Cranio Sacral Therapy is a manual technique that utilizes the Cranio Sacral system to promote self correction and healing within the body. In this regard, it is similar to other holistic regimens like acupuncture or myofascial release that addresses the system globally and not only where symptoms have manifested.
 
John Upledger the founder of Cranio Sacral therapy:
“ It’s like removing stones from a river so flow is not impeded.”
 
Dr. Andrew Still the father of osteopathy in the 19th century believed the body possessed a self-­‐regulating system. To this end he believed that if the body’s structural cohesion is out of balance so is it function!! Dr. Still’s student William Sutherland became interested in the human skull. He believed contrary to allopathic model of the time that the cranial bones and their connecting sutures actually moved. Using himself as a lab specimen he constructed various devices to compress his own cranium. Going to far as to place his head into a corner of a room for a time creating restrictions within his own tissues and bones. His wife documented the varied responses in physiology and demeanor which resulted from these experiments and their associated corrections. This is the beginning of cranial manipulation the kind of which we now have in modern Cranio Sacral treatments and osteopathy.
 
Dr. John Upledger continued the work beginning in the 1970’s at Michigan State University in an attempt to validate Sunderland’s work using modern scientific methods.  Using live primates they observed the movement of the tissues in the cranium and wave like movements of the bones themselves. This system is independent of our cardiopulmonary system!!  
 
What is this Cranio Sacral System?
It comprises the bones of the cranium and sacrum and the meningeal layers of connective tissue connecting the two. The meningeal layers house the brain, spinal cord, and cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid baths are nerves and tissues while the Cranio Sacral system acts as a pump filing and emptying this fluid within our body.
 
A Cranio Sacral therapist utilizes the bones of the cranium and sacrum to access this system and facilitate it’s balance. The nature of the anatomy of the system dictates the touch to engage it. The lightest of pressures are picked up by these bones and they respond in turn. The Cranio Sacral rhythm can be palpated throughout the body not only in the skull and sacrum. These treatments can be performed with the client in many positions and the client can where clothes during the treatments. Casual shorts or t-­‐shirts are encouraged to allow the practitioner to follow the clients body.
 
Cranio Sacral treatments are being used in conjunction with modern psychotherapy, physical rehabilitation and brain impairments such as autism and PTSD. It is an amazing adjunct to keeping the body balanced and in tune.