Open Source Cranio

Tag: Wellness Detective Manual

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 30

    December 24 – 2007

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Terry Collinson on Stillness Trainings
    + Is fibromyalgia similar to chronic fatigue?
    + How do I get a mentor?
    + Question about shingles.

    Hello John,

    Apparently it’s the season to be jolly – I
    didn’t realise I was out of step the rest of the
    year.  If you know what I’m supposed to be doing
    in the other seasons, can you let me know.

    So in the spirit of the season, here’s a little
    gift for you. john@wellnessda.com

    No, don’t thank me, it’s all part of the
    service and as I said ’tis the season.  Why is
    everything to do with Christmas in Olde English?
    ‘Hark, tis the postman.  I see him on yonder
    hill.’

    Anyway pop that little beauty, john@wellnessda.com
    in your email address books and when I send you
    updates from my Wellness Detective Agency they
    won’t bounce off your spam filter and you will
    actually get them.

    Updates from my what I hear you ask.  Well the
    notion of being your own Wellness Detective is
    gathering momentum and to keep up with it my
    website has become a resource for people who are
    taking responsibility for their health and
    happiness.

    It starts with adopting the perspective that
    nothing in your life happens by accident. If
    nothing is random then everything is a clue.  As
    well as the Wellness Detective Agency email
    updates, in the New Year I will be releasing audio
    and video segments too.
    http://www.WellnessDA.com/

    Speaking of gift giving, if you are looking for
    a present for the person who has everything, then
    you could always about get them a personal genome
    map.  All you need is a swab from the inside of
    the mouth and $1000 USD. https://www.23andme.com/

    Aw, you shouldn’t have.  No really, you
    shouldn’t have.

    Anyhu, let’s get on with the
    mailbag.  The first letter is from Terry Collinson
    of stillness trainings.  I really like the way she
    talks about the training she teaches with Brendan
    Pitwood from New Zealand.

    ***TERRY’S LETTER***

    Hi John,

    Lovely to hear from you. Hope all is well with you
    and your new life in Ireland.

    Our training (Stillness Trainings) began early
    this year with 12 wonderful students.  They are
    loving the teaching and the work and Brendan and I
    are heartened with our efforts and with the way it
    is all going.

    We put in place so many aspects to nurture and
    support the students learning and process, as well
    as that of the teaching team.  As you know the
    teaching is of the ‘biodynamic’ approach, but we
    also keep it very pure and true to Paul’s teaching
    of Resonance, plus our development or deepening of
    being in relationship from Brendan’s training with
    Ray Castellino (pre and perinatal psychology).

    We are lucky to have four assistants who graduated
    in Australia with Resonance Trainings – Sarah,
    Tanya, Michelle and Glenn.  We spend two days
    before each seminar to grow ourselves as a team
    and our own process so that we are ‘healthy’ and
    bonded and are able to deeply support each other
    and so then the group.

    Because of our course/school accreditation with
    PACT we have added nutrition to the teaching, and
    we decided to add applied pathology throughout the
    course, which as added a great dimension to the
    work we had not foreseen.

    Thank you for your encouragement and support to go
    ahead and teach what I/we have to offer.

    with love
    Terry

    ***QUESTION***

    Hello John

    Your website is simply brilliant! I don’t know why
    I hadn’t seen it before.

    I am a newly qualified craniosacral therapist
    (biodynamic model) and the info on the student
    newsletter is very helpful. I have a new client
    with Fiobromyalgia and wondered what tips you had
    for working with this?

    I feel this condition is similar in some respects
    to chronic fatigue ME with the reduced thresholds.
    I have a sense that facilitated segments also have
    a role here.

    Working with stillness is so wonderful but this
    isn’t always possible initially as the person and
    their system needs to be met where they are.

    I qualified in July and want to develop my skills
    and experience by doing an apprenticeship of sorts
    by working alongside a very skilled and
    experienced CST practitioner. I have been trying
    to find a host practitioner to do this in the UK
    but my enquiries have drawn a blank as people
    appear not to want anyone else within their client
    space. I am a CSTA UK member.

    Any suggestions please?

    Do you do any student mentoring yourself?

    I look forward to your reply.

    Many thanks for a very useful website.

    DP
    U.K.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thank you for your kind words about my
    websites.  I’m glad you found them helpful.

    I have found often the root of Fibromyalgia can
    be located in the cerebro spinal fluid itself.  It
    has a particular quality to it.  A bit like static
    electricity or fizz in the cerebro spinal fluid.
    When the person has an ‘attack’ this static-fizz
    quality can be felt radiating out along the nerve
    pathways, particularly the intercostal nerves.

    I have found the underlying root cause can be
    similar to chronic fatigue in so much as they both
    put the persons life on hold.

    The similarity stops there as the mechanics feel
    different to me.  Fibromyalgia has a much more
    aggressive quality.  There is usually a lot of
    pain involved and this sets up a very different
    dynamic within the person than chronic fatigue.

    As I think about the people I have treated with
    Fibromyalgia, what they all have in common is that
    the root cause has nearly always been very core.
    So while it important to work with the physical
    and emotional expressions of the disharmony,
    without addressing the core issue, the results
    will be temporary at best.

    I know – core stuff – heavy jelly – who needs
    it?  Such is our work.  Best not to resist it and
    know that if you couldn’t help they wouldn’t have
    come to you.
    How’s that for a double negative.

    In relation to your mentoring question, I think
    most practitioners will be reluctant to allow you
    to be in their room when they are working.  This
    is because they have heard about all you and let’s
    face it, you’re trouble!

