CranioSacral Therapy

The cranial sacral work I offer lives inside Capacity for Self Bodywork™, the physical pillar of my Capacity for Self Method™. If you searched for craniosacral therapy, you are in the right place. This is the same gentle, hands-on work, held inside a larger way of listening to the body.

Cranial sacral work pays attention to the craniosacral system: the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, and the membranes that hold it. Your skull is in constant subtle motion, a slow, almost liquid rhythm that runs the length of the spine. With patient hands that rhythm is readable, and with patient contact the membranes around it can soften.

When they do, something larger tends to follow. The nervous system moves out of its guarded, alert posture into something more receptive. That shift is what I am listening for. Everything else is the route there.

Sessions are 75 minutes, and every one begins in the chairs, not on the table. We check in, and we take a few minutes to connect mind, body and spirit, so that what follows is not being done to a stranger.

Then you lie down, fully clothed in something loose and comfortable. My hands work through your clothing, or directly on the skin where an area calls for it. There is no oil and no lotion. A session often starts at the base of the skull, the sacrum, or the heels, sometimes with a gentle traction, and then it is mostly stillness. I am reading temperature, density, your breath and the cranial rhythm, and I follow what your body shows me.

The touch stays light because the nervous system does not answer force with openness. It answers with more guarding. So I meet the tissue at the place where it pushes back, and I wait there. You set the pace. You can talk, stay quiet, ask me to change anything, or stop at any point. Some people talk the whole time. Some fall asleep. There is no right way to do it.

If you would like a longer walk through a session, I wrote about what actually happens on the table.

In my practice, cranial sacral work is not a separate technique I switch over to. Capacity for Self Bodywork™ integrates cranial sacral therapy and myofascial release with techniques of my own, as one continuous conversation with the same tissue. A restriction at the neck may lead through the fascia to the ribs, the diaphragm or the pelvis, and the session follows it there.

A word on lineage, because the field is full of loose claims. CranioSacral Therapy as a modern modality was developed by Dr. John Upledger, building on the cranial osteopathic work of William Sutherland. My own training did not come through the Upledger Institute. It came through other lineages, through mentorship and workshops, and through hands-on practice since 2003, across more than 8,000 sessions. I am also formally certified in the John F. Barnes approach to Myofascial Release.

I am an integrative somatic practitioner, coach, and bodyworker. I am also a California Certified Massage Therapist (CAMTC).

People usually find their way here when something has been held for a long time. A jaw that clenches through the night. Shoulders that never quite come down. A head that feels tight and full by the end of the day. A nervous system that rarely switches off, even on vacation. Some come after a hard season, a fall, or an injury that has healed on paper but not in how they move. Others simply want an hour where nothing is asked of them.

I do not diagnose, treat or cure any condition, and I am glad to work alongside your doctor and your other care rather than instead of it. What I offer is patient attention, at a pace your body agrees to. How far that goes depends as much on what you change between sessions as on what happens on the table.

My studio is in Cotati, between Rohnert Park and Petaluma, with Santa Rosa a short drive north. You can book a studio session there. If getting out the door is part of what is hard right now, I also bring the table to you, with mobile sessions across Sonoma County.

Do I stay dressed?

Yes. Wear something loose and comfortable, and skip perfume or lotion that day. There is no oil, and nothing about the session asks you to undress.

Is craniosacral therapy the same as cranial sacral massage?

People use both names for this same work. There is no massage in the usual sense, though: no kneading, no oil, and much of the time no movement at all.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number and no package to buy. Some people come once to feel what it is like. Others come regularly for a season. We decide together, one session at a time.

What if I am not sure this is right for me?

That is exactly what the free 15-minute phone call is for. It is not a sales call. If this is not the right fit, I would rather tell you kindly and early.