Why Yoga and Cranio-Sacral Therapy goes so well together

Posted by J Kotze on Mar 15, 2016 in Blog

An old adage in yoga is that one is as healthy as one’s spine.

Cranio-Sacral Therapy, like yoga, knows a healthy spine promotes systemic vitality for greater well-being – a superb combination to release and process the impact of stressful living and trauma, to unlock the body’s natural healing intelligence.

Cranio-Sacral treatment supports four major aspects of what yoga is all about:
● mobility of the spine
● effortless breathing
● systemic equilibrium
● expansive states of consciousness

Cape Town Spinal well-being Yoga Johann Kotze

In contrast with the often prevalent images of yoga as a bendy, stretchy, twisty, contortionist practice, or strangely esoteric, occult philosophy, yoga can actually be remarkably simple and do-able. In tune with this is cranio-sacral therapy; non-invasive, and does not manipulate. Its “holds”, or hand positions, help release the energetic and physical blockages or traumas in the cranio-sacral system (spine, cranio-sacral fluid and associated muscles and nervous system).

As in healing yoga, the aim of a cranio treatment is not so much to manipulate the physical body or its energetic flow, as to “open” the body systemically to help life force flow more easily into it, and circulate within its systems, to release the various layers of trauma from the body mind.

Gentle hatha yoga loosens the body, limbs and mind, relative to the state or condition of the practitioner. Such “loosening” release attunes the physical and energetic system of body, mind and emotion to experience natural equilibrium. This helps restore the natural rhythm of the spinal fluid, and soothes the nervous system to optimise the endocrine functions – conditions under which the human being may thrive thrive.

In yoga a state of calm, alert awareness supports focus and encourages expansive states of consciousness. This is holistic well-being, in aid of personal and global evolution.

How Yoga and Cranio-sacral works together

In yoga “every aspect of practice helps develop the whole, and the whole supports development of every aspect, in an endless, uplifting feedback spiral”.

Simplistically speaking yoga poses such as the dynamic cat-dog stretches, or half bridge, does the same for the spine as a crania-sacral therapy does. And like cranio-sacral these two poses and yoga in general, stimulates health of the endocrine system, the hormonal system of the body. The body chemistry is the scaffolding of the whole energy system much like the skeletal system is to the body. Yoga helps induce a similar benficial body mind states, referred to in cranio-sacral as “still point”, which happens in a session when the patient shifts into a healing state. Yogi’s adept at deep meditation is familiar with this body mind state.

Photo – the 24 Beach Road Yoga Studio hosting a Cranio-sacral workshop.

sandrasmit craniosacral therapist yoga studio