About CST
Upledger Craniosacral Therapy is a light touch, hands on therapy for the body, mind and spirit. It is named after Dr John Upledger who established the Upledger Institute in Florida, America in 1985 to teach and treat CranioSacral Therapy. He practiced as an osteopathic physician in Florida before taking on the role of clinical researcher and professor of biomechanics at Michigan State University where he researched the existence and influence of the craniosacral system from 1975-1983.
"Every treatment protocol should be dictated by the wisdom of the patient's own body."
(Dr John Upledger).
The paradigm from which we work does not look to fix or decide what to do 'to' people, but believes that the body knows at some level what it needs in order to heal and that we can help our clients to find health from within themselves.
This has been shown to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, as well as many other systems of the body, such as digestive, musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, and more.
By tuning into the body's natural and innate healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and has been shown to be beneficial for people seeking help with a wide range of healthcare challenges and symptoms.
Upledger Programmes increasingly offers CST in multi hands clinical settings. This means that you may experience CST with more than one therapist at a time or working together as a group. The benefits of this approach are exponential and can often access profound and significant healing for clients who feel their healing journey has plateaued.
CranioSacral Therapy
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a very light touch hands-on treatment modality used to 'listen to' the physiological CranioSacral System. This system is made up of the bones of the skull, face and sacrum (tailbone), the membranes around the brain and spinal cord and the fluid enclosed within those membranes.
Our therapists are trained to used their hands to 'listen' to what is going on in the body. We follow the fascia or connective tissue to find where areas of dysfunction may be restricting the body. Using various techniques we attempt to release restrictions within the tissues and enhance freedom of movement.
This video was produced by the CranioSacral Society, our professional membership organisation for CranioSacral therapists.
with the physical force of trauma. They called this localised and concentrated area an "energy cyst." Initially the body adapts around the presence of the energy cyst but over time the body's resilience weakens or tires of this accommodating pattern and sometimes develop symptoms of pain, dysfunction, or emotional stress.
SER facilitates a process for releasing tissue memory which can help the person to decrease the adverse effects of past traumas. There is vast research to show that a change in physical health is accompanied by a change in mental health, and it is equally documented that the reverse is apparent.
SER is an holistic mind-body somatic approach that may also assist a person in gaining insight as to how that held trauma is influencing their physical and emotional health. SER can support the person transition from dysfunction and unresolved issues towards wellness and optimal function.
SomatoEmotional Release
SomatoEmotional Release™ (SER) is a therapeutic process that uses and expands on the principles of CST to help a person rid their body of the residual effects of past injuries and negative experiences.
SER is based on university research conducted by osteopathic physician John E. Upledger and biophysicist Zvi Karni.
Physical forces enter a person's body at the time of an accident or injury. The injured body may immediately begin dissipating these forces and the natural healing process will follow, or the physical forces imposed upon the person's body may be retained rather than dissipated.
During their research, Drs. Upledger and Karni came to realise that the body sometimes retained the emotional energy along