by Michael Kern
Research experiments
The cranial rhythmic impulse has been measured in numerous research experiments. In 1963 American osteopath Dr. Viola Frymann clearly recorded these minute contractile and expansile movements at the cranium.3 These experiments were the first in which a rhythmic motion not directly connected to either heartbeat or lung breathing was scientifically identified. Since that time, a growing number of investigators have been able to measure this phenomenon. In a later experiment (1978), recordings of pulse rate and lung breathing were taken, along with measurements of subtle rhythmic motion from different regions of the head.4 These recordings again clearly showed that the cranial rhythmic impulse is a distinct motion not directly related to heartbeat or lung respiration.
It must be emphasized that the movements produced by the cranial rhythmic impulse are minuscule. They are measured on a scale of microns (each micron is one-millionth of a meter). The greatest motion measured at the cranial sutures is forty microns, about half the thickness of a piece of paper.5
Drs. John Upledger and Zvi Karni conducted experiments recording subtle movements at both the cranium and the sacrum. They used sensitive strain gauges and measured changes in the electrical potential of the skin.6 Their instrumentation picked up changes in motion, which were also simultaneously detected by manual palpation. These experiments helped to affirm the ability of the human hand to be sensitive to these small movements.
In another experiment, Dr. Upledger and colleagues measured the cranial rhythmic impulse of patients in a coma or with chronic neurological disorders. Again, measurements were taken with strain gauges and checked by palpation. They found that these patients all exhibited a slowing down of the cranial rhythmic impulse to about a half of the normal level.7 Upledger and Karni were also able to establish that these rhythmic movements are detectable all over the body.
Self-palpation
You may be able to feel these movements in your own head. To do this, find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. With a lightness of attention, place your hands on your head. Gently cup the sides of your head with your palms barely touching (see Figure 2.3). You may be more comfortable doing this leaning slightly forwards, with your elbows resting on your knees.
Figure 2.3: Self-palpation (illustration credit 2.3)
First, become aware of your heartbeat. Then, notice your lung breathing. Then just see if you notice anything else. Place your attention on the tissues under your hands. See if you can perceive a subtle motion slower than both your heartbeat and lung breathing. See if you can feel this by sensing what may be happening underneath these other two movements. Let your hands just float on your cranial bones, as if they are gently resting on corks floating on the tide. If you press too hard you will prevent the “corks” from expressing their motion. Create some space inside yourself to allow any impressions to come into your awareness.
Do you notice a subtle welling up and receding of fluid in your hands, like the movement of a tide? This may be the longitudinal fluctuation of cerebrospinal fluid. Do you notice a widening and narrowing from side to side of the “corks”? This may be the external and internal rotation of bones at the sides of the head. You may also get a sense of the tissues’ inner breathing, or motility.
Variable rates
The rate of the cranial rhythmic impulse (C.R.I.) is relatively stable if compared to the heartbeat or lung breathing, which more easily fluctuate according to our circumstances. For example, the heart and lungs show dramatic changes in rate depending on whether we are in a state of rest or activity. They also vary in response to changes in our environment, or as a result of strong emotion. Nevertheless, although the heart and lungs adjust more obviously, the rate of the C.R.I. does also vary with changes in life circumstances. These variations indicate changes in physiological function that occur at a deeper level.
The C.R.I. will often, for example, speed up in cases of acute illness and fever. In this way the ordering principle of the Breath of Life carried in these rhythms is made more available. The C.R.I. may also quicken in hyperactive or anxiety states. It tends to slow down in more chronic states of fatigue or depression and also congestive conditions such as persistent headache or catarrh. Resistances held in the tissues of the body will also greatly influence the expression of the C.R.I. If compared to the deeper tides of the Breath of Life, the rate of the C.R.I. is relatively unstable.
What is significant is that the C.R.I. records how our essential health interfaces with the effect of any conditioning. This makes it a useful barometer of mental, emotional and physiological patterns. Consequently its palpation may be used as an indicator of health and disease, involving both mind and body.
Origin of motion
There has been much debate in the profession about what exactly causes these rhythmic impulses. Some practitioners believe they are generated in response to a cyclical production and reabsorption of cerebrospinal fluid (as is detailed in Chapter 3). Others place an emphasis on the motion of the central nervous system. There is also a suggestion that the cranial rhythmic impulse (C.R.I.) is produced by involuntary muscle contraction, causing the delivery of a rhythmic movement to cranial bones and the central nervous system.8 Still others believe the C.R.I. is produced by a combination of many different factors, including lung breathing and arterial pulsations. In the entrainment theory it is suggested that there is a pooling of various motions and pulsations produced by both patient and practitioner.9 A coherent rhythm may be created as these pulsations harmonize together.
Clearly this is a subject where further research is still needed. Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that this rhythmic motion is a real and palpable phenomenon. Whatever the particular mechanisms that produce or disseminate the C.R.I., there still remains the question of what moves these mechanisms.
