Craniosacral Therapy

In-Person Clinical Workshop

• Identifying your own touch signature

• Developing your “listening hands” skills - the ability to listen and follow movements within the tissues.

• Indirect and Direct treatment skills which will enhance any hands-on modality.

• Palpating the CS rhythm at multiple sites on the body

• Craniosacral therapy techniques for the sacrum and occiput. The upper and lower poles of the system.

• Essential myofascial release skills for the:

• Thoracolumbar fascia: to support excellent sacral treatments and complement treatment for LBP and related complaints.

• Anterior Cervical Myofascia: novel technique that becomes a cornerstone of many practitioners' work. PArticularly relevant in treating folks post-covid-19.

• Temporomandibular Joint (jaw): It could be argued that no one area has more impact on the CS system than the jaw. We highlight this area and work with it in every module.

• Integrating these specific myofascial release skills also allows you to get comfortable with the hand-skills of CST in areas of the body that are easier to work with initially.

Online Classroom

3.5 hours of online lectures for you to have before and after class to compliment and inform our in-person work.

Our curated online classroom space is designed to support your skills based learning both before and after your in-person training. The “real” learning happens after our in-person weekends when you are in your clinic treating people. This is what our classroom is for - to support your skill development. Highlights include:

• Inspiring anatomy lectures emphasizing the interrelationships of structures and how the feel in your hands.

• Essential principles of the work

• Important historical background information

• Properties of the CS system

• Fascial properties as they relate to CS work

Technique Instructional Videos

1.25 hours of technique instruction to support your practicing after our in person class. After each in-person module you will gain access to instructional videos for each technique we covered. This means when you are in class, in person you can focus on what we are doing and let your mirror neurons fully absorb the work - this is how it gets in your body. If you are scrambling to take notes this crucial aspect of learning is inhibited.

• TLF

• TMJ/Jaw

• Anterior Cervical Myofascia and Thoracic Fascia

• Suboccipital release

• CST for sacrum

• CST for occiput

About Module II

In this module you will learn techniques for the main cranial bones. You will deepen your ability to palpate the cranial rhythm and learn how that rhythm is reflected by each specific bone. You will deepen your understanding of indirect and direct releases and apply them to the craniosacral system specifically. You will be introduced to assessing craniosacral system patterns and how to organize a treatment.

In-Person Clinical Workshop

Because we believe that kinesthetic skills based learning occurs over time and not all at once we build practice of previously learned skills into each in-person training. This helps you deepen skills already learned and apply that to new skills.

• Deepen craniosacral rhythm palpation and assessment

• Deepen your CST skills for sacrum and occiput

• Deepen your treatment of the jaw

• Palpate the cs rhythm and perform releases at the following bones:

• Frontal

• Parietals

• Temporals

• Dural tube release and how to integrate it into treatment to support folks with chronic illness and neural sensitization.

• Be introduced to the difference between sutural releases and membrane releases.

Online Classroom

3 hours of curated lectures for you!: Because learning is about repetition, using the familiar as a bridge to the new, you will continue to have access to online classroom from module I and new content including:

• Further discussion of the nuances of the CS system as a whole

• Anatomy of the cranial vault

• Specific anatomy and cardiodynamics of the following bones with a specific focus on hands-on work:

• Frontal

• Parietals

• Temporals

• Dural tube

• Further exploration of treatment principles and techniques. Having these for review as you gain experience with the work is invaluable.

Technique Instructional Videos

1.5 hours of videos of instruction on each craniosacral release covered in Module II. This resource empowers you to practice with confidence and deepen your skills between module II and III.

• Frontal bone

• Parietal bones

• Temporal bones

• Ethmoid

• Dural Tube

About Module III

This module is where it all comes together for you! You will continue to refine your skills at palpating and assessing the craniosacral rhythm. You will learn how to distinguish between restrictions at the cranial vault (module II) the cranial base and the membrane system. Your cst skillset will be completed by integrating an understanding of the sphenoid into your work. We will learn 4 specific releases for the sphenoid that will inform you ability to address craniosacral system dysfunction. Your CST skillset will be completed by treating the ethmoid.

The ethmoid deserves special mention as current research indicates this is a key site for reducing neural inflammation and supporting immunity.

In order to effectively assess and treat the sphenoid you will get to practice the craniosacral releases learned in previous modules.

