what is craniosacral therapy?

Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a light-touch modality with origins in the Osteopathic medical tradition. At Metta, we have practitioners trained in the Upledger and biodynamic styles of craniosacral therapy. The therapist uses gentle contact and highly attuned perception to "read" tension patterns in the recipient's systems: musculoskeletal system, fluid systems, and electromagnetics. For many recipients, CST is able to reach a deeper level of nervous system activity, yielding deep relaxation and results that build over time. Many patients with chronic pain, incurable conditions, or undiagnosed symptoms find relief through craniosacral therapy.

The biomechanical style of CST, commonly taught through the Upledger heritage, uses light-touch manipulation ("no more than 5 grams of pressure") to initiate change in the musculoskeletal system.

They biodynamic or 'osteopathic' style of CST relies on the recipient's own system to effect change. The light touch of the therapist is used to provide bio-feedback into the nervous system so that change comes from within, rather than being manipulated from an external source.

Common ailments that find relief through craniosacral therapy include: tension headache, migraine, eye tension, jaw tension (TMJ), tech neck, idiopathic neuropathy (numbness or tingling), joint pain, hypermobility, fibromyalgia, fatigue, visceral pain, irritable bowel (IBS), pelvic pain, incontinence.