Listening to the "Breath of Life": The Deep Work of Cranio-Sacral Therapyby Ursula Popp, L.Ac., RC
Cranio-Sacral Teacher And Practitioner
Through extensive studies and research on himself and then on his clients, Sutherland discovered that the cranial bones, due to their sutures, actually moved. This was a revolutionary discovery! He was then able to link this movement to the membrane system inside the skull and the tidal flow of the cerebral spinal fluid, or CSF, a viscous liquid that surrounds the central nervous system - the brain and the spinal cord, and supplies this system with nutrients and cleanses it of waste. By using a leather football helmet to strap down his individual cranial bones one at a time, he was able to inhibit their movement and thus decrease the space for the free flow of the CSF. He then observed the way these inflicted restrictions changed his personality and his sense of well-being.
In his work with clients, he noticed that their cranial bones, too, had similar restrictions in movement, as a result of physical and/or emotional traumas. Through further experimentation and exploration, Sutherland found effective ways to release these restrictions and increase the flow of the CSF and his clients enjoyed tremendous results from his treatments. In the 1930s Sutherland presented his findings and treatment work to a skeptical medical establishment, which did not acknowledge that the bones could move. Nevertheless, he began teaching this material to an increasing number of interested Osteopaths until his death in 1954. Since then, Sutherland's theory and treatment techniques, which continue to be studied in-depth and expanded by other Osteopaths and health care professionals, have found their way into the Bodywork community as a whole. Today this work is most commonly known as cranial-sacral work or cranio-sacral therapy and is widely accepted as a powerful therapy from which many people have greatly benefited.
Shortly before his death, Sutherland discovered a force from within the cerebral spinal fluid that he called "The Breath of Life". Others refer to this "Breath of Life" as the soul, the genius, or the daimon. This discovery greatly expanded the scope of his work and understanding of the importance of the cranio-sacral system. Up until this point, Sutherland's primary focus had been the physical structures and their movements; now, with the awareness that the cerebral spinal fluid was the body's most physical manifestation of the soul, he felt drawn to work much more deeply and wholistically with his clients.
As a practitioner of this work myself, once I began to open to an awareness of the "breath of life" during my sessions, I realized that I'd found my life's work because this approach resonated so deeply with my beliefs. When I work with the awareness of the "breath of life" with clients, it seems as if they release a deep sigh of relief, as if arriving home at last. Then, they are able to begin work on their core issues and find the life changing results they hope for. Cranial work, when it is done including this awareness, addresses the whole person, and is therefore one of the most subtle, yet most powerful therapies available.
Before I offer a more in-depth description of how cranial work can address different aspects of the client - the body, the psyche and the soul, I would like to introduce the personal skills that I feel a practitioner of Cranial-sacral therapy needs to bring to this work. The two most critical skills are deep listening and not knowing; abilities which are not learned but rather, developed.
In order to be able to deeply listen, the practitioner needs to cultivate inner stillness. For example, if I am having a conversation with a friend, and my mind is preoccupied with what I want to say next, or what I need to get at the grocery store, I am unable to hear what my friend wants to communicate. In cranial work the practitioner's mind needs to be quiet and present so that they can listen with their hands, ears, and most crucially with their heart. They need to have the ability to return to mental stillness when thoughts begin to distract their present awareness. With a quiet mind, the practitioner becomes fully present and able to listen and bear witness to what is being expressed - verbally and nonverbally - and recognize what needs to be addressed. In this way the practitioner can hear the whispers before they become screams.
Before I became a practitioner of cranial work, I had been practicing meditation for many years. When I started this work, I realized that I was harvesting the fruits of the many long hours I'd dedicated to this practice. However, there are many ways other than meditation that people use to find inner stillness. For example, some people find this quiet out in nature, others find it through movement as in yoga or dance, and others find it in prayer.
Secondly, the practitioner needs to be willing to let go of an agenda or fixed set of techniques and become open to the uniqueness of each client. When the practitioner is able to do this, they arrive at a place I call, "not knowing". For example, when I first touch a client, I do not know what I will find, I do not know what he or she needs, I do not know how they express health, and I do not know what needs to happen for them to feel more whole. Again, as in a conversation with a friend, if I think I know what she is saying before she opens her mouth, I am unlikely to really hear what she is communicating, let alone what she is saying in between the lines.
