May 11 – 2009

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ Follow on comments about tinnitus
+ Will the Open Source Cranio training
materials be enough or do I need a school?
+ Is entrainment the same as hypnosis?

Hello,

You’ve wondered ‘What the bleep?’ You’ve discovered
‘The Secret.’   Well now get ready for ‘The Living Matrix.’
From what I have seen of the trailer it looks like a
combination of these two movies but focusing on health,
medicine and wellness.

I haven’t seen the full movie myself so let me know if
you have and what you thought of it.

And speaking of epic cinema check out my first
video podcast on YouTube and let me know what you think.

I have had such interest in my DVD Masterclass
series that I am exploring the possibility of making
it available online. Once you have a broadband
internet connection you will be able to watch them
online. This will make it much cheaper to see them
also.

Now, on with the mailbag.

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM JUDAH LYONS ABOUT TINNITUS***

In answer to the question, ‘Have you had any
success with tinnitus?’ he answers. . .

Yes, somewhat successfully, but most clients in this
day and age don’t give me sufficient time to deal with it!

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM SANDRA FEIST ABOUT TINNITUS***

Hi John

Re Tinnitus.

I have treated tinnitus where there have been great
results and other times, some brief relief. I also
always consider diet and suplementation, so here goes:
1. I agree with tight membranes impacting on the
bones and causing tinnitus.
2. Releasing the TMJ can ease tinnitus.
3. A clenched jaw impacts on the TMJ and then as
per point 2.
4. Kidney challenges also seem to affect tinnitus
and this fits with Chinese medicine of the
kidneys and ears being linked. I feel the
liver also plays a role.
5. Omega-3 essential fatty acids in high doses
can help enormously. I had a client whose
tinnitus eased at 3 Omega-3 a day and disappeared
at 6. I wondered what this was all about – could
there have been some arthritis or did the Omega-3
oils halp the membranes, brain etc.
6. Anti-malaria medication can cause tinnitus.

Warm regards
Sandy

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for that Sandy. All useful perspectives
on tinnitus.  I didn’t know that about anti-malaria meds.

***FOLLOW ON COMMENT FROM ESTELLE SAWYER ABOUT TINNITUS***

Hi John
I read life on man a few years ago found it to be
scary and imagined that I could feel all kinds of
creatures crawling on me for a couple of days.

On a serious note I love to meditate at night
before falling off to sleep and I do believe it
to be a great advantage to me while doing Cranio.
I have not treated tinnitus before but have
treated a lady who had gone to her GP because
she felt off balance all the time. She came
to me for Cranio, while I was holding into
her temporals I could actually feel that her
ears were off balance. The one ear was higher
and more posterior than the other and the ears
were truly trying to balance themselves out.

Just held in until there was complete calmness.

Loved hearing from you

Estelle Sawyer
South Africa

***QUESTION***

Dear John,
If I follow your materials and find myself
a mentor whom I see regularly, could I get the same
training as with a school on the Sunshine Coast which
is adverstising five day workshops nine times over two
years?
Kate Pascoe
Australia

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Hello Kate,
Probably the best person to answer this question
is your mentor. They would need to look over the
training materials provided here, which are as yet
very limited, and the school you mention and then
advise you as to what they think is the best option
for you considering the kind of cranio sacral
therapist you want to become.

If you particularly want to get a qualification
from the school you mention, you could approach
them and find out what their recognition of prior
learning criteria and costs are.

***QUESTION***

Dear John

Recently, a client expressed surprise about how quickly
his body fell into a deep state of relaxation after just
a few minutes of CST. He wondered whether I had hypnotised
him. I had never related hypnosis to CST before, but this
connection made sense. As I am not experienced with
hypnosis. I didn’t feel like I could comment on similarities
or differences between hypnosis and what occurs during a
CST session. I wasn’t sure how to answer him. Since then
I have thought about entrainment and how this may relate
to hypnosis. Can you shed any light on this subject?

Happy Easter and best wishes

Cathryn Nitschke
South Australia

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Hello Cathryn,
There is an aspect to the way John Upledger teaches
somato emotional release that is similar to hypnosis.
Specifically the part where the person has no recollection
of the session.

This kind of approach has never been my cup of tea.
Some restrictions release without there ever being a word
said. Other restrictions need to come through the person’s
consciousness.

I have had some people get off the table and tell me
they had no recollection of what happened even though we
spent much of the time talking. It happens rarely and any
releases achieved usually don’t hold.

I came to realise that if a person’s system is
indicating to me that a particular release needs to
come through their consciousness then that is what
needs to happen. Not a partial journey through the
consciousness that is forgotten as soon as
the session is over.

On reflection I came to see that this had to do with
the person needing to integrate whatever was revealed
to their consciousness in the release and they couldn’t
do that if it remained unconscious.

So, for me, there is no link with hypnosis and
entrainment or cranio sacral therapy and hypnosis
for that matter.

Entrainment is the melding of you and your
patient’s systems. Your cranio sacral rhythms become
synchronised. When you still point, they do and visa
versa. The depth you can achieve within yourself helps
them achieve greater depth.

