CranioSacral Therapy Terms

CranioSacral Therapy - Is a gentle form of body work that is based in Osteopathic Medicine that treats the CranioSacral System and tissues of the body. It is a whole body experience and can even be used to treat the mouth and teeth. While the therapist touch is very light and it is a very different experience from a massage the work is still done deep within the body and can have a profound and positive impact on your overall health and wellness. It is particularly well suited in treating difficult or chronic symptoms that may not be responding to other forms treatments. 

CranioSacral System - Refers to the cranium (head) and sacrum (tailbone) and is a fluid filled system that protects and nourishes our brain and nervous system. When you have a lumbar puncture (or spinal tap) this is the system that they are drawing fluid from to test. 

CST - Short for CranioSacral Therapy

Fascia - Super cool interconnected tissue all over your body. Because of fascia an injury in our leg can show up over in our elbow. It’s all connected!

Release - A release is when areas that are restricted or have lesions are able to relax and move easier. Sometimes this will feel like heat, pulsing, or the muscle relaxing. Sometimes it’s a deep breath, your stomach gurgling, or twitching. 

Restriction - Areas of tension within the body and it’s tissues that can limit mobility (on either a large scale or a small scale). 
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Lesion - When your tissues or sutures get stuck and don’t allow as much movement from the filling/draining of the CSR.

Diaphragm - Not just the one under your lungs. Diaphragms refer to areas in the body where tissues run across the body connecting your back to your front. 

​Stillpoint - Therapeutic stopping of the CranioSacral Rhythm. It's like rebooting a computer - everything works much better after you turn it off and back on again. 
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CranioSacral Rhythm (CSR) - Is a slow pulse of the cerebral spinal fluid as it fills and stops filling (it’s always draining) within the CranioSacral System. CST practitioners use this rhythm to evaluate what is occurring in the body. There are 6-12 cycles of filling/draining per minute. Sometimes you can feel this VERY subtle movement while lying in shavasana pose in yoga class. Palpating the CSR is one of the first things a CST therapist learns. 

Palpating - Feeling, observing, and learning using your sense of touch.

Mouthwork - CranioSacral techniques that take place by working in the clients mouth. Interested in learning more about mouth work? Click here.

Sacrum - This is your tailbone and part of your CranioSacral System.​

SomatoEmotional Release (SER) - Experiencing an emotional response (big or small) to a CST technique. Want to learn more click here to read about my own SER response to a positional tissue release technique. SER’s are great things!!! It means we’re able to release some deep tensions that are being held onto in the body.