplessness, lack of focus, or interpersonal conflict, you may find relief through treatment using biodynamic craniosacral therapy.
Stress Lives On And Builds Up Inside Of Our Bodies
If individual experiences of pain and discomfort weren’t enough of a burden, we also face an extremely challenging time collectively as we navigate global health crises and political discord. With all the uncertainty occurring in the world today, it’s no wonder that our minds and bodies are feeling these detrimental effects of cumulative stress. We thus begin to develop habitual adaptations to stress in order to cope, though we are not always conscious of these patterns.
Over time, we can be thrown so greatly out of balance that we don’t know how to re-establish a connection to our bodies from the inside out, so that we may be happier and more at ease in our lives. A vicious cycle eventually forms, wherein challenges in mental health result in chronic pain and further distress, worry, and fatigue–and vice versa.
Chronic pain and physical disabilities are often the cause of such mental health issues as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. And daily pains can be severely limiting to how we go about our lives. For example, migraines are the third most prevalent illness in the world, and one-half of working Americans complain of back pain every single year. Such setbacks naturally cause disruptions to our work, relationships, and sense of well-being, and those examples of pain are hardly exhaustive of the pains and difficulties that plague so many of us on a regular basis.
Somatic approaches, including craniosacral therapy, give you an opportunity to better connect with your body so that optimal physical and mental wellness can be re-established.
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Can Help You Reintegrate Mind And Body
Biodynamic craniosacral therapy (BCST) is an alternative method that supports the nervous system by leading the body to a resting place from which the body can restore balance and resilience from within. Using the power of touch, I will be able to tune in and listen to your body’s system as a whole, locating areas of congestion and patterns of tension, facilitating your transition into a state of more openness, flexibility, and vitality. While I tend to focus on the head and spine, I can gain information from just about anywhere in the body because craniosacral motion is evident in all tissue (bones, muscles, ligaments, etc.).
The process of biodynamic craniosacral therapy is client-led, meaning the client’s needs and feedback are fully respected and used as a guide in treatment. I aim to make the treatment as collaborative and respectful of your boundaries as possible. Therefore, if touch is something that causes discomfort, touch is always negotiable and I can work “off the body” without touch. It is my hope, however, that through BCST, you may find touch to be not only more comfortable but also healing.
I view this form of therapy as a holistic dance between my hands and your body, where its story can be heard. The biodynamic approach to craniosacral therapy that I use is gentle and refined, in that it does not involve direct manipulation or any force as with some other osteopathic methods. In addition, I use Somatic Experiencing to help clients track bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to promote a deeper awareness to what is happening inside of your body.
During our sessions, you may experience any of the following: sensations of warmth or coolness, tingling, muscle twitches, or even shaking. You may also feel alternating, contrasting sensations, such as tightness versus relaxation, shallow breathing versus deep breaths, compression or shortening of your neck followed by lengthening or stretching, and pains that come and go. You may see images, colors, or experience fleeting memories or emotions. More often than not, the experience is a deeply relaxing one, but if the session happens to stir up a new pain, emotion, or other symptom, that discomfort should only last for 24 to 48 hours, as your nervous system adjusts to changes made in finding a new state of balance.
Your body is a complex network of tissues wherein everything is connected, and the way your nerves and muscles interact contains the very key to achieving physical health and emotional well-being. In becoming more attuned to what is going on inside of your body, you will have increased awareness of and trust in yourself. Moreover, the automatic reactions that are stored in your body during times of distress will shift from feelings of pain, discomfort, and emotional distress to those of safety and ease. Over time, your nervous system will be led back to its original “blueprint” wherein optimal alignment and reintegration can be achieved.
I have been working with biodynamic craniosacral therapy since 1995 and repeatedly seen its effectiveness in helping people to treat chronic pain, migraines, brain injuries, depression, and anxiety. Once you experience the physical and emotional relief provided by this method, you will be more likely to find joy and purpose in your work and relationships. No matter how old or chronic your trauma may be, I believe in your body’s ability to heal if given the right support.
Perhaps you are considering biodynamic craniosacral therapy, but you have some concerns…
I don’t want to be touched.
It will always be your choice how and where you are touched during sessions. We can negotiate and work around your needs so that you can feel comfortable and safe throughout our sessions. Even if you want to incorporate touch during one session but not another, I am prepared to respect whatever boundaries you may have on any given day.
My hope is that, if you come to sessions with concerns about being touched, we will gradually get to a point where you feel safe to engage in touch therapy. I believe that biodynamic craniosacral therapy, using light touch, has the potential to be very liberating for you, as it can offer the opportunity to transform your most intimate relationships, including that with your own body.
Will I be required to disrobe?
Most often, I will ask my clients to remove shoes, belts, and jewelry that may interfere with the treatment. Every once in a while. I will want to work directly on the skin–under the clothing–to be able to feel what is happening beneath the surface. However, I will never do this without explaining what I am doing and receiving permission from the client.
Will biodynamic craniosacral therapy worsen my physical or emotional pain?
Any form of touch therapy can temporarily stir up pain or other symptoms. However, I will intentionally listen to the body’s “inherent treatment plan” to help the body to more easily adapt to changes from a single session. My approach to craniosacral therapy relies on the philosophy of “less is more”—meaning that gentle and light touch allows me to be in tune with a wider and deeper field, as well as gives me the opportunity to watch for cues of overwhelm in the system. Throughout the course of your sessions, I expect that your pain and suffering will be significantly reduced overall, even if moments of discomfort occur.
How long does treatment using biodynamic craniosacral therapy take?
The more chronic/long-term your trauma or pain is, the longer the process will take. However, most of my clients begin to notice improvements in three to six sessions. Symptoms may ebb and flow, but I believe in the lasting effects of craniosacral therapy for changing the state of balance in your body and improving your sense of emotional well-being.
Re-Establish Balance And Harmony In Your Life
If you are struggling with chronic pain, a brain injury, anxiety, or distress, biodynamic craniosacral therapy may help you to heal your mind and body. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact me today.
During COVID-19, we are offering touch therapy services in person. For more information about our safety procedures, visit our COVID-19 Protocols page.