Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/494122
F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 81 I know you're out there: craniosacral therapists who, like me, see the world through emotionally tinted glasses. Since craniosacral therapy (CST) tends to seek the physical plane as the underlying issue, we particularly sensitive practitioners, who interpret incoming information through an intuitive filter first and foremost, could use a little extra support. This article discusses the value of exploring the emotional plane, including ideas to exercise and strengthen our perceptions. As we grow bolder in our confidence and our numbers, we can come together and talk about our feelings. Err—I mean, we can generate greater acceptance and build community. When I began my education, my teacher encouraged us to think about the relationships between anatomical structures, such as the relationship between the mandible and the pelvis. And this is where I seemed to go astray. I interpreted her questions differently. I found myself thinking about the relationship between the structure and the underlying cause: Why was the sphenoid in torsion? Where did the deep sadness in the diaphragm come from? I was interested in following clients' emotions as the path to understanding their misaligned bones and congested organs. I didn't make the conscious choice to focus on the emotional plane; it was simply how I saw, or more accurately, felt things. And the more I considered the emotional focus, the deeper the results were for my clients. That kind of positive reinforcement is tough to deny. After I finished school and began to include CST in my practice, I was fortunate to stumble upon a wonderful, like-minded mentor who asked pertinent questions, shared valuable insights, and confirmed my CST suppositions. When I would BACKGROUND CST was born from osteopathy (a noninvasive medical practice with an emphasis on structural balance of the musculoskeletal system) and, as such, has a solid grounding in the physical realm. Much of what CST students learn and therapists practice is on the physical plane: bone shears and torsions, and disruptions in the cranial rhythm. I want to state clearly and unequivocally: this is good. Working on the physical plane is important and effective. Most practitioners, myself included, start out learning on the physical plane. With hands on my classmates, I practiced feeling sphenoidal torsions and temporal strains. While CST is born from bone, it is the physiologic relationships between anatomic structures that define it. The name—cranial/sacral—and the descriptions of internal movement are based on the interactions within the body (e.g., flexion/extension is defined by the movement between the sphenoid and the occiput).