In mid-September, I made my second trip this year to Tasmania, Australia, to attend an advanced Craniosacral therapy course.
Craniosacral therapy is a practice where a therapist places her hands on the skull or sacrum, sensing the rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid flow while awakening the body's inherent natural healing power.
The rhythm of cerebrospinal fluid flow can be divided into three levels; each corresponds to a distinct state of consciousness.
Compared to the mid-tide phase we focused on in March, this course's theme, the long-tide phase, was a profound state expanding into the void where the flow of time seemed absent.
First, let me explain what the cerebrospinal fluid is.
The cerebrospinal fluid is produced and absorbed within the brain at a constant, pump-like rhythm.
In sync with this flow, the bones of the skull and the sacrum move like a cradle.
Normal conscious phase: Flows at 8-14 cycles per minute.
Mid-tide: When the flowing speed slows down to 2.5 cycles per minute, it is considered a state where healing occurs.
Long-tide: A very slow rhythm of one cycle every 90 seconds, regarded as a state where only health exists.
Whereas the mid-tide is a flow which brings healing within the body and its surrounding energy fields, the long-tide embodies the rhythm of the balanced natural world – akin to tidal currents, the atmosphere felt in forests, or outer space.
We are all affected, to varying degrees, by stress, trauma, and karmic influences, and it is believed that memories of these exist within the flow of water in our cells and tissues, and within the etheric body surrounding the physical body.
The long-tide, however, exists in a realm beyond such negativity, a realm of wholeness.
It is not somewhere distant, but accessible within stillness.
＜What is Craniosacral therapy? ＞
During the first half of the course, we practiced touching each facial bone individually (orbital bone, zygomatic bone, nasal bone, sphenoid bone, ethmoid bone, palatine bone, maxilla, mandible).
Although the areas accessible from the face are limited, placing fingers there with intense focus allows one to feel the small bones moving.
Ideally, the bones should sway evenly from side to side and front to back, however, due to asymmetrical skeletal structure or the unbalanced body-mind state from stress, imbalances can sometimes be observed.
In my own case, for example, in addition to the inherently asymmetric structure, perhaps due to stress from starting a new job in late August, only the right side moved vigorously.
At craniosacral therapy sessions, even if imbalance exists, a therapist does not forcefully correct the movement; instead, the body's inherent motion allows the practitioner to guide the process.
Then, after moving fully in a guided direction to the end, it naturally shifts to the opposite direction, as the body itself seeks to restore balance.
＜Orbital region＞
Four cranial nerves related to vision and eye movement pass around the eyes, indicating the eyes' deep connection to the brain.
In my experience as a receiver, it felt when tension around the eyes eased, not only brain fatigue was relieved but also stagnant thought was released, as if accumulated mental blocks deep within the brain were overflowing.
Just as I had learnt in the Brain Gym® Creative Vision course, I realised that thought lied behind vision.
＜Nasal region＞
The vomer and ethmoid bones, located deep within the nasal cavity, appear to be involved not only in sustaining life but also in controlling subtle energies.
The vomer was approached from the area behind the front teeth inside the mouth.
This bone seems to be highly susceptible to emotional influences and prone to manifesting the effects of birth trauma.
Indeed, as a receiver, I felt terror as if drowning in water and was driven by an impulse to grasp hold of something.
When I shared this experience with the instructor, she suggested it might be from the memory of birth trauma.
The ethmoid bone, on the other hand, lies at the root of the nose, deep within the brow ridge, at the location of the third eye, the sixth chakra.
Upon releasing the tension in this area, I felt an expansion of energy from the third eye.
＜Around the mouth＞
The upper jaw and cheek areas, covered by thick muscles, are particularly affected by stress.
Furthermore, the mouth is linked to emotional patterns from childhood and self-consciousness stemming from dental unalignment.
It also seemed common for dental treatments to create undue force within the oral cavity.
＜Facial Bones and Cranial Nerves＞
Each of the 12 cranial nerves runs through the facial bones.
Cranial nerves govern not only vision, hearing, smell, and taste, but also control the muscles that move the respective sensory organs.
Furthermore, according to Maria, a Swiss Aura-Soma teacher whom I previously leanrt Craniosacral Touch from, long before the development of modern medicine, each cranial nerve was thought to correspond to one of the twelve zodiac signs.
It could be said, therefore, that the facial bones are filled with abundant energy.
As the movement of each bone became aligned, I experienced a profound sense of deep energy release and alignment.
＜Long-tide and Oneness＞
As the balance of cranial bone movement was restored and the long-tide became perceptible, the practitioner's consciousness synchronised with the recipient's, creating a profound awareness of oneness.
While Craniosacral therapy is not considered as spiritual work, I had a solemn feeling that spiritual sensations naturally may accompany when the body begins to regulate its own flow, synchronising with nature's rhythm.
It is indeed a wonderful therapy that allows us to get access to the inherent wisdom within the human body to restore its balance.