By Alberto Panizo el en Artículos
Life is movement.
To Mother Earth and Father Heaven
because I know that from Her and from Him comes my Truth.
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Human beings are integral parts of the cosmos and follow its natural laws with their rhythms and cycles. In the pursuit of progress, modern man increasingly deviates from this natural rhythm, creating an artificial way of being and living that causes dysfunction at all levels.
Life is expressed as movement, and there is a clear relationship between movement and health. All the tissues of the body move, producing different rhythms that can be palpated with sensitive hands.
We are all familiar with respiratory and cardiac rhythms, but not with the rhythm called the Primary Respiratory Mechanism (PRM). The PRM is a deep, internal breathing that comes into play before pulmonary respiration and is fundamental to the entire organism (it can be palpated up to 15 minutes postmortem).
It is expressed at different levels of perception: the craniosacral rhythm (or cranial rhythmic impulse), the mean rhythm, and the long tide.
Craniosacral Therapy: Beyond Massage
Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle, delicate, and deep bodywork that restores psychosomatic balance and enhances our body’s self-healing power. It is not a massage technique, but rather a body and emotional process that, through the therapist’s hands, accesses the craniosacral system, which is closely related to the nervous, musculoskeletal, vascular, endocrine, and respiratory systems.
In today’s scientific research, Quantum Physics provides the best foundation for our work. Some experiments prove that particles are interrelated and influence each other. Here are some of the observations made in experiments with quantum (light particles): The observer influences the observed, and when two quantum particles are brought to opposite locations in the Universe and one moves, the other resonates accordingly. This gives us an idea that when we come into contact with another, and especially when we are engaged in therapeutic activity, we mutually influence each other.
As practitioners, we need to learn how to be neutral so that the system doesn’t just respond to our presence, but truly teaches us what’s happening within the patient at that moment. Only in this way can we cooperate with the deeper forces and help the system. It’s clear that therapy will have different results depending on the therapist’s awareness.
The craniosacral therapist has learned to read and interpret the rhythm in different parts of the body, receiving information about the system’s possible imbalances and fulcrums of inertia.
Un poco de historia
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El primero en investigar el “Mecanismo Respiratorio Primario” a finales del siglo pasado, fue el Dr.W.Sutherland, discípulo del padre de la osteopatía, el doctor Taylor Still (1828-1917).
El doctor Still fue uno de los pioneros de la medicina holística. Buscó durante toda su vida la rearmonización del hombre con la naturaleza. Su forma de abordar la curación rechazaba la cirugía y las drogas, solamente utilizadas como última medida.Principalmente se apoyaba en un sistema de manipulación del cuerpo, que denominó osteopatía; ejercicios físicos y consejos sobre el estilo de vida.
Fundó en 1892 la primera escuela, la American School of Osteopathy, en Kirksville. Los principios de esta otra medicina basada en leyes naturales revolucionaron la medicina de su época.
Dr SutherlandEl doctor W. Sutherland (1873-1954) viendo la sofisticada anatomía craneal tuvo una intuición a principios de 1900, “los huesos del cráneo tienen que estar construidos para permitir un movimiento respiratorio”.
Con esta primera inspiración en el año 1901 el doctor W. Sutherland comienza una vida de búsqueda e investigación desarrollando lo que hoy se llama la Terapia Cráneo-Sacral.
His path was not easy, as, like any pioneer who brings new ideas, he encountered many problems, even within the field of osteopathy.
He dedicated more than 30 years to studying cranial anatomy and experimenting with different methods, applying pressure to specific cranial bones and observing their relationship with various dysfunctions and emotional changes.
He developed a system of examination and treatment of cranial bones, achieving very good results, based on the idea that bones are not solidly fused but rather that there is micromovement or flexibility through the sutures where the bones separate.
In 1948, at the age of 75, Dr. Sutherland made a paradigm shift in the cranial concept. He had a second and perhaps most important inspiration. He observed a problem that was released from within the client, not through their own strength or pressure, but through the person’s intrinsic power. Until now, he was trained to look for movement, the axis of rotation, restriction, and imbalance in movement, and help it (the system) move better.
Now he recognized that movement was precisely the result of deeper forces at play, and beneath the movement lay deeper states of well-being and calm.
The direction of his work changed radically: he stopped using protocols and tests for the movement of bones and membranes and began working and cooperating with the power of the system as a conductor of the body’s innate intelligence. He began to call the forces with which he was in contact “the Vital Breath,” a dynamic force that constantly creates the human being.
