A Craniosacral Practitioner We Love: Joanna Fassl
The posts on this blog are based on my personal experience and are not medical advice.
Our series on concussion recovery strategies highlights three therapies that we have seen to be consistently helpful in recovery from concussions: neurofeedback, craniosacral therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. With neurofeedback (especially Neuroptimal) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy it's important to find an experienced provider, but the machines are doing most of the work.
In contrast, with craniosacral therapy the success of the therapy is completely dependent on the skill of the practitioner.
Dr. Joanna Fassl is a practitioner we really respect. She practices out of a beautiful apartment in SoMa and has several different modalities that she can draw on. In addition to being a chiropractor (she was the valedictorian of her Chiropractic Medicine class) she's an artist, musician, and yoga and pilates instructor. She approaches the body from several different levels. I think has the rare mix of rigor and process that come from her formal training as well as the creativity and intuition from her art.
Here in Dr. Joanna's words are the benefits of craniosacral:
The central nervous system (CNS) consisting of the brain and spinal cord is heavily influenced by the Craniosacral system which consists of the connective tissue membranes and fluid that surround, protect and nourish this system. Daily stresses of life from microtraumas such as postural deformations to macrotraumas like head injuries create distortions in our system which can lead to torsions, shears and strains on our protective Craniosacral system hampering it's full function and performance. Since the CNS is the goverining system of the body, tension in it reverberates out to ther systems it interacts with ie digestion, speech, cardiovascular compromise, etc... BY gently assessing and fine tuning the Craniosacral System with Craniosacral Therapy, restrictions along its path are released, balance is restored and the CNS can function more optimally again.
In my practice the benefits I see from Craniosacral Therapy are the most profound of any therapy I practice. The counterintuitive piece is that craniosacral is so very gentle and subtle, that many are skeptical of it's effects. That is, until they deepen their connection with their subtle body and experience the benefits. There is nothing more efficient at relaxing the nervous system and setting up an environment for restorative healing than Craniosacral as it taps into the parasympathetci "rest and digest" branch of our autonomic nervous system. Craniosacral Therapy is an inside out approach where the practitioner sets the healing in motion which gentle guidance which in turn allows the body to gain momentum and "unwind" restrictions and tensions on its own. This process of restoration occurs up to 72 hours after a session. I have worked with post-concussion patients and those with TMJ, Scoliosis, chronic stress, Digestive Disorders, ADHD, headaches, neck and low back pain, autoimmune conditions, neuralgias such as Tic Dolereux. It is truly unbelievable what Cranioscral Therapy can do in the way of rebalancing the system and setting up an optimal environment for healing to occur. The body literally heals itself from the inside out. My clients feel relaxed, pain-free, centered, calmer, more focussed and clear-headed, balanced and "seen" after their sessions. They feel like they are part of the healing process.
In my practice I work with the interface of chkras and the Craniosacral System. In the Eastern tradition, Chakras are seven wheel-like orbiting energetic centers located along the axial skeleton of our spine and cranium. These 7 Chakras also exquisitely correspond to our Western knowledge of Nerve Plexuses, Endocrine Glands and Cranioscacral Diaphragms. It’s rather exceptional that the energetic Chakra System was devised long before we as humans had an understanding of the corresponding Nerve Plexuses and Endocrine Glands. My holistic Chakra/Nerve Plexus offering looks to bridge the physical and energetic body. Many dis-eases in our bodies have an energetic source that manifests physically and vice versa. Chakra/Nerve Plexus Bodywork sessions address both the physical and energetic planes simultaneously, thereby accelerating healing in a consciousness-attuned setting.