CranioSacral Therapy: What to Expect During and After a Session
Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a non-invasive form of natural healing therapy that’s becoming a favorite among health professionals and licensed practitioners alike. If you’ve heard of this form of holistic healing, you may be curious to hear what it’s all about. Before trying it out, you might be asking, “What should I expect during a craniosacral therapy session?” or “What are common reactions after CST?”
In this blog, I answer these questions and more. I’ll explain how craniosacral therapy works and what exactly happens during a session. I also lay out a couple of side effects you should expect after craniosacral therapy. Let’s start with the typical layout of a CST session.
How is CranioSacral Therapy Performed?
Craniosacral therapy, characterized by a minimal amount of touch and force, offers clients a healing experience that some may find comparable to a gentle, full-body massage. Notably, clients stay fully clothed during the session. Oftentimes, a CST session will begin with the therapist asking the client about health history and current pain they’re experiencing, such as TMJ or chronic pain. This is also an important time for clients to share concerns and goals for the therapy session. Clients goals can be healing from trauma, alleviating tinnitus or TMJ, or a variety of physical ailments. During this discussion, it’s important that the therapist openly communicates expectations and possible risks, helping the client feel comfortable and prepared for the session.
Following this conversation, the craniosacral therapist will instruct the client to either lie down or sit on a massage table or comfortable chair. Certain therapists may decide to play soothing music in the background and lower the lights, helping the client enter into a state of relaxation. The CST practitioner will then begin to identify blocked areas of the cerebrospinal fluid. Using a gentle touch technique (less than 5 grams of pressure), therapists will apply light touch to the client’s head, face, neck, and other body parts to clear restrictions within soft tissue and bony structures of the body. The treatments are an intentional practice to regulate the client’s nervous system and release the stress that’s being held within their body.
It’s common for clients to need about 3–10 CST sessions, depending on their needs and health experience. However, some individuals benefit from ongoing maintenance sessions to continue their journey of holistic healing. When you meet with a CST therapist, they’ll help you determine how many sessions will be most beneficial to you.
3 Reactions to Expect After CranioSacral Therapy
Over the last few decades, craniosacral therapy has been known to promote countless benefits within the holistic health industry. CST has the power to aid in treating depression, insomnia, chronic pain, TMJ, PTSD, and other illnesses. Craniosacral therapy is also a form of natural therapy for babies, helping to treat congestion, tongue tie, colic, latch problems, reflux and more.
The worsening of pain before it heals
CST is like deep cleaning your house—it could get worse before it gets better. Following CST, some patients may experience nausea, bodily discomfort, achy muscles, headaches, or a feeling of sluggishness.
Why do these reactions occur after a craniosacral therapy session? When the restrictions within your body are released during CST, your body will enter into a natural detoxification process to reset the nervous system. The side effects following a CST session are often a way for your body to let go of the toxins it's been holding onto. These toxins could be trauma within the body or restrictions within the soft tissues. It’s rare that a client will feel fatigue or ill after a treatment. This is normal as the body processes released toxins. They should dissipate within a day.
The surfacing of unexpected emotions
Similar to the reason for pain worsening after a CST session, patients can expect to feel numerous emotions arise after craniosacral therapy. It’s common knowledge that trauma and unprocessed experiences are held within the body, causing tightness, pain, and a variety of other health problems. CST is one of the natural forms of healing that practitioners and health professionals use to release distressing experiences from the body.
While CST can be extremely healing, it can also cause difficult emotions such as grief, anger, and confusion to arise following a session. The good news is that these emotions are revealing a deeper issue that can be acknowledged and healed. However, it’s important to talk with close friends and family about these emotions or painful memories that are surfacing after a CST session. It can also be helpful to talk with a licensed therapist if the emotions feel overwhelming. A therapist or counselor will be able to walk with you as you heal, and they’ll help you find a deepened sense of freedom and connection with your body.
Frequent urination or bowel movements
It may be surprising to hear that you can expect frequent bowel movements and increased urination after craniosacral therapy. Tightness within the body is released during CST, causing your muscles to relax. This, in turn, expands your body and allows more room for your internal organs to function properly. Just as CST allows your body to release pent-up emotion, craniosacral therapy may also aid your body in waste removal. Don’t be shocked if you go to the bathroom more often after a CST session! Let it be a sign that your body is releasing emotions, experiences, pain, and tightness that are no longer serving you. If you experience these symptoms, it means you’re on the road to healing!
Hire a CranioSacral Therapist to Experience Its Healing Remedies for Yourself
Now that you know what to expect during and after a craniosacral therapy session, are you ready to try it out for yourself? CST is a safe, holistic approach to healing that deepens your mind-body connection and promotes nervous system regulation.
I’ve been practicing CST for over a decade, experiencing firsthand the healing remedies this form of therapy has had on countless clients. I consult with each client, sitting down with them to discuss goals, worries, and expectations. I approach each craniosacral therapy session with empathy, understanding, and a client-oriented outlook. I’ve worked with numerous clients, young and old, to manage stress, reduce and eliminate chronic pain, and a diverse set of health problems. Contact me to book a free consultation in northern Utah, and start your journey of holistic healing.
