“You will just have to live with it?” – “Take these drugs and the problem will go away.” – “There is nothing wrong with your child.” – “We have done everything we can.” – “That is normal for babies.” – “Your child will be like that for the rest of their lives.” – “Surgery is your only option.” – “You are imagining it.”

Hello,
Is your faith in the medical system shattered?  Has your wallet been emptied by over confident therapists? Have you been on the emotional roller coaster, rising in hope that each new approach is going to work, then crushed when it doesn’t? Have you tried everything and still not got the results you wanted.
Take heart, you’re not alone.
In fact you’re like so many of the people who have come to cranio sacral therapy for help and got it.

My name is John Dalton and I’m going to explain a bit about cranio sacral therapy but before I do I want to tell you about myself so you can put what I say in context.

• I’ve practiced cranio sacral therapy for 18 years.
• I’ve treated over 1000 people.
• My success rate averages 85-90%. Meaning 85-90% of the people who come to see me get the result they were looking for.
• I developed the only Australian Government accredited diploma of cranio sacral therapy.
• I was a founder of The Australian Institute of Cranio Sacral Therapy.
• I’ve written two books Why Do We Get Sick? Why Do We Get Better? A Wellness Detective Manual and Maya Noise – Sounds from the illusion.
• I lecture internationally on cranio sacral therapy.
• I developed the Open Source Cranio initiative to bring craniosacral therapy training to people in developing countries

Let me start off by telling you what I’m NOT going to do. .
I’m not going to make any claims that cranio sacral therapy is going to work for you.

You see, here’s the thing.
If a therapist tells you they can guarantee that you’re going to get better or that they are going to heal you, well . . they’re kidding you. And probably themselves too.

We would all like guarantees but when it comes to health, there are none. When you come right down to it, what we look for is an approach that has the most likely possibility of working.

An executive from pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith told Britain’s, ‘The Independent’ newspaper in 2003. ‘I wouldn’t say that most drugs don’t work, I would say that most drugs work in 30 to 50 per cent of people.’

30 to 50%!!

My success rate averages 85-90%

How do I arrive at that figure?
Very technical.
I go through my patient records and add up all the successes.

What constitutes a success?
When someone first comes to see me I ask them what they want me to help them with.

‘I want to stop having chronic back pain. I want to stop being depressed. I want my child to improve at school to the point where they don’t need special assistance. I want to stop feeling so anxious. I want to get off my anti-depressants.’

If, at the end of their treatment program, they have what they wanted at the beginning, I consider that a success.

I know that’s not very scientific.  I’m not going to try and convince you of the scientific validity of cranio sacral therapy.  Let’s face it, if a scientific approach was going to help you it would have done so by now and . . . well, you wouldn’t be reading this.

At best cranio sacral therapy is acknowledged scientifically as having, ‘A substantial amount of anecdotal evidence in its favour.’  Which is an academic way of saying,  ’Lots of people are saying this thing is really good.’

Cranio sacral therapy is not much to look at and when you’re having it done it doesn’t feel like much is happening but it gets results and that’s what people talk about.

It takes the wacky approach that your body knows how to fix itself better than the therapist does.
Let me explain . .
If you fall and bruise your elbow, do you have to think about how to fix it?
Me neither.

Some part of us just knows how to do it. It knows because your body is designed to fix itself. And it manages to do this very well most of the time.

It is part of the balancing act your body is continually engaged in. The technical name for it is homeostasis.

A bit like cycling a bike, your body is continually adjusting itself to the external changes it finds itself in. You run up a hill, you’re heart rate increases and you start to sweat. You have a big meal and your body puts all its resources into digesting the food and you feel sleepy.

When you look at the workings of your body in this way, ‘healing’ is part of the same balancing act. You bruise your elbow, you’re body fixes it. You get an infection, your body kills it off by raising your temperature. What we call ‘healing’ is just another part of the balancing act your body is engaged in.

You only run into a problem when, for some reason, your body has to over-compensate to maintain balance. It would be like trying to ride the bike with a lots of baggage hanging off the side.  You may be able to keep going but the effort, over time would be draining and eventually you would crash.

Our body fixes itself on a daily basis with things like bruises or infections etc., which would be small bags. A big bag would be trauma.

Let’s say a person is in a car crash and they hit the steering wheel at 70kph. That is obviously a lot more serious than a bruised elbow. The impact will put a deep imprint in their body. The broken bones and lacerations caused by the accident will heal within a matter of months, but the physical after-effects can go on for years – causing anything from headaches to depression or worse.