However, if the practitioner is able to move into a place of not knowing, and truly let go of judgment, expectations and ideas, then they can hold a space for the client to express whatever needs to be expressed - verbally and nonverbally. But, allowing ourselves to let go of curative techniques and rest in the place "not knowing" is very difficult in a culture where education is based on knowledge instead of discovery, and where healing is understood as an elimination of symptoms and not as a process that leads to wholeness. In fact, the initial experience of this place of not knowing might be frightening. Yet, through experience, I have learned to trust that as a practitioner, I am able to respond to unknown situations without having to hold on to an agenda or the techniques that I've learned. Additionally, when we are in a place of "not knowing," we are released from the pressure to perform, fix, or cure - all impossible tasks anyway. Conditioned by our current healthcare paradigm, patients and clients have often learned to ignore their own sense of their health and disease in exchange for answers from authoritative professionals. Cranio-sacral work, contrarily, empowers our clients to listen deeply to their own voices, to discover their unique inner wisdom, and to trust their innate ability to heal themselves.
Being open or resting in a place of "not knowing" does not give the practitioner permission, however, to discount the importance of learning and studying. In fact, the paradoxical truth is that the more knowledge the practitioner brings to the work, the less he or she needs to hold on to it, and the easier it is to be in discovery mode and do the right thing at the right time. This is where healing work becomes art. I believe there are three central areas of study for anybody studying and practicing cranio-sacral work - the body, the psyche, and the soul.
The Body
The body is the most physical manifestation of a human being. Cranio-sacral work has wonderful application at this level and is able to affect powerful change in the physical structures. All cranial work revolves around the cranial rhythm or tidal movement. This tidal movement, found in the cerebral spinal fluid, is an ancient, rhythmic ebb and flow, with deep stillness in between. This movement affects the whole body, not just the bones of the skull, spine or sacrum. The tidal waves of the CSF ripple through every cell of the body affecting every organ and limb, and can be felt on any part of the body. Therefore, the flow of the cerebral spinal fluid is affected not only by restrictions in the sutures of the skull, but also by muscle tension, enlarged blood vessels, and inflamed nerves, or emotional states like anxiety, excitement, or relaxation. Practitioners of this work can achieve tremendous results simply by listening to and following this wave.
Yet life-long studies of anatomy, physiology and pathology are needed in order to master this work. For example, the Sphenoid, called "the bone", by Sutherland, is a beautiful structure that goes from one temple to the other, from the back of the mouth to the eye sockets. This bone's anatomy is so intricate that a full understanding of it requires repeated observation. (And this is not to even mention the sphenoid's connection to other bones through sutures and joints, through muscles and membranes, its relationship to the cranial nerves that run through and over it, or its influence on the endocrine system.) The more the practitioner knows about anatomy, physiology and pathology, the better he or she can focus on the various structures and listen. By listening with inner stillness, by putting fingers and intention precisely on these structures, they guide the practitioner in the treatment, expressing their discomfort, their compression, or their happiness. In the practitioner's silent, skillful accepting, the structures find optimal positioning and functioning. This process is not about manipulation based on the practitioner's assumption about what is best, but rather a process in which the body is encouraged to find its own expression and its own fluid movement.
Cranio-sacral offers techniques for working with the cranial bones, the sacrum, and the connected and related structures, which help optimize the flow of the CSF. Because the cranial bones are delicate and their movements subtle, the correct positioning of the practitioner's hands and fingers, as well as the weight that is placed on these bones, is crucial. The practitioner's ability to visualize structures like the pituitary gland makes it possible to address them even when they cannot be touched directly. Throughout the treatment the practitioner needs to have full awareness of what they are doing and what their intentions are. In cranio-sacral work, there are powerful techniques that are easy to learn and simple to apply. There are also more demanding, three-dimensional techniques that deal with more complex physical issues. Once the techniques are learned and mastered, and only then, is the practitioner able to let go of their limitations and start improvising, just like any artist. Then, the possibilities in this truly amazing form of therapy become as vast as the sky.
Most training in this form of therapy primarily addresses the physical aspects of this work. While it is important to learn this aspect thoroughly, my students, clients and I have discovered that the most profound healing happens when we do not restrict ourselves to working on this level exclusively.
