Why have Craniosacral CST therapy antenatally or post birth?
Although the name suggests a treatment to the cranium and sacrum, it is actually a whole body therapy. The name is linking the two poles of the central nervous system but we actually treat the whole person.
Craniosacral CST is a branch of osteopathy that believes that form follows function and therefore function affects form. ‘As the twig is bent, so grows the tree’ Touch is therapeutic, and slow gentle touch, from a skilled practitioner can allow the body to let go. It is primarily our nervous system that holds on to the tone in the body or tissues, hence the name craniosacral. When our nervous system calms, we release tension. Everybody has an original blueprint of health within them and working relationally in a safe environment this can blossom.
Tissues need healthy blood flow, venous drainage, and adequate nerve supply to function optimally. When tension is released, balance can be restored.
As a biodynamic practitioner, BCST, we do not impose anything on a body, we allow it to flourish in a way that is more akin to their original matrix of wellness or homeostasis. In this way all of the various bodily systems can be accessed, bones, tissue, blood, organs, fascia, nerves and emotions. The word emotion is derived from the Latin ‘emovere’ means moving out or through. Using skilled and listening hands we tune into the movement and rhythm of bodily systems and allow them to express themselves. In BCST we are always looking for the health in a system.
Biodynamic craniosacral therapy, is such a lovely treatment to help prepare your body for growing a baby and birth. During pregnancy your hormones, like estrogen provide a wonderful cocktail to support your body to heal and release old traumas and injuries. The pregnant body also possesses unique healing potential through fetal microchimerism, where fetal cells migrate to maternal tissues and contribute to its repair processes. This is a great time to release what is no longer needed and prepare for the new. To give space for your growing baby and find more room for yourself. Your pregnant body changes in so many ways and BCST can help this transition. I especially recommend this gentle treatment to help with conception, in the second trimester to keep everything flowing and moving well and in the third to prepare your body and baby for birth.
After birth it can be a great tonic to help bodily strains and torsions and nervous systems to stabilise and find a new balance and alignment. For a baby this can really help them with feeding, sleeping and digestive difficulties. We know that a babies nervous system is immature and that they rely on their parent or caregivers for regulation, this is why I recommend a combined session.
I became a craniosacral practitioner after working with families as a lactation specialist and birth worker and finding that for some families none of my tools were quite enough. I saw that after several sessions of craniosacral, a change came about that I previously couldn’t reach. This made me curious and I’m now very happy to add this treatment to my skill set.
It is especially supportive for:
Babies experiencing birth trauma or feeding difficulties (breast or bottle)
Tension or asymmetry in the body (e.g. colic, reflux, torticollis, tongue tie, constipation or unsettled behaviour)
Mothers recovering from a challenging birth including pelvic floor or adjusting emotionally and physically
Strengthening the early bonding and attachment process
Or just a general reset
If you are not near me, have a look here for a registered practitioner near you.
