Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
What is Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy?
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle form of bodywork and energy healing that helps shift a person’s body into self-repair mode, particularly through releasing excess stress from the nervous system.
Lisa tunes into your body, allowing it to highlight its current priority areas that need to be worked with, and then they support the process of change and reorientation towards health.
Using detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology, the therapist explores the subtle rhythms, releases, and adjustments as they occur. People often report feelings of calm and relaxation as this happens, particularly as Craniosacral Therapy helps to balance the nervous system. It is a type of Somatic Therapy. The Biodynamic style of Craniosacral Therapy works with the whole of you; it values and works with the interconnections between your mind, body, and Spirit.
In the words of one of my teachers: Biodynamic CranioSacral Therapy is a “therapy that combines a western scientific understanding of the body with mindfulness skills, a unique type of touch and an appreciation of the body’s ability to heal itself. [This] touch is incredibly profound, and sets off a deep, physiological reaction in the body.”
-Ged Sumner – founder of Body Intelligence Training for Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
Why do people come for Craniosacral Therapy treatments?
Highly Sensitive People (sensitive to bright lights, crowds, loud noises, etc.) or who identify as being an empath find Craniosacral Therapy to be particularly soothing and helpful for them. Some people come for stress relief and as part of a proactive approach to their health and well-being. Or they may have a more specific intention in mind.
Craniosacral Therapy can be helpful for a variety of conditions including:
- Post-Concussion Syncrome
- Migraines and/or headaches
- TMJ pain
- Digestive issues
- Back pain
- Sports injuries including recovery from broken bones (fractures) and muscle strains/sprains
- Joint pain or other musculo-skeletal pain
- Chronic pain syndromes
- “Psycho-Somatic” pain
- Anxiety and/or depression, or other emotionally challenging states
Craniosacral Therapy can be very useful to help the body work through traumatic events or injuries and even for the mystery aches and pains that don’t seem to have an identifiable cause.
As these mystery pains (or other symptoms in the body without a medically identified cause) are often diagnosed as Somatoform Disorder or as being “Psycho-Somatic” in nature, it can be a challenging road to find relief as the person may feel this is “all in their head.”
Lisa emphatically knows this is not true, that each person’s pain is real and unique to them. As she was once diagnosed with this herself, she now seeks to share what she’s learned about the mindbody (and Spirit) connection, and how this can be used for deep healing.
Craniosacral Therapy can be very helpful in helping you feel more grounded, more connected to your body, and more peaceful.
What does a session look like?
During the first session, there is extra time allotted to discuss your health history and any current problems you are seeking relief from. Every session after that starts with a check-in to see how you are doing.
Then you’ll lie fully clothed on a massage table, while the therapist gently places her hands on different areas of the body for 35-45 minutes. To work with the nervous system in this way involves a light touch, a gentle and still hand contact, which is different from massage as the therapist is not actively moving tissues with her hands. It can be quite soothing to simply experience touch in this way again.
Sometimes there is a guided meditation component to help you better reconnect with your body on a “felt-sense” level and to increase your body awareness.
Other sessions are quiet, with a nearly meditative feel to the room as you may be in a deeply relaxed state and simply experiencing the session instead of thinking and talking.
There will be a few minutes at the end for reflections and questions. It’s highly recommended to schedule some downtime, even a short walk in the park or something else you enjoy, after each treatment.
Testimonials
“After the treatment I couldn’t believe that my headache was gone. It was such a relief after having it be a consistent throbbing for so long. For the rest of the night I was a little tired, but the day after I had a ton of energy, which was great!” -L.C. Personal Trainer/Mountain biker
“I received a massage treatment from Lisa, and my experience with her was really wonderful! I thoroughly appreciated her approach, which combined both incredible awareness of my body and state, as well as knowledge of massage techniques. I found her approach really met me where I was at, and I felt some amazing release in my body both physically and mentally. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to support their overall wellbeing - she truly is fantastic!” - C. A., Yoga Therapist
I came to Lisa with a sudden onset of acute neck pain. I had the feeling it was much more complex than simply physical pain. During [the] session with Lisa, she helped me to relax into my body in a safe and easy manner.
We spent time on my neck but also around different parts of my body. Lisa works on a physical and an energetic level and she brought her intuition into our session and helped me to feel blocks that I didn’t know I had. Immediately after the session the pain had lessened and within a couple of days I no longer had any pain. Lisa’s safe, calm and grounded approach makes it easy to settle in to the benefits of Craniosacral Therapy. -J.H. Counselor
“Working with Lisa has been a fantastic experience. Over the course of my sessions, I can feel my body and mind relaxing and the changing of old patterns. Looking forward to continuing to improve my mind and body health Lisa’s help.” -M.M.
“I suffered severe injuries from a car accident and experience debilitating chronic pain. I feel very privileged to have been able to work with Lisa…and being on her table is a safe, open place where my body is able to release and let go. She is exceedingly intelligent and very guided with both her hands on the body, and the guidance that she provides verbally. It has been wonderful receiving treatments and very healing on mental, emotional and physical levels. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy, with Lisa” -M.C.
“I first consulted with Lisa Matthews in September 2017. I had consulted a craniosacral therapist before (as well as western and complementary medicine practitioners) but my experience with Lisa has been extraordinary; [this] work is unique, the resolution of my several health issues has been evident. I believe the strength and effectiveness of Lisa’s treatments comes from her personal journey, which has given her the experiential understanding of how the human body works.” -M.J.
People often experience pain relief and feelings of calm in a meditative-like state as old traumas and patterns of injury in the body are released.
Wondering what this could look like for you?
I’m available in Rossland, BC for in-person sessions and for those that live elsewhere I have online sessions as well.