Our bodies never stop trying to release the deeper residual patterns of trauma. If the imprint is too intense it overwhelms our body’s repair mechanism. The prolonged effort of trying to release a traumatic imprint that is stuck is exhausting and after years of trying your body can feel very low in energy.

Birth Trauma
One of the most common causes of trauma is birth. Modern birth is often mismanaged from the outset. Labour then becomes a frenzy of ‘emergency procedures’ which often leave the baby with deep physical trauma.

Even with a natural, problem free labour, if a baby gets stuck and distressed during delivery, even briefly, it can put substantial restrictions into the baby’s system that may not show up for years. I have treated hundreds of babies for a wide range of symptoms that all originated from birth trauma.

And it’s not just babies, unreleased birth trauma can remain trapped in our bodies for years. 78 years is the oldest birth trauma I have treated.

That’s right – 78 YEAR OLD MAN RELEASES TRAUMA FROM BIRTH!

This doesn’t just apply to physical trauma, emotional trauma is just as devastating in your body as physical trauma.

So how does cranio sacral therapy help?
It helps by following the movement of repair.  It’s a bit like the movement of breathing or the movement of blood pumping around your body.  The difference is the movement of repair is very subtle.  It takes years of practice to be able to feel this movement.  Being able to feel the movement of repair is crucial to knowing where a body is getting stuck in the process of repair.

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Let me ask you a question. How much would you pay to get better?

Kerry O’Brien of Australian’s ABC recently did a story on the growing number of Australians who are traveling overseas to third world countries in what has become known as ‘Medical tourism.’

Rather than waiting for over a year to have elective surgery people are finding that they can go to a third world country, pay a lot less for surgery they can have immediately and have a bit of a holiday while they’re there.

The story was about an Australian man who went to India for a knee reconstruction which cost him roughly $8000 including flights and hospital stay. He was quoted $7000 for the implant alone in Australia.

Unfortunately there were complications and the implant had to be removed when he returned to Australia. So he is pretty much back where he started minus $8000.

Cranio sacral therapists charge $100 per treatment, on average, less for children and babies. This will vary from country to country.

We see people every week for somewhere between 10 and 20 weeks. So at most you could spend $2000 to get better.

To get better.

Just to put that in context, a common procedure like back surgery will cost about $26,000. That’s not counting time off work etc. How much of that you will have to pay will depend on your health cover. I have helped lots of people avoid major procedures like surgery of one kind or another.

When I first started learning cranio sacral therapy I really hadn’t a clue what I was getting myself involved in. My background was in Film and TV and I had no good reason to make the change. But once I heard about it, there was something about this cranio thing that wouldn’t let me go.

If you’re having that feeling right now and you think cranio sacral therapy can help you then I encourage you to find a cranio sacral therapist near you now.

A good cranio sacral therapist can usually tell from a description of your situation whether they think they can help or not. If they think they can they will put you on the waiting list for an assessment.

Unfortunately the standard of cranio sacral training worldwide is inconsistent. Beware of ‘Cranio Sacral Therapist’s’ whose total cranio sacral training consists of a couple of weekend seminars.

Ideally, get a word of mouth referral from someone who has been helped by the particular therapist you are considering. If you can’t get that, then ask the therapist to give you some phone numbers of people whom they have helped with a similar condition to the one you are interested in.

Successful busy therapists will probably be less than delighted with you asking for phone numbers and they’ll probably need some time to get permission from their ex-patients to pass the numbers on, but good therapists will be able to do it.

While I obviously think cranio sacral therapy is fantastic, it can’t help with everything. I vividly remember a woman who came to see me for an assessment.  She was in a wheel chair and had a severe palsy which was slowly spreading throughout her whole body.

She had been seeing a ‘cranial’ therapist twice a week for the previous eight weeks, who told her that her skull bones were very tight. The woman’s symptoms weren’t changing. She was desperate and I really wanted to help her.

But . .

When I assessed her I could find nothing wrong with her cranio sacral system. Yes, her cranial bones were a little tight but nothing that would cause the kind of severe symptoms she was manifesting.

Sadly, for us both, I had to tell her that I didn’t feel that cranio sacral therapy could help her.

I really hope you find what you are looking for, regardless of whether it’s with cranio sacral therapy.

Wishing you all the best.

What actually happens in a treatment session?

