Suspended in timelessness
In a womb-like surround of safety
While being held in compassion & attentiveness
This,
the experience of trauma-informed craniosacral therapy / birth imprint realignment.
Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a gentle hands-on technique that uses a light touch to examine movement of the fluids in and around the central nervous system and throughout the body. Relieving tension in the central nervous system promotes a feeling of well-being by eliminating pain and boosting health & immunity. It is a fantastically effective way to treat past trauma stored in the body. Talking about traumatic experiences can be held and are welcomed, and for some it is a relief to know that we barely even have to talk. Imbalances in one’s system are sensed and helped into realignment, regardless of words and talk! It is a non- invasive technique that allows the body to simply release and heal.
What is a trauma imprint?
A trauma imprint is when a traumatic event is imprinted on the nervous system. When people experience trauma, this can happen via the flood of adrenaline in the body, that then imprints the event into the amygdala. The amygdala is a part of the limbic system, the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours needed for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young, and fight or flight responses.
When we go through a traumatic event this “imprint” is designed to make sure we remember the trauma lesson. If not held or witnessed so that it can melt away, the imprint can leave a lasting ‘scar’ , of the emotional, and physical memory of the trauma.
These memories can be imprinted on us at any age, including in the womb, or during birth.
What is considered a traumatic birth?
Any birth where the mother experiences distress either before or after the birth, or where the foetus or baby experiences distress, can flood the child with adrenaline and cause imprinted birth trauma.
Postnatal PTSD and birth trauma. Postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It is also known as birth trauma. Both the mother and the child may develop postnatal PTSD if they experience traumatic events during labour or childbirth.
For mothers, birth trauma can be physical, but it is often emotional or psychological, and can carry on for months and longer after giving birth.
For babies there are several areas of birth trauma:
- the first is via the mother, and her experience,
- and the second is via their own experience.
The physical experience of a newborn who has gone through a traumatic birth can be resultant from any medical interventions that were necessary. Every human will process forceps, or caesarian birthing for instance, in a different way. In Joseph Chilton Pierce’s groundbreaking book, The Magical Child, he also describes a different kind of birth trauma. If a newborn is not met with specific signals just after birth, the adrenaline that their body produces to stiffen them in preparation to exit the birth canal simply doesn’t shut off. In these cases the baby will be flooded with adrenaline for hours or days depending on the baby and circumstances. Perhaps a baby did not have basic needs met, did not get to securely attach and bond with mom, was not reflected to that they are safe, welcomed , and loved just for who they are, exactly as they are…. then imprint trauma can happen. You might want to see videos of our teachers and pioneers of this work:
Myrna Martin
The Blueprint: Our Unifying Field’s Potential for Connection and Wholeness (Ray Catellino)
Castellinotraining.com
How does emotional trauma manifest later on?
Emotional trauma, wether from birth or otherwise, can express itself in all kinds of ways.
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Fear
- Anger
- Irritability
- Obsessions
- Compulsions
- Shock and disbelief
- Emotional numbing and detachment
- Depression
- Shame and guilt
What happens during a trauma therapy session?
After our greeting, we sit in a simple meditative way – feeling into the comfort of where we are sitting, feet contacting the floor, perhaps rooted down all the way into the earth, sensing the breath. We arrive at a felt sense of presence, just how we are right now, in the moment we’ve chosen to share.
Sometimes we come to a session knowing exactly a theme being worked with in life, and we set an intention. Other times we arrive in openness, willing to discover what may unfold. We gently dialogue, and we listen & feel into what part of the intention can be worked with in the time we’ve set aside – a manageable piece of perhaps a bigger process… and oh, so much can be accomplished in just one session!
There may be some big emotions, anger, tears, laughter… all are welcome. Perhaps some profound influences of a lifetime, for which personality has been built around, can come to light. “The little one’s” heart, in the gentle, safe & slow space of being, finally has the moment to be witnessed. A palpable wholisitic shift is bound to happen, while being kept present and feeling into your body.
Time to rest arrives, and once comfortable on the massage table, there is a dropping in, and even more settling into stillness….. That suspended place is palpable and oh so present. The quiet holding of craniosacral rhythms integrates this profound experience, realigning into balance, and deeply nourishing the nervous system. This balance is noted in the cranial rhythms, and physical rebalancing follows suit, while emotions are evened, and there is more openness in personality – ahhh!
So, how can craniosacral therapy & trauma realignment be received over distance, online?
Talk therapy is easy to comprehend, over distance, on the phone, online. Amazingly, craniosacral therapy is very much palpable while we are connected through distance as well – what a surprise! After giving & receiving over the internet in workshops, I am still amazed at the clarity of this work.
A quiet, clear comfortable space, free of outer influence and where one can lie down if needed, is preferable. We proceed as in every other session, and being able to see each other on screen is most ideal if we cannot meet in person. Seeing our facial expressions, body language, and being able to have eye contact online is very supportive to being deeply listened to, being held, being witnessed. This is all needed in creating that surround of safety and deep settling.
As you rest on your bed or couch, we still dialogue a little, checking in to ensure that the online contact of craniosacral holds are exactly the way you need them, with the perfect amount of pressure, in exactly the right place, and held for just the right amount of time. We just know together when to move on to another hold. Somehow, in some way, that suspension in the fluid tides of the craniosacral rhythms is felt through our intention of working together. I drop into a deeper more present resonance, and your system picks up on it, reminding you of a more healed self, even if I’m not in the room with you! It is called resourcing to the fluid tides of embryological development, to a time often before the solidification of a trauma event in the body. Your body remembers the balance that was, and will reorganize into the health of that realignment. Your nervous system is deeply nourished, and the healing is naturally rejuvenating. We discuss a little of impressions, the experience, and know that the integration will continue after we sign off. Craniosacral sessions build on each other, and the layers of the work peel away.
