by Colleen M. Quinn

If you are looking for a unique alternative to solving problems of stress, chronic pain, or a multitude of other issues, Tanya Pratkelis recommends giving craniosacral therapy a try. But don’t let the name scare you away. Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a remarkable form of therapeutic touch that can help a wide range of maladies. CST does great things for people, says Tanya, a massage therapist who specializes in the therapy.

CST is based on the craniosacral system which is comprised of the cerebrospinal fluid and various membranes that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. This system of fluid motion stretches from the cranial area, or the face and head, down through the spine to the pelvic area, which is called the sacrum. The craniosacral system was discovered by osteopathic physician John Upledger in 1970, and he developed CST based on his findings.

The craniosacral system has its own pulse of this cerebrospinal fluid. This differs from the body’s heartbeat, and beats at about 8-12 times a minute. The flow of this fluid through the spine and brain to the rest of the body is essential to the body because this system is central to the nervous system and affects the circulatory system as well as overall health.

As important as the craniosacral system is, it’s also somewhat sensitive and most often affected by the bones in the skull, spine, and sacral region. Naturally, these bones gradually shift because of daily stresses and movements. Over time, the migration of bones can subtly but distinctly inhibit the flow of the spinal fluid and therefore affect the operation of the central nervous system.

CST works by gently moving these bones back into place to improve the flow of the cerebrospinal fluid which in turn optimizes all systems in the body. A light touch, no more than 5 grams of pressure, is all that it takes to gently adjust each bone. This delicate process returns balance to the body’s internal systems and the nervous system especially. When the body works well, so does the mind. “This is the health of the whole body. Your mental state is related to your bones,” says Tanya.

“In a way, craniosacral therapy is also a kind of energy work,” says Tanya, as the chakras can also be affected during a session. For instance, when Tanya releases the sacrum, she also is releasing the corresponding chakra. The fact that a person’s energy can also be enhanced along with their body allows for a deeper level of effectiveness.

Tanya’s specialized work incorporates acupressure and therapeutic massage with CST to maximize a client’s experience. She begins with simple acupressure along the neck, shoulders, and upper back. This soothing process relaxes the client and prepares them for craniosacral work. Tanya also gathers information about the body’s health, such as what needs attention and what is working fine.

With the client lying fully clothed on a massage table, Tanya works from the head down to the hips, gently adjusting bones and muscle manipulation, a mild pulling on the muscles that feels a bit like massage. She first gently touches various areas on the head using very slight pressure along the crown, the back of the head, down the center of the face, and along the neck. This same gentle pressure, which stretches and moves bones, is used as she moves the arms and legs back and forth across the body.

At a length of about forty-five minutes, this first process is very calming. At times, though, it can be a bit uncomfortable, especially during parts of muscle manipulation or moving of the sacrum. Tanya says it’s very important that clients realize her sessions are therapeutic, not spa treatments, and that discomfort is sometimes necessary.

She follows this with forty-five minutes of therapeutic but enjoyable massage. According to Tanya, this massage is vital to the entire session, because a massage helps the muscles relax after CST. It also enhances the craniosacral pulse that has already been improved. This helps close the body’s chakras that have been released during the acupressure and CST.

Although this is generally the way a session progresses, Tanya says that she tailors each session according to a client’s needs. Although greatly beneficial, the effects of CST aren’t permanent, so Tanya recommends clients to come back for tune-ups. Frequency also depends on the person. Returning clients can also choose just CST or just therapeutic massage, but Tanya always does a full session the first time around. “I need to know what I’m working with,” she says. “There can be things that they don’t know about … outward signs aren’t always there.”

The biggest advantage of CST, especially this combination of CST with massage and acupressure, is that it is a holistic process that treats the whole body and finds the source of problems, says Tanya. There are a multitude of benefits from even one craniosacral session. Many people include CST as part of their wellness routine.

CST helps reduce stress, clear up sinus problems, fight chronic headaches, and increase concentration. It’s also great for aiding those with learning disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, and problems with the central nervous system. Tanya also points out that CST is a very effective preventative therapy, because it enhances the immune system and increases the quality of sleep.

While the effects of CST have been observed in many studies and by the Upledger Institute in Florida, Tanya sees the greatest evidence of its effects in her clients whose lives have been greatly improved by the therapy. One client had been partaking in sleep apnea studies at an institute before her work with Tanya. After her sessions, she had to call the institute to tell them she couldn’t be of use to the study any longer, since her sleep apnea was gone. Another client’s sacrum had been accidentally twisted during a colonoscopy, leaving her with a pain that made even walking difficult. She left her first session with Tanya with her cane under her arm.

Tanya has even seen CST work in her young daughter; she was told by doctors that her daughter would have severe learning problems as a result of a traumatic birth. Refusing to accept that nothing could be done, Tanya began CST on her child while still in the hospital. Today, her daughter is a bright, successful young child and student with none of the problems doctors had predicted. “Lots of my clients have tried everything else, but this really seems to help,” says Tanya.

She cites a statistic that she found particularly telling of the effects of CST. A group of tenth grade students with learning disabilities were put in a CST session every day for three weeks. At the end of the period, they went from reading at a fourth grade level to reading at a tenth grade level. “That’s what hooked me,” she says. She started classes in CST soon after.

You could say that helping others heal and overcome physical, as well as mental pain, is in Tanya’s blood. Her mother is a massage therapist and Navajo healer, and so Tanya was educated at a young age in meditation and massage. Growing up, she helped her mother in massage classes. “I was either a guinea pig, or I helped others learning how to do it,” she says. As a cheerleader in high school, Tanya helped out friends in athletics with acupressure therapies.

After college, she explored other professions before determining that the holistic healing and massage she had learned early on in life was her true calling. In addition to being a massage therapist, Tanya has also become a Navajo healer herself.

CST didn’t enter the picture until about seven years ago,when she heard about classes offered in the therapy. She signed up for them with her mother and loved it right away. “I realized how well it worked with what I was already doing,” says Tanya of CST.

At the moment, Tanya works almost entirely through word-of-mouth. The success that people find with her are passed on to friends and family. She says this brings in clients who are serious about her work and what it can do for them. “I don’t want people who want the wrong thing,” she says. She explains that a craniosacral session is not a spa experience but therapeutic in nature, and effectiveness of the therapy also means that people have to take care of themselves outside of the work she does for them.

Tanya has big plans for the use of CST in the future. “I want to know everything about it!” she says, adding that she will be taking more classes in the near future to further her knowledge of CST. While Tanya currently works on individual clients most evenings, she is working towards making CST available to a wider range of people.

She believes that CST can be put to great use in the military. “This can work so well for returned soldiers,” she says, “And it can also make them stronger to go back, physically and mentally.” Because CST can help with addictions, Tanya wants to extend this therapy to local prison systems, to aid in rehabilitation for those with substance abuse and emotional problems. “This will help them to do better when they get out – we should at least try to help them,” she says.

Tanya says that using CST to work with children is especially important and meaningful. Since CST can help with ADD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and migraines, kids can be given a much better chance at success. For this reason, Tanya also would like to see CST used in juvenile detention centers as well. “Kids are the ones who will be next in the world,” she says, “And they are under new stresses we never had. This is a natural way to help that, instead of drugs.”

Working at what she really loves, Tanya believes that CST has the potential to help just about everyone. Whether she’s working with individual clients or planning to take CST to other institutions, her priority is in making this beneficial therapy available to others. “Things are different now,” Tanya says of the world we currently live in. “There’s more stress, worry, destabilization, and people have had to change with it. But now, they have to find what works.”