Open Source Cranio

Tag: Energetic blueprint

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 27

    September 14 – 2007

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Follow on comment from last issue from Etienne in Belgium.
    + Link between breast-feeding and CST.
    + Working with the blueprint.
    + CST clinical trials.

    Hello,

    I was passing a news stand the other day and the
    headline ‘Crocs can kill,’ shrieked out at me from
    the front page of Britain’s ‘The Sun’ newspaper.
    Having lived in Australia for ten years I thought
    it had taken a rather a long time for that bit of
    obviousness to reach GB and certainly didn’t
    warrant a headline.

    But it turns out they weren’t talking about
    those ridged chompers so beloved of the late Steve
    Irwin.
    They were talking about the brightly coloured,
    perforated clogs adored for their comfort by
    doctors and nurses, charged by the fashion police
    with crimes against style, and flaunted by
    Presidents and pop stars alike eager to capitalise
    on their quirky cachet.

    The paper reported the banning of the shoes by
    some Sheffield hospitals, apparently because of
    claims that static electricity generated by Croc-
    shod medical staff could knock out vital
    equipment.

    So that’s what those static electric shocks are
    all about.  I just thought everyone was releasing
    a lot last week.

    Note to self: Don’t wear crocs when
    treating again.

    Anyhu, I can’t stand around here lollygagging
    with you about the pitfalls of being fashionable.
    We’ve got a mailbag to get on with so let’s have at it.

    ***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM LAST ISSUE FROM ETIENNE IN BELGIUM***

    Hi John,
    I stated about the tennis sock  … if their
    system can take it … even if you are not crazy
    about it, its their system that has the answer !

    If you can bring the elderly past their
    compensations you will find they are all too happy
    to go into babyhood, how do you do that … only
    if you drop the idea that they will go
    automaticlly into compensation (which they will do
    as a defense mechanism, because they do not know
    what else to do) , but it is your job not to step
    into that pile but via your own system show their
    system (in complete silence) how to go beyond the
    mind, thats all, of course you have to drop all
    prejudice for that, do not forget, knowingly or
    unknowingly they are preparing for death … and a
    guide out of their cr.p is welcome

    There is a very good therapist in St Martin de
    Lon… something (South west France) Margo Berr

    Have fun,
    Etienne

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Etienne,
    Thank you for your swift and passionate
    response.

    I am not wild about the tennis sock thing for
    two reasons.

    Firstly I think it negates all the years we
    spend developing our palpatory skill and learning
    about timing and sensitive responding to a persons
    system.

    I agree that the person’s system has the answer
    but there needs to be someone there to hear and
    respond to the answer, not an inanimate object.
    The person’s system will change in the time
    between treatments.  If their system can’t handle
    it the tennis sock will give them a headache or an
    uncomfortable feeling of pressure.

    Secondly.  The people that I treat are by and
    large uninterested in natural medicine or
    alternative approaches.  I think most of them
    would be more than happy if the Doctor was able to
    help them.  They only come to see someone like me
    because they are desperate.

    I am very aware of this and aim to make it as
    easy for them as possible because I know that the
    really confronting thing will be their having to
    take responsibility for their own health.

    So I try and minimise the other stuff.  I am
    conscious of the environment they will be
    returning to and the sort of resistance they may
    have to put up with from family and friends.

    From a sceptics perspective the tennis sock
    thing looks and sounds kooky.  For its benefits,
    which I think are minimal at best, compared to the
    undermining effects it could have on the person’s
    whole process, I don’t think it’s worth it.

    As for the elderly, you are right of course.
    Having any kind of preconception about how a
    treatment is going to go is never good.  Whether
    it is that the elderly are like babies and they are
    so happy to ride the wave or that they are like
    babies that are locked behind 500 layers of
    compensation.  We must always treat what we find.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John,

    I’m contacting you after being very encouraged by
    your informative website – particularly the area
    on “the top ten causes of trauma”

    I have had a very positive experience myself with
    Cranio-sacral – jaw work – which helped me to
    breastfeed successfully after 18 months of minimal
    supply (20ml max)

    My problem related to a fractured cheekbone –
    where the displaced bone impacted the brain – not
    enough to cause brain damage or to stop the
    pituitary function, but enough to take away any
    room for the gland to swell slightly with greater
    need (such as breastfeeding).  The treatment I had
    (with the intention of bringing relief to neck and
    shoulder pain – not breastfeeding – I’d given up
    on that by then) – included jaw work – and worked
    to balance a very unstable xyoid process – and
    when that balanced – my breast milk flowed like
    I’d dreamed for so long (my baby was allergic to
    most formulas – hence the repeated pneumonia from
    a supposed hypo-allergenic formula).

    I have since quizzed Moms who struggled to
    breastfeed in my practice – most of them had some
    kind of serious trauma to the head or spine in
    their lifetime.

    Considering the vital importance of breastfeeding,
    it might be so beneficial to have some kind of
    research project done on this one day…. do you
    have any idea who could do it /how this might be
    done?  Should I contact Upledger directly?

    Kind regards,
    C
    South Africa.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello C,
    Thank you for your feedback about my website.
    I’m glad you found it helpful.

    In my practice I don’t think I have ever had a
    mother come for treatment specifically for help
    with breast milk production.

    Improvements in breast milk supply have usually
    come in the way you have described it, a happy
    secondary bonus but not as the main focus of
    treatment.

    I never really thought of it as a specific
    problem that could benefit from cranio sacral
    treatment until I received your email.  But once
    you say it, it’s obvious.  I will add it to the
    list of conditions that can be helped with cranio
    sacral therapy on my websites.

    I agree with you that it is an important area
    and I am sure the Upledger Institute would be
    interested in your idea
    http://www.upledger.com/
    as would the Craniosacral Association of South
    Africa http://www.cranial.za.org/
    and possibly Le Leche League http://www.llli.org/

    I will include your letter in my cranio sacral
    therapist and student newsletter and pass on any
    enquiries or feedback I receive.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John

    Thanks so much for your continuing newsletter and
    the great tips and humour.
    I have a double question.

    It’s often a lonely place at the coalface and I
    seem to have people come to me with “last resort”
    problems that require much from me – I am doing a
    lot of anatomy and physiology research these days.

    First question. Do you think it’s possible for a
    young man whose body doesn’t make testosterone to
    get that working again?
    He is 23 and came to me essentially for massive
    headaches and his lack of testosterone problem. It
    was diagnosed at age 15 when he had major back
    pain.

    Bone testing revealed his bone age was that of an
    8 year old. He has to inject himself 3 x weekly
    for the testosterone cycle to happen. This
    injecting ritual is also affecting his mental
    health – facing this for the rest of his life is
    depressing.

    So, he has major lesion patterns in his head, esp
    membranes, akin to birth trauma (although his
    mother reports a “perfect” birth), and his pelvic
    girdle/sacrum.

    Unwinding those complex restriction patterns is
    top of the list, with my intention also on all
    sites for the production cycle to work normally
    (including cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and
    pituitary and testes). I can’t see any reason it
    won’t, but there seems to be an issue with the
    ‘kick starting’ of the process.

    If he is injecting and producing LSH, then his
    body may not have the opportunity to take over.
    He has had all the tests and specialists do not
    have any idea why this is happening in his body.
    They can only offer injections for his lifetime.
    Can you give me any clues here?

    Second question. I have a lot of people with
    conditions related to experiencing terror in-
    utero. So, the main problem seems to lie in the
    central nervous system, and glitches in its
    development.

    These all have the quality of having to return to
    the blueprint as the major goal. This requires a
    lot, from both practitioner and client. (This is
    also the situation for the young man already
    mentioned)

    Can you give some insight into the process of
    returning to the blueprint?

    Luckily, I have had success already in this area,
    but the symptoms and conditions I’m treating
    lately, (as well as the overall goal of returning
    to the blueprint), are extreme and debilitating
    for the clients.
    Patience seems to be the major virtue. Have you
    any other insights?

    Thanks so much for your continued support.
    Cheers,
    J
    Australia

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for the feedback J, I’m glad you are
    finding the newsletters useful.

    ‘Do you think it’s possible for a young man
    whose body doesn’t make testosterone to get that
    working again?’

    Yes.  When it comes to people and their bodies
    I think anything is possible.

    Both of your questions revolve around the
    blueprint and how to work with it so I will answer
    them together.

    It sounds like your palpatory skills are at the
    point where you are beginning to feel the
    blueprint, which is great.   The downside is that
    it sounds like you are finding it a bit daunting.

    But daunt not because it doesn’t need to be.
    The ironic thing is that you have been working
    with the blueprint from the very beginning of your
    cranio sacral training.  The difference is that
    now you have reached a level of refinement where
    you can differentiate the blueprint from the rest
    of what you are a feeling.

    As you know the blueprint is the energetic
    framework that underpins our bodies.  The cells of
    our bodies being a bit like iron filings on a
    piece of paper.  When a magnet is brought to the
    underside of the paper the filings are drawn to
    form the shape of the magnet.