Entrainment is deeply relaxing to a person’s system
because among other things you are listening to their
system in a way that it is unused to and it finds it
very soothing.

The other thing that came to mind from your letter
is that in the course of entraining you may be
inadvertently causing still points. This will make him
feel very relaxed. I say inadvertently because it
isn’t a good idea to actively induce still while
you are entraining.

The reason being that an induced still point causes
changes in the person’s system. When you are entraining
you are trying to get a sense of how the person’s system
is normally. So inducing a still point kind of defeats
the purpose.

And finally the fact that he mentioned the whole
hypnosis thing and put it to you that way would incline
me to think that he had something he wanted to release
but was anxious about what might be uncovered and was
looking for a safe way to do that. Just a thought.

So that’s it for this issue.

Till the next time.

Your Mate,

John D.

Below are websites I recommend to students studying cranio sacral therapy.
If you have a favorite website that you feel really helped you in your training
or practice and you don’t see it listed here then send me the title and a short
review of it and I will list it.

Visible Body
Below is a demo for Visible Body I encourage you to register for
the free service they offer so you can begin to see the anatomical
structures in 3D .

Rupert Sheldrake

Rupert Sheldrake’s facinating work on Morphic Resonance

Fred Alan Wolf
Website of Quantum Physisicist Dr Fred Alan Wolf

Kelly Howel
Kelly Howel’s excellent podcast site with information and links to many cutting edge sources of research and information.

What the Bleep?

Website for the community that has grown up around the movie, ‘What the Bleep?’
Wikipedia

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

The purpose of including meditation in your cranio sacral training is to help you become familiar with your inner state or landscape.

In that way you can begin to differentiate between what you are receiving from the person you are treating and what is just you.

Think of it like this.
You are sitting in front of a big wide screen TV.
The channel keeps changing but that doesn’t matter because you find everything interesting. Behind you there is a small colour TV but you can’t turn around to look at it. You can hear what’s on the small TV but you can’t make it out because the noise from the TV in front of you is obscuring it.

Are you with that image so far? You are facing the big TV with the little TV behind you.

Every now and then, when the screen on the big TV goes dark, you can make out something of the little TV as it reflected in the darkened screen of the big TV.

Let me explain: The big TV is your body – mind etc, your system. The little TV is the patient’s system.

You want to be able to see their system – the show on the little TV – as accurately as you can.

So the obvious thing to do is turn off the big TV, then in the empty screen and without the sound, it is much easier to see what is happening on the little TV as it is reflected on the darkened screen of the big TV.

Learning to meditate is like learning how to turn off your TV. You need to be able to reduce your internal static. What you are left with is a sort of inner silence into which it is easier to hear any ‘noise’ from the person you are working with.

There will be more about meditation later in the course.
For now it is important to develop the habit.

Here is what to do:

• Set aside 10 minutes morning and evening for meditation practice.
• Find a secluded spot in a quiet room.
• Get yourself a timer of some sort and set it to 10 minutes. ( Having a timer gives you one less thing to think about when you are meditating.)
• Sit in a not too comfortable chair. (if it is too comfortable you may fall asleep. Don’t meditate lying down for the same reason.)
• Make sure your back is straight and you are not slouching.
• Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths.
• Starting at your toes check through your body for any tension you may be holding. If you find any let it go.
• Remember to breath.
• Turn off any internal conversations, monitoring or narration you might be engaged in.
• Allow your mental screen to go blank.
• Remember to breath.
• Whenever you find yourself thinking turn off any internal conversations, monitoring or narration you might be engaged in.
• Allow your mental screen to go blank.
• Remember to breath.
• Continue like this until you timer goes off.

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

Fundamentally Cranio Sacral Therapy helps remove trauma from the body. This can be physical trauma, like a car accident, a fall on the back steps or a difficult birth.

Trauma can also be emotional like a deep shock, prolonged unhappiness or witnessing violence. Trauma leaves an imprint in the body, which over time can inhibit normal function and cause pain.

In the example of a car accident, 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. This is because the crash leaves a deep but subtle imprint in the body. Over time these imprinted patterns of restriction can inhibit the body’s natural function causing an array of symptoms, which progressively worsen.

The body tries to release these patterns of restriction from the moment they are imprinted. Under the right circumstances it can spontaneously free itself of these restrictive patterns, but if the imprint is too intense it overwhelms the body’s ability to effect a release.
Cranio Sacral therapy works with this naturally occurring release mechanism, inducing the ‘right’ circumstances under which a natural release occurs.

With emotional trauma, the process of imprinting a restriction pattern happens in the same way. An intense emotional trauma can be imprinted in the body leaving restrictions, which can cause significant physical problems.

Treatment

There are two aspects to the process of Cranio Sacral treatment. The first is to locate the primary restriction causing the problem. The second is to encourage this restriction to release.

We use highly refined palpatory skills to perceive areas of restriction. Palpation is defined as ‘examining by touch’ or ‘listening with the hands’. It relates to how things feel with your hands.

Rather than pushing or manipulating the body into a set or ‘correct’ position, we use techniques to assist the body to release its own restrictions.
When restrictions are released in this way they are gone for good. Once a treatment program is complete there are no follow up or maintenance programs.

