CranioSacral Therapy

 

What is CranioSacral Therapy?

 CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance. It was pioneered and developed by Osteopathic Physician John E. Upledger after years of clinical testing and research at Michigan State University where he served as professor of biomechanics.

Using a soft touch which is generally no greater than 5 grams – about the weight of a nickel – practitioners release restrictions in the soft tissues that surround the central nervous system. CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and it''s effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction.


How does CranioSacral Therapy Work?

Few structures have as much influence over the body’s ability to function properly as the brain and spinal cord that make up the central nervous system. And, the central nervous system is heavily influenced by the craniosacral system – the membranes and fluid that surround, protect and nourish the brain and spinal cord.

Every day your body endures stresses and strains that it must work to compensate for. Unfortunately, these changes often cause body tissues to tighten and distort the craniosacral system. These distortions can then cause tension to form around the brain and spinal cord resulting in restrictions. This can create a barrier to the healthy performance of the central nervous system, and potentially every other system it interacts with.

Fortunately, such restrictions can be detected and corrected using simple methods of touch. With a light touch, the CST practitioner uses his or her hands to evaluate the craniosacral system by gently feeling various locations of the body to test for the ease of motion and rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsing around the brain and spinal cord. Soft-touch techniques are then used to release restrictions in any tissues influencing the craniosacral system.

By normalizing the environment around the brain and spinal cord and enhancing the body’s ability to self-correct, CranioSacral Therapy is able to alleviate a wide variety of dysfunctions, from chronic pain and sports injuries to stroke and neurological impairment.


CranioSacral  and Down syndrome

Nicholas Handoll, D.O. wrote a paper, The Osteopathic Management of Children with Down's Syndrome which raises the hypothesis that postnatal hypoxia causes much of the handicap of Down’s syndrome and that osteopathic treatment may be used effectively to reduce it.

It was 93 years after Landon Down in 1866 first described the syndrome which now bears his name, when Lejune in 1959 showed that this commonest form of mental handicap affecting 800 - 1,000 live births p.a. in the U.K. is due to extra genetic material carried on the long arm of chromosome 21. Down’s syndrome is a congenital foetal growth disorder which affects all metabolic processes but fundamentally involves the nervous system. There are a wide range of characteristics, a small number of cases exhibit them all, some cases only a few. Some 80% of the manifestations of Down’s syndrome are only minor anomalies which are commonly seen in isolation in the overall population. The effect of the extra genetic material of chromosome 21 appears to decrease the buffering to disordered development as the foetus grows, which results in a greater incidence of minor anomalies.

Please follow the above link to read the paper in it entirety.

Emmalin has been seeing a CST's for close to a year now.  Chad and I both had the pleasure of having a CST session and we firmly believe that it is very beneficial to Emmalin based on our personal experience. 


Who we use and why:

From the beginning we have used Rose Alisandre, LMT, MTI.  She holds a Massage Therapy Instructor's License in Arkansas and has maintained a private practice in Arkansas for 25 years.  She is a member of IAHP (International Alliance of Health Care Practitioners) and her primary focus has been the study of Cranio Sacral Therapy with the Upledger Institute over the last 17 years.  Among her many other areas of study are: Polarity Therapy, Jin Sinn Acupressure, Voice Dialogue and Body Energetics; Movement Awareness; Active Isolated Stretching; Reiki; Essence Recovery, and Core Shamanism.

I usually schedule Emma's appointments late in the afternoon to insure a sleepy child.  She falls asleep on the way to Little Rock and I carry her in, lay her down and she sleeps through the entire session.  Rose is able to release restrictions, restore fluid transfer, enhance cell metabolism, support immune function and flexibility and list goes on.

For more information please contact Rose at Restoration Therapeutics.  She works out of Arkansas Yoga Collective at 7801 Cantrell Rd. Little Rock and The Xocai Wellness Center at 740 S Salem, Ste 114 Conway.  You can call her at 501-772-1551 or email rosealisandre@sbcglobal.net.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also please note that Rose is trained in Raindrop technique.  I have had the pleasure of having Rose perform one on me and I could not be more please.  I have officially found me a new and very beneficial treat for myself.  Below is great video to tell you more about Raindrop and its benefits.