Most people are pleased to discover is that it’s not necessary to remove any clothing for treatment. The first time I see you I will take a comprehensive case history. Then you lie down fully clothed and I put my hands on your body in different places. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we’re silent. There is no pushing, adjusting or manipulating your body into a set or ‘correct’ position. There is no intrusive probing into your past. The contact is very gentle and people often fall asleep during treatment.

How long does a treatment session last?

Anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on what your body needs on the day. Less time for children depending on how long they can lie still for. Your average 2yr old won’t lie down at all so I treat them as they play on the floor.

How many times will I need to come for treatment?

That depends on what you are coming for. The longest I’ve seen someone for was every week for 3 years. The shortest was one session. Generally speaking a treatment program runs for about 10 to 20 weeks. Children generally take less time. Treatment happens once a week and that point is important, any longer than weekly intervals and the whole thing becomes less effective and generally takes longer.

Will I need to keep coming back for ‘maintenance’ treatments?

No. Once you’re finished, you’re finished for good. When you understand that cranio sacral therapy helps trauma release from your body, then it makes sense that once restrictions are released in this way, they are gone for good. It’s as simple as getting a big piece of cellophane and scrunching it into a ball and then assisting it to unravel itself.
Once it has unravelled itself, there’s no need to ‘maintain’ its state of unravelled-ness, if you catch my drift.

Can I claim you on my private health fund?

Probably not. The official line from all the health funds on cranio sacral therapy is no. Having said that some of the people I have treated have been able to claim it. So it seems to be at the case officers discretion.

If what you are doing is so effective, why doesn’t the government subsidise my treatment?
I couldn’t agree more. I’m not a political type of person at all. So it’s not an area I have focused on. What I have focused on is becoming expert at what I do.

When will I begin to see results?

Often you can feel the benefits immediately. If it takes longer you will generally see enough improvement after 4 weeks to know that it’s going to work.

How did cranio sacral therapy originate?

People have been putting their hands on each other’s heads for the purpose of healing for, yonks!
The first scientific analysis was made in the 1930′s by an osteopath called William Sutherland. He recognised the importance of cranial bone mobility and the detrimental effects cranial restrictions had on the whole body. From his findings he developed cranial osteopathy.

In the 1970′s, Dr John Upledger, an osteopathic surgeon, continued and deepened Sutherland’s work. He shifted the focus from the cranial bones to the membranes and cerebro spinal fluid of the body. He called what he was doing cranio sacral therapy and I think I’ve almost forgiven him for coming up with such a terrible name.

‘So, Cranial-psycho therapy that sounds interesting.’

There has been a lot of cross pollination between the different schools and styles of cranio sacral therapy. Like anything that is unsupported and marginalised, there is a lot of differences between the many schools teaching cranio sacral therapy around the world. Differences in philosophical approach, quality of training and quality of assessment.

It is practiced throughout the world today by many different kinds health care professionals, including dentists and doctors. It continues to be refined and enriched by the practitioners and the schools that teach it.

So what can it help with?

The short answer is, lots of things. Have a look at the conditions page to see what I mean. If you don’t see the condition you are interested in on the list drop me an email to get more information.

Below is a suspiciously long list of things that cranio sacral can help with. I used to avoid printing this list as it put people off because it was so long. If you think of it in terms of Cranio sacral therapy treating the ‘packaging system’ of the body it will make more sense.

If your body was a house, think of all the things that could go wrong if the foundations had collapsed and the house was leaning to one side.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

To read, author Chris Bray’s account of my treatment of Tyson, a 9 year old boy diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder click here

To read South african cranio sacral therapist Jeanne van der Merwea’s report on the Autistic Children’s School Project in Cape Town click here

Back pain

To read about the Polish massage therapist who after 10 years of lower back pain felt she had tried everything click here

Benign intra cranial tension

To read about a 32 year old woman who, after a routine eye examination, was alarmingly diagnosed as being on the verge of having a stroke and scheduled for urgent surgery click here

Cranio facial disorders

To read about a 5 year old girl who was under 13 specialists at the Mater Children’s hospital in Brisbane and scheduled for extensive cranio facial surgery click here

Meniere’s disease

To read about a 53 year old woman whose life closed in on her when she developed Meniere’s disease click here

Neck pain

To read about the Polish massage therapist who after 5 years of neck pain felt she had tried everything click here

Plagiocephaly

To read about a 5 year old girl who was under 13 specialists at the Mater Children’s hospital in Brisbane and scheduled for extensive cranio facial surgery click here

Tinnitus

To read about a 53 year old woman who developed severe tinnitus with her Meniere’s disease click here

Vertigo

To read about a 53 year old woman who had severe vertigo and ‘spin attacks’ when she developed Meniere’s disease click here

Alleviate Your Concerns

Are you concerned about your child, yet keep being told that your child is fine? In my experience parent’s and particularly Mother’s intuition is usually right.