    The magnet is like the blueprint.  The
    difference is that the blueprint is not a static
    rigid thing but moves and grows.  The growing part
    being particularly relevant for your testosterone
    light patient.

    Like many aspects of cranio sacral work, we
    feel something and learn to work with it but have
    very little scientific evidence or terminology to
    describe it.  10 years ago science was enraptured
    with the mysteries of genetics, with few voices
    who was saying anything different, one of which
    was Rupert Sheldrake and he was labeled a kook.

    Then the genome was finally mapped and when the
    party was over there was a dawning that it didn’t
    have all the answers.  That everything wasn’t
    determined by our genes.   This is reflected in
    the work of the likes of Bruce Lipton in what is
    being called the New Biology.

    The idea of an energetic field or blueprint
    underpinning our body has been around for yonks
    and shows up in different cultures in different
    ways, meridians, charkas, assemblage point and so
    on.

    As I said, the blueprint unfolds during
    embryonic development.  The timing of this
    unfoldment directs the pace and progress of our
    embryonic development and once started moves
    forward with its own pace and rhythm.

    It’s like a piece of music that begins at the
    moment of conception and continues for the rest of
    our lives.  Within the overall piece of music
    there are movements, passages that have the
    general themes of the overall music but have their
    individual beginnings, middles and ends.

    If something happens to interrupt the music or
    a particular beat is missed, it is very hard for
    the body to fill in the blanks.
    No magnet – so the iron filings don’t know where
    to go.

    For example the maxillae meet each other and
    form the hard palate at about the seventh week of
    embryonic development.  If this doesn’t happen
    then person will end up with a cleft palate.

    It sounds like all went well with your patient
    during the embryonic phase of his development.  He
    decided he was going to be male and the initial
    flood of testosterone ensured this.

    The beat that was missed was in his puberty.
    The second wave of testosterone never happened. So
    he never matured into a man.  It is this point
    that I would look at in his blueprint.

    So how to work with it?
    I have found that knowing about the blueprint
    is the beginning of being able to work with it.
    It’s the same as when knowing what flexion and
    extension were, before tried to feel for them, was a
    help in being able to feel them.

    A useful initial access to feeling the
    blueprint is to use the cranio sacral rhythm.
    Think of it in terms of William Sutherland’s
    description of it as being the ‘breath of life’.

    Think of flexion as the in-breath and extension
    as the out-breath of this breath of life.  He also
    described the movement of this breath of life as
    adding potency to the cells of the body.

    I find this kind of imagery helpful in getting
    in touch with the blueprint.  It always reminds me
    of a beach, in particular that part of the beach
    where the sand meets the water.  Where, if you
    write your name in the sand the water will come in
    and wipe it away and smooth the sand out.

    With my hands in contact with the person’s
    system and my eyes closed, tuning into the cranio
    sacral rhythm and feeling it in terms of an in-
    breath that vitalises and recreates an energetic
    blueprint, each in-breath washes across the cells
    of the body and they become luminous. Any
    anomalies in the blueprint itself begin to reveal
    themselves.

    The daunting thing about working with the
    blueprint is that is energetic.  You don’t feel it
    in the same way as you feel flexion and extension,
    for example, which is a physical movement.  It is
    felt in the same way you can feel something
    between your palms when you hold them close
    together. It’s the same sort of something.

    The good news is that once it is felt the
    blueprint behaves and responds in the same way the
    body does.  So if you get a sense that there was a
    disturbance in the unfoldment of the puberty
    movement of his blueprint ‘music’ then it is the
    same as it would feel if there was a trauma that
    had occurred to him during his puberty.

    But instead of looking to get a sense of a
    trauma you are looking to get a sense of what
    interrupted the unfoldment of his blueprint,
    which, ironically could have been a trauma.

    Once you get a sense of where the gap is then
    you can use your intention to fill it.  But not in
    a directed forceful, ‘I know what needs to be done
    here.’ sort of way.   More with a sense of
    providing a bridge with your intention across the
    gap.

    It is a little like direct technique in as much
    as you are encouraging his system to fill in the
    gap but you don’t make it happen.

    As kooky as the blueprint may sound it is still
    a mechanical kind of thing to work with.  Just
    because it is energy doesn’t automatically imbue
    it with mystical dimensions.

    If he doesn’t improve through working with the
    blueprint you would have to look deeper.

    What is deeper than the underpinning energetic
    blue print that holds the cells of our bodies in
    place?

    Well as I said the blueprint is in essence a
    mechanical structure.  It is used by the part of
    us that knows the bigger picture of ourselves.
    What our life is about.  Why we are a man or a
    woman, why we chose the parents we did, the
    country we were born in and so on.

    That is a different part of the questions you
    would be asking yourself about the bigger picture
    of what his symptoms might mean in the context of
    the deeper issues he may be working out in his
    life.

    Is he resisting letting go of being a boy and
    becoming a man?  Or is he resisting growing up?
    The movie, ‘The Tin Drum’ comes to mind.  Were the
    headaches just a way to get him to come and see
    you or are they part of the mechanical aspect of
    how this disharmony is expressing itself.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John
    Thank you very much for your newsletters and all
    the wonderful info.
    It was really exciting to read about Harvard
    Medical School’s dept of psychiatry including CST
    in their continuing education programme.
    Hopefully this leads the way for other schools to
    do the same. Do you know of any others?

    My question today is how do you answer:
    patients
    medical practitioners
    the public
    who ask you for scientific evidence to support the
    effectiveness of CST?

    Yours sincerely,

    John Rosen.
    South Africa

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello John,
    Thank you for the feedback it means a lot to
    me.  I don’t know of any other medical schools
    including cranio sacral in their curriculum as yet
    but I will let you know if I hear of any.

    Scientific evidence to support the
    effectiveness of cranio sacral therapy is pretty
    thin on the ground.  There is a lot of what is
    called anecdotal evidence, which is basically
    people saying it is good or helpful or wonderful,
    but not a lot of hard scientific evidence.

    One of the reasons for this is the difficulty
    of applying the normal scientific testing
    procedures to cranio sacral treatment.  They say
    it is hard to do the usual double blind
    experiment.
    In a drug trial the test group is divided in
    half.  One half is given the test drug and the
    other half, called the control group, is given a
    sugar pill.  The people undergoing the test don’t
    know which group they are in.

    The amount of improvement is measured in the
    two groups and if the drug is effective there will
    be a substantial improvement in the group that
    received the test drug.

    The difficulty with applying this model of
    testing to cranio sacral treatment is with the
    control group.  Their contention being that once
    you know how to do cranio you can’t not do it and
    so provide a viable neutral group.

    This has never made sense to me because I’m
    sure you could show non-cranio sacral therapists
    how to place their hands at different places on a
    person’s body to affect the appearance of giving a
    cranio sacral session.

    My knowledge of this area is quite limited so
    there is probably more to it than that.

    I’ve never had a lot of faith in medical trials
    to begin with but particularly so after what
    happened with the medical trial carried out on the
    Buteko method of breathing.

    Buteko is a method of breathing that was
    developed in Russia.  It is very effective with
    Asthma.  There was a large, well organised
    clinical trial held at the Mater Hospital in
    Brisbane in 1995.  The trial showed that the
    Buteko method demonstrated a 90% improvement rate.
    This is an excellent result for a clinical trial.
    Most drugs are doing well if they get a 50%
    improvement.

    For some reason the results of the trial got
    delayed.  When they were finally released it was
    10 years after the trial had been carried out.
    The results were deemed invalid because the
    testing methods were obsolete.

    Do Doctors and Scientists think cranio sacral
    therapy is valid?  By and large, the official
    answer is no and I think we are partly to blame
    for that ourselves.  The combination of in-
    fighting between schools and approaches, the
    dilution of the therapy to the level of adjunct to
    massage in parts of the world and a unilateral
    lack of good assessment of students.

    All of which have led to some pretty shocking
    people calling themselves cranio sacral
    therapists.  As you might have noticed John I am a
    passionate advocate of cranio sacral therapy yet
    even I am very cautious about referring people to
    cranio sacral therapists I don’t know.

    So not very helpful I’m afraid John but let me
    ask the gang.

    – O –

    Do you know of any trials or Scientific evidence
    to support the effectiveness of cranio sacral therapy?

    That’s it for this issue. Cheerio for now.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 29

    November 22 – 2007

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Cranio sacral therapy on FaceBook.
    + Working with energy.
    + Reframing.
    + Cerebral palsy and the blueprint
    + More on the arachnoid mater from Al Pelowski in South Africa.

    Hello John,
    If you were one of the many therapists that
    sent me your profiles to have them listed, then
    have a look here to see I got everything right.
    Right picture, right spelling, right on man! (or
    Woman!)
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/therapists/listing.html

    Speaking of right on women, Rene from New
    Zealand let me know about a cranio sacral therapy
    group on Face book.  I’ve had a look and think it
    is a spiffing idea.  It’s great to be able to put
    faces to names and connect with fellow therapists
    across the world.

