When you’re visiting a new practitioner, it can be reassuring to know what’s going to happen when you get there! So here goes:
After we go over your client intake form (previously emailed to you) and discuss any concerns you may have, I will invite you to lie down, face-up, fully clothed (except for shoes), on my padded treatment table. If you have no problems with essential oils, I might have oils appropriate for you diffusing nearby.
After seating myself beside you, I’ll take a moment to settle myself into a calm, quiet state, then gently make contact with you, perhaps with my hands beneath your shoulders. Then I’ll wait for your system to respond with what we call the holistic shift, indicating that your craniosacral system (which includes, but is not limited to, the cranial bones, the sacrum, the spine, the membranes associated with those structures, and the cerebrospinal fluid) is engaged. (I perceive the motion of the craniosacral system through my sense of touch, honed over many hours of training.) This progressive settling, continuing throughout the session, is an important part of biodynamic work; as I calm my own system, it sets up a resonance with your system. As you settle, I settle more, and vice-versa, in a productive dynamic that encourages your system toward a sense of balance.
After the holistic shift, I may or may not shift to another hold (typical holds may involve the head, neck, shoulders, feet, or sacrum). Regardless of where I am, my job will be to listen to your system and wait to see what, in the wisdom of the body, it chooses to show me. I may stay in a given hold for 30 minutes or longer. During the session, I will not apply external force, do massage, or manipulate tissues; my job is to witness, listen, and stay out of the way as your system addresses what it needs to address. I will probably finish the session at your feet, which tends to be grounding, settling, and comforting.
It’s common for people to fall asleep during sessions; at the least, you will probably relax deeply, and may experience a semi-dreamlike state that is very calming and healing to the nervous system.