Pace Makes Space: Small but Significant Changes to Our CST Curriculum

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It’s been 5 years since we launched our new CST program and we figured it was time to take all that we’ve learned delivering it and make some changes. 

We believe education isn’t just about transferring knowledge or skills, but a living laboratory for possibility. Because of that we are constantly learning from our time in the classroom. Just like we do in the clinic; we reflect on what we are doing and ask ourselves what have I learned from my time with this person and how can I use that to create better treatment with them? MMI does that with our curricula too. Nothing about learning is static.

A Pace That Supports Learning (Not Burnout)

Each day is intentionally structured to prioritize learning capacity, not endurance.

  • Thus, shorter days (6–7 hours) = better retention.
    Our goal isn’t to squeeze in more content, but to help you actually absorb and integrate what’s taught.

  • Earlier Sunday end time = smoother transition back to life.
    You leave with space to integrate before the week begins.

This work requires spaciousness. We believe education should mirror the therapeutic principles we practice.

Why the Name Change?

We’ve renamed our courses to more accurately reflect their purpose:

  • Formerly: Foundations and Advanced-Integrations

  • Now: Foundations I and Foundations II

Because we’ve found that what makes an “advanced” practitioner is not more techniques—but deeper fluency in the fundamentals. This revised structure is a more honest reflection of what we teach: a strong, rooted foundation for Craniosacral Therapy practice.

 

What’s New in the Curriculum

Two Foundations Courses, Now Expanded

  • Foundations I and Foundations II each include:

    • 6 days of in-person workshop time (across two 3-day weekends)

    • Online classroom that opens 6 weeks before the first in-person module

    • Online lectures integrated with hands-on coursework

3-Day Weekends for In-Person Training

  • Each module runs:

    • Friday 9:30am–4:30pm

    • Saturday 9:30am–4:30pm

    • Sunday 9:30am–3:30pm

Both students and facilitators have reflected back to us that they like this format.

Why three days? (This is important!)

  • Two nights of sleep = deeper integration

  • More spacious pace = less overwhelm, more retention

  • Fewer weekends overall = better work-life balance

 

Our Trainings Support You in Treating Complex Clinical Conditions

Our new CST curriculum is designed to help you work confidently with a wide range of complex and often misunderstood clinical conditions.

You’ll gain the skills and anatomical understanding to support patients navigating:

  • Undiagnosed or underrecognized neurological H/EDS conditions, including:

    • Chiari malformation

    • Tethered cord

    • Spiky-Leaky syndrome (yes, it’s as strange as it sounds—and yes, people are struggling with it – some spooky shit!)

    Dysautonomias and H/EDS-related nervous system dysregulation

  • MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome)

  • Post-infection sequelae, including:

    • Lyme and post-Lyme presentations

    • Long and medium COVID

    • ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

  • Plus the more familiar, but still nuanced conditions we all see:

    • TMJ dysfunction

    • Post-concussion syndromes

    • Headaches and migraines

    • Neck pain

    • Brain fog (from a wide range of causes)

Our courses don’t just offer protocols. We help you cultivate the sensitivity and framework to meet people where they are, in the reality of their bodies.

New: Certification Program + Practicums

We’ve introduced a unique cohort-based Craniosacral Therapy Certification Program, including two in-person practicums with Michael and other faculty. This thoughtful format is for those ready to take their CST work into full clinical expression.

Features of the CST Certification program:

  • Drawing to learn anatomy

  • Student research project

  • Plus, nobody does a cohort based certification program!

Folks who have completed the certification program have reflected back to us that it was the most comprehensive, integrative clinical learning experience they’ve ever had.

A Curriculum That Makes Room for You and Your Patients

There’s no single right way to practice CST. Our curriculum makes space for:

  • Diverse perspectives and approaches to healing

  • Your unique way of listening, feeling, and engaging

  • The complexity of the human systems you’ll touch in practice

We hold this work as prismatic—what you see and feel shifts as your skills evolve. That’s not a flaw – it’s the point of the work.

If you’re looking for a CST training that honors complexity, trusts body intelligence, and allows you to adapt in the unique ways you practice, this is it.

Iterative, Layered Learning

Our curriculum is living laboratory where we all participate in creating the class. It is designed to evolve with you.

  • Skills and concepts are introduced and revisited across the modules

  • Each stage deepens your embodiment of the work, not just your intellectual grasp of it

  • We emphasize practice over performance, and integration over information

We’re not just teaching you what CST is. We’re helping you develop the sensitivity, confidence, and discernment to make it your own.

Anatomy as Relationship: A Connective View

Our teaching centers on connective anatomy—an approach that sees structures in relationship, not in isolation.

  • Learn anatomy as a grammar of animacy (to borrow from Robin Wall Kimmerer): a way of being in dialogue with the living body

  • Develop touch informed not just by location, but by how tissues interrelate and communicate

  • Gain the anatomical fluency to work with a wide range of bodies, presentations, and styles of healing