Wisdom in the Body

by Michael Kern

  Opinions

  Many things can get in the way of being present. Dr. Rollin Becker points out that first there are the opinions the practitioner may have about the patient’s condition. Then there are the opinions that the patient has about his or her own condition. Lastly, there is what is actually happening in the living physiology of the patient.8 These three things do not necessarily coincide. In order to be present for the living physiology of the patient, it is necessary to let go of what we think we know and what we expect to find. Then, and perhaps only then, can we listen to what is actually there. Dr. Sutherland noted that it is through this living experience that we can obtain knowledge, rather than mere information, about a patient’s condition.9

  Being and doing

  A clear quality of presence can, by itself, be an important factor in fostering the healing process. Probably most of us have experienced how an emergence of health can be triggered by this kind of support. Just the simple act of a kindly hand placed on the shoulder can be sufficient to help let go of distress. As the psychotherapist Guggenbuhl-Craig observed, “When two people meet, the totality of their psyches encounter each other; conscious and unconscious, spoken and unspoken, all have their effect upon the other.”10 In craniosacral practice, a resonant field is created between patient and practitioner that provides the space and container for the patient’s healing process. The implication here is that the results of treatment have at least as much to do with the practitioner’s quality of being as with his doing.

  Healing through resonance

  Here is an example to illustrate how healing through resonance can occur. When working with one patient who was suffering from headaches and neck pain, I became aware of a jerkiness and unease that was palpable in his body. As I tuned in to his primary respiration a sense of disturbance in the longitudinal fluctuation of cerebrospinal fluid became apparent. I noticed that this fluid motion was being expressed with various swirls and tremors. When I widened my field of perception to take in more of a whole sense of what was happening, I had the impression that there were thousands of tiny luminous “energy molecules” that were chaotically bobbing around in his system. It was as if these molecules didn’t know what to do or where to go.

  This patient confirmed that he was going through a very unsettling time. He was feeling the pressure of an important impending decision that could change the course of his life, but he had no idea of what to choose. I could feel his sense of anxiety and disturbance as it impacted against me, yet I remained holding his head with a sense of ease.

  Within a short space of time I noticed how our two systems seemed to come into synchrony. His cerebrospinal fluid fluctuation slowed down and became smoother. However, there was nothing that I actually did; the disturbance in his system simply responded to my contact and was consequently able to settle. At this point, a sense of deep stillness emerged. When he stepped off the treatment table at the end of the session, he did so with a clear view of the right decision he needed to take. In this instance it was as if my contact simply provided his primary respiratory system with a signpost; nature did the rest. This principle of healing through resonance frequently occurs in craniosacral work, especially when the practitioner is able to work from a place of inner stillness.

  Pendulum clocks

  This same principle is observed in physics and biology. Over 350 years ago Christiaan Huygens the developer of the pendulum clock observed that pendulum clocks in the same place and with the same length pendulum have a tendency to move towards a synchronous motion.11 Huygens also observed that there is a tendency for the heaviest pendulum to determine the frequency of others. Even if the heaviest pendulum is unable to fully influence the others it would still partially draw the others’ behavior pattern towards its own.12 According to osteopath Leon Chaitow, in biology “One organism, or function, or cell, or dominant activity begins to pull or drag others towards its mode of behavior.”13 Chaitow compares a healthy, well-balanced therapist to a heavy pendulum that can create a resonance which influences or pulls the patient towards a state of greater harmony.

  In my own travels I’ve had the privilege and fortune to study with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist teachers of our time. One thing that I noticed early on was how easy it is to feel good when in their company. Some of these teachers have spent years in silent retreat and emanate such a feeling of calm, warmth and presence that you can’t help being affected. A few years ago, one of the accomplished masters of this tradition, H.H. Gyalwang Drukpa, was explaining that part of his practice is to see everybody he meets, young and old, rich and poor, as the Buddha. He explained, “This is not putting something in which is not there, it is recognizing what we already really are, our fundamental nature.”14 It was in that moment that I realized why it was so easy to feel good when in his company—when he looked at you, he was seeing the Buddha! As Nelson Mandela commented in his presidential inaugural speech, “As we become liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”15

  Being centered

  If we want to help someone find their health, we ourselves need to be in touch with a sense of our own balance and perspective. There are a number of ways that practitioners use to help them find this balance, but each person may have their own approach. Some take a few slow breaths to help them feel centered, or just sit quietly for a few moments prior to making physical contact. How this is done is not so important, but it is important to first find a clear ground from which to palpate and listen.