If we wish to investigate the actual origins of this motion, there is good reason to suggest the crucial presence of an underlying vital force, the potency of the Breath of Life. I emphasize this perspective because it is frequently not included by those who take a more mechanistic approach.
To summarize, the outermost rhythmic expression of the Breath of Life is called the cranial rhythmic impulse (C.R.I.) or craniosacral motion. It is here, with the C.R.I., that most people have their first experience of primary respiration. It is also here that many therapists focus their work. However … there are deeper and slower rhythmic movements that underlie the C.R.I.
The Mid-tide
In the course of clinical practice, many practitioners have become aware of tidal rhythms operating beneath the cranial rhythmic impulse.10,11,12 These slower tides also express a rhythmic motion in phases of inhalation and exhalation, and they are considered to be the driving power that produces the C.R.I. Although these rhythms are somewhat more subtle, they can also be detected by palpation. In the biodynamic approach of craniosacral therapy, relating to these deeper tides and the ground from which they emerge, becomes the main focus of treatment. The particular rhythm that directly underlies the C.R.I. is expressed at the rate of approximately two-and-a-half cycles per minute. It is referred to as the mid-tide.13
The mid-tide is considered to carry the available bio-energy, or biodynamic potency, that vitalizes the body. As such, it is a fundamental expression of our health. In the inhalation phase the mid-tide rises up the body and widens from side to side, a motion that simultaneously involves the potency, fluids and tissues that all breathe together as “one thing.” In the exhalation phase the mid-tide recedes down the body and narrows from side to side. Individual tissue structures generally follow the same patterns of motion found with the cranial rhythmic impulse, but as parts of this whole unified field of motion instead of individual movements. This motion is naturally orientated around the midline of the body.
The rate of the mid-tide is far less affected by our immediate conditions than the C.R.I. Its rate is consequently less variable.
Biodynamic potency
In essence, the mid-tide
is an expression of the embodied forces of the Breath of Life. The biodynamic potency expressed within the mid-tide is of great significance because it carries into the body the essential ordering forces of the Breath of Life. Therefore it has a profound ability to maintain physiological integration and balance at a core level. The potency of the mid-tide promotes health and healing in all tissues where it is able to manifest.
Palpation of the mid-tide gives the practitioner a clear relationship to the way in which intrinsic health is being expressed in the body. When the mid-tide is tuned in to, it is often experienced as a sense of unity and well-being permeating the body, bringing a feeling of wholeness. It may be felt by settling into a state of greater stillness and taking a wider view of ourselves (for more details, see Chapter 6). One patient described an experience of the mid-tide in his own body “like slipping down a boat ramp and sliding into the water.”14 In fact, accessing the mid-tide is like dropping beneath the waves on the surface of the ocean. It can be compared to being in a submarine rather than a boat.
Inner breathing
As the potency of the mid-tide is expressed in tissues and fluids, it causes them to “breathe” simultaneously at this slower rate. This inner breathing of tissues is called motility. All living structures express motility, including even seemingly hard and rigid ones like bones. Our usual perception of bone as a hard and lifeless substance is derived from the fact that only dead and dried specimens are usually examined. However, when teaching this work, Dr. Sutherland often implored his students to focus on what occurs in living tissues.15 Living bone is full of life and motion. It contains a high percentage of fluid and a blood and nerve supply, and it possesses a remarkable degree of flexibility.
As a result of the mid-tide, tissues become gently rocked like seaweed within the ocean. As Dr. Becker observed, “The tissue elements, the muscles, ligaments, bony structures, the organ systems within their connective tissue envelopes, and their fluid contents, automatically go along for the ride as the bioenergy patterns unfold in their functioning.”16
Role of fluid
Fluid can be seen everywhere in nature as the carrier of life; without water, there is no life. All living organisms contain a large proportion of fluid. In fact, each cell of the body can be likened to a tiny sac of fluid, in which its microscopic internal structures “float.” However, when life departs and organisms die, they dry up. It is interesting to note that whenever scientists look for signs of life on other planets, they first look for signs of water.
Consequently, it is the fluid systems of the body that distribute the essential potency of the Breath of Life. This biodynamic potency is rhythmically expressed within the fluids at an average rate of two-and-a-half cycles per minute. Potency becomes infused in the fluids which irrigate the whole body and convey this vital force to all regions. Therefore an unrestricted motion of fluid within the body is critical for the dissemination of biodynamic potency and the maintenance of health.
The biodynamic potency of the Breath of Life has been described as the “energy free to act within the fluids.”17 This potency may be experienced as a kind of “fluid within the fluid.”18 A similar concept is found in Chinese medicine, where the fluids of the body are also considered to carry vital forces and a basic ordering principle. It is important to remember that living tissues are primarily composed of fluid that serves these functions.
Spark in the motor
Since the early days of this work, craniosacral practitioners have particularly recognized the significant role of cerebrospinal fluid (C.S.F.) in carrying the potency of the Breath of Life. C.S.F. is the “juice” that bathes the central nervous system. It is also the vehicle into which biodynamic potency is initially expressed in the body. C.S.F. can thus be seen as the principal link between the potency of the Breath of Life and its expression in the body.
