A certain hierarchy in a cranio session?

“Normally the dynamic in our bodies feels symmetric in a relaxed manner. If not, there must be an active compensation to walk upright and in a straight line.

Many clients come for a cranio session, unaware that their complaint may concern a dynamic compensation that enables them to live with the real problem.

What I do first ...?

Checking for a pattern of tensions is a search for forces that compromise the symmetry and, with that, the relaxation. Usually, it feels as if a complex of forces is pulling the body into an asymmetry. Such a complex leads us towards a place in the body, a fulcrum somewhere in the tissues, where the sum of all the forces is zero. (Compare with a balance: The two arms of a balance meet in the middle, where they neutralize each other). Each of these forces, those which the client's body-mind wishes to communicate with the practitioner, should be 'mapped' as precisely as possible.

Each of the forces towards the fulcrum may have a different origin, either be part of a causal complex, a masking complex, or a compensating complex. Cranio offers various techniques to work with such a fulcrum as well as with each of these forces.

There is a hierarchy in the treatment that should be observed. In a craniosacral session, we follow the directions given by the client's body and mind; the practitioner follows the push and pull within tissues.

For quick results, for instance, in acute and painful situations, we map and treat the forces that are mostly on the physical level. For lasting results, desired in chronic situations, we treat the fulcrum and the complexes that work on it. This may involve the mind, emotions, trauma, and much more, and although by far not always, it is often more complex indeed, with an underlying systemic cause.

An example. Someone came with difficulty walking. Lifting the leg made the foot turn inward. Relaxing the leg would turn the foot back to normal. This tract was exercised autonomously with every step. Craniosacral sessions had not given much improvement. Engaging in the foot's activity, thinking outside the field of cranio, I found one trigger point, then another one, then about fifteen all together, widely spread. Each one had a similar effect: the foot would turn quickly inwards.

Trigger point techniques are not applied within cranio. I thought that the years of physio and other therapies had sufficiently explored the problem, as trigger points are well known. but these had never been adressed and their strong influence is beyond the possibilities of the gentle pressure that is used in craniosacral work. A physio and a massage therapist were invited to work with the trigger points: First the trigger points, then a deep cranio session with somato-emotional release, including systemic work to explore hidden dynamics.

Another example: A man who had suffered a stroke years earlier came for craniosacral sessions. He had followed various treatments and approaches over the years, but showed little improvement in becoming more mobile. Mapping the forces I found: A tension around the trachea as a result of judo classes at around his tenth year, and trigger points above one ankle as a result of the fall while having the stroke. These tensions needed to be released first. While being very sceptical about 'this cranio', he came to find that there is a positive feeling to what is happening. After these first sessions, it became possible to release multiple tensions in the cranial zones. After each session, he showed improvement, and finally, we could work on the causes that led to the stroke.

Mapping the tensions and the fulcrums is an important stage in the cranio session. The next step is to plan a hierarchy to understand the relations between different tensions. Not all tensions stem from the same time, the same cause, or have the same function or the same importance. I find it fascinating each time again. And the clients love to hear the explanation, based on logical findings.”