    Yes, it is a bit of a pain signing up and
    creating a profile but worth it, no?
    http://www.facebook.com/

    Now. . .
    . . . this newsletter is slightly different to
    others in that half the content is on my website.
    The reason for this is the inclusion of video and
    images.

    The first article is about how I use energy
    when I am working and includes a detailed diagram
    of energy flow.  There is also an amazing video
    illustrating how you can work with high levels of
    energy and not have it affect you.  Be a good egg
    and let me know what you think.
    You can read it here.

    The second article is about how to use
    reframing to help you when you hit a wall in
    practice or study.  In fact you can use reframing
    in all aspects of your life.  The article starts
    off with a great little video which illustrates
    the power of a reframe.
    You can read it here.

    I’ll wait while you go and have a look at them.

    Finished?

    Okay then, let’s get on with the mailbag.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John

    I would like to know a bit more about working with
    Cerebral Palsy. What is the best approach?  Is
    there any chance for the person to recover some of
    their functions or is it too much to ask to the
    body? I suppose it requires to go back to the blue
    print. Your comments about the blue print in the
    last newsletter were very interesting. My only
    problem is that I am a kinaesthetic kind of person
    and images don’t talk to me very much. Could you
    tell me how the blue print feels so I know that
    what I feel under my hands is the blueprint or
    something else. This would be very useful for me.
    Thank you.
    Odile, Brisbane.

    Odile Grisel

    Home

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Odile,
    Thank you for your email.

    I have had some good success with cerebral
    palsy and I’ve had some no-change-at-all’s.  When
    I think about what was common among the successes
    the main thing was that the people were young.
    Under 3yrs old.

    When treating cerebral palsy I generally find
    myself working with the nervous system.  From the
    hemisphere of the brain involved out to the
    periphery.  Following the nerves, working to
    enhance the integrity where it is diminished.

    I have heard some therapists say they find lots
    of limb unwinding very useful to unlock the
    central restrictions.  I haven’t found that myself
    but pass it on in case you find it useful.

    I never think of treatment in terms of, ‘Is
    this too much to ask of the body?’  At this stage
    I have seen so many apparent ‘miracles’ that I
    know the body is capable of anything.  So it is
    never a case of CAN this happen but more a case of
    IS it going to happen?

    It can often be a blueprint problem, which
    leads me to your second question about describing
    what the blueprint feels like without using
    images.

    I had to put my thinking cap on for that one.
    Here’s what I got.  To me, the blueprint feels
    very whispy and mist-like, but not moist. It feels
    like touching a smoke ring that pulses with
    flexion and extension and releases like solid
    tissue.

    Phew!  Okay I’m going to take my thinking cap
    off now because my head is hurting.

    ***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM AL PELOWSKI***

    Hallo John and thanks for the latest issue!
    Gets me going on my deck in early morning Joburg
    visualising teacups…

    I especially wanted to comment, to give a
    different slant on what you said about the spider
    web mother.

    So here goes.  Let me know what you think of this
    version.

    Starting with the nervous system’s generative
    membrane, the ependyma, all else follows.

    Leaving out the details..just remember that most
    membranes grow in a doubling process.  They grow
    with a potential space between.  The space is
    where canals and tissues form.

    The primitive ependyma lining the neural tube is
    doubled.  The inner layer keeps its name but the
    other layer becomes the pia between the two layers.
    Ependymal cells differentiate to form the brain &
    spinal cord.  The pia also doubles to form a
    potential space for blood–pia intima and  pia
    externa, it provides a capillary network for the
    brain.

    Some bits of pia are left in the ventricles bound
    up with the ependyma  and together form the
    choroid plexi the outer layer of pia, the ‘pia
    externa’ is doubled as well its outer layer
    becomes the arachnoid between are pulled out fine
    reticulin fibres–the spider web the arachnoid
    sprouts little cauliflower-like buds as it grows-
    granulations.

    The ependyma, pia and arachnoid grow out of each
    other and are referred  to as the ‘leptomeninges’
    in many texts.  They are epethelia–derived from
    the zygote wall they are closely related to the
    inner linings of organs and to the epidermis all
    epithelia share a wide variety of peptides and
    receptors.

    “As the inside, so the outside.”  Gut / brain /
    skin growing more slowly along with the rest of
    the body, the dura is not  epithelial, but
    connective tissue related to bone and blood.  it
    comes to form the fascial sac around the arachnoid
    mater.

    A whole different animal.   It doesn’t need to bath
    itself in CSF.  But it too is a doubled membrane
    and its potential space becomes canalised for
    venous blood.  The arachnoid graulations become
    surrounded by and incorporated into the inner
    layer of dura as it grows.

    The granulations (like the choroid) contain highly
    specialised cells which are involved in transport.
    some cells can move waste out of the CSF into the
    venous return.  Others will to abstracting
    material from the blood into the CSF.

    All this gets more interesting when you see how
    the 4th ventricle foramina form as the ependymal-
    pial separation occurs.  the whole thing is
    designed to link qualities of blood and CSF
    without haphazard mixing.

    The leptomeninges can only survive and function in
    the amniotic-CSF environment, inside and out.  The
    dura doesn’t mind blood at all and never comes
    into touch with CSF.

    Keep it up

    Al

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Al, you describe things real sweet.

    So that’s it for this issue.

    Cheerio for now.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Lesson B2.27.0 – Working with energy.

    Lesson B2.27.0 – Working with energy.

    What follows is a description of my experience of working with energy in Cranio Sacral Therapy. It is intended as an adjunct to any energy work you may already have experience in. My intention is to explore different ways of working with energy that are very effective with Cranio Sacral Treatment.

    There are many different ways to look at what is happening during energy work and it is best to find a way that makes sense to you.

    If you find the idea of working with energy a little ‘out there’ think of it like this; if you went back in time and tried to describe how television worked to someone back in the middle ages, they would probably say it sounded like magic.

    “These images are floating around in the air all the time, yet they can’t be seen. But, with the right receiver you can see pictures of something happening on the other side of the planet.”

    Nowadays it is all very normal and explainable. I suggest you approach energy work in the same way. Be as practical about it as possible all the while having gratitude for the gift of whatever energy comes through you.

    A key aspect of energy is that Energy Follows Thought.

    You can encourage something to release in a very specific way by putting your Intention on it. Your intention is energised by the energy that comes to the assistance of your intent to help.

    The cells of our bodies adhere to a continually renewing energetic blueprint we first establish in the womb. What gives this blueprint its potency is the movement of cerebro spinal fluid, in what we call flexion and extension. This energetic blueprint sets the outlines for the structures we are familiar with, heart, lungs, etc. The blueprint also includes the unseen connections between these structures, what in Chinese medicine are called Meridians. Another aspect to the blueprint are the structures that conduct energy flow through our system in the same way water flows through a hose.

    ENERGY MODEL FOR HEALING
    One of the things we are doing when we treat people is we are working to help this blueprint to repair itself. I have found there is a specific circuit we work with. It starts with perceiving energy leaving our right hand and entering our left hand. Our right hand is the one we use to put energy in with and the left is for taking excess energy out.

    PRACTICE
    You can feel this if you hold your hands about three inches apart and tune into them. You will first feel energy between your hands.

    Follow the flow of energy coming out of your right hand. Up to your elbow and generally coming from the right side of your torso. Feel where the source of the energy is coming from.

    Now hold that thought while you feel the next bit.

    You can sense energy coming down from the sky or universe and also up from the Earth. The energy from the universe has a light, airy and vast quality. While the energy from the earth is grounded, solid and deep.

    You can feel it entering your body on the left hand side and leaving it on the right. The energy from the universe and the earth meet as they enter your body. Energy
    enters through the left side of your head from the universe and up through your left foot from the earth.

    It converges in your torso, crosses your body to the right side and travels down your right forearm and out of your right hand.

    The energy that is picked up by your left hand travels up your left forearm is pulled into the left side of your torso. It crosses your body and diffuses up and down to leave
    through the right side of your head out through your right leg & foot.

    Confused? Here is a diagram that will help.

    Energy flow in the body

    The flow between our hands is the focal point for the sort of work we do. Having a sense of this circuit will allow you to tap into as much energy as is required. Knowing that you are availing of energy flowing through you will help you conserve your own energy and not feel so drained from the work.

    To get a visual reference for how you can have a lot of energy flow through you without being drained by it, have a look at this video. It is of a man who works on high voltage cables. They are not turned off. He is flown in by helicopter and wears a faraday suit which the high voltage flows through. Apart from it being a fascinating video clip, it’s a great example of how you can work with a lot of energy and it not affect you.

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 31

    January 27 – 2008

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Follow on from Jean in Ireland.
    + Blueprint follow on from Gayle in Cape Town.
    + Shingles follow on from Donovan in Durban.
    + Can you treat people with active Cancer?
    + CST and people recovering from Stroke?
    + Shingles follow on from Eva in Australia.
    + Treatment for Focal Dystonia.

    Hello,

    Another brand spanking New Year fresh from its
    wrapping is off and running.  You know in olden
    days Kings were very careful about what they did
    on the first 12 days of each New Year.  They
    believed each day represented its equivalent month
    in the year.

