By Collin Sedlacek LMT MLD-C CCST
So you’re booked for a Craniosacral therapy (CST) session at Sage Bodywork, but what should you expect?
Your therapist will listen very carefully to you and your body... which, it turns out, is a rare thing. It is precisely the presence of this empathetic listening that lends itself to the profound shifts that happen within a CST session.
Start of Treatment
To start a treatment, the practitioner will assess your health history.
They'll ask about your current state of well-being, including short and long term goals. Some questions may relate to specific, acute imbalances, sleep quality, or other patterns. This is because CST can have a vast, positive influence on myriad things including sleep.
Typically, the therapist also will conduct a standing assessment of posture and structural patterns, especially those related to the spine and cranium. You'll stand as your therapist moves around you to check the alignment of various joints.
This is a good time for you to notice how you're feeling and where your weight falls when you stand. After your session, standing will feel different!
The Massage Begins
For Craniosacral therapy, a fully clothed client lies on a comfortable massage table. They are met with a gentle touch that tunes into the body’s rhythms. This gentle beginning encourages a person’s system to settle, for their nervous system to literally "down-regulate" into a more relaxed and receptive state.
People often become so relaxed that even areas of the body that aren’t actively being worked on will relieve themselves of tension.
These are two of the tested and lasting benefits of CST: one, the nervous system can become more regulated and resilient to stress, and two, that there is a global sense of relief that echoes throughout a person’s body.
Typically the provider treats along the craniosacral system which runs from the head (cranium) to the tailbone (sacrum). This may include specific manipulations to the head, neck, back, and pelvis during the session to stimulate the craniosacral system and bring commensurate balance. Not only are bones, muscles, and connective tissues considered, but membranes and fluids are also included in CST.
That said, while CST focuses on these parts of the body, it can be done anywhere on the body, and brings lasting relief to most any ache or pain.
What Will You Feel
While CST is very precise, it is equally broad reaching and offers a meditative experience that people tend to describe as "floaty yet grounding."
As the session continues, the practitioner will pragmatically attune to areas of concern as well as intuitively follow subtle shifts and patterns of tension in such a way as to titrate numerous, small changes that ultimately amount to a big, collective shift in the body towards more balance.
Part of the power behind this is the therapist's understanding of and interaction with various sensory and neurological processes, such as working with reflexes.
In this way, CST is not overwhelming and yet can facilitate significant changes, even when working on acute and sensitive circumstances such as vertigo, migraines, trauma, or chronic and complex pain.
After the session people comment about how good they feel, sometimes in unexplainable yet objectively observable ways.
Something about the calm presence and gentle listening that are hallmarks of CST lead people towards more than just ease in the body, but a more balanced sense of self. For instance, sometimes people find a kind of clarity that makes decision making easier.
In general, CST provides a warm sense of homecoming through highly informed and skilled touch.
When we are truly heard and held in safety—as in a Craniosacral therapy session— we immediately begin to orient towards balance, ease, and lasting positive changes.
Try Craniosacral Therapy Today
Looking for great Craniosacral Therapy in Seattle?
View our current availability and schedule your Craniosacral therapy online:
Send us a message at Hello@SageBodyworkSeattle.com with any questions or to get help with scheduling!