What is CranioSacral Therapy?

CranioSacral Therapy has also been shown to reduce pain and improve overall health. CranioSacral Therapy can be done from the comfort of your home as a distance therapy session.

CranioSacral Therapy is a powerful, yet gentle therapy. A dysfunction in the CranioSacral system can affect neurological, motor, or sensory function. This non-invasive approach of releasing restrictions allows the body to heal itself, thereby improving overall function.

How Does CranioSacral Therapy Work?

 CranioSacral Therapy specifically works to support the body to heal tissue restrictions, pulls, misalignments, etc. Healing them allows you to regain physical abilities that may have become too much for your overly taxed body, reduce or eliminate pain, or even prevent pain or reduced physical abilities before they happen by healing the underlying tissue damage before it becomes symptomatic. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, so below are some simplified pictures of fascia (a connective tissue network that spans your entire body) and the possible results of damage to our fascia. These images come from a poster that I keep on the wall in my office, created by Tad Wanveer for the Upledger Institute. 

The first set of three images is a very simplified look at the fascial system in the body, which goes from head to toe. 

Image 1 represents a fascial system in perfect alignment – this body has not had a challenging birth or so much as a bump or bruise. 

Image 2 is the result of a single injury to the left side of the head/neck. However, in this image (if you compare it with the first image), you can see that the body is affected not only at the place of the injury, but much of the body is in fact impacted. A good example of this that you may be familiar with is nylons. If you got a run in the nylon, it would not just be a tear in that place, but would cause a run down the nylon. 

Image 3 is a better representation of the reality of our bodies and the accommodations that they make due to the injuries that we have had. In this image, you can see multiple injuries, and (in my opinion) the best part of this image is that it shows how those injuries (restrictions/pulls/misalignments) affect each other.

This set of images represents our muscular system.

The final set of images represents our skeletal and gastrointestinal systems.

Wanveer, T. (Illustrator). (2016). Fascia: The Interwoven Body [Poster].

CranioSacral Therapy can help with many health conditions including:

• ADHD

• ARTICULATION/PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES/REDUCED INTELLIGIBILITY

• AUTISM

• CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS

• CHRONIC NECK AND BACK PAIN

• COLIC

• DEMENTIA/Alzheimer’s Disease

• EAR INFECTIONS

• emotional challenges

• FEEDING CHALLENGES

• FIBROMYALGIA

• HEADACHES/MIGRAINES

• LEARNING DISABILITIES

• PLAGIOCEPHALY/BRACHYCEPHALY/ MISSHAPEN HEADS

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)

• SCOLIOSIS

• SEIZURES

• SENSORY PROCESSING

• STROKE

• STUTTERING

• TMJ DYSFUNCTION

• TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

• any many more…

 What is a Distance CranioSacral Therapy session like?

Distance sessions are a wonderful way for clients to receive CranioSacral therapy if they have mobility challenges, are not in the same location as the therapist, simply feel more comfortable in their own home, or for any other reason.

Clients report feeling structural changes and movements of body tissues during the session. The body’s self-healing mechanism can manifest as release of heat, vibration, pulsing, movement of tissues, sudden recollection of an old injury, stomach gurgling, slight jerking movements, long exhalations, etc.

Whatever the reason clients have chosen Distance CranioSacral Therapy, clients report changes at the same pace, or often an increased rate of change from their in-person sessions. Having additional time after the session to integrate/process the changes (without having to get up, get into the car, drive home, etc.) has shown to be a very powerful and beneficial advantage of distance sessions.

It is recommended to schedule a time when you are able to relax during your session. You may choose to sit or lie down, whichever is more comfortable, and simply relax. Clients often become very tranquil and peaceful.

Experience of Distance CranioSacral Therapy as Described by a client: 

I've experienced several treatments in person and distance craniosacral and it is simultaneously a totally different experience and also very similar.  As the practitioner goes through the poses while you are in person you usually will feel things in your body shift as they are working with the connective facia that innervates your entire being and the spine.  I don't know all the inner workings of this healing modality but I’ve experienced its benefits.  When in person, I would feel things shift where the practitioner’s hands were and sometimes other places.

With distance sessions I find this to be a more intense experience because I am tuning into my body as the session is being done.  Noticing when things shift and being able to communicate that and find that the same area was being worked on or that the practitioner had felt the release on their end too.  I find that the distance healings are more profound for me because it allows me to focus and tune into the healing that is occurring in my body.  When I do in person sessions I find I tend to tune out for a while and just receive the benefits, slipping into a blissed out relaxed state, which is fine too. 

And the beautiful thing is that even if you still want to tune out and just receive the healing during a distance session you can do that as well but I feel it enhances your awareness of your being regardless.   

~Nina

Intensives

In addition to traditional therapy sessions I also offer therapy intensives. Therapy intensives are 1-4 weeks of multiple therapy sessions per day. These intensive sessions are a powerful way to quickly make changes. These intensives can be very beneficial to promote health for those with chronic conditions, be a way to achieve new milestones for those with special needs, or be a healing “therapy retreat”. 

To receive “intensive therapy” pricing a minimum of 12 sessions per week, or 40 sessions within a 4 week period are required.

Click on the link for additional information regarding CranioSacral Therapy Intensives.

General Information

• Session length is 50 minutes.

• Individual sessions cost $130.

• Discounted pre-paid bundle package of 5 sessions for $625 are available for clients who would like a series of sessions. These sessions are meant to be used within 3 months.

• A series of sessions is necessary to address chronic or complex concerns and for all new clients.

• Individual sessions may be used to address an acute issue, a symptom of a more chronic concern, or a “tune-up”. *Please note single sessions are for established clients only.

Distance CranioSacral Therapy for Pets

Natural healing methods are not just for us humans, our pets are incredibly responsive to these treatments that support their emotional and physical healing in natural ways.

Distance CranioSacral therapy (CST) is a modality that supports the release of tension and restricted tissues in the body to alleviate pain and dysfunction.  This therapy also allows your pet to reset their nervous system and promotes auto regulation and self-healing in the comfort of their own home.

Allison uses CranioSacral therapy to help pets use their own healing properties to promote natural ways of alleviating pain, stress, ailments, and disease.

Examples of pet physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms that have been treated with CranioSacral therapy: