One compelling aspect of practicing CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is the perspective shift it encourages for many related to the relationship of therapist and patient.
The very nature of this approach upends the hierarchy found in many of our healthcare relationships whether in traditional or alternative care.
It is reshuffled to a leveled exchange with the patient empowered to lead and the therapist focused as a neutral facilitator and follower. I've shared a separate entry about following here.
CST is a practice recognizing that your system leads and is one respecting that your system knows best what it needs. Much of the therapists' foundational work in addition to technique, anatomy, and the system's physiology is about this aspect of big T, "Trust".
In simplest language, this is not a “doing to” therapy, this is a “listening to” therapy.
That this is a therapy focused on the therapist developing open and neutral listening skills is an important distinction in the fundamental approach of CranioSacral.
Do you recognize the difference in the placement of leadership/action/empowerment?
It rests not with the therapist but with you, the patient.
Dr. John Upledger, DO, OMM (1932-2012), developer of CranioSacral Therapy and founder of Upledger Institute, explained it in the simplest phrase,