    Just kidding, couldn’t resist.  They will be
    reluctant because of the intimate nature of the
    work and the trust that builds up between the
    therapist and patient.

    One way around this is for you to bring the
    experienced practitioner into YOUR session.  Bring
    a patient to their rooms and work with them as
    they tune into what you are doing.

    You can do this in two ways.  You can bring
    someone you have been practicing on.  Someone who
    is NOT ill.  You can get feedback about specific
    techniques from your mentor as you are doing the
    technique.  You can use this way to get feedback
    about any aspect of your practice that you are
    unsure about.   Obviously the person you bring
    will need to be very comfortable with hearing
    where you need improvement.

    Don’t bring a fellow student or therapist.  I
    have found that their intention makes it very hard
    to assess what is going on.  For example, if you
    are getting feedback about your frontal lift, then
    person’s intention will be involved immediately in
    lifting their frontal bone.  For that reason it is
    better to bring someone who knows nothing about
    cranio.

    The second way is to use your mentor as a
    ‘second opinion.’  For this you would be bringing
    one of your own patients.  You can get your
    mentors help in a couple of different ways.  They
    can tune into the person and help you deepen and
    enhance your sense of what the root cause of the
    problem is.

    You can have your mentor tune in as you treat
    the person.

    You can treat the person and have your mentor
    work with you as your assistant.

    You can have your mentor be the lead therapist
    and you act as their assistant.

    In all the different permutations of this
    second way the common thing is that you don’t
    discuss the person in front of them.

    The only thing your mentor should say to the
    person is to confirm whichever aspect of your
    treatment are going in the right direction and add
    the different expanded bits they may want to add.

    Anything else won’t be appropriate.  Talking
    about technique and how you can improve will
    undermine you in the eyes of your patient.

    The thing to remember is that they are your
    patient.  They have come to you because they
    recognise that you can help them.  I don’t mean
    this in a territorial way but more on a larger
    scale about how patients find who they need.

    And yes, I do mentoring.

    Speaking of which, I intend to include a list
    of mentors in addition to the therapist lists  I
    have on my websites.  Being a mentor basically
    means making yourself available for a student on a
    one to one basis.

    You should get paid for it at the very least
    what you charge for treating people.  Time wise
    that is.  Let me know if you are interested in
    being included in the mentor list.

    ***QUESTION***

    I am Training in craniosacral therapy, a friend
    has shingles around the sacrum, in the past she
    had shingles on the brain and almost died. Do you
    suggest any holds or ideas on treatment.
    Thank you M – Australia.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Shingles is one of those conditions that evoke
    the hands thrown up in horror kind of response.
    Like the poor person has got something strange,
    foreign or alien that the rest of us don’t have.

    So just in case you didn’t know – if you’ve had
    chickenpox as a child you will have latent
    varicella zoster virus lying dormant in your
    dorsal root and cranial nerve ganglion.

    Should it become activated it will travel down
    your axon causing a lot of pain along the way and
    finally erupt on the surface of your skin in very
    painful blisters – and at that point it will be
    called shingles.

    SHINGLES!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

    Once you understand this then you can see that
    the question you need to be asking yourself is why
    has this person’s immune system become so low as
    to allow the reactivation of this virus.

    One thing that can do it is stress.  Physical
    stress like working too much and not playing and
    working some more and still not playing and
    generally being a dull boy.

    What I have seen more often is emotional
    stress.  The kind of impossible emotional dilemma
    sort of stress like being sick of taking care of
    the kids but having no way out.  Hating the job
    but needing the money.  Not wanting to take care
    of the aging parent but not wanting to put them in
    a home either.

    Another useful question to ask yourself is, ‘Of
    all the symptoms this person could have got, why
    did they get such a painful one?’  I’ve never had
    shingles myself but from what I am told and have
    felt, it is very painful.

    The good news is you are in with a winning
    chance from the get go.  As you know cranial work
    has this wonderfully soothing effect on the
    nervous system.  All that focus on the cerebro
    spinal fluid and still points and what not.

    Because shingles is closely involved with the
    nervous system it can respond very quickly.  The
    person should get enough of a relief to think that
    this cranio thing is top notch and will keep
    coming to see you as you both work through the
    deeper, less fun, if I can use that expression,
    reasons why they had these particular symptoms in
    the first place.

    Lastly, a high proportion of people who get
    shingles are over 50.  I bring this to your
    attention because their immune system may simply
    be clapped out from years of abuse.

    That’s it for this issue.  I wish you a very merry
    Christmas and a fantastic new year.

    Cheerio for now.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 32

    March 3 – 2008

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + From Tammy in Washington.
    + From Peni in Cape Town.
    + From Nica in Berlin.
    + From Georgette in South Africa.
    + Frederic Cherri looking for Therapists to go and work in New Zealand.
    + From Barb in New Zealand
    + CST and anorexia?
    + Poem sent in by Sarah Willoghby
    + Drowning trauma and flailing arms?

    Hello,

    It’s a packed newsletter this month, with a
    possibly life changing email in it for you.
    That is if you want to go and live and work in New
    Zealand.  Having been there I can tell you it is
    beautiful!

    If you are one of the people who have been
    gently emailing me wondering when your therapist
    profile is going to be up, I’m happy to tell you
    that it is.  Have a look for yourself here
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/therapists/listing.html
    If you can’t find yourself,
    . . . meditation is often a good place to start.

    Sorry, couldn’t resist.