Cranio sacral therapy is a gentle yet powerful approach that works to release any patterns of restriction in your child’s system.

Here are the sorts of conditions I regularly see babies for -

Sleeping difficulties – not settling or not staying asleep.
Excessive crying.
Feeding problems.
Reflux or prolonged colic.
Delayed development.
Erb’s palsy.
Seizures.
These are the sorts of conditions I see children for-

Hyperactivity – ADD- ADHD.
Learning difficulties.
Dyslexia.
Anxiety. Panic attacks. Aggression.
Tantrums. Obsessional behaviour.
Autistic spectrum disorder including Asperger’s syndrome.
Headaches.
Cerebral palsy.
Squint or Lazy eye.
TMJ problems.
Epilepsy or Seizures.

And I regularly see Mum’s for – Post natal depression.

Most of the above problems have their origins in birth trauma. Even with a natural, problem free labour, a baby can get stuck and distressed during delivery. If this happens, even briefly, it can put substantial restrictions into the baby’s system that may not show up for years.

Modern birth is often mismanaged from the outset. Mothers are brought into hospital at the appointed time rather than when the baby is ready. Waters are broken. Babies are induced. Labour is hurried. Mother can’t dilate fast enough. Babies get stuck. Suddenly labour becomes a frenzy of ‘emergency procedures,’ which never needed to happen in the first place.

Violent extractions with forceps or ventouse (suction) are used and if they don’t work it’s off to surgery for an ‘emergency’ caesarian. Because of the seriousness of the situation, and make no mistake by this stage it is serious, the baby is literally yanked out of the mother.

Even with a planned caesarean the incision alone can often cause trauma because of the sudden change in pressure in the womb. It is very different experience for the baby from the waters breaking. Once the incision has been made the baby has to be extracted from the womb. The baby has to be grabbed . . .somewhere . . . usually the back of the neck to get it out. More trauma.

As soon as a baby is born it should be immediately returned to its mother so it can get used to its new environment while still being close to something familiar. Bonding with Mum which should be paramount, but is usually low on the list of priorities because of surgery.

All the above leads to many patterns of restriction within the babies system which in turn can lead to symptoms.

The earlier you get your child assessed the easier it is to treat.

If we can’t release these patterns of trauma we compensate for them so that by the time we are adults they are deeply engrained in our system. They can still release, it just takes longer.

Cranio sacral therapy is particularly suited to babies and children because it is so GENTLE.

Below are Testimonials I collected over the years from my Patients.

‘When I first came to see John in early 2006 I was feeling so down and totally out of hope for recovery.

I had been sick for more than two years with almost no sign of recovery whatsoever. I had seen all kinds of doctors (mostly neurologists) and I had even had my head scanned.

Further, I had seen a lot of chiropractors and therapists, including other cranio sacral therapists.

I suffered heavily from dizziness, head aches, lack of ability to concentrate and a general fatigue which made it impossible for me to do anything without getting tired and feeling totally worn out.

However, all of this changed radically when I went to see John. Already after the first session I felt significantly better the following week. I was amazed and my condition just kept getting better and better over the next 4-5 months until I was almost 100% okay.

Today, I experience only very insignificant fatigue when I work extremely hard. But I guess that’s even pretty normal, so I think it is fair to say that I have fully recovered.

Thank you very much for this, John!! And to all you guys out there of course there are no guarantees when it comes to illness, but you have also got a chance!

And John’s way of doing things may very well work for you!

My case is a very good example of that.’

A. E. -
Lawyer – Denmark.

‘Dear John,
This is a letter to say thank you. When I came to see you I can’t say I had any great trust in you or cranio sacral therapy either. But I knew that my bi-polar disorder was quite literally threatening my life and I needed help. You gave me that help and I can only say how grateful I am to you.

I never thought I could ever live a ‘normal’ life, but now I do, and it’s thanks to you. (Hey, that’s poetry!)
Thanks, John.’

Carla Read -
Brisbane, Australia.