  One approach commonly used by craniosacral practitioners to help them become centered is to establish what are called “practitioner fulcra.” As we have previously noted, a fulcrum is a place that orientates motion. A practitioner fulcrum is a reference point around which the therapist can orientate so that he doesn’t get lost in his listening. Simple visualizations can be used to help establish these reference points, helping the practitioner feel grounded and enabling him to find a clear relationship with his patient. This skill is of great importance for craniosacral work—and beyond. It is a life skill that can be used as way of remembering who and where we are. My own experience is that if these fulcra are visualized, it helps to establish a state of equanimity even when turbulence is blowing all around.

  Establishing practitioner fulcra

  Find a comfortable seated position and take a minute to place your attention on your spine. Imagine that there is a line that goes from the base of your spine (coccyx) to a point in the ground beneath you, as if your spinal cord continues down into the earth (see Figure 6.1). This line is like dropping an anchor into the earth from the base of your spine. It provides you with a reference point to the ground beneath you. Imagine that this anchor or fulcrum is also able to move, and so does not fix your position. Notice how it moves as you lean forward and then backward. As you lean forward the fulcrum moves back in the ground, and as you lean backward it moves forward. The establishment of this fulcrum is often helpful if we are faced with confusing or powerful experiences. It gives us a relationship to the ground.

  Another useful fulcrum to establish is to imagine a line going from the back of your head diagonally down into the ground behind you (see Figure 6.1). This line is like a continuation of the angled straight sinus, at the front end of which Sutherland’s fulcrum is located. Imagine that this line passes diagonally down into the ground at an angle of about thirty-five degrees from the external occipital protuberance, a centrally raised bump located at the back of the occipital bone. This is about an inch above the hollow where the top of the neck meets the skull.

  This connection to the ground behind you helps to give an orientation between your front and back. It can provide the practitioner with a sense of the physical and energetic distance between himself and his patient. Again, it is a movable fulcrum. If you lean forward and then backward you will notice how the angle of this line changes. An awareness
of this fulcrum can help find the right balance in our own posture and quality of intention as we reach out to someone else. Furthermore, its establishment prevents the craniosacral practitioner from leaning too far into his patient. If this happens, the patient’s primary respiratory system may feel pushed or crowded. Alternatively, without being aware of this fulcrum the practitioner’s contact may be too remote or distant.

  Some practitioners also find it helpful to establish fulcra at their left and right sides by visualizing lines from the sides of their head going diagonally down into the ground at each side. These are similar to the guy ropes of a tent. Some also like to establish a sky fulcrum by visualizing a line from the top of the head up into the sky above. This fulcrum can give an awareness of spaciousness above and around. Additionally, if the practitioner leans into his elbow contacts on the treatment table, these points can act as important fulcra for his palpating hands.16

  Figure 6.1: Practitioner fulcra (illustration credit 6.1)

  Getting orientated

  An awareness of these fulcrum points can provide us with a sense of where we are, particularly if the boundaries between us and someone else are feeling confused. Because a lot of craniosacral work is done while sitting still for many minutes at a time, it can be quite easy for the practitioner to “space out” or get sleepy. At other times, if we encounter patterns of trauma and suffering (our own as well as someone else’s) we may naturally be deeply affected. It is especially useful on these occasions to establish these practitioner fulcra.

  If at any stage during a treatment session the practitioner gets lost or blurred, he can remind himself of all or any of his fulcra as a means of re-establishing orientation. When experienced in this process, it need not take more than just a few seconds.

  Once the practitioner is settled in his fulcrum points it is then helpful to find a place in his own body from where he feels comfortable to sense and register impressions coming from the patient. Such a place can act as “an inner anchor,”17 enabling signals from the patient’s physiology to be more easily registered. Some practitioners like to listen from the heart, others from the abdomen, and others from the head or throat. In this way, the practitioner’s own body acts as a kind of barometer for any subtle changes taking place, and he can then begin the process of sensing the story of his patient’s system.

  Some people in the healing arts get worried about picking up negative energy from others. However, by being centered in their practitioner fulcra any such problems become like water off a duck’s back.

  Craniosacral contact

  Physical contact may mean many different things to different people at different times. It can be loaded with a variety of implications according to how we have become conditioned.18 For some, touch is threatening, bringing memories of trauma or abuse. For others it is reassuring and comforting. For others it may have sexual connotations. In this context the practitioner needs to have a light and spacious touch, a neutral intention that is not seeking anything or having any expectations, and a wide perceptual view (see Figure 6.219). These qualities enable the patient’s physiology to unfold its story in a safe and supportive context—and without interference. They also enhance palpatory sensitivity and the effectiveness of the therapeutic contact.

  Figure 6.2: Craniosacral contact (illustration credit 6.2)

  Light touch

  Craniosacral work involves extremely gentle forms of contact. A lightness of touch is a prerequisite to be able to palpate the subtleties of primary respiration. It is estimated that no more than five grams of pressure (about the weight of a dime or five-pence piece) should be used.20 This contact can be likened to a butterfly alighting on a leaf or how a water spider perches on the surface tension of water.21 If the contact is too heavy, the sensitive mechanisms that express primary respiration can “shut down” in response to the compression exerted by the practitioner.