    So if they wanted January to be peaceful they
    would spend the first day of the New Year in
    contemplation.  If they wanted August to be joyous
    they would have a party on the eight day of the
    New Year and so on.   They were careful to not
    have anything happen in those first 12 days that
    would affect them negatively in the coming year.

    Considering it is now the 27th I suppose I am a
    little late in telling you all this.  Depending on
    how wild and crazy your New Years Eve celebrations
    were, January may be finding you with a continually
    sore head and a feeling of remorse.

    I’ll type softly.

    For myself, the coming year will bring the
    expansion of my Open Source Cranio project.   This
    is about making cranio sacral training information
    available to people in developing countries
    through my websites.  For me this is a no brainer
    as cranio sacral therapy doesn’t require any
    technology to practice. Just a pair of hands.  But
    then you knew that already.

    The idea is that if someone in a remote village
    has internet access, which is not as unlikely as
    it sounds, they can begin to learn the basics and
    start practicing.

    Would you like to help? Register
    yourself as a mentor or contribute an article or
    suggestions or perspective that you think might
    help that person.  If you can’t think of anything
    else just let me know you want to help.

    Anyhu John, on with this, bursting at
    the seams, mailbag.

    ***FOLLOW ON FROM JEAN MCDONALD***

    Hi John,
    good on you for your description of
    cerebral palsy – can’t really add to that!

    Thanks for the listing. The practice is general
    and of course working with the children is
    particularly interesting.

    In the Novara Centre some multidisciplinary work
    is happening and this is working well. A boy of
    four at present is being cared for from an acute
    episode when starting big school- my colleague is
    a Kinesiology’s suggested we work together.
    Progress is apparent – from a craniofacial
    viewpoint second trimester showed as problematic
    and the child had suffered some bullying at
    playschool.

    Stillpoints are amazing for this child, he becomes
    so insightful of his own place in the
    difficulties. He has returned to his birth and re-
    entered many times over, a much calmer child!

    Little Jodie (the case study I sent you a while
    ago) is doing well. The treatment involves
    palpating the parietals and now that she is older
    some more on her cranial base which has
    dysfunction with the left side.  Drawing the
    sacrum to lengthen the dural tube is always
    necessary and the respiratory diaphragm with a
    tonic liver for the last number of months has been
    less so on the last visit.

    Jodie is receiving remedies for her vaccines and
    at present the polio one is being addressed. She
    is much more affectionate to Mum and to her little
    sister and initiates hugs and kisses with both,
    this is separate form the craniosacral treatments
    which would frequently end with a move to Mum’s
    knee.
    She has overcome her great difficulty with Music
    class – she tolerates it now if it is not in the
    big hall and can articulate that they don’t give
    her the guitar or whistle.
    Best wishes,
    Jean

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Jean.  From the feedback I get
    from other therapists and students who subscribe
    to this newsletter, getting a glimpse into someone
    else’s practice is very helpful.

    ***BLUEPRINT FOLLOW ON FROM GAYLE IN CAPE TOWN***

    Hi John

    I don’t know if they were in your part of the
    world, but a few years back there were these 3D
    pictures around. They basically look like a whole
    lot of messy dots, and then when you relax your
    eyes, you suddenly see the picture.

    And you can always see that picture every time you
    look at it. The more of these 3D images you look
    at, the better you get at seeing the image.

    Ok so I know that was using an image- like
    description, but it might make sense to some
    people. The blueprint – to me at least- is as
    solid and as apparent as the image that you would
    see.

    If I had to compare “seeing the blueprint” with
    any other of the more common 5 senses, I would say
    that it is like your sense of smell. Perhaps the
    ‘whispy and mist-like’ can be described as an
    aroma. It is tangible, it is stronger from the
    direction of the source. It has an associated
    memory or emotion. It also has a “rabbit-hole”
    effect. The more you try to analyse the smell, the
    more you can describe the components that make up
    that scent.

    Hope I made some sort of sense? 🙂

    Gayle (Cape Town, SA)

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Gayle.  It is always good to
    get another perspective on how different people
    relate to different structures.  I’m not a
    ‘smeller’ myself but I really like it when someone
    can involve their sense of smell in their
    palpation, it must add a whole other dimension.

    Try as I might, I could never do those ‘magic
    eye’ things.  In the end I decided that there was
    no image there really and it was all an elaborate
    conspiracy to make me look stupid.

    What?

    It might be . .

    ***SHINGLES FOLLOW ON FROM DONOVAN IN DURBAN VIA
    HIS WIFE – HE HAS HIS HANDS FULL AT THE BARBEQUE –
    GIVE HIM A BREAK***

    Dear John

    Thanks so much for your lovely newsletters (this
    is Dee, Donovan’s wife and mother of his adored
    2.5 year old daughter Naomi!!!!).

    I have to confess that I read your newsletters
    with great enjoyment, especially as I am handling
    the advertising and promotion of cranio here in SA
    and I eagerly absorb all information about the
    various conditions and problems it can treat, and
    as you are a guru in this therapy, I hope you
    don’t mind me sneaking a peak at the info you send
    to Donovan.

    Yes, Donovan has treated a woman who had shingles.
    She was brought to him by a student practitioner
    who was feeling overwhelmed and asked for his
    support.  The whole top half of her body was
    covered in the sores and she also had HIV AIDS.
    She believed she was cursed by the local
    witchdoctor and she was going to die if the
    shingles spread and joined at the midline of her
    body (she was told this by an “Inyanga”/aka
    Traditional Healer).

    Yes, we live in a very interesting culturally
    diverse country with many of our inhabitants being
    governed by very strong cultural beliefs.  He has
    asked me to tell you this on his behalf (he is
    braaining [barbequing] our meal and his hands are
    filthy) that during the 4 sessions he had with
    her, he worked on boosting her immune system and
    holding into, and working with these deep seated
    fears.  When this began shifting, her healing
    accelerated dramatically.  Unfortunately, she was
    very unreliable in keeping her appointments and
    only came for the 4 sessions – even though she was
    being sponsored to come.

    I trust that you were suitably rewarded by Santa
    for being a good boy this year, and I look forward
    to more of your newsletters in 2008.

    Warmest regards from Sunny South Africa and
    wishing you a fabulous 2008.

    Dee, Donovan, Naomi, Hamish and Angus (our 2
    scottish terriers)

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Dee and Donovan.  It conjured
    up a very cute mental image of Donovan up to his
    armpits in barbeque sauce, roaring cranio sacral
    descriptions to Dee.

    ‘I said holding into her deep seated fears,
    not folding into her cheap pleated smears.  What
    does that mean anyway??’

    It sounds like you helped the woman in question
    a lot Donovan.  It was also another glimpse into
    the different sorts of issues that practitioners
    in different parts of the world are dealing with.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John,

    I look forward to putting my details on your site
    when I finish my course and get some more
    practical hours up!

    I am interested in your theories on treating
    cancer patients?  My Cranio teacher says it is a
    contraindication if any cancer active is in the
    body?

    I have tried looking it up in Cranio books but
    have not found any information, if you do treat
    cancer patients what are you treating them for,
    the cancer, the pain, the side effects?  I read
    somewhere (it may even have been on your site) of
    people having chemo being treated but it did not
    say why or how?

    Luv your work!

    Karen
    Australia

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Karen,
    The main thing to get about contraindications
    is they are for YOUR protection as much as the
    patient.

    The chances of you doing any harm to the
    patient are slim to nonexistent.  On the other
    hand, the chances of you giving yourself a major
    fright and setting you palpatory skills back years
    is very high.

    For example, let’s say you go against your
    teachers/mentors recommendation and start treating
    someone who is in the middle of dealing with
    cancer.
    And let’s say they have a major episode the day
    after you treat them and end up in hospital.

    Take a minute and think about how you would
    feel.  Can you imagine how difficult it would be
    to stay objective about your contribution to their
    being in hospital.  Can you imagine how hard it
    would be to avoid putting yourself through the
    wringer wondering if your intention was too heavy
    or too light, how you could have missed what was
    coming and so on.

    I am not saying don’t treat people with cancer
    or who are having chemotherapy.  I am saying that
    you need to nurture and protect your growing
    palpatory skill.  It is hard enough to develop
    without unnecessarily putting it in the way of
    potential body blows.

    To answer your question, I have treated people
    with most stages of cancer, benign, malignant,
    aggressive, in remission and I have treated people
    who are having chemotherapy and radiation
    treatment too.

    Here are some things to consider . .

    When someone has a life threatening condition
    you need to take a very long perspective on their
    situation.  We need to stand back from our
    conditioned response that the happy ending is
    where the patient ‘beats the big C’ and lives
    happily ever after.

    When working with people with life threatening
    illnesses, more than anything else you need
    humility and respect for their process.

    Bearing in mind that you don’t know what their
    process is about.

    I have found it helpful to adopt the
    perspective that the circumstances of a patient’s
    life are not random but are very significant to
    them.  This includes the way they will die.  I
    take it that the way they choose to die is as
    significant as the way they choose to be born.

