Cranio Sacral Therapy was something I first heard about in the nineties when I was training in Aromatherapy. My tutor had used this amazing therapy to support her husband after an accident and I was fascinated by her story and the success she had achieved with CST. https://cure-by-nature.co.uk/Jim%20Story/

I trained in CST 1 and CST 2 with Zakia and during the training for the second course, on the last day, a couple came in with a new born baby.

The baby was about 3 weeks old and had continuously cried since coming into the world. Before our eyes, Zakia held the baby and what I saw, I can only describe as watching Zakia unwind the babies neck. The baby screamed  through most of the process, the parents were amazing and did not react and let Zakia do her thing, after some time, all went quiet. Talking honestly I thought that Zakia was manipulating the babies neck to move in the direction it was moving, she said she wasn’t, but in my freshly qualified and into therapies head I couldn’t imagine how by just holding a babies head, it would move by itself in this way……..

How can holding a head, just supporting the head, enable the neck to unwind itself into a position that it would become more comfortable?

This is exactly what I watched and this memory has remained with me all these years.

In 1995 I went out to sea and worked as a massage therapist  on cruiseships, every Saturday we went in and out of Fort Lauderdale, I was lucky to “win” most Saturdays off work and this enabled me to have regular Cranio Sacral Therapy treatments at this amazing therapy centre just thirty minutes from where we docked. I loved these treatments, I was introduced to lots of alternative (as they were then) things, White sage, crystals, healing and the wonderful CST treatments. I loved the sessions, they relaxed me , yet recharged me for the week ahead. I can’t say I knew exactly what the therapist did to me, I know she laid her hands on me in different positions, but I knew I enjoyed them and couldn’t wait to go, week in and week out.

Moving forwards about 25 years, I have been gently drawn back to this therapy, discussions in my treatment room with clients, reading articles and then going for a session with a local therapist in Rickmansworth. This all gave me a hunger to learn CST again, even though I have been using some of the techniques over the years I wanted to go back to the beginning again. I felt like I was being called back, if that makes sense?

Over the years I have received many kinds of treatments and therapies,  as well as giving many many treatments myself. I see a lot of release in my treatment room, not just tears, but other forms of release, big sighs, body twitches, yawns, tummy rumbles, laughter …. many things, but when I go for treatments myself I often have my therapist head on and think what are they doing, where are they standing etc etc, and by not fully relaxing my body does not get the change to fully let go (don’t get me wrong sometimes it does :-))

Anyway, this month I went on a weeks course with Upledger Institute in Brighton to study CST 1. This course was totally fantastic, both as a therapist and as a client. As a therapist I re-learnt the fabulous ten step protocol, tuning into the cerebral spinal fluid and feeling the rhythm of the body, maybe encouraging the body to re-balance, relax, energise, whatever it needs.

As a client, wow, I experienced my body twitching in a way I have never before, its quite funny now thinking about it, all these little jumps I was doing, at one point my head was in my therapists hands and it involuntarily jumped right out of his hands!

My neck unwound itself, I didn’t even know it was moving, I felt my jaw almost take flight out of my mouth, I felt my sacrum drop and realign in my body. All these things, from ten wonderful hand positions of light light touch. I am blown away yet again by the wonders of this treatment.

Part 2 is in November 2022 and I will be offering discounted CST treatments from now until Nov at £35 a session to enable me to practice practice practice. These sessions are available to book on line as usual and will be released the month before, I have just updated the diary for the rest of June and July.

https://www.swakeleysmassage.co.uk/bookings/

If this therapy interests you, come and try it, I highly recommend giving it a go, no expectations, just curiosity, and see where it takes you and how you feel during and afterwards.

As the therapist, all I will be doing is placing my hands on you, with a very light touch, over clothes, each hand position is held for varying lengths of time as the tissues relax and release. All you need to do is lie on the couch and relax ……….

You never know it may just become your most favourite treatment of choice.

Benefits that have been observed from CST treatments are : helping to improve the functioning of the nervous system, relieving pain and improving mobility.   CST has been used to treat a variety of conditions, both physical and psychological, including

Thank you for reading

Jacqui x