How does CST work?

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) owes its increasing popularity to the effectiveness of its gentle approach. At the core of the body, cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes and cushions the brain and spinal cord, expresses a motion in a tide like ebb and flow (craniosacral motion); while bones, organs and other structures in the body follow their own particular patterns of movement. This motion is so subtle that is is barely measurable with instruments, but a trained therapist is able to perceive it.

In response to physical knocks or emotional stress, the body’s tissues contract. Sometimes, particularly when the shock is severe or accompanied by strong emotions, the tissues stay contracted. Any trauma, stresses, strains or tensions which remain in the body, restrict the body’s functioning and may give rise to problems over the years. The effects may be both physical (such as back pain, migraine or digestive disorders) and emotional (such as anxiety or depression).

Restrictions in the body’s functioning show up in the way that craniosacral motion is expressed in the body. CST therapists are trained to feel this subtle motion in the body, and can use it to find where there is congestion or restriction.

Using the hands to then amplify the pattern the body is holding, the therapist provides an opportunity for the body to let go of its restriction and return to an easier way of functioning. This frees the energy that the body was previously using to hold itself in contraction. So one of the benefits of the therapy can be an increase in the level of energy available. The resulting changes can bring greater ease on mental or emotional levels as well as to the physical body.

CST is suitable for people of all ages from babies to the elderly.

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