    This makes it is easier for me to stand back
    and not try to ‘fix’ them.

    I have talked about this in other newsletters
    so won’t go on about it too much now.
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/cancer/

    Treating someone who is having chemotherapy or
    radiation treatment can be very helpful for them.
    I have found it is similar to treating someone who
    has had a pin or plate put in their body to help
    with a compound fracture.

    Their body will be freaking out and trying to
    dispel the foreign object.  Treatment usually
    involves helping their body to integrate or make
    peace with the foreign object.

    With chemo or radiation treatment the person’s
    body will be freaking out in a similar way because
    it is in essence being poisoned or attacked.  Your
    job will be to help their body deal with the shock
    of attack.  To find some kind of equilibrium in
    the situation.

    Treating people with life threatening illness
    is not for the faint hearted.  It forces you to
    look at very fundamental questions about what you
    are really doing.  Once you embrace the inherent
    challenges it can be very rewarding.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi, John

    Your Q&A’s thus far have tremendously contributed
    to my knowledge as a cranio sacral practitioner.
    It is now my turn to ask a question.

    My mother is 76yrs old and has had a stroke due to
    her tissue (mechanical) valve being in for too
    long without replacing it. She had a clot in her
    frontal area, which was dissolved with medication.
    She is back to normal and does not have any after
    effects. How can I help her in a cranio way?

    All the best for the New Year.

    Regards,
    Shahnaaz
    Cape Town, South Africa

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Shahnaaz,
    I am glad you find my newsletters helpful.

    As you know, most strokes are caused by a blood
    clot forming in some part of the body and then
    travelling to the brain and causing a blockage to
    the blood supply and then permanent neurological
    damage to the effected area.

    Recovery from stroke is the transferring of
    function from the damaged area to another part of
    the brain.

    If someone comes to me for treatment and they
    are recovering from a stroke, the first thing I
    would do is check if they still had a tendency for
    clotting.  If I got a sense that they did, I would
    withdraw gently and not continue treatment.

    Not because I could cause another stroke but
    because of the effect it would have on me if they
    had a stroke while I was treating them or even the
    day after treatment.

    Also the family of the person involved may not
    understand that I couldn’t have caused a stroke
    and that could cause a lot of complications and
    ultimately interfere with me treating the other
    people I treat now and in the future.

    For me it’s not worth the risk.

    So if you feel that the clotting is over. .

    ‘How will I know?’

    If you are asking this question then you
    haven’t had enough experience yet and you need to
    get a second opinion from a more experienced
    practitioner.

    Assuming you are not asking that question I
    would focus on assisting the transfer of function
    process that will be going on in the brain from
    the area that was damaged to the new areas.

    Based on what you have written it sounds like
    your Mother has recovered well.   Has she asked
    you to treat her?

    If not, you have a very weak contract with her.
    By contract I mean the framework within which you
    work with a person.   It is set by what they ask
    you to help them with.

    So if someone asks you to help them with their
    painful knee then that is the contract.

    Regardless of whatever other issues you may
    feel in the persons system, if these issues don’t
    affect the knee problem directly then you will be
    going outside the bounds of the contract if you
    start trying to treat these issues.

    Just because you can feel it doesn’t mean you
    have been asked to ‘fix’ it.

    I have found the loosest contracts are nearly
    always with family members.  This happens because
    of the history between you and the fact that they
    knew you before you were a cranio sacral
    therapist.

    There is no tricky way around this. It’s not
    like you can go to your Mother and ask her, ‘Would
    you like me to help you recover from your stroke?’

    The strongest contracts come from a request
    that has originated from the person unassisted,
    un-enticed.

    What to do?

    If your Mother hasn’t asked you to help her
    then I suggest you wait until the next time she is
    talking about her health.  When she states a
    concern that you feel you may be able to help with
    then say it.

    ‘What?’

    “I could help with that Mum.”

    Then, and this is important, keep quiet.  If
    she doesn’t respond, leave it.  You don’t have a
    contract.   If you respect the fact that she
    hasn’t asked you it will make it easier for her to
    ask when she is ready.

    ***SHINGLES FOLLOW ON FROM EVA IN AUSTRALIA***

    Merry Christmas John!

    I have two responses to your newsletter below:

    I would be happy to be a mentor. I’m at Lisarow on
    the Central Coast, just north of Sydney,
    Australia. Contact phone no 0410234490.

    I have had shingles myself, or at least that is
    what it was diagnosed as when I was 25. Situated
    in a particular place between two ribs on the left
    side.  Had pain off and on during childhood, then
    a lot of pain and much longer periods during the 4
    years I worked in Nigeria, which was a very high
    stress time, emotionally.

    What sent it on high alert was that I got mould
    allergy and sneezed a couple hundred times a day
    for a few months, and that’s when it was
    diagnosed. It calmed down with nose spray to stop
    the sneezing, but was still very much there in the
    rib cage, just not rampant. I never have had any
    blisters from it, though. Since I started having
    and doing CranioSacral Therapy I haven’t had any
    relapses.

    I have also treated someone with an acute shingles
    outbreak on her arm. The lady had already been for
    treatment a few times for a lot of other problems
    a few months earlier. This time she came for
    treatment the shingles had come out in blisters on
    her arm just 2 days before the session. I treated
    her as usual but also did Photonic Therapy
    (acupuncture with a red light instead of needles)
    on the specific points for shingles as well as
    around the blisters.
    2 days later when she saw the doctor the sores
    were nearly gone. The doctor had never heard of
    such a rapid retreat of shingles without
    medication.

    Best regards,

    Eva Kuhl Bornefelt
    Central Coast, Australia.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Eva,
    I will add you to the Mentor list.

    Thank you for sharing your personal experience
    of shingles.

    It sounds like you did a great job with the
    woman you were treating too.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John, Hope all goes well in the wider world
    beyond our shores. . .

    A quicky that may be a useful topic for the next
    newsletter. . .

    I’m currently treating a fellow who has presented
    with Focal Dystonia. Being a writer, and avid
    keyboardist, he is experiencing a gradual increase
    in tonic spasm mostly within carpal/wrist flexors.

    He is a man who lives life on his own terms, his
    own agenda, despite the fact he has a couple of
    very young children and a loving wife.  Driven,
    ambitious, capable.

    Any resource/ideas/anecdotes . . . politically
    incorrect focal dysplasia jokes???

    PS Happy X-mas to you and yours.

    Greg Robson
    Brisbane.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Greg,

    I don’t make jokes about conditions.

    I am far too wonderful and holy for that.

    From what you have written it sounds like your
    patient has focal dystonia only and not focal
    dysplasia, which is more on the epilepsy side of
    things.   Let me know if I got that wrong.

    The thing that stands out to me about focal
    dystonia is that it mainly occurs when the person
    is focused on a particular task.  Classic cases
    being the concert pianist or surgeon who only get
    the spasms when they are about to perform or
    operate.

    It always feels to me like the bodily version
    of stuttering.

    And in terms of root cause, this is where I
    would be looking.   What is going on for the
    person in relation to their expression or their
    work?

    Are they happy/frustrated in their work?
    Do they feel the work is a good vehicle of
    expression for them?
    Do they feel like they are bursting with
    expression and their work holds them back?
    Are they frustrated?

    Are the spasms symmetrical? If they are
    predominantly in his left hand/wrist it could be
    to do with receiving.  If on the other hand . . .

    ‘Hang on, that’s a joke!’

    No it’s not. I actually meant his other hand.
    His other hand is his right hand . .

    ‘Oh. . . ‘

    If his spasms are predominantly in his right
    hand it could be to do with expression or power or
    expressing his power.

    The medical model for what is going on
    mechanically describes the brain as being a bit
    like a cartoon character that has been given too
    many instructions to carry out at once.
    Eventually they shake their head vigorously, with
    an accompanying sound effect, which I can’t spell
    and shake the confusion away.

    I know you have probably looked this up Greg
    but bear with me while I explain it for the other
    readers who may not have.

    You know the way the left side of your brain
    controls the right side of your body and visa
    versa.

    Just nod.

    Well it gets more specific.  There is a sort of
    map called your somatosensory cortex that deals
    with each part individually.  So each finger, for
    example, has a specific region.

    This is different from you tomato-sensory
    cortex which is the part of your brain that helps
    you find tomatoes in the dark.

    ‘Really?’

    No, not really.  That was a joke.

    ‘But you said . . .’

    It wasn’t about a condition.

    ‘Oh . . ‘

    Can we get on?
    If you have ever watched a musician in full
    flight you will notice that their fingers move so
    fast they are almost a blur.

    The medical explanation for focal dystonia is
    that with repeated practice of the same movements,
    the brain gets confused and the regions of the
    somatosensory cortex for the fingers involved get
    kind of mashed up.  But unlike the cartoon
    character the brain is unable to shake the
    confusion away.

    While it is a good explanation I don’t think it is
    the full story.  To fill out the picture a little
    more let me include a little quote from an
    interview with John Upledger that adds another
    perspective to the smearing of the somatosensory
    cortex theory.