    If you can’t find yourself, on the listing, and
    you have sent me your details then send me another
    email gently wondering what the hell is going on.

    If you would like to be added to the listing
    send me an email and I will send you back the
    general information I include.

    For myself, I was quite the cranio social
    butterfly last month.  I met up with Nica Berndt-
    Caccivio when I was in Berlin. She has sent in a
    letter which you can read below.

    No, it doesn’t start with, ‘Dear Mr Dalton, As
    a result of your behaviour I have been banned from
    the bar we met in. . .’

    Later in the month I met up with Orla Foley in
    Dublin.

    It’s very good to meet up with other therapists
    and I encourage you to do it whenever possible.
    Regardless of training and experience it is always
    refreshing to discover how much you have in common
    in your approach and that was certainly the case
    with Nica and Orla.

    You can see some happy snaps of both here.
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/social-page/

    If you want to see what therapists are near
    you, have a look at the ‘Find a therapist’ part of
    my web sites.
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/therapists/listing.html

    And finally, I’ve been blown away by the
    response to the launch of my Wellness Detective
    Manual Updates.

    Not counting the emails I have received and the
    upsurge in subscriptions to the Updates, I have
    also received quite a number of comments from
    people who are using the different perspectives in
    their own lives.

    Comments, not private emails, public comments
    posted on the site.  I am so impressed that people
    would take the risk of sharing this kind of
    personal information with the intention that it
    might be of help to others.
    You can read them at the bottom of the article here.
    http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/why-is-change-difficult/

    Now, if you were one of the people who emailed
    me wondering what to do with the ‘Wellness
    Detective Updates’ email, all you have to is click
    on the link in that email, to start receiving
    updates.  If you have deleted that email you can
    still get the updates but you will need to
    subscribe on the website.

    So far you will have missed out on the article,
    about why we find change so difficult.   It
    includes some pictures of me in Berlin too. You
    can see it here. . .
    http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/why-is-change-difficult/
    and you can also register on that page too.

    Rightio, let’s get on with this gargantuan mailbag.

    ***FROM TAMMY IN WASHINTON***

    John;

    I am a newbie to craniosacral therapy, I received
    my certification one year ago from Beth “The
    Goddess” Cachat. I love this work.

    Thank You so much for voicing this stuff about
    responsibility and really listening to our bodies
    and being your OWN wellness detective. I am
    creating a website and expressed some of this on
    my text and my website designer cast me a glance
    and said one word, “gutsy”. I put the project
    aside.

    There is value in being supportive and nurturing;
    however, I feel that my patients are missing the
    attitude somehow, they prefer to remain passive or
    locked in their current pattern even though they
    are coming to me saying they want change in their
    bodies. I am figuring out what my part is in all
    of this. It is quite a project. Thanks for your
    voice, you seem to be speaking what is bubbling up
    for me.

    Looking forward to receiving the book to loan to
    my clients!

    Regards

    Tammy McLendon CST, LMP
    Washington.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Tammy and thank you for your supportive
    words.

    Yes, the ‘Fix Me!’ mentality is deeply
    ingrained.  I see it as part of our work to help
    ease people, in some cases kicking and screaming,
    into a more responsible perspective.  It goes with
    the cutting edge territory we have chosen.

    I hadn’t heard of Beth Cachat before but from
    what I have since read she sounds great.  I love
    that, Beth ‘The Goddess’ Cachat, thing.  I think I
    should adopt it too.

    Let’s see, John ‘The God’ Dalton.
    No, I don’t think I could back that up.
    How about, John ‘The Demigod’ Dalton.
    Alliteration, curses!
    John ‘The Hands’ Dalton?  The Mouth?

    Oh, I can’t decide.  I know, I’ll have a
    competition.  Send in your suggestions,
    for me or yourself and I’ll feature them in the
    next newsletter and the winner gets a free place
    at my right hand.

    What?

    ***FROM PENI IN CAPE TOWN***

    Hello John
    I’m truly excited about receiving my first news
    letter – Thank you!
    No, I don’t have any leftover headaches from any
    new year’s hangovers…..becoming wise (and
    boring) in my young age. However, I promised
    myself to celebrate life much more this year 🙂

    The idea of mentor sounds good. How exactly do I
    go about registering ?

    I’m still getting a feel of how the articles are
    written so that when I do contribute it will be
    short and to the point.

    With regards cancer patients.
    I’ve only seen a few and not over long periods of
    time.

    I would rather work with clients who are in
    remission but this is not always the case.

    My approach is with great respect and caution. I
    always check in with the client’s ‘Inner
    Physician’ to see whether it is appropriate for me
    to work with the client.
    Also, I ask that the area of concern to be ‘walled
    off’  if necessary, while the rest of the body can
    receive the benefits of CST. I trust this process
    implicitely.

    A friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer (now
    in remission) which resulted in a mastectomy is
    now busy having reconstructive surgery. She came
    for CST session purely for the experience as she
    now councils women with breast cancer and would
    like to be able to give them as much information
    re well being as possible.

    I was guided by her ‘IP’ to avoid the area which
    is being reconstructed which I duly did and
    continued to address the rest of her body.
    She felt the benefits of the session strongly.
    This prompted her to invite me to speak to the
    women about CST and its benefits which I’ll be
    doing in a few months time.