The Psyche
The psyche is that part of our being that encompasses our emotions. Attempts to separate the body from the psyche are artificial. There is an emotional component to every physical experience, problem or trauma. When emotional responses to experiences cannot be expressed in a healthy way, they get stored in the tissues of the body, the muscles, bones and organs. By working with the "breath of life" within the cerebral spinal fluid, the body can relax, the brain activities slow down, and the ego and its defense mechanisms get out of the way. When the practitioner attentively listens to the tissues, the stored emotions surface. When this happens, the client is presented with a chance to recognize the emotions, process and release them, and then integrate them into their life.
As health care professionals we are trained to work with the body, and often feel inadequate or scared when our client's emotions begin to surface. It is important to know when to refer a client to a counselor or other appropriate professional. But it is also necessary to become familiar with the emotional part of our client's being. When we start listening to the body, it will not only tell us about the physical problems, but the pain of the psyche, too. Sometimes the release of the physical pain does not come through the body, but through releasing previously unexpressed emotions that have been stored since the initial insult or injury.
I believe that the best way to learn about emotions is by studying and becoming familiar with our own psyches and emotions - our places of fear, anger, frustration, anguish, and ecstasy. I have an educational background in counseling and have worked as a counselor for many years. But the most helpful thing in my development as a healer has been, and still is, my own personal journeys to the bottom of my psyche's abyss and into my own pain and back. By having done this work, I am much more able then to fearlessly travel with my clients as they explore their emotions and pain. Many of my students have discovered that as they become skillful cranial practitioners, they find it very helpful to receive sessions as a way of getting to know themselves and this work deeply.
The Soul
When we are connected with our souls, we feel at peace and without blame or guilt; we experience innocence, wonder and curiosity. When we are at one with our souls, our lives have meaning, everything makes sense, and we find ourselves in the right place at the right time. Here, we discover the common themes in our life experiences and understand how these experiences are connected to those of others and the world. The soul is beyond analytical understanding; it speaks in stories - lyrical, archetypal, non-linear and symbolic. It is almost impossible to find the voice of the soul while our egos are involved in busy every day worries over survival and security. Cranial work offers a way to slow down the brain activity far enough that we are able to let go of the ego's concerns. In this somewhat altered state of consciousness, in a safe environment, and with someone that listens and bears witness, the soul will come forth. For example, we may realize that temporal mandibular joint dysfunction is released through allowing the client to experience their grief about all the times their soul's voice was stifled. This is where complete healing takes place.
Traditional healers and doctors in all cultures have worked with the soul. One of the most ancient tools is the laying on of hands. Other tools include story telling, and the use of symbols, poetry, and rituals. In cranio-sacral work, we learn the laying on of hands, but we can expand our skill set and depth as practitioners if we become familiar with many other tools. Through learning poetry, story telling and so forth, we learn the language of the soul and develop the ability to converse with it. Through experiencing the effects of these tools first hand, the practitioner learns about his or her own soul and this personal experience then enables the practitioner to recognize the voice of the client's soul. When the practitioner experiences the vulnerability of being opened up in this way, he or she is much more likely to be attentive and careful when working with clients.
The study and experience involved in learning this work might seem like a tall order. Clearly, this healing modality cannot be mastered in one weekend. Yet all journeys begin with one step. Even the early learnings in Cranio-sacral can ignite profound changes in the practitioner and their practice as he or she is liberated from previous attachments to curing and fixing. Learning cranio-sacral work is not only about memorizing a set of techniques, but rather, it is about being present in the moment, responding to the moment, and inviting change. Because the practitioner remains open to the client, this work is never boring; there is new discovery with every client and each session, and tremendous opportunity for personal growth and development beyond imagination.
Copyright Ursula Popp, April 2002
Ursula Popp has practiced as a healer and teacher in the United States, Australia, and Switzerland for over 15 years. Her approach to therapy and instruction are strongly influenced by her Zen Meditation practice. She holds degrees in Counseling and Acupuncture, and certifications in Massage and Cranio-sacral Osteopathy. She served as a core instructor for the Milne Institute for 6 years. Ursula now runs a Cranio-Sacral Certification Program based in Seattle, Washington. Email her at ursulampopp @aol.com, call (206) 783-3922 or visit her website at http://www.ursulapopp.com