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

The course is divided into 6 blocks of learning.  Basics 1-3 and Advanced 1-3.  Each block takes 4 months to complete.  Each block builds on the last.  I don’t recommend you ‘cram’ any of the blocks or jump ahead prematurely.  The time allotted for each block is to allow the practice to sink in.  You head may grasp the concepts but it takes longer for your palpatory skills
to grow.

On the other hand don’t spend longer than 4 months on any block. Self doubt is something most cranio sacral students grapple with.  There can be a temptation to not move on because you feel like you haven’t mastered a particular block.  If this happens talk it out with your mentor.  If they say you are ready then you are.

The majority of your learning is self directed, meaning you direct how much study and practice you engage in.  To become competent I recommends you set aside 15 to 20 hours a week for your Cranio

Sacral learning.

I suggest you divide up the four months of each block as follows:

Month 1
Go over all the training materials in the given block in the first week.
Practice all the techniques for a day or so then go and have some directional assessment with your mentor to ensure you are doing everything correctly. Contine to practice and study for the rest of the month.

Month 2
Begin the month with a directional assessment with your mentor to ensure you are doing everything correctly.

Month 3
In the second week of the month have a directional assessment with your mentor to ensure you are doing everything correctly.
At the end of the month complete the directional written assessments for the block.

Month 4
End the month with a competence assessment with your mentor and complete the competence written assessments.

Each learning block has a set of learning outcomes.   When you are competent in all the learning outcomes for a block you are competent in that block.  When you are competent in all the blocks you are a competent cranio sacral therapist.

Assessment “Oh no, an exam!!”

Assessment doesn’t mean examination. A written assessment isn’t an ‘exam’.
There are 2 types of assessment.

Directional Assessment:     This is assessment designed to keep you on the right track.  It is assessment built into the learning. It is intended to help you avoid getting into bad habits by practicing a technique incorrectly or labouring under an incorrect understanding of a concept.

Competence assessment:     This is assessment used towards the end of a block to assess your competence in the material covered.

There are only two results that can come from a competence assessment. Competent or Not Yet Competent.  There is no passing or failing.  One person is not deemed more competent
than another.  If you are not yet competent in a technique it does not mean you cannot continue in your training, it just means you need to be assessed in this technique again when you have followed the action plan that the assessor lays out for you.

Practical Assessment

For this assessment you will need to bring a patient.  The assessor will ask you to preform different techniques.  As you preform the techniques the assessor will tune in to your patient.  The assessor may talk to you as you are working.  At the end of the assessment the assessor will review what has been done and develop an action plan to assist you in the areas you are not yet competent in.

Written Assessment

There are 2 written assessments on the material covered in each block.

Closed Book:    This is an assessment of knowledge and covers the fundamentals of what has been covered.  The things you should know without having to refer to a text book.  The things you use during treatment.

Open Book:    During this assessment you can refer to any text book or reference material you wish.  It is an assessment of your understanding.

<< Back to Basics 1 syllabus

Lesson B2.1.0 —- Primary Lesions.

Lesson B2.2.0 —- Vertebral Classification.

Lesson B2.3.0 —- Building up a Picture of the Total System Demo.

Lesson B2.4.0 —- Nervous System – Basic Structure of a Neuron.

Lesson B2.5.0 —- Basic Divisions of Nervous System.

Lesson B2.6.0 —- Plexus Demo

Lesson B2.7.0 —- Nervous System – Cervicle Plexus – Dermatomes

Lesson B2.8.0 —- Somatic nerve plexi

Lesson B2.9.0 —- Nervous system mind map

Lesson B2.10.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis in More Detail.

Lesson B2.11.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Flexion/ Extension Lesion.

Lesson B2.12.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Torsion Lesion.

Lesson B2.13.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Sidebending Lesion.

Lesson B2.14.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Lateral Sheer Lesion.

Lesson B2.15.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Verticle Sheer Lesion.

Lesson B2.16.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Compression Lesion.

Lesson B2.17.0 — Sphenobasilar Synchondrosis Lesion Stacking.

Lesson B2.18.0 — Case Histories Expanded.

Lesson B2.20.0 –  Patient information sheet

Lesson B2.21.0 –  Ball Carrying Game for Leg Movement in Unwinding.

Lesson B2.22.0 — Wrist Release Demo.

Lesson B2.23.0 — Ankle Release Demo.

Lesson B2.24.0 — Rocking the Sacrum.

Lesson B2.25.0 –  Pelvic girdle evaluation demo.

Lesson B2.26.0 —   Pelvic girdle evaluation.

Lesson B2.27.0 –  Working with energy.

Lesson B2.28.0 –  Sensing energy between hands.

Lesson B2.29.0 –   Energy Driving.

Lesson B2.30.0 –  Mastoid tip Compression Demo.

Lesson B2.31.0 –  Sacral contact and Ilia crest evaluation.

Lesson B2.32.0 –  Occiput and Sacral contact Demo

Lesson B2.33.0 –  Dural Tube Release Demo

Lesson B2.34.0 –  Micro Treatment – Demo.