    Another client diagnosed with a cancerous brain
    tumor and medical science can no longer assist
    him.
    He has adjusted his life accordingly and is doing
    pretty well on his own. He asked me for a CST
    session and only received one treatment which he
    found very beneficial. As yet, he has not been
    back for more.

    re focal dystonia – Unable to comment as I’ve not
    had anyone as yet.

    re shingles – I’ve had an attack of shingles and
    was lucky to detect it before it was full blown.
    Immediately saw my GP (who is also a Homeopath and
    practices Chinese medicine) who gave me
    acupuncture directly into the ‘alarmed’ area.  I
    did some self help at home by using the ‘cranio
    balls’ 15mins a day and recovered within 2 days.

    Treating family members: personally prefer not to
    treat my own family if a serious case as I feel we
    are emotionally ‘hooked in’ which can get in the
    way.

    Smells: This one for Gayle (i should tell her
    myself)…some time ago I was picking up alot of
    smells during  clients sessions -they weren’t
    pleasant smells. Since I was unable to understand
    what they were about, I asked a colleague of mine
    who flatly said –
    ‘I don’t know, I can’t help you….perhaps you
    should wear a nose peg’ . the mind boggles !

    Since then have not had those smells but have had
    a smell which triggered a past life for a client
    (she smelt it as well) …..oh,could go on and on,
    but won’t !

    Until next time,
    be well

    Peni
    Cape Town

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thank you for all that Peni. To register as a
    mentor just let me know you are interested and I
    will add you to the list I am putting together. It
    will be going on the web site in the next couple
    of months.

    For myself, I have always felt cancer to be
    part of the person’s body and different to a virus
    or bacterial infection, which feels alien to the
    person’s system.  So the idea of walling off the
    cancer doesn’t really come up for me.

    Physically cancer feels to me like the body
    reverting back to being one cell type.  Just like
    is was in the hours after conception.
    Just one type of cell.

    Cancer feels like the whole body trying to
    become one type of cell again, what we call a
    cancer cell but one type of cell none the less. It
    always strikes me as symbolic of a desire for more
    simplicity.

    As I’ve said before in other newsletters
    http://www.open-source-cranio.com/sacral-training/cancer/
    what I focus on more are the reasons behind why
    the persons system might be doing that.

    It sounds like you are doing good work with the
    people you are treating with cancer related issues
    and best of luck with your talk in a few months.

    ***FROM NICA IN BERLIN***

    dear john,

    here some thoughts for -maybe-the next newsletter:

    cancer:
    my experience with women after a breast-cancer and
    chemo-treatment is very positive. the gentle touch
    and the immune system-support treatment is helping
    them to release again their body, to trust their
    body, to believe in their body and sometimes even
    to love their body again.

    so its a lot concerning the psychological support
    to these women after the very aggressive  chemo-
    treatments. -I am always working very slow and
    very very careful. just observing how much space
    the client needs. usually a lot!

    parents:
    there i have right now the situation that my dad
    has serious problems with his heart.
    he did not contact me for any help, but during our
    phone calls.. i live in berlin and he in
    switzerland… happens regularly a lot.
    what I mean: at the phone he asks me for example
    if I would have an advice for him what to do when
    he is afraid to hear his heart not beating
    regularly.

    then I give him “small tasks” like “touching and
    talking” to his heart….and: he reacted very open
    and positive!
    a few days later I send him a letter with the same
    things again (important to open the door-but not
    too wide…)and things like for example:
    “if it helps you, you can draw a picture from your
    heart”.
    heart ,4 words:
    hear
    heat
    art
    ear
    (out of hugh milne book nr.1)

    he was very open and right now his heart is
    supporting him again…

    thats it!
    sorry for my english!!!!!!!!

    greetings out into the cranio world from berlin!
    nica

    Nica Berndt – Caccivio
    Berlin

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Nica.  As I said above, it was
    very nice to meet you in person when I was in
    Berlin.

    ‘Important to open the door-but not too
    wide…’  I like that, very wise.

    ***FROM GEORGETTE IN SOUTH AFRICA***

    Hi John,

    Yes I have treated a lady with breast cancer
    receiving chemo and radiation as well as
    homeopathic support.
    Although the cranio sessions were supportive, not
    trying to fix anything, she released a lot but
    never had a healing crisis afterwards.
    We talked a lot about a positive attitude, healthy
    food, fun in live and death.
    Unfortunately she passed away but I know that
    Cranio helped her to leave smoothly.
    As you say, she choose her departure.

    Talking now about my client with shingles, he had
    3 cranio sessions and in between came on the
    magnetic blanket 3 times a week for 3 weeks.
    The lesions have completely subsided, he doesn’t
    feel any discomfort anymore.

    Cheers.
    Georgette

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Georgette.  It is never easy
    when someone you have been treating dies.  I am
    sure your treatments and your presence made the
    final part of her life so much easier.

    ***FROM FREDERIC CHERRI IN NEW ZEALAND***

    “… The Craniosacral Clinic & Institute of New
    Zealand is looking for 1 or 2 experienced
    practitioners to come and help us launch another
    brand new clinic.

    We can arrange with local immigration and for the
    right applicant a working visa. Ideally we would
    like for the applicant to stay and work with us
    for 6 months (12 is possible). If the applicant
    has or desire to acquire an assistant experience
    on an existing 2-year Training Course, there is a
    possibility to integrate one of our Trainings in
    an assisting capacity.

    We need a couple of confident and experienced
    practitioners (minimum of 2 to 3 years of regular
    clinical practice).  You will recognise yourself:
    adaptable, ease with people of all walks of life,
    skills and passion for the work !!!, travellers or
    adventurers and fun lovers (NZ IS a great place to
    live! ask me I have been here 15 years).