    Here’s Johnny . . .

    ‘I just wanna share a little study that I came
    across.
    In February 1988, ‘Brain Mind Bulletin’
    published in the abstract some work that was done
    at UC San Diego. They were trying to understand
    how somebody like a professional pianist or a
    professional violin player could move so fast,
    with the messages going up to the brain, decision
    made, and back down again. So they used
    electrodes, and they used an EEG.

    What they found was that the electrical
    impulses that control finger movement were not
    going up the arm! The decisions were being made
    right there in the hand! You could use electrical
    measurement of neuron impulse conduction as a
    reasonable indicator. So what that says is, you
    have decision making ability in your hands!’

    You can read the full article here
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/resources/articles/Intelligence.pdf

    Now that’s jolly interesting isn’t it.

    So another way of looking at it might be that
    the people who don’t get focal dystonia could be
    more surrendered to the intelligence of the hands
    that John Upledger is talking about.  While people
    who do get focal dystonia could keep engaging
    their brain and so confuse it.

    This would lead me to ask the questions I
    always ask about anyone with any condition.

    Why did they get it?  Lots of people don’t.
    Why them and not someone else?
    What does it mean?

    While you are thinking about that here are some
    of the mechanical places you can look because
    regardless of the deeper issues everything prints
    out mechanically.

    As you know, nerve impulses are conducted by a
    mixture of chemical and electrical means.  The
    chemicals are conveyed in fluid and the electrical
    impulses are . . . well . . energy  . . . and
    guess what we work with fluids and energy!!

    Alright!!

    I would check the nerve supply from the brain
    to the area involved, in this case his hand.  I
    would also be taking a close look at the brain and
    in particular the cortex around the posterior
    aspect of the parietal lobes, around where they
    meet the occipital lobes.

    This is generally where the somatosensory
    cortex is considered to be located.  I would be
    checking the cerebro spinal fluid in this area and
    the meninges.  The lambdoid sutures might give you
    an indication for what is going on beneath.

    That’s it for this issue.  I know,
    hard to believe but don’t fret there will be more
    next month.

    Cheerio for now.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 36

    October 2 -2008

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Shunts?
    + 2 cases from Australia.
    + The wonders of entrainment.

    Hello,

    I’m delighted to report that the Boikarabelo Children’s
    eco village in Johannesburg, South Africa have begun to use
    my training materials on Open Source Cranio in the training
    3 of their careers. Which is great. All I have to do now is
    finish putting all the training material up.. yikes!!!

    Which reminds me if you haven’t had a chance to look at
    ‘The Visible Body’ definitely have a look – it is awesome.
    http://www.visiblebody.com/
    Because it doesn’t work on Apple computers I couldn’t get
    a decent look at it so I snaffled my wife’s laptop one night
    and four hours later I was still at it.

    I don’t care where you are in your cranial career you can’t
    but find this useful. To be able to look at these structures
    from whatever angle you like, to peel off layers and see how
    one structure relates to another. It just helps so much.

    If you haven’t already done so have a look
    and let me know what you think.

    Speaking of visuals I want to tell you about the beautiful
    cranial artwork of Ray Lacy.  As you know I used to work in
    animation before I became a cranio sacral therapist so I
    got to work with lots of first rate artists and I can tell
    you Ray is right up there. He has produced see beautiful
    drawings of the structures we work with. Have a look
    then if you feel so moved, write a review and send it to Ray.
    http://www.craniosacral-art.com/index.php

    Anyhu, on with the mailbag.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John

    Your newsletter’s archive is fantastic.  Very easy to use
    (much better than mine). Thanks.
    My question today is about treating people with a shunt
    in the head. Do you(or anyone else) has experience with that?
    Is there a risk of having the shunt come out of place
    (and causing big problems to the personn) when working
    on the personn? I was wondering because of the movements of
    the bones and membranes in the head (things coming back
    in place).
    Any comments will be much appreciated.
    Odile. Brisbane.

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Odile,
    I’m glad you find the newsletter archive useful.
    I’m hoping the ‘search’ function makes it easier for
    people to find what they are looking for across the
    whole site.

    I have treated quite a few people with shunts.
    I’ll just explain what they are for any of the other
    readers who don’t know.

    A shunt is tube that is fitted surgically to relieve
    cerebrospinal fluid pressure. There is a one way valve
    in the shunt that stops the cerebrospinal fluid coming
    back up the tube.  They are usually fitted in people
    who have prolonged or extreme hydrocephalus.

    The types of shunts I have treated have fallen into
    two categories.  Cranio shunts and spinal shunts.
    Spinal shunts go from the drural tube and drain into
    the stomach. Cranial shunts drain from the cranium into
    the heart.

    From my experience they are pretty robust arrangements
    and I have never got the feeling that they would dislodge
    with treatment. The main thing I have felt when treating
    people with shunts is how the fluid dynamics of their
    cerebrospinal fluid is screwed up. Their cranio sacral
    rhythm is usually confused.

    Most of my work has been firstly dealing with the
    underlying cause of the hydrocephalus and then helping
    the person’s system come to terms with the foreignness
    of the shunt.

    This is similar to any kind of work where there is a
    foreign object in a person’s body be it a pin or a screw
    or a pacemaker.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John

    From reading your emails its great to see that the world
    of cranio is opening up.. I have to say the enquiry coming
    in to the clinic for treatment for complicated cases from
    all over Australia is amazing. And hence I am in need of
    some guidance with a couple of troubled young lads..

    The first is 15…born with a large head that expanded
    from the parietals but little frontal growth, at 12 months
    his head was so heavy he carried it on the side…at 8 had
    a head on collision on a jet ski into a tree an acquired a
    compressed skull fracture and brain injury
    …although the extent of that is not clear as they suspected
    ADD anyway…has learning difficulties, class clown and
    recently attempted to throw himself off the tallest building
    at school. He has 5 steel plates in his head holding the
    parietals and frontal together…his system is very
    sensitive and flexion, extension inhibited by the plates..

    The second boy is 14, a difficult birth resulting in
    emergency c section, swallowed blood and meconium has
    chronic asthma, seems ok at school but suffers anxiety
    especially separation from mother… she bought him
    because 3 separate clairvoyants told her he died in birth and
    came back and that there were issues for him to sort out.

    Both these boys seem to have a space or separation in their
    system from which they are operating that does not seem to
    belong to them but is quite a definite separate space…then
    there is a pretend who I am and a big hole to the other…
    where do I start…seeing that both these boys are seeming
    in a serious situation for themselves..

    Your pearls of great wisdoms will be greatly appreciated
    as usual!!!

    LK
    Brisbane

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Well these certainly are serious cases and my response
    has to be based on what you have written only. Which is
    another way of saying I could be completely wrong.

    I had to read the part about the sense of space or
    separation you were feeling quite a few times to get an
    idea of what was going on.  The main thing that it sounds
    like to me is the detachment that comes from shock.

    If I am right it should resolve like any other trauma.
    I suggest you don’t treat it any differently to any other
    kind of trauma even though it may feel more intense to you.

    With the first chap, the 15 year old, it sounds like
    you are dealing with 3 separate issues.

    The first sounds like a developmental problem. Why didn’t
    his frontal develop in tandem with the rest of the bones in
    his skull? Why did his head become so full?

    My guess would be some problem with his embryonic
    development and if that’s the case then it will probably by
    a problem with his blueprint.
    I’ve written about this before so won’t bore you with it again.
    If you need a refresher go here
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/
    and search for blueprint.

    Love that ‘search’ function.

    The next thing be has going on is the head trauma he
    received from the jet ski accident. So  now you have a
    system with underlying blueprint problems, so its healing
    response is compromised to begin with, trying to deal
    with a major trauma.

    The the third layer is all the surgery and the ensuing
    plates in his head.

    It’s enough to make someone detach. .hmmmm. . .

    It would be nice to deal with each thing separately but
    in practice it probably won’t work out like that. It will
    probably be a bit of a mash up of all three layers.

    Probably the best way to deal with this is to see it as
    whatever arises is what needs attention at that moment.

    So in any given session the blueprint issue may come up,
    then the head trauma, then the plates in his head, then the
    head trauma again and so on.

    The second chap sounds like a straightforward case of
    birth trauma, if you can call any case of birth trauma
    straight forward.

    It sounds like he is stuck in chronic alarm as a result
    of his birth.  I have found that issues relating to Mother
    can often end up in the lungs and chest area.
    I suggest you focus your treatment on the birth trauma
    first, then as the separation anxiety begins to ease you
    can focus on what remains of the asthma.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hello John

    I have been practicing CST for two years, but have the most
    amazing results since switching to the biodynamic style of
    work.  I am always enthralled by the intelligence of the body,
    as it guides the healing process. Clients are just as
    captivated, felling me remaining absolutely still while the
    Breath of Life takes over within them.