In-Person Clinical Workshop

This module is geared towards integrating what we have learned previously with the sphenoid. Techniques covered include:

• Cranial base restrictions

• Membrane releases

• CS system assessment

• Sphenoid releases

• Ethmoid release

• Integrated practice that replicates what it’s like in clinical settings.

Online Classroom

1.5 hours of curated lectures focusing on relevant anatomy and cs skill building. As with the other modules, you will continue to have access to previous lecture content. It is normal that questions occur and previous content takes on new meaning as you have more experience.

• Revising and deepening your touch signature and listening hands

• Craniosacral Wayfinding: how to navigate within the system based on learning the landscape and dynamics.

• Cranial base anatomy

• Membrane system anatomy

• Sphenoid anatomy and cranial dynamic relationships

• Ethmoid anatomy and cardiodynamics

Technique Instructional Videos

If you combine these videos with the videos in Module II, you’ll have full craniosacral video instruction wherever you are!

• All four sphenoid releases

• Ethmoid release

About Module IV

We will evolve and deepen our understanding of interpreting craniosacral system dynamics and orienting ourselves within that person’s system, our craniosacral therapy “echolocation.” There will be time spent refining your skills with both individual releases and how to combine them into coherent treatments and strategies. This is where you learn how to learn from the bodies you are working with - this sets you up to be a student of the CS system for life! Your patients or clients are always your best teachers and develop your own unique style with the work.

Central to the new skills in Module IV are the intraoral techniques for the pterygoids. These small muscles exert a powerful influence on both the myofascial and craniosacral system. Along with our pterygoid work you will evolve your skills with the ever important jaw work. This will include learning another skillset to work with specific tension in the often under treated anterior cervical myofascia, the hyoid muscles.

In-Person Clinical Workshop

• Craniosacral system assessment and treatment strategies.

• Developing treatment flow - sequencing.

• Specific skill enhancements

• Pterygoids - Intraoral work

• Anterior cervical myofascia - Hyoids

Online Classroom

1.5 hours of lectures plus additional time to rewatch lectures from previous modules - highly recommended to get the most of this course. We suggest budgeting another 1.5 to 2 hours for this. Because part of the work of this module is integrating and deepening your understanding of craniosacral dynamics this is a perfect module to go back and rewatch lectures from modules I-III. They were designed with this moment in mind, to support your learning once you have established a relationship with the work.

• How to integrate what you have learned into assessment and treatment strategies

• This integrates with foundational principles from Modules I-III

• Hyoid muscles and bone

• This integrates with the anterior cervical myofascial work from Module I

• Pterygoids Anatomy

• This integrates with all of the lectures on the tmj and temporal bones form modules I-III

Technique Instruction Videos

In addition to beginning more focused integration work, you will be introduced to some new techniques, including intraoral work.

• Pterygoids

• Vomer

• Hyoid

About Module V

This module introduces students to two unique craniosacral releases that form the core of Michael’s craniosacral treatment approach. You will learn combined releases for the frontal and occipital bone together - this is a global assessment and release for the CS system. As you develop a relationship with this hold there is no end to what it can teach you. You will also learn a release combining the hyoid and suboccipital region that gives you a very specific and interesting to the body perspective on deep cervical tension that is at the center of the myodural bridge.

These techniques ope new avenues for assessing the craniodynmacis of your people and can be adapted to any of the other holds aas you gain familiarity with them and the system. Again, these become ways that you are invited to apprentice yourself to the CS system and thus be a lifelong student of the work.

We will learn specific releases for the zygoma and maxiallae bones. These facial bone releases have become a much more prominent aspect of my CST approach as we moved into the pandemic and I continue to explore how to integrate insights from the polyvagal theory into my work. The face is one of our most significant forms of expression and as such a lot of energy is often stored in the facial bones, unbeknownst to us. Additionally, as COVID often has a specific impact on the sinuses, working the facial bones has become much more called for in the clinic.

In-Person Clinical Workshop

Labs will focus on continuing to explore your treatment style from assessment to strategy to revising as the system changes. The new techniques will integrate into your developing treatment flow.

• Assessment and treatment strategy - how to adapt and change as you find out more from the system.

• Combined Frontal-Occipital technique: this is a fantastic assessment hold and treatment technique.

• Combine Hyoid-Suboccipital Technique: Gives you access to releasing the throat and deep anterior suboccipital area which is often neglected in treatment.

• Zygoma and Maxialle: The facial bones are potent areas of expression and can contain little secret stashes of energetic and physical tension. In addition, treating the sinuses is increasingly important.