    We will make it worth your while in adventure
    whilst over here. If you already have a specialty
    or a passion for some specific aspects of CST
    (perinatal, pediatrics, immune or any other topic)
    it will be even better as we are developing
    clinical aspects and research in these fields.

    We can help with Immigration as well as
    accommodation. This clinic is also the
    Headquarters for the Craniosacral Institute of New
    Zealand (www.csti.co.nz) with a planned Student
    clinic, and on-going supervision. We already have
    2 trainings on the go.

    The intention is to have a CST only clinic with 3
    to 4 full time practitioners.

    Please contact Frederic Cherri at any time:
    Email: info@csti.co.nz
    Ph: +64 9 3760 963
    Mob: +64 21 640 660 …”

    ***FROM BARB IN NEW ZEALAND***

    Hi John
    Thank you for another ‘right rivetting read’.
    Much to digest as usual.  I love folklore so I
    also thank you for that insight into the ways of
    the Kings of yore.  I consider myself to be pretty
    damn special too so quickly checked my diary to
    see exactly when I came ‘splat’ off my bike –
    phew, the relief – the 13th!

    Having not hurt myself since 1990 (pretty jammy
    really) it was fascinating to experience my
    assessment of the accident as it happened,
    immediately post, and then during recovery. Though
    craniosacral therapy works best with the attention
    of another practitioner I have to say that in
    emergencies your own hands are the next best ones.

    I feel I did some really good work with myself.  I
    covered all the basics and the bits that hurt, and
    then a little thought popped into my head.

    I replayed my acrobatic arc into the air,
    registering that instead of traveling forward I
    was suddenly traveling sideways.  I realised I was
    moving so fast I was unlikey to lose much skin as
    I was coming down like a ton of bricks (I really
    must lose those extra kilo’s) and unlikely to
    skid.  My body streched out fully (why? to spread
    the impact?). I landed hard on my right side
    taking the brunt of the impact on the ribs below
    my armpit, my head crashed onto my arm then my
    right hip touched down – hardly even a bruise
    there – a lovely purple imprint of the rough seal
    on my side though.

    Now the little thought that popped into my head
    was about my sternum – that had to be the big
    bounce point.  I put my hands their even though
    there was no pain.  Now here’s what I love, though
    there was as yet no discomfort, the sense of
    relief was huge.

    I had stretched every muscle from my hips up, even
    those little ones under your chin (I’m sure the
    workout did that area good), had left-ear-ache for
    two days and then the ribs kicked in for 10 days
    or so.

    My CST colleague was unfortunately away on holiday
    for the first 8 days of recovery so I was my own
    very best practitioner throughout.    The ribs
    resolved at 2.24am with a winded sensation in the
    right lung, quickly followed by a massive sense of
    nausea and a sweat – all done and dusted in 15
    seconds or less.

    Clever old body, huh? So,  I can now get out a do
    a little running as well now.  Oh, one other
    thing, much and all as I wanted to get off the
    road immediately to prevent the potential coup de
    grace of being squished by a car, my body was
    still assessing it’s function levels and would not
    move as fast as I wanted.  Luckily for me, no
    cars.

    I look forward to your next installment.
    Cheers
    Barb
    New Zealand.

    MY COMMENTS:

    Thanks for that Barb.  I think it is a great
    description of what you can do if you have to.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John,
    I loved your article. I have
    been learning and practicing cranio-sacral therapy
    for the past year and have had lots of amazing
    results. I didn’t know what it was but was drawn
    to it and am so grateful.

    I was just wanting to ask your advice about
    anorexia. I am seeing a girl next week who is a
    friend of the family who will be undergoing
    treatment at Flinders Medical Centre here in
    Adelaide Australia for her anorexic condition.

    I am wondering what has been your experience with
    these type of people.  I am expecting that there
    will be some cranial compression. I want to
    monitor her CSF rhythm. I want to balance the
    cranio-sacral system and all of the cranial bones.

    Have you got any interesting case histories you
    could tell me about or advice to treat this
    person?
    Attached is my photo so you know who you are
    talking to

    Yours sincerely
    Laney Thomas

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Laney,
    I have found anorexia to be like a mixture of
    drug addiction, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and
    self-harm.

    I approach people with anorexia in the same way
    I would any person with a destructive addiction.

    ‘Are there constructive addictions?’

    Here is my experience of the way addictions
    work.  There is a pain inside that we really don’t
    want to look at and the object of our addiction
    helps us avoid having to look at that pain.

    The most obvious example of this dynamic in
    action is alcohol or drugs. Both of which give a
    very pleasurable distraction from the pain.

    Addictions can take many forms and we all have
    addictions of one kind or another.  Whether it’s
    chocolate, soap operas, sex, charity, work,
    shopping, exercise, model train sets, knitting or
    any of the many other things I do on Saturdays, it
    is the same dynamic. A pleasant distraction from
    the pain.

    ‘Isn’t that a rather bleak perspective?’

    Yes, but it stops you from separating yourself
    from people with destructive addictions, which is
    an easy thing to do.

    ‘I don’t know what is wrong with these people?
    I have no addictions’, kind of thing.

    I think it is easier to access your compassion for
    these people if you do a bit of looking around on
    the inside and realise that the mechanics of
    addiction are at work in you on a small scale.
    The difference is the order of magnitude.

    That way, when you look at someone with a
    destructive addiction you can look at how much
    damage their addiction has done in their life and
    that will give you an idea of how big the pain is
    they are trying to get away from.

    So how does the addiction dynamic work with
    anorexic people?