‘THANKS A MILLION.
John,
Just a few lines to thank you for the help and treatment you have given me throughout my illness. You not only helped me but you gave me encouragement.

The medical profession gave up on me whereas you didn’t.

You saved me from going for an operation and for that I am truly greatful.
Best wishes for the future. ‘

Heather Mitrovic – Brisbane, Australia.

‘I first came across John’s healing sessions while recovering from major brain surgery. Thankfully I am now fully recovered and I know that John was a key in that recovery providing a fundamental building block of support and healing strength.

The beauty of John’s healing is that it encompasses the whole person, not just the physical and he works with an amazing sense of humour, lightness and love.’

C. Delaney, Risk analyst – London.

‘The quality of my life in many areas has improved immensely and the layers of healing that John helped me through continue to have a beneficial effect on my health and my life.’

D. Crowley. – Pharmacist – Cork, Ireland.

‘I had Cranio Sacral Therapy for severe pain in my neck and shoulders. During the treatment I experienced a state of deep relaxation and wonderful healing.

My neck and shoulder pain is gone and many other little complaints disappeared. My health has improved greatly, I am feeling more secure and my energy level has increased beyond my wildest dreams.’
M.T. Marsh. Secretary – Galway, Ireland.

‘When I first attended John Dalton I was suffering from high blood pressure, irregular heart beat and had not slept properly for approximately two months. Although initially sceptical, after the first session I was quite convinced that it was effective.

My sleep pattern immediately improved and my chest pressures eased.

The power of this treatment has been that it did not just cure the physical and most obvious symptoms but continued on to help me cure the emotional and more subtle problems which lay at the core of everything.’
Tony Gallery, Computer Analyst – Geneva, Switzeraland.

‘I was in a car accident, receiving serious head injuries and was in a coma for three days. When I first saw John I couldn’t co-ordinate my eyes and had double vision. I had memory loss and poor concentration.

I was amazed by John’s sensitivity. A few days after my first treatment my eyes came back into line and have been perfect ever since, my mental abilities and my energy steadily improved.’

Kathy Kennedy, Acupuncturist – Cork, Ireland.

‘I experienced Cranio Sacral Therapy as a powerful way of accessing the wisdom of the body. It brought me in touch with areas of myself that analytical work could not reach.’

B. Moylan, Psychotherapist – Galway, Ireland.

• Difficult birth – Induction – Forceps – Caesarian – Separation Anxiety
• Accidents
• Emotional Trauma – Difficult Childhood – Witnessing Violence
• Head Injuries
• Surgery
• Lumbar Puncture – Spinal Tap – Epidural
• The After Effects of Meningitis
• Lost Soul
• Misaligned Dental Fillings – Orthodontic Work
• Vaccination and Overuse of Antibiotics

BIRTH TRAUMA – INDUCTION – FORCEPS – CEASAREAN SECTION
Even with a natural, problem free labour, a baby can get stuck and distressed during delivery. If this happens, even briefly, it can put substantial restrictions into the baby’s system that may not show up for years.

Modern birth is often mismanaged from the outset. Mothers are brought into hospital at the appointed time rather than when the baby is ready. Waters are broken. Babies are induced. Labour is hurried. Mother can’t dilate fast enough. Babies get stuck.

Suddenly labour becomes a frenzy of ‘emergency procedures,’ which never needed to happen in the first place. Violent extractions with forceps or ventouse (suction) are used and if they don’t work it’s off to surgery for an ‘emergency’ caesarian.

Because of the seriousness of the situation, and make no mistake by this stage it is serious, the baby is literally yanked out of the mother. Even with a planned caesarean the incision alone can often cause trauma because of the sudden change in pressure in the womb. This is a very different experience for the baby from the waters breaking naturally.

Once the incision has been made the baby has to be extracted from the womb. This means the baby has to be grabbed . . .somewhere . . . usually by the back of the neck to get it out.

More trauma follows. . .

The first few minutes after birth is very important to the new born baby. The baby needs to bond with its mother, if it is deprived that contact it can cause lots of different conditions, from low immunity to behavioral problems to fearful disposition and crying.

These symptoms may not show up for years. Having the umbilical cord cut too quickly can lead to
umbilical shock which in turn can cause everything from digestive problems to anxiety to difficulty sleeping.

All the above leads to many patterns of restriction within the babies system which in turn can lead to symptoms.