    Recently I have seen two people with head injuries, one
    from a surfboard blow, the other from a fall backwards onto
    the occiput. The first man was blown away, exclaiming that
    his head had completely changed shape over our three sessions,
    and that he could sleep at night, something rare in his
    experience. During a large part of his session time his body
    chose to work on trauma from ear surgery 3 years ago, for
    which he was relieved and grateful. The second client, a woman,
    felt as though a veil was lifted from her head after the first
    session, she almost needed to wear sunglasses, the world looked
    so bright and clear. She still had some nausea and dizziness
    but was well enough to drive herself to the second session.

    Sometimes I feel in my own body what is happening with the
    client, and other times I sense directly what they are
    experiencing. Can you shed any light on this?

    Christine Whitelaw

    Moruya NSW
    Australia

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Christine,
    Thanks for sharing your stories. It sounds like you are
    doing great work.

    Now to your question. When you are treating someone your
    system becomes entrained with theirs.  Entrainment is a
    multi-spectrum connection that includes a lot more than
    just your cranio sacral rhythms coming into sync.

    Once entrainment happens the persons system will show
    you everything you need for the session.  Sometimes this
    is a strong sense of what the person is feeling.  At other
    times you might feel what they are feeling directly in
    your own body.

    Feeling things in your own body is fine in small doses
    but if it is persistent it can be tiring.
    If you can’t stop feeling things in your body and it
    becomes a problem you might want to look at your boundaries.

    So that’s it for this issue.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • What does the blueprint feel like?

    + What does the blueprint feel like? – November 07

    Hi John
    I would like to know a bit more about working with Cerebral Palsy.
    What is the best approach? Is there any chance for the person to
    recover some of their functions or is it too much to ask to the body?
    I suppose it requires to go back to the blueprint.

    Your comments about the blueprint in the last newsletter were
    very interesting. My only problem is that I am a kinaesthetic
    kind of person and images don’t talk to me very much. Could
    you tell me how the blue print feels so I know that what I feel
    under my hands is the blueprint or something else. This would
    be very useful for me.
    Thank you.
    Odile, Brisbane.
    Odile Grisel

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Odile,
    Thank you for your email.
    I have had some good success with cerebral palsy and I’ve had
    some no-change-at-all’s. When I think about what was common
    among the successes the main thing was that the people were young.
    Under 3yrs old.

    When treating cerebral palsy I generally find myself working with
    the nervous system. From the hemisphere of the brain involved
    out to the periphery. Following the nerves, working to enhance
    the integrity where it is diminished.

    I have heard some therapists say they find lots of limb unwinding
    very useful to unlock the central restrictions. I haven’t found that
    myself but pass it on in case you find it useful.

    I never think of treatment in terms of, ‘Is this too much to ask of the
    body?’ At this stage I have seen so many apparent ‘miracles’ that I
    know the body is capable of anything. So it is never a case of CAN
    this happen but more a case of IS it going to happen?

    It can often be a blueprint problem, which leads me to your second
    question about describing what the blueprint feels like without using
    images.

    I had to put my thinking cap on for that one.
    Here’s what I got. To me, the blueprint feels very whispy and mist-like,
    but not moist. It feels like touching a smoke ring that pulses with
    flexion and extension and releases like solid tissue.

    Phew! Okay I’m going to take my thinking cap off now because my
    head is hurting.

  • Working with the blueprint.

     

    + Working with the blueprint. – September 07

    Hi John
    Thanks so much for your continuing newsletter and the great tipsand humour.
    I have a double question.
    It’s often a lonely place at the coalface and I seem to have peoplecome to me with “last resort” problems that require much from me – I am doing a lot of anatomy and physiology research these days.

    First question. Do you think it’s possible for a young man whose body doesn’t make testosterone to get that working again? He is 23 and came to me essentially for massive headaches and his lack of testosterone problem. It was diagnosed at age 15 when he had major back pain. Bone testing revealed his bone age was that of an 8 year old. He has to inject himself 3 x weekly for the testosterone cycle to happen. This injecting ritual is also affecting his mental health – facing this for the rest of his life is depressing.

    So, he has major lesion patterns in his head, esp membranes, akin to birth trauma (although his mother reports a “perfect” birth), and his pelvic girdle/sacrum. Unwinding those complex restriction patterns is top of the list, with my intention also on all sites for the production cycle to work normally (including cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and pituitary and testes). I can’t see any reason it won’t, but there seems to be an issue with the ‘kick starting’ of the process. If he is injecting and producing LSH, then his body may not have the opportunity to take over. He has had all the tests and specialists do not have any idea why this is happening in his body.
    They can only offer injections for his lifetime.

    Can you give me any clues here?

    Second question. I have a lot of people with conditions related to experiencing terror in-utero. So, the main problem seems to lie in the central nervous system, and glitches in its development.

    These all have the quality of having to return to the blueprint as the major goal. This requires a lot, from both practitioner and client. (This is also the situation for the young man already mentioned)

    Can you give some insight into the process of returning to the blueprint?

    Luckily, I have had success already in this area, but the symptoms and conditions I’m treating lately, (as well as the overall goal of returning to the blueprint), are extreme and debilitating for the clients.
    Patience seems to be the major virtue. Have you any other insights?
    Thanks so much for your continued support.
    Cheers,
    J
    Perth, Australia

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for the feedback I’m glad you are finding the newsletters useful.

    ‘Do you think it’s possible for a young man whose body doesn’t make testosterone to get that working again?’

    Yes. When it comes to people and their bodies I think anything is possible.

    Both of your questions revolve around the blueprint and how to work with it so I will answer them together.

    It sounds like your palpatory skills are at the point where you are beginning to feel the blueprint, which is great. The downside is that it sounds like you are finding it a bit daunting.

    But daunt not because it doesn’t need to be.

    The ironic thing is that you have been working with the blueprint from the very beginning of your cranio sacral training. The difference is that now you have reached a level of refinement where you can differentiate the blueprint from the rest of what you are a feeling.

    As you know the blueprint is the energetic framework that underpins our bodies. The cells of our bodies being a bit like iron filings on a piece of paper. When a magnet is brought to the underside of the paper the filings are drawn to form the shape of the magnet.

    The magnet is like the blueprint. The difference is that the blueprint is not a static rigid thing but moves and grows. The growing part being particularly relevant for your testosterone light patient.

    Like many aspects of cranio sacral work, we feel something and learn to work with it but have very little scientific evidence or terminology to describe it. 10 years ago science was enraptured with the mysteries of genetics, with few voices who were saying anything different, one of which was Rupert Sheldrake and he was labeled a kook.

    Then the genome was finally mapped and when the party was over there was a dawning that it didn’t have all the answers. That everything wasn’t determined by our genes. This is reflected in the work of the likes of Bruce Lipton in what is being called the New Biology.

    The idea of an energetic field or blueprint underpinning our body has been around for yonks and shows up in different cultures in different ways, meridians, charkas, assemblage point and so on.

    As I said, the blueprint unfolds during embryonic development. The timing of this unfoldment directs the pace and progress of our embryonic development and once started moves forward with its own pace and rhythm.

    It’s like a piece of music that begins at the moment of conception and continues for the rest of our lives. Within the overall piece of music there are movements, passages that have the general themes of the overall music but have their individual beginnings, middles and ends.

    If something happens to interrupt the music or a particular beat is missed, it is very hard for the body to fill in the blanks. No magnet – so the iron filings don’t know where to go.

    For example the maxillae meet each other and form the hard palate at about the seventh week of embryonic development. If this doesn’t happen then person will end up with a cleft palate.

    It sounds like all went well with your patient during the embryonic phase of his development. He decided he was going to be male and the initial flood of testosterone ensured this. The beat that was missed was in his puberty. The second wave of testosterone never happened. So he never matured into a man. It is this point that I would look at in his blueprint.

    So how to work with it?
    I have found that knowing about the blueprint is the beginning of being able to work with it. It’s the same as when knowing what flexion and extension were before tried to feel for them was a help in being able to feel them.

    A useful initial access to feeling the blueprint is to use the cranio sacral rhythm. Think of it in terms of William Sutherland’s description of it as being the ‘breath of life’. Think of flexion as the in-breath and extension as the out-breath of this breath of life. He also described the movement of this breath of life as adding potency
    to the cells of the body.

    I find this kind of imagery helpful in getting in touch with the blueprint. It always reminds me of a beach, in particular that part of the beach where the sand meets the water. Where, if you write your name in the sand the water will come in and wipe it away and smooth the sand out.

    With my hands in contact with the person’s system and my eyes closed, tuning into the cranio sacral rhythm and feeling it in terms of an in-breath that vitalises and recreates an energetic blueprint, each in-breath washes across the cells of the body and they become luminous. Any anomalies in the blueprint itself begin to reveal themselves.

    The daunting thing about working with the blueprint is that is energetic. You don’t feel it in the same way as you feel flexion and extension, for example, which is a physical movement. It is felt in the same way you can feel something between your palms when you hold them close together. It’s the same sort of something.

    The good news is that once it is felt the blueprint behaves and responds in the same way the body does. So if you get a sense that there was a disturbance in the unfoldment of the puberty movement of his blueprint ‘music’ then it is the same as it would feel if there was a trauma that had occurred to him during his puberty.

