All memos tagged #craniosacral-lexicon

Dural tube is the membrane sleeve running from skull to sacrum that, in this model, links the two ends of the system. In Craniosacral Therapy a hold at the head is understood as related to a hold at...

Stillness is the quality of the session compared with compressive massage. In Craniosacral Therapy the room, the hands, and the pace stay quiet. That is the method, not a moral claim, and not a...

Membranes are the layers wrapping the brain and spinal cord that this model treats as able to carry restriction. In Craniosacral Therapy the hands listen along that system from cranium to sacrum. The...

Upledger is John E. Upledger, the osteopathic physician who developed the contemporary form of craniosacral therapy. His teaching named the five-gram touch, still point, and somatoemotional release...

Still point is a pause in the felt rhythm that often comes with deep relaxation, which the practitioner may invite with a gentle hold. In Craniosacral Therapy the hands wait; they do not force a...

SomatoEmotional Release is Upledger's term for emotion surfacing during craniosacral work; experiential, not psychotherapy. A hold is on; feeling moves through — tears, heat, a memory, a sigh. In...

Unwinding is slow, spontaneous movement of the head, neck, or limbs that the practitioner follows rather than directs. In Craniosacral Therapy a hold is on; the head may begin to turn or the arm to...

Cranial base release is light holds at the base of the skull, where the neck meets the head. In Craniosacral Therapy the contact is about five grams, listening at the occiput, not a suboccipital...

Thoracic inlet is the ring at the top of the ribcage where the neck meets the chest, a common release site. In Craniosacral Therapy the hands rest there at about five grams, listening, not stripping...

Temporal hold is hands cradling the sides of the head above the ears. In Craniosacral Therapy the contact is about five grams, listening, not compressing the temples and not an adjustment. Dizziness,...

Sacral hold is a hand cradling the sacrum to feel and follow its motion. In Craniosacral Therapy it is the other end of the system from the cranium, at about five grams. It is not a pelvic...

Light touch is the defining quality of the work; nothing is pushed, thrust, or adjusted. In Craniosacral Therapy the dose is about five grams. Heavier, faster, or adjusting is a different practice....

Listening hands are hands placed to sense rather than to do. In Craniosacral Therapy the contact is about five grams and still. The work is attending to what practitioners report feeling — a tide, a...

Holding is resting the hands still and waiting for tissue to change rather than pressing. In Craniosacral Therapy the hold is about five grams and may last minutes. It is not Sustained Pressure as a...

Diaphragm release is soft holds at the pelvic floor, the breathing diaphragm, and the top of the ribcage to let those horizontal tissues soften. In Craniosacral Therapy the hands rest at about five...

Craniosacral rhythm is the slow, tidal motion practitioners report feeling at the head and sacrum. In Craniosacral Therapy the hands listen for that tide and follow it; they do not impose it. The...

Five grams is the touch used, about the weight of a nickel. In Craniosacral Therapy that dose is the method. Heavier is a different modality. The number is a teaching image, not a scale on the table,...

The Craniosacral Therapy Glossary collects the terms used when Craniosacral Therapy appears in a Somatic Realignment Therapy session note, defined in plain language for clients; the rhythm and fluid...