Also I have found that a difficult birth can also leave patterns of restrictions in the MOTHERS body that can cause post natal depression.

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ACCIDENTS

In our day to day lives we bump into things, we trip, we have all manner of little accidents, most of which our bodies can repair. If we have a more serious accident the trauma to our bodies may be so great as to put a
pattern of restrictions in our bodies that it may not be able to release without assistance.

Let’s say someone is in a car accident.
The impact of the steering wheel puts a large pattern of trauma in their body. The broken bones and lacerations caused by the accident will heal within a matter of months, but the physical after-effects can go on for years – causing anything from headaches to depression or worse. Their body can release much of the pattern of restriction but it may not be able to release the
entire pattern.

Also, if you have ever seen crash simulations using dummies you’ll know they move around a lot during the impact. So rather than one pattern of trauma there are many.

The other thing to consider is the depth the pattern is imprinted in the body. With patterns of restriction, the greater the force of the trauma, the deeper into the body the pattern is imprinted.

The effects of unreleased trauma from an accident may not show up for years. When the effects do begin to surface the symptoms may not be in the area of the accident. Damage to the lower spine, for example may show up as headaches or depression.
This occurs because of the reciprocal nature of the system.

Just to give you an idea of how devastating accidents can be, here is a list of conditions that can all have their roots in unreleased trauma from accidents.

Attention Deficit Disorder, Aggression, Anxiety, Back pain, Behavior problems, Depression, Dyslexia, Frozen shoulder, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, Irritable bowel syndrome, Obessional behavior, Sciatica, Scoliosis, Insomnia, Sinusitis, Sleeping difficulties,Panic attacks, Spinal disc problems, Chronic fatigue, Joint problems, Torticollis, Meniere’s disease, TMJ, Trigeminal neuralgia, Epilepsy, Migraines, Mood swings, Vertigo, Neck pain, Whiplash.

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EMOTIONAL TRAUMA – WITTNESSING VIOLENCE

Emotional trauma can get lodged in our bodies and remain there unreleased causing just as much devastation as physical trauma.
In Peter Levine’s 1997 article ‘Trauma the Vortex of Violence’ (PDF link to article – Size 192 KB), he draws a mental image of a scene from the Serengeti plains. A cheetah is stalking an impala. He describes the seventy mile an hour chase with the cheetah closing in. Just before the cheetah is about to bring the impala down, the impala does a strange thing.

It drops to the ground as if it’s already dead. It has tried the ‘fight or flight’ response. Its flight was unsuccessful. So it then goes into the ’freezing response’. Even though the impala’s body is still being flooded with adrenalin, it plays dead. All the blood leaves the impala’s extremities, this happens so that if the cheetah decides to drag it behind a bush for later consumption, the impala won’t suffer from too much loss of blood and can make its escape.

The other thing that happens is the impala’s brain releases huge amounts of endorphins into its system. Endorphins are nature’s little happy drugs. Many times more powerful than heroin they put the impala in a euphoric trance and so distanced from being gobbled up.

Let’s say that doesn’t happen and the cheetah goes off to find her cubs. Once it knows it is safe the impala does not run away immediately.
Instead the impala gets to its feet and starts to shake violently. This has the effect of shaking off the endorphins and discharging the built-up energy of the chase. Then after a good shake it does this even weirder thing.

It sort of runs on the spot, vigorously. What it is doing is enacting its escape from the cheetah, completing the chase but this time with a happy ending.

All the above actually happens quite quickly and once it’s done, the impala trots off to rejoin the heard. From the impala point of view it’s not such a big deal because it happens to them frequently. They haven’t got time to dwell on it and they are experts at discharging the built-up energy as a result of it.

It is different for people. We are not so used to life or death situations and have adapted our responses in different ways. For example, it is very common for people who have experienced trauma to have continually cold hands and feet and be in a sort of dreamy other-world all the time. They can remain like this years after the trauma happened.

The cold hands are because the blood never fully returned to the extremities and the dreamy state is because the brain has continued to release an elevated level of endorphins.

One of the main reasons the trauma remains stuck in their body is because unlike the impalas, we have no culture of enacting or completing traumatic events.

Let’s face it, intense shaking and acting out of happy endings to traumatic events are not something we generally encourage or support. If someone started to do it beside you at the local coffee shop, chances are it would be very disturbing to witness.

One of the things cranio sacral therapy does is assist the emotional trauma to release and dissipate gently.