    But instead of looking to get a sense of a trauma you are looking to get a sense of what interrupted the unfoldment of his blueprint, which, ironically could have been a trauma.

    Once you get a sense of where the gap is then you can use your intention to fill it. But not in a directed forceful, ‘I know what needs to be done here.’ sort of way. More with a sense of providing a bridge with your intention across the gap.

    It is a little like direct technique in as much as you are encouraging his system to fill in the gap but you don’t make it happen.

    As kooky as the blueprint may sound it is still a mechanical kind of thing to work with. Just because it is energy doesn’t automatically imbue it with mystical dimensions.

    If he doesn’t improve through working with the blue print you would have to look deeper. What is deeper than the underpinning energetic blue print that holds the cells of our bodies in place?

    Well as I said the blueprint is in essence a mechanical structure. It is used by the part of us that knows the bigger picture of ourselves. What our life is about. Why we are a man or a woman, why we chose the parents we did, the country we were born in and so on.

    That is a different part of the questions you would be asking yourself about the bigger picture of what his symptoms might mean in the context of the deeper issues he may be working out in his life.

    Is he resisting letting go of being a boy and becoming a man? Or is he resisting growing up? The movie, ‘The Tin Drum‘ comes to mind. Were the headaches just a way to get him to come and see you or are they part of the mechanical aspect of how this disharmony is expressing itself.

  • Cranio sacral therapy and bowed legs?

    + CST and bowed legs? – December 05

    Hi John,
    As always, superb and enjoyable! I feel like an empty sponge,
    ready to absorb and learn – the only problem seems that one
    tends to forget most of what one has absorbed, at this stage
    of ones life!

    Have you had any success with bowed legs? Am going to have
    to work on a baby about 16 months old. He has nearly all his
    teeth (molars too) already which is a bit abnormal? If I hold his
    upper legs together, that part looks totally normal, but the lower
    legs then cross over with the feet facing nearly sideways.
    The problem seems to be in the ankles, so that the legs have to
    adapt? I will only be able to see him once a month.
    Enjoy your day.
    Your Buddy
    JB
    Cape town

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    It’s worth checking to see if he was lying in an awkward position
    in the womb but I don’t think that is the case here because when
    I add the bowed legs to what you’ve said about him having all his
    teeth, I think it’s more likely to be a case of a disturbance when
    he was developing in the womb.

    Think of embryonic development like an orchestra playing a piece
    of music. Once the performance starts it plays through to the end.
    If one of the musicians makes a mistake or drops their instrument,
    the orchestra won’t stop and restart, they just keep going.

    Remember that the first 8 weeks of our embryonic life is the time
    when all organs, systems and tissues are outlined. If that process
    is disturbed or interrupted, we can get all sorts of problems. Cleft
    palate is a good example. If the two Maxillae haven’t met by around
    the 7th week, then they never meet.

    Disturbances to the process after the 8th week will cause problems
    in refinement or development of the systems and structures outlined
    in the first 8 weeks.

    It sounds like your boy has had a bit of both.

    That’s great John, what do I do about it?

    Getting that developmental piece of music to play again is a bit
    like trying to remember on old childhood song. You can remember
    bits of it but remembering ALL the words is tricky. It’s the same
    with helping a persons system reactivate developmental energetics.
    It’s possible but not easy.

    The most remarkable demonstration of it I ever had in clinic was an
    87 year old man who was in constant pain and loosing power in his
    legs from stenosis of his vertebral canal.

    During treatment, he managed to access the notocord part of his
    embryonic development music and the cells around his vertebral
    canal started to migrate away from the area where his physical
    notocord used to be, just like they did when he was an embryo.
    His vertebral canal consequently got larger and his symptoms
    went away. It was bloody remarkable!

    That’s great John but how did you facilitate that?

    Think of a spy movie. Remember the scene where the rookie spy
    was about to walk into the unguarded vault but was stopped by
    the older more experienced spy who then sprays an aerosol of
    some stuff in the air and reveals a web of infrared sensor beams
    and we nod our heads and think, ‘Man, this movie is full of clichés.’

    The point of the analogy is you firstly need to know there is
    something there, the energetic blueprint in which the developmental
    music is contained and secondly you need some of that magic aerosol,
    which in our case is our intention.

  • Why does the body return to the position of injury in order to release?

    + Why does the body return to the position of injury in order to release? – November 05

    Hi John
    I have a question. In SER the body often returns
    to the position of injury either emotional or
    physical in order to release the disease (energy
    cyst) held there.  This fits perfectly with the
    founding law of Homoeopathy “like cures like’ or
    similia similibus curentur.  But I can find no
    written explanation for why this law is a law!
    What is your experience of why the body holds to
    this?. Or does it always?
    Thank you.

    Lorraine Archer
    County Roscommon.
    Ireland.

    >>>MY COMMENTS:

    The principal of ‘like curing like’ is the same
    in cranio sacral therapy and homoeopathy but the
    mechanics of how the ‘curing’ happens are
    different for each.

    During cranio sacral therapy the body goes to
    the position it was in when the trauma occurred so
    that it can reconnect with its underlying
    energetic blueprint.

    But hang on, I’m getting ahead of myself.
    Let’s talk about the blueprint for a minute.

    Why do plants, trees, animals etc. grow into
    the shape they do?   How do the cells in a bone
    know to become bone cells?
    Currently we are told that the answers to these
    questions lie in the mysteries of DNA.

    DNA is very cool stuff and remarkable in its
    own right. But in time, the limitations of DNA
    will reveal themselves.  The genome will be mapped
    better than Manhattan and these questions will
    remain unanswered.

    What has yet to be proven is that when a seed
    is planted it starts to unfold an energetic
    outline or blueprint of the shape it will grow
    into and the cells migrate in accordance to the
    blueprint.  DNA is the executive of this process
    and responds to the blueprint.

    Think iron fillings, magnet, paper.  The magnet
    (Blueprint) influences the iron filling (Cells) to
    form into a particular shape, the shape of the
    magnet.  You may not be able to see the magnet
    because it is hidden behind the paper but you know
    what shape it is by the shape the iron filing are
    forming.

    Most of the older traditions have identified
    different expressions of the blueprint and
    represent it in different ways.

    In traditional Chinese medicine there are the
    meridians. In Ayurvedic medicine there are the
    charkas.  In Toltec or Mexican shamanism there
    are what are called the feathers of the eagle.

    The botanist, Rupert Sheldrake has been talking
    about this kind of stuff for years, he describes
    it in terms of morphic fields.

    When a person’s system gets traumatised, the
    cells may be displaced but they return to their
    original position under the influence of the
    underlying blueprint.

    As they do this, they have a particular
    movement which thankfully for us, is palpable.
    The whole process goes to make up the auto repair
    mechanism we call a release.

    When the trauma won’t release it’s because the
    blueprint itself has been bent out of shape.

    We learned early on, that given the right
    support a body will start to move of it’s own
    volition.  If we can follow this movement and
    know when to hold it, we may be able to facilitate
    a release.

    That initial movement is the cells of the body
    looking for the blue print.  When the persons body
    returns to the position where the trauma occurred,
    the cells and the blueprint reconnect.  It’s at
    this point that all the different manifestations
    of release can occur, pulsations, trembling,
    shaking, sweating, crying, laughing and that’s not
    to mention what goes on for the patient.

    Couldn’t resist.

    Once the cells and blueprint reconnect then the
    whole system, cells and blueprint, come back into
    alignment and harmony.

    So as I said it’s a process of re-collection.

    Not all bodies need to go into the traumatic
    position to release.  Sometimes restriction
    patterns are very ripe for release and need very
    little support to complete the process.

    I’ve also found over the years that as I’ve
    gotten better at working with the blueprint,
    deeper subtleties have revealed themselves.
    I find more releases are happening at deeper
    levels and require less gross movements on the
    surface.

    Back to the homoeopathic question.  As you know,
    I’m not a homoeopath but I do know some great ones.
    So I went and checked with one of them to see if my
    suspicions about how the mechanics of ‘like curing
    like’ are different between cranio sacral and homoeopathy,
    and she confirmed what I thought.

    With homoeopathy, the remedy caries an
    energetic signature that causes the whole
    energetic structure in the system to change.

    So going back to the magnet and iron filings
    analogy, I’ll explain the difference in mechanics
    that I spoke about in the beginning.

    If a square shaped magnet gets bent out of
    shape on one side.  What cranio sacral does is
    collect all the iron filings on that side and help
    them to ‘find’ the bent shape and collect it,
    allowing it to return to its original state of
    squareness.

    With homeopathy a magnet that is normally red
    has become blue.  The homeopath identifies the
    remedy the magnet needs.  Blue.  They know this
    because in the proving of the remedy many healthy
    red magnets were given this remedy and they all
    started demonstrating blue symptoms.  So the blue
    magnet is given the blue remedy and the whole
    composition of the magnet starts to change.
    Eventually the magnet returns to its natural state
    of red.

    Who said two wrongs don’t make a right.