The potency expressed within cerebrospinal fluid acts as the “spark in the motor,”19 motivating its longitudinal fluctuation. Dr. Sutherland had a deep appreciation of this vital force carried in C.S.F., and considered it to be central to the workings of primary respiration.20 He described the potency of the Breath of Life as an “invisible element” found within C.S.F. and the force that makes it move.21 The remarkable properties of C.S.F. will be considered in more detail in Chapter 3.
The Long Tide
Emerging from the ground of our being, the first stirring of the Breath of Life sets up a very deep and slow rhythmic impulse. This can also be palpated through the body as it rises and expands, and recedes and narrows. This slower rhythm is often referred to as the long tide and is a subtle radiance of the most essential qualities of the Breath of Life. The long tide is in fact the subtlest manifestation of our life-force. It underlies and supports all other activities in the body.22
The long tide is a wider field phenomenon that may be perceived both within, as well as around the body. It is a universal force that becomes individuated; it operates as a vast field of action that manifests locally as the organizing “wind” of the human system. This can be perceived as rhythmic spiral motions within a large field of action that become oriented around the midline of the body. The long tide essentially creates and maintains our form and function.
A similar kind of motion has been identified in nature by Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian scientist and forester. Schauberger focused much of his work on the critical role played by water in carrying the life principle around the living planet. He used to go into the forest, find a quiet place to sit and just listen. When doing this he started to sense rhythmic forces in the environment that he perceived as a subtle creative impulse imbuing the whole of nature. He called this rhythmic movement, “original motion.” There are many correspondences between Schauberger’s findings and the perception of the long tide in and around the body.23
Perceiving the long tide is like dropping down near to the ocean floor. The long tide directly underlies the mid-tide, serving as the force behind it. The other, faster rhythms are generated from the long tide, as the Breath of Life becomes embodied through the fluids and unfolds into its outer manifestations. Each rhythmic cycle of the long tide is expressed at a rate of about once every 100 seconds. It has a light, airy quality as it permeates the body as our most essential life breath. This is sometimes experienced as a shimmering, a subtle radiance or electrical wind.
Protoplasmic streaming
Similar rhythmic movements have also been identified in primitive life forms called protoplasm. A phenomenon called protoplasmic streaming is well-known to biologists. This motion is a fundamental expression of the life principle in protoplasm and also has a regular rhythmic rate of one cycle every 100 seconds. No matter what the conditions, the rhythmic forces behind protoplasmic streaming continue as long as the organism is alive.24 In fact, our bodies are just more complex forms of protoplasm. It seems likely that all living organisms are essentially maintained by the rhythmical action of the long tide—the most formative and generative force in the universe.
Deepest resource
In comparison to the faster tides, the long tide is not affected by the vagaries of day-to-day experiences and conditioning. It is the expression of our fundamental health that is never lost, and which continues whatever else is going on. It is very stable in its nature and rate, as it gently resonates and rhythmically permeates the body from the core of our being. At a profound level, the long tide contains the knowledge to create healing. It is at the foundation of all regulatory functions of the body and clinically, its emergence indicates a reconnection to our deepest resource of health.
GROUNDSWELL OF THE BREATH OF LIFE
And Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life, and man became a living soul.25
GENESIS 2:7
Dynamic stillness
From our deepest source, the Breath of Life is conveyed in a series of unfoldments described above as the three tides. However, at our very core there is a state of pur
e, unfabricated being and stillness. This is the place of our deepest nature. This essential ground state is underneath all our individual traits, our personality and all our doing. It is our being. It is like the ocean floor.
If we deeply quieten ourselves, dropping our awareness into the source from which all our activities emerge, we may catch glimpses of this ground of dynamic stillness. At this level there is no duality, no subject and no object. Many spiritual traditions refer to this realm as our fundamental and primordial state. It is not a vacuum, for all of life’s potential is contained within it. In Buddhist texts it is described as having qualities of emptiness and luminosity. A state of stillness is contained at the basis of all forms, and the full potential of all forms is to be found within it. It is perhaps to this reality that the Buddha was referring when he taught, “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form.”26
Life emerges
All expressions of life emerge out of stillness. As our being manifests into becoming, the Breath of Life starts to express itself as a succession of motions. This sets up the different tidal rhythms of the primary respiratory system. From the formless, life starts to take form. This process can be compared to how a wheel turns. At the hub of the wheel there is stillness. However, as you move towards the periphery, motion takes place at a faster rate (see Figure 2.4).
Essentially what is being described here is a coming about of our individuation, our emergence into form. This process of creation is happening each moment of our lives, and is organized around the creative intention of the Breath of Life. It was described by Dr. Sutherland as a “groundswell.”27 The groundswell of the Breath of Life refers to the stirring of life as it manifests from the ground of our being.