To give you an idea of how subtle and long lasting emotional trauma can be let me morph a couple of patients together to illustrate the point.

Two men, Bill and Ben, come to see me for treatment. They are both 40yrs old and they both have frozen shoulder. Frozen shoulder is where you can’t move your arm without it being really painful.

Here’s what happened.

When the Bill was six years old, he was walking past a building site. A careless builder dropped a brick from the scaffold and it hit Bill on the shoulder, breaking his collar bone. The bone healed within a couple of weeks but the imprint of the trauma never fully released. Bill’s body kept trying to release the pattern of restrictions from the accident but it couldn’t fully. Eventually his body was unable to compensate for the restriction anymore and this showed up as symptoms. The end result with Bill was that by the time he was 40 he had developed frozen shoulder.

Now let’s talk about Ben. When he was six years old, he was taking a walk with his Father in the park. His Father was a little preoccupied because he was currently unemployed and unsure of his next job. Just before they reached the pond they met a friend of Ben’s father who began to talk with him about the possibility of a job.

Ben really wanted to continue on to the pond but his Father wouldn’t let him without his supervision.

His Dad asked Ben to be quiet and patient while he talked with his friend.

Ben was not impressed with this. He pulled on his Father’s hand and carried on in general. Eventually his Father finished his conversation and the friend went on his way.

As soon as he was out of earshot Ben’s Father rounded on Ben. He was livid. He told Ben he was very naughty and that he was a selfish little boy. As he said this he kept tapping Ben on the shoulder to reinforce his point. Not a very severe physical trauma but because his Father was angry and saying bad things about him, it penetrated Ben’s system with the same level of imprint as a brick.

The moment passed. His Father found work soon after and life moved on but the imprint of the emotional trauma never released fully, with the result that by the time he was 40, Ben had developed frozen shoulder.

This idea of emotional trauma getting locked in our bodies is based on what is called ‘Tissue Memory.’ Tissue memory is the idea that the imprint of emotionally traumatic events is not exclusively stored in our conscious mind, but in the cells of our bodies.

If you find that that hard to believe, think about it in terms of DVD’s.

A DVD is made of a sort of tin foil sandwiched between two layers of plastic. There is nothing too amazing about that, yet when the DVD is played through the DVD player and we watch the movie, we laugh and
cry and become emotionally engaged.

The cells in our bodies are a lot more complex than a DVD. They store an incredible amount of information and perform a mind-boggling number of tasks every second. Isn’t it plausible that they can also store individual memory?

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HEAD INJURIES

Head injuries deserve a section to themselves because they can have such devastating long term repercussions. The initial effect of head injuries can be often severe and life threatening but once the danger is over, the ongoing symptoms can often be subtle and very debilitating.

Symptoms, like aggression, agitation, poor attention span, anxiety, poor memory, difficulty sleeping, temperature fluctuation and so on.

Head injuries leave patterns of restrictions in themembranes in the head. In my experience a small amount of pressure in the wrong part of the brain can have widespread effects.

When I say small I mean a few microns. A sheet of paper is 100 microns thick. Head injuries also often lead to restricted drainage in the head.

Not every trauma to the head causes sever symptoms. It depends where the restriction is putting pressure on the brain. I have treated people with patterns of restriction in their head who had no symptoms other than the physical appearance. Jill Orange is a good example of this.

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SURGERY

Every structure in the body is covered in a thin membrane called Fascia. From the smallest neuron to large structures like your lungs or your liver, they are all covered in fascia.
Fascia forms a connective covering that encapsulates your whole body.

If you look at the back of your hand as you wiggle your fingers, what you are looking at is the outer layer of fascia of your hand. Below it many layers of fascia are gliding over each other as your fingers move.

“There is a great deal of evidence to prove that immunization of children does more harm than good.”
Dr. J. Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Control Officer and research virologist, US FDA

“There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them, anyway.”
Dr. J. Anthony Morris (formerly Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the FDA)

“The greatest threat of childhood diseases lies in the dangerous and ineffectual efforts made to prevent them through mass immunization…There is no conv

incing scientific evidence that mass inoculations can be credited with eliminating any childhood disease.   There are significant risks associated with every immunization and numerous contraindications that make it dangerous for the shots to be given to your child.
While the myriad short-term hazards of most immunizations are known (but rarely explained), no one knows the long-term consequences of injecting foreign proteins into the body of your child. Even more shocking is the fact that no one is making any structured effort to find out.”
Robert Mendelsohn, MD.