Massage Therapy with Dee Hiatt,
LMT
203-377-1262
| Craniosacral Therapy Second Level |
| December, 2001 |
| Well over a year ago I took the first level course in craniosacral therapy taught by the Upledger Institute and
I had a most difficult time. Craniosacral therapy revolves around the belief that the cerebral spinal fluid surrounding the spinal cord and the brain has a pulse of its own that is different from the rhythms of breathing and of the heart beating. It’s a subtle pulse that sends rhythmic ripples through the body, rhythms that might be felt at almost any point on the body. To those who can feel and follow the rhythms, it is possible not only to sense where there are restrictions in the rhythmic ripples but also to gently use the rhythms to encourage the release of restrictions. The hitch is the ability to follow the rhythms. The touch used is very light, usually a pressure that is the equivalent of the weight of a nickel. It seemed like everyone around me in the class was exclaiming how much they were feeling while my frustration level was climbing. At times I thought maybe I caught something but I was never sure. The instructor tried to console me with a suggestion to just relax and pretend I was picking up the rhythms, saying I would eventually find them. He mentioned one student who kept practicing for two years before really “getting it” and then became so proficient she finally became an instructor. With doubt and determination mixed together, I signed up for the second level course before I left the class. Cut to level two this past September. I still was not feeling the rhythms but there I was in a class that assumed the students were already able to read the rhythms. I almost felt like an imposter. But something (stubbornness?) kept me there. And you know what? I began to catch some of the subtle work. The more complex it was, the more it resonated with me. I was deeper in the waters and I found myself swimming. I was glad I did not stay hugging the shore. I still consider myself a beginner. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a strong swimmer in these waters. I do know that the classes were well worth taking. My touch is changed because of them. |
| © 2004, Dee Hiatt |