Did you know that your physical pain and your emotional pain may be connected?

Craniosacral therapy is a subtle but powerful form of bodywork that can help you settle your nervous system while relieving chronic, painful tension patterns. It can help you release physical as well as emotional traumas, easing your anxiety while helping you relax more deeply.

Craniosacral therapy has been used effectively to treat a wide variety of problems, including whiplash, migraines, TMJ dysfunction, concussions, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some people simply relax deeply during the process and feel refreshed afterward (like the computer has been rebooted), while others experience profound inner shifts, particularly over a series of treatment sessions.

Typically, this technique is performed as a stand-alone therapy with the client lying face-up on a massage table, fully clothed. However, it can be combined with herbal Swedish massage for people who also want the benefits of deep-tissue massage with medicinal herbs.

Craniosacral therapy was created by the late Dr. John Upledger, an innovative osteopath who was the first person to notice (accidentally, during a surgery) that the human body has a natural rhythmic pulsing that moves the cerebrospinal fluid. Dr. Upledger found that by gently supporting this natural craniosacral flow, practitioners could help their clients release long-held tension patterns.

Dr. Upledger's insights were based upon the philosophies of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still (founder of osteopathic medicine), with the foundational concept that, given the proper support, the human body can heal itself.

The Upledger Institute now trains health-care professionals in these methods throughout the world.