Subsequently, an important line of osteopaths safeguarded and developed these ideas. Furthermore, there has been extensive development of this technique, supported by various laboratory research projects (especially between the 1960s and 1980s in the United States), which have confirmed and expanded Sutherland’s discoveries.
In reality, the therapist doesn’t impose anything on the person’s body, but rather assists the body’s self-correcting power. That’s why, in the United States, craniosacral therapists are called facilitators. This is also the reason why this gentle yet effective therapy is safe and suitable for people of all ages. From adults to children and infants, as well as those after surgery or in fragile conditions, complementing medical or psychological treatment. If there is no specific pathology, the therapy helps us eliminate tension and blockages and live life more fully, increasing the body’s vitality.
Some of the most commonly applied pathologies are: migraine or tension headaches; back and musculoskeletal pain and problems; muscle tension; pain relief; joint problems; hearing, vision, or mouth problems; digestive problems; sinusitis and facial neuralgia; stress, anxiety, chronic fatigue; childhood trauma, hyperactive children; after-effects of accidents; emotional problems.
A basic part of my work is stillpoint techniques, revitalizing manipulations of the cranial system. They have a meditative, relaxing effect and activate the body’s self-healing powers. I have shown some basic techniques of the therapy in my recent DVD, “Craniosacral Therapy” (Mandala Publishing, 2006).
Emotional Release
The relationship between body and mind is now accepted, even by orthodox medicine. I would even say the intimate relationship between body, mind, emotions, and spirit. In the field of psychoneuroimmunology, connections between negative psychological states and their influence on the immune response have been discovered. Our mental and emotional state can be read in our bodies.
Our emotional states, whether stressed, excited, repressed, or otherwise, are reflected in characteristic muscular patterns and postures. Even physical and emotional traumas from the past are reflected in our tissues, what we call “energy knots.” Even today, we know that people who have been traumatized retain memories of those traumatic events in their brains and bodies. This memory is often expressed in symptoms of numerous psychosomatic illnesses, post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares and fears, negative thoughts, and dissociative behaviors. The body of a traumatized person is “disconnected” and contains great tension.
Energy cysts, a term originally coined by American craniosacral therapy, are areas of bodily dysfunction that manifest as obstruction to the efficient conduction of energy and electricity through the body’s tissues (primarily fascia). Normal bodily function has been inhibited in that area, and the body must adapt to this disorganized activity. This can result from physical trauma, pathogen invasion, physiological dysfunction, or mental and emotional problems. Taking physical trauma, such as an accident, as an example, the body has two ways of responding to the physical force of the injury: either it immediately begins to dissipate this force, and the natural healing process continues, or the physical force imposed on the body is retained rather than dissipated. If the energy cannot be dissipated as heat, the body localizes and concentrates the energy, encapsulating or isolating it as an energy cyst. The body adapts to the presence of the knot, compromising normal functioning. Fascial mobility is hindered, the normal electrical conductivity of the involved tissues is reduced, and the flow of energy around the acupuncture meridians is reduced. All of this weakens the body’s energy, creating tension and dysfunction.
Important factors
There are three important factors in determining whether the body is able to dissipate traumatic energy:
The amount of energy: If the impact is too great, it can compromise the body’s ability to dissipate it.
Previous injuries to the same area of the body: This area becomes more vulnerable and can compromise the body’s ability to dissipate energy.
Certain negative emotional states, such as anger or fear, paralyze the body’s ability to dissipate energy. If these negative states are dominant at the time of the accident or injury, the body will likely retain the force of the injury, developing an energetic knot. Once the negative emotions have been uncovered and relived with the therapist’s support, it will be easier to release the energetic knot.
Integrating Different Views
In order to understand the different approaches to craniosacral therapy, which are all very valid, we need to distinguish between biomechanical and biodynamic approaches. In the biomechanical approach, we tend to work with the more physical manifestations of the system. We explore primarily through active examination of movement, but also through passive perception. In the biodynamic principle, we connect with all the forces at play with a systemic view that underlies all the work. The client’s body physiology uses these principles to self-correct its own problems.
In my view, we need to learn to cooperate with the client’s system, their personal program, and the vital need to return to Health. Sutherland established treatment principles for working with the system. His approach to treatment can be summarized in his own words:
“Being aware of deep balance and allowing the body’s internal physiological function to manifest its unequivocal power, rather than applying blind forces from outside.”
In this listening space we approach the client with respect and acceptance.
Article published by Alberto Panizo and Greta Adam in Natural Magazine, No. 61