Craniosacral and Body Rhythms
My husband took this video of our cat, Max, recently:
Max often displays very active and creative tail language. Note, here, the hypnotic, rhythmic waving of his tail back and forth, back and forth. Then it pauses. Then it begins again, back and forth, back and forth…
If you will allow me to nerd out for a bit:
Max’s tail language here puts me in mind of one of the most basic principles of biodynamic craniosacral therapy (BCST): the role of the rhythms of the body. Our bodies have so many inherent rhythms — the heartbeat; the whoosh of the blood through the vessels; the inhalation and exhalation of air; the distinct, though subtle, rhythm of the lymphatic system; the pulses of the nervous system.
Some of the most profound of all the body’s rhythms are those of the craniosacral system. The rhythm of cerebrospinal fluid (the stuff that cushions and nourishes the brain and spinal cord), and the bones and tissues associated with it, have their own rhythms, completely separate from the other rhythms of the body. The top layer of craniosacral rhythm (the cranial rhythmic impulse) is related to the motion of the bones, connective tissues, and fluids, and is the most easily felt by the practitioner. The middle layer (the mid-tide) is a slower, deeper rhythm – deeper than the bones and tissues. The bottom layer (the long tide) is slower and deeper still; it is an expression of the essential health of the system. As craniosacral guru Franklyn Sills puts it, “This ‘health’ is never lost. We may lose our relationship to it, but it is always available to us, if we can access its resources.” Finally, there is stillness at the heart of all this motion: not the “stuck” feeling of an imbalanced or traumatized system, but what we BCSTs refer to as dynamic stillness, and it is a place of deep rest and healing.
It is these rhythms (and the stillness underlying them) that biodynamic craniosacral therapists (BCSTs) are trained to sense, respect, and facilitate. Kudos to Max for providing such a lovely illustration of these concepts.