Moving Towards Health with Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
by Susan Pulvermacher

This is a type of bodywork that emphasizes the therapeutic value of slowing down and being present. It offers you the ability to feel “whole” again.

Imagine devoting an hour of your time to making sense of what your body is telling you. Imagine feeling healthy right in the centre of your being. Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) offers a starting point for you to witness the healing process that is already taking place in your body. This is a type of bodywork that emphasizes the therapeutic value of slowing down and being present. It offers you the ability to feel “whole” again.

A Brief History

Over 100 years ago, an osteopath named Dr. William Sutherland discovered that the cranial bones, contrary to popular belief, are able to express small degrees of motion and pliability. He later found that this motion of the cranial bones is just the outermost element in a system of subtle rhythms that involves the whole fluid body. He eventually concluded that these rhythms are produced by a life force, which he referred to as the Breath of Life and which BCST therapists now refer to as the Primary Respiratory System.

Using palpation and interaction, Sutherland and his colleagues experimented with these rhythms, and found remarkable benefits for their clients. Subsequent osteopaths, particularly Rollin Becker, DO, expanded the applications, and in the early 1970s John Upledger, DO, introduced manipulation of the body’s fluid systems to those outside the osteopathic world. Some current well-respected teachers working to refine the biodynamic model include Franklyn Sills, DO, Michael Kern, DO, and Michael Shea, PhD.

Your Fluid Body

Your body is made up of 70% water; a fluid structure which is interconnected and moving as a whole. The ability of cells, fluids, and tissues to express this motion is a critical factor in your state of health. The body’s past traumas and stresses become evident through irregularities in these subtle tidal-like movements. In Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, your therapist works with these therapeutic tidal-like movements to restore the fluid movement’s balance within the body. This requires a still heart, deep perception, and exquisite listening skills. As these rhythms become balanced, your intrinsic health emerges and a sense of well being automatically follows.

The Role of Your BCST Therapist

The role of your therapist is to patiently facilitate your body’s self-healing through balancing the Primary Respiration System in the fluids. This is done in a non-invasive way with light, sustained, hands-on contact often for 5 to 10 minutes with each hand position. Your therapist concentrates and slowly focuses on your fluid body’s subtle rhythms and their interactions with areas of distress or congestion. This creates a resonance in your Primary Respiratory System and acts as a powerful catalyst to heal trauma in the central nervous system and body and restore natural balance. As a non-cathartic treatment modality, you don’t have to relive the trauma for it to be resolved.

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a joint endeavour between you and your BCST therapist. The whole of your situation, be it physical symptoms, emotional concerns, or others, are carefully attended to. Together we decide what will best meet your needs.

Return to Wholeness

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a whole-person approach to healing. The interconnections of mind, body, nature, and spirit are respectfully acknowledged. This therapy is a profound and gentle approach that quiets the mind, relaxes the body, settles the nervous system, and opens the heart. Through the intelligence of Primary Respiration, we can return to our birthright of wholeness.

Susan Pulvermacher is a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) and currently the only Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist (BCST) in Saskatchewan. She has completed a 700-hour biodynamic foundation course with Dr. Michael Shea to achieve her BCST standing with the International Affiliation of Biodynamic Trainings. She practices in Saskatoon, Cudworth, and Bruno. Craniosacral therapy is considered a massage “modality” and is therefore covered under insurance policies that include massage therapy. For more information on BCST visit www.biodynamic-craniosacral.org, www.karuna-institute.co.uk, energyschool.com/writings/biodynamicoverview.pdf. To contact Susan phone (306) 260-7981 or email: spulvermacher@sasktel.net. Also see the colour display ad on page 14 of the 14.3 September/October issue of the WHOLifE Journal.