    Well it is subtle because there is no obvious
    benefit but the underlying dynamic will be the
    same.

    They will be using the not-eating to avoid a
    bigger pain. Being open to seeing what that pain
    is will help a lot.

    Look at the level of disruption and pain the
    anorexia is causing in this girl’s life and it
    will give you an indication of how much bigger the
    pain is she is distracting herself from is.

    I suggest you start from a perspective of
    respecting her decision to choose the lesser of
    two pains, which in this case is her anorexia.

    The symptoms are digestive so I would start
    there.  That is where I would have me intention
    though my points of contact would initially be far
    from there as it has been my experience that
    people with anorexia are highly sensitive around
    their abdomen.

    ***FROM SARAH WILLOGHBY***

    Below is a poem sent in by Sarah Willoghby.
    Depending on how you feel about poetry you will be
    either groaning and rolling your eyes or
    pleasantly surprised.  I am including it because I
    like the way it talks about being with someone who
    is in pain.

    Let me know what you think.

    The Invitation
    by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

    It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
    I want to know what you ache for
    and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

    It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
    I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
    for love
    for your dream
    for the adventure of being alive.

    It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
    I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
    if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
    or have become shrivelled and closed
    from fear of further pain.

    I want to know if you can sit with pain
    mine or your own
    without moving to hide it
    or fade it
    or fix it.

    I want to know if you can be with joy
    mine or your own
    if you can dance with wildness
    and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
    without cautioning us
    to be careful
    to be realistic
    to remember the limitations of being human.

    It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
    is true.
    I want to know if you can
    disappoint another
    to be true to yourself.
    If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
    and not betray your own soul.
    If you can be faithless
    and therefore trustworthy.

    I want to know if you can see Beauty
    even when it is not pretty
    every day.
    And if you can source your own life
    from its presence.

    I want to know if you can live with failure
    yours and mine
    and still stand at the edge of the lake
    and shout to the silver of the full moon,
    “Yes.”

    It doesn’t interest me
    to know where you live or how much money you have.
    I want to know if you can get up
    after the night of grief and despair
    weary and bruised to the bone
    and do what needs to be done
    to feed the children.

    It doesn’t interest me who you know
    or how you came to be here.
    I want to know if you will stand
    in the centre of the fire
    with me
    and not shrink back.

    It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
    you have studied.
    I want to know what sustains you
    from the inside
    when all else falls away.

    I want to know if you can be alone
    with yourself
    and if you truly like the company you keep
    in the empty moments.

    ***QUESTION***

    Dear John….

    18 months ago a Body Stress Release therapist sent
    a young boy to me, aged 6yrs.  He has recurring
    ‘flailing arms’ and his parents have had him
    checked out by medical professionals but they
    can’t find a problem.

    During his first visit, a lot of persuasion was
    needed to get him to lie down – he is happy but
    very active – mom was good at ‘bribing’ him with a
    promise to buy a treat,  which worked.
    Very little was done in this session but it
    certainly resulted in him being a lot calmer and
    the arms no longer flailing about.

    Some months later he had another flair up so once
    again mom brought him to me.
    This time he was happier to be on the bed and a
    lot more co operative. Again, a release was felt.

    Since he was undergoing BSR therapy it did not
    feel right to impress upon the family to bring him
    in more regularly.  The releases seemed to hold
    for a long time and I then realised that when he
    was under stress, the flailing arms started up.

    I saw him last week, now 71/2 yrs old. Initially
    he was quite wriggly, moving about a lot – again
    in need of persuasion to just be still.. I was
    drawn to his lungs and that is when mom told me of
    a near drowning at age 2yrs.. His cranial base was
    tight and painful for him. As gently as possible,
    I managed to release it.

    Corrections were made for flexion and right side
    bend lesions to the Sphenoid.  Temporals were
    cleared and that is when he went into a very deep
    sleep. Actually, so did mom. She dropped her head
    onto the bed and fell asleep.

    During his sleep state I just sat with one hand
    under his head, the other under the sacrum
    monitoring his csr.

    When he awoke his words were ‘WOW mom, that was a
    good sleep’. I suggested another session in a
    weeks time and he wanted to know how long a week
    was. Her reply ‘about 7 sleeps’ His reply ‘ no,
    can we make it in 5 sleeps or 3 sleeps’.  I then
    said ‘you have your son back’. This was very clear
    to me and to her and most of all, to him.

    My feeling is that when he is stressed, be it at
    school or even at home he could be recalling the
    near drowning – the arms flapping to keep abreast.

    John, could you or any one else comment on
    flailing arms?

    Thank you

    Kind regards

    Peni – (Cape Town)

    MY COMMENTS:

    It sounds to me like you are on the right track
    here Peni.  When I think about trying to stay
    afloat in water, I automatically feel my arms
    wanting to move.

    It is a great case and a great example.

    I could go on all night but we are at the end
    of this issue.

    Cheerio for now.

    Your Mate,

    John D.

  • Cranio Sacral Therapist and Student Newsletter 33

    April 5 – 2008

    Questions and comments for this issue:

    + Report from Al Pelowski about the role cranio is playing in the Boikarabelo Orphans Eco-Village Cranio Project in South Africa.
    + CST and orthodontic work?

    Hello,

    I was sent a very interesting video recently.
    It is of a talk given by neuroanatomist, Jill
    Bolte Tatlor.  In the video she describes her
    experience of having a stroke and how it changed
    the way she viewed the brain, how it works and who
    we are.