  A lightness of contact “invites the soul to swim up to the surface to meet the contacting fingers.”22 Conversely, a touch that is too light or remote is not sufficiently engaging to be able to feel anything, and may also trigger distress. Therefore, a delicate balance needs to be negotiated that enables the patient to feel comfortable and safe, and the practitioner to palpate the patient’s physiology effectively. Each patient may require a particular quality and depth of touch, one that best suits his or her needs at that time.

  Negotiating contact

  Sometimes parts of the body such as the head, pelvis or abdomen can be particularly sensitive to any kind of touch. Therefore, a slow negotiation of contact made with a spacious intention avoids creating any unnecessary awkwardness or discomfort. During this process particular attention can be paid to the subtle signals coming from the patient. These signals may be felt as a sense of the hands being pushed away or the patient expressing, either verbally or nonverbally, a need for more space. There may be certain stages when the practitioner needs to pause and stay at a particular distance from the patient’s body before moving any closer. If a patient is holding a lot of trauma this kind of sensitive negotiation is crucial. If this does not happen contact may be perceived as threatening or even abusive.

  Boundaries

  Well-defined boundaries between practitioner and patient are a necessity for providing clarity in the therapeutic relationship. However, the loss of these boundaries can easily occur when engaged in deep contact with another person. If we are not mindful of this fact we may become drawn too deeply into each other’s issues. It then becomes impossible to see the wood for the trees.

  Touch is a powerful therapeutic tool, but for a depth of healing to occur this contact needs to be free from any agendas that may interfere with the natural processes of the patient. Personal needs, even an emotional need to help someone, can create a loss of boundaries and therefore a loss of clarity. When this occurs, confusion might arise about which sensations belong to the practitioner and which belong to the patient.23 Questions arising such as, “Is what I’m feeling coming from you, or from me?” or “Do I feel better or worse because of you or because of me?” may indicate a loss of boundaries. This can be tiring and a hindrance to a feeling of safety and support during treatment.

  Clear boundaries enable both people to appreciate what is truly their own and be empowered to access healing from within. When the boundaries are clear, the practitioner can then maintain a sense of both himself and of his patient, so that any experiences in this relationship do not become blurred. However, boundaries should not become barriers. The openness and presence of a truly caring and compassionate contact is at the foundation of good practice.

  Practitioner neutral

  The kind of mental state that is best suited to craniosacral palpation is sometimes referred to as the practitioner neutral. This is a neutral kind of listening where there is an equanimity without a personal agenda. While this is an easy thing to say, it is not always an easy thing to practice, as we all can become clouded by our opinions, emotional needs and expectations. Therefore, this work necessitates a commitment by practitioners to work with their own projections, expectations and needs. This can prevent any personal issues of the practitioner from interfering with the natural therapeutic processes of the patient. As Dr. John Upledger states, “We therapists should always keep in mind the tremendous power that our intention, attitude and expectation have with the patient and their response to treatment.”24 Craniosacral palpation is probably at its most precise and effective when practised without expectations. This involves an ability of the practitioner to reach out to the patients and meet them where they are, not where we would like them to be.25

  Expectations

  An old Jewish wisdom tale illustrates the need to let go of our expectations. This story is set in Czarist Russia during the early 1900s. During this time the local Jewish population was being persecuted and many were forced to leave their homes in search of a new life. In one small village a rabbi would walk across the village square on his way to pray at the
synagogue; he’d been doing this at the same time each morning for at least forty years.

  One morning as the rabbi was making his way through the village, some policemen were watching him from the steps of a police station that overlooked the square. They had had too much to drink the night before and were still somewhat hung over. They decided to poke some fun at the rabbi. The policemen had seen the rabbi pass through the square every morning at the same time for as long as they could remember. However, this time, one of them shouted out in a mocking tone from the top of the steps, “Hey! Rabbi, where are you going?” The rabbi turned around, looked up towards the policeman, shrugged his shoulders and innocently replied, “I don’t know.”

  This was not what the policeman expected to hear, so he shouted again, this time a little more forcefully, “Rabbi, where are you going?” Again the rabbi replied, “I don’t know.” This answer made the policeman frustrated because he knew that, as usual, the rabbi was making his way to the synagogue. He ran down the steps, took a hold of the rabbi’s collar and shook him, demanding, “Where are you going?” The rabbi shrugged his shoulders and again said, “I don’t know.” The policeman now became angry. He grabbed hold of the rabbi, dragged him towards the police station and arrested him for being so insolent. At the top of the steps the rabbi looked up at the policeman saying, “You see, you never know!”26