This foundation text integrates the wide spectrum of approaches to Cranio-Sacral Therapy, providing the reader with a broad understanding of the discipline. The author covers fundamental theory as well as practical skills and techniques, and provides instructions for treatments which are clearly explained in case histories and illustrations.

This completely updated and revised edition of the seminal foundation text to Cranio-Sacral Therapy presents a unique integration of a wide spectrum of approaches, providing practitioners and students with an up-to-date and authoritative understanding of the discipline. The book covers the fundamentals of theory as well as the practical skills and techniques needed to carry out Cranio-Sacral work and is colour-coded for ease of use. It includes detailed instructions for treatments, which are clearly explained in extensive case histories and full-colour photographs and illustrations. Based upon the syllabus of the College of Cranio-Sacral Therapy in London, UK, this is an unparalleled resource for practitioners of Cranio-Sacral Therapy and Cranial Osteopathy, and an essential reference for students.

At the deepest level of our physiology, all living tissues and fluids expand and contract with the 'breath of life'. Through gentle touch, the skilled practitioner can interact with these subtle rhythms to address physical aches and pains, acute or chronic disease, emotional or psychological disturbances, or simply to promote enduring health and vitality. This new and important textbook demystifies the biodynamic approach to craniosacral therapy and shows how and why it can be so effective at bringing about a natural realignment towards optimal health. The authors describe how to 'listen' and respond appropriately to each client's system, how to create a safe space for working with different kinds of trauma, and how to address specific states of imbalance to support deep-felt and lasting change. Throughout the book, experiential exercises encourage the reader to practice their newly-acquired skills, and refine their knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. A final chapter on practice development covers issues pertinent to practitioners trying to set up and maintain a successful practice. This intensely practical textbook will transform the practice of craniosacral therapists, and contains much that bodyworkers of all kinds will find useful.

Craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung practices to harmonize emotions, release chronic tensions, and optimize the flow of energy • Provides illustrated instructions for movement exercises, breathwork, self-massage, and emotional intelligence meditations to free the flow of energy in the body • Reveals clear parallels between the craniosacral rhythm and the flow of chi • Explains how to release energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots, activate the energetic pumps of the 3 tan tiens, and tap in to the Cosmic Flow Exploring the connections between Western craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung, Taoist master Mantak Chia and craniosacral instructor Joyce Thom detail movement exercises, breathwork practices, self-massage techniques, and focused meditations from Taoist and other wisdom traditions to release and harmonize the flow of energy in the body and optimize our potential for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The authors link the craniosacral rhythm--the gentle flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the head (cranium) to the tailbone (sacrum)--and the flow of chi throughout the body, circulated by the pumps of the three tan tiens. They explain how these subtle energetic flows indicate the harmony or disharmony of the whole person and are greatly affected by physical traumas, chronic tensions, and unresolved emotions. For example, the psoas muscle, known in Taoism as the muscle of the Soul, connects the spine to the legs and is the first muscle to contract when anger or fear triggers our fight-or-flight response. Often a storehouse of subconscious stressors, this muscle’s sensitivity is connected to many common ailments like back pain. Providing step-by-step illustrated exercise instructions, the authors explain how to identify and unwind energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots. They explore emotional intelligence exercises for tuning in to our hearts so we can listen to our bodies’ messages and learn to relieve related emotional burdens. They also reveal how to activate the cranial, respiratory/cardiac, and sacral pumps of the three tan tiens to optimize the body’s energetic flow and explain how, when our energy is flowing freely, we can enter the Cosmic Flow--a state of calm well-being and extraordinary creativity where we find ourselves truly at one with the universe.

In CranioSacral Therapy: Touchstone for Natural Healing, John E. Upledger, DO, OMM, recounts his development of CranioSacral Therapy. He shares poignant case studies of restored health: a five-year-old autistic boy, a man with Erb’s palsy, a woman with a fifteen year history of severe headaches, and numerous others. And he offers simple CranioSacral Therapy techniques you can perform at home on yourself or loved ones.

Practical and clear, this comprehensive guide to cranio-sacral treatment of the face explains treatment approaches that can make a significant difference to persistent and intractable conditions, enabling profound transformation in quality of life through whole-person integration. The book explores the eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, mouth, teeth and jaw, and provides a practical means of resolving the multitude of conditions affecting these crucial areas in a gentle, non-invasive manner, utilising the body's inherent healing potential. It covers a wide range from persistent ear infections, dental disturbances, facial injury, sinusitis and trigeminal neuralgia, one of the most painful conditions known to the medical world, through to identifying hidden causes of migraine, autism and chronic fatigue and patterns of ill health arising from birth, early childhood and past trauma. Cranial nerve dysfunctions, including polyvagal disturbances, are also included. Hand positions and contacts are clearly presented with over 200 colour photographs and anatomical drawings. A comprehensive presentation of the potential cooperation between dentistry and cranio-sacral therapy is also provided, with contributions from two eminent dentists, providing much needed information on this growing field of integrative medicine. Essential reading in this rapidly expanding area of practice, the book is fully illustrated in colour.

"A thorough description of the evolution of cranial osteopathic medicine into a new form available to many health care providers, this book presents a technique of touch therapy that is extremely gentle and subtle and gives practical exercises to be proficient in healing physical, spiritual, and emotional conditions"--Provided by publisher.