    It was obviously a powerful experience for her
    and at times she is quite emotional.  You can see
    it here. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229
    I am very interested to know what you think of it.

    I also want to let you know about an update
    over at the Wellness Detective Agency, about money and going broke doing
    what you love.  It’s not like there are any cranio
    sacral therapists going broke . . . but I thought
    you might be interested.
    http://www.wellness-da.com/detective/do-what-you-love-and-go-broke/

    If you’re not subscribed to the Updates already
    you can subscribe on that page too.  Audio updates
    are in the works and should be out within the next
    week.

    And finally, I was heartened to see that Dr.
    Darlene Ertha gave a talk last month to The
    American Holistic Nurses Association.  The title
    of her talk was,  ‘Exploring Nature’s Blueprint:
    Fractals, Pathways, Meridians, and the Collective
    Unconscious.  Bringing It All Together In Hands-On
    Healing.’

    Quite a lot to fit on a poster, I know.  In her
    talk she described how cranio sacral therapy,
    among others, made use of universal patterns to
    alleviate intractable pain and heal body, mind,
    and spirit.

    Now that we’re feeling all warm and fuzzy,
    let’s get on with the mailbag.

    *** BOIKARABELO ORPHANS ECO-VILLAGE ***

    Hello John,
    An idea for linking the Boikarabelo Orphans Eco-
    Village Cranio Project
    http://www.boikarabelo.org/

    The Boikarabelo orphans village is located about
    100km NW of Joburg in the Magaliesburg.  I was
    wondering if it might be a good test site for your
    idea of getting cranio into the world’s villages.
    Just thinking really…

    There are 90+ children in a surrounding
    ‘informal village’ of some 1000 people (refugees,
    the displaced and isolated).  All of them are
    orphaned or abandoned, most are severely
    truamatised (e.g., nearly all the girls have been
    raped; maybe half the kids are or were
    malnourished; many are burdened with HIV and other
    opportunists; and most carry unresolved alarm or
    shock survival behaviours–ADHD, anorexia,
    learning disorders, autisms–compounded by
    toxicity from vaccinations and pollution).

    We are fortunate to have 3 student practitioners
    living there, and cranio is a crucial part of a
    therapeutic mix including homeopathy, nutrition &
    chelation, counselling and lots of patience &
    love.

    Today, Sunday 30 March, there were 8 of us
    practitioners working, and we saw about 30 of the
    kids, most of whom have had several sessions and
    settle into it quickly.  Quite a few end up in
    deep sleep so we leave them on the table at one
    end and bring on the next at the other end.  The
    kids literally queue up for treatment, even if
    they are not scheduled for it.

    Being held cranially is a big hit out there,
    thanks to the regular sessions they get with our
    resident practitioners.  When a child is lost in
    shock or fighting all the time in alarm we find
    that cranio holding works best to re-establish a
    secure bond and thus initiate their healing,
    gradually bringing in the other modalities.

    Some time ago a visiting woman from Europe went
    away inspired and then sent the community 20 new
    desktop computers.  They are ready to be linked
    into a server and used in the school they run on
    the premises.

    In SA far more people live in ‘informal
    settlements’ on the fringe of cities than in
    traditional countryside villages.  The challenge
    here as well as in Africa as a whole is to make
    entirely new homes/communities for millions of
    kids with nowhere else to grow.

    The Malawi Children’s Village (with which I am
    also involved) is one way this is being
    approached, and Boikarabelo is another.  I plan to
    visit Malawi in the dry, July perhaps.  I’ll
    report on MCV after that visit.

    Boikarabelo does have more problems but also
    more going for it than almost any other village I
    can think of in all Africa.  So much goes on
    there, births, deaths, new arrivals all the time,
    crisis after crisis as you can imagine.  But
    despite all the challenges, the aim is not only to
    provide a basic home and identity for the kids,
    but to give them the very best in life skills and
    turn the situation into an educational advantage..

    I could go on..and on..what do you think?

    Al.

    MY COMMENTS:

    What do I think?

    I think you’re a bloody legend!

    I think the therapists working with you are
    bloody legends!

    I think the people who run the place are bloody
    legends!

    If ever somewhere needed more cranio sacral
    therapists it would be there.  It’s the sort of
    place my Open Source Cranio idea is all about.
    Getting cranio sacral training information to
    where it is desperately needed.

    ***QUESTION***

    Hi John,

    Thanks for your reply to my letter regarding
    cancer in the New Years Newsletter.
    As to what to call you how about the “enlightened
    one”?
    Your reply to my question made me laugh but if I
    had received it a few weeks earlier I would have
    cried, can I remind you of your words

    “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.”

    Well I can tell you how I felt !!, my Aunt had
    been given the all clear following Non hodgkinson
    and all the horror that the treatments entailed,
    bald and full of life she stayed with us for a
    week over xmas on the day she was leaving I asked
    if she would like to try some cranio (are you
    wincing?) her system did not react and as I had
    not practiced for some weeks thought it was me so
    pushed the intention a bit harder but all she got
    was a nice still point and a vision of a being in
    a crater looking at the blue sky (that made me
    wince!). She phoned me 3 days later to say she had
    not been out of bed since she got home she could
    not stay awake (but she felt good) I told her to
    go to the Drs asap! she had no white cells and was
    very close to dying.

    So how did I feel! all of the above! my teacher
    was on holidays but when I finally contacted her
    she believed the cranio probably brought it to the
    surface alot faster. My Aunt is doing alot better
    they think she is one of the rare ones that get a
    reaction to some injection they give post Chemo,
    but they also discovered her heart and lungs are
    stuffed from the Chemo! I offered her Cranio and
    we both laughed (but I don’t think either of us
    will go there!)

    I have been going through all your archives a
    couple at a time as it makes my head hurt! so many
    questions!

    So I will start with; I read about your case
    study, the girl you helped with facial disorders,
    my 18yr old son has a protruding lower Jaw they
    have done one lot of orthodontic work and are now
    waiting until he stops growing to operate on the
    lower jaw to pull it back ( a nasty sounding
    operation) and then a couple more years of braces
    to correct the bite. Do you believe that cranio
    could stop the jaw coming forward anymore and even
    better bring it back slightly? and my daughter 15
    has had two years of braces but because she had to
    a have a baby tooth removed that had no adult
    tooth to replace it they expect she will have
    braces for two more years! Do you believe cranio
    can really help in these situations, I have read
    in some of the Cranio books to seek out a
    orthodontist that works with Cranio but I don’t
    think there is such a person in Australia? I asked
    my orthodontist and he was very “polite” “what
    the?!!!”

    Many thanks
    God opps John
    Karen
    Australian

    MY COMMENTS:

    Hello Karen,
    Thanks for sharing your experience about your
    Aunt.  It must have been awful for you.  Our
    palpatory skill is a wonderful but fragile thing.

    I’ve had a few emails from different people
    asking about orthodontic work and cranio sacral
    therapy and since both your questions are about
    that too, I’ll kill the few birds, humanely of
    course, with one stone and answer them all
    together.

    Can cranio sacral therapy really help in these
    situations?

    Hell, yes.

    Let’s start with the basics. Teeth are
    basically bone and contrary to common perception,
    bones ain’t bone china.  Bone is plastic and wet
    and it grows and most importantly responds to the
    pressure it is placed under and adapts.

    Wolf’s law and all that, don’t you know.

    What’s Wolf’s law?

    Wolf’s law states that the son of two wolves is
    equal to the son of the bears on the other two
    hides. . . or . . something . . like . .that.

    It basically means that bone will adapt to the
    loads it is placed under.

    That is how they can dig up someone from a
    thousand years ago and from a careful study of the
    shape of the bones of their forearm, work out that
    the person used to be a charioteer.

    The fact they were buried in a chariot helped
    but it was the bones, Jim, the bones.

    So just because our teeth are sitting in bone
    and our bite is essentially made of bone that
    doesn’t mean that it is fixed for all eternity.

    When you think about, that’s what Orthodontists
    are kind of banking on.

    From our perspective, you could think of braces
    as being like a form of direct technique, carried
    out over a numbers months or years.

    When I think of our ‘bite’, and this is
    probably because I used to be a carpenter, I
    always think of the mandible as being like a door
    and the temporo mandibular joints as being like
    the hinges of the door, with the temporals and the
    maxillae making up the doorframe.

    Thinking of it like this helps keep all the
    different parts in their rightful place.

    The mandible is roughly solid.  Yes, I know it
    used to be in two parts and in some ways still
    behaves as if it is but compared to everything
    else involved that still ARE in separate parts, it
    helps to think of it as solid. . . like a door.

    So if a person’s bite is off it is probably not
    the mandible itself but the temporals or the
    maxillae.

    Because if the doorframe is not straight the
    door will keep banging on the frame and never
    close properly.

    Now let’s look at the two examples you gave.

    You write that your son’s lower jaw is
    protruding.  The first thing I would ask myself is
    why is it doing that? Is the mandible sticking out
    or is the face pushed in? or is a bit of both.

    I would palpate his whole face and try and get
    a sense of what the overall pattern was.

    Once you do that you can begin to look at the
    hinges and the doorframe.   For example: There
    could be a pattern where his temporals are
    torsioned anteriorly and inferiorly in a kind of
    temporal nose dive and this in turn could have the
    knock-on effect of pushing his mandible
    anteriorly.

    Or both his maxillae could be driven
    posteriorly.

    If it is in the temporals I would treat it with
    indirect technique.

    If it is his maxillae I would treat it with a
    combination of indirect and then direct technique.
    Indirect to follow into the pattern and help it
    release then direct because the influence of the
    cranial rhythm is weaker in the maxillae and they
    can need a little help getting where they want to
    go.

    If the maxillae are driven posteriorly you will
    need to assess the palatines and help them release
    too if the pattern goes back that far.  You will
    also need to look at how the sphenoid is affected
    by this pattern, particularly the pterygoid
    plates.

    With your daughter, it sounds like they are
    trying to even out the gap left by the extraction.

    Again, I would palpate her whole face and try
    and get a sense of an underlying pattern that
    might have caused the situation.

    If nothing major presents itself, it may be a
    case that her body doesn’t register the situation
    in her mouth as being a problem.  This would make
    you work a lot more difficult and require a lot
    more direct technique.

    Assuming that your daughter’s braces are not
    fixed, you can work on the teeth individually.
    You can take each tooth and ‘unwind’ it.  That in
    itself may begin to even out the gaps.

    And finally, as a general note about working
    with the mouth, the bite and teeth, it’s important
    to rely on the fact that our body is NOT
    predisposed to have a banging, jarring,
    disharmonious bite. It wants to bite right.

    All you have to do is help it. Having said that
    I have found as a general rule that while bone is
    responsive it can take a while for it to grow in
    new directions and by a while I mean 2 to 4
    months.

    So that’s it for this issue.

    Cheerio for now.

    Till the next time.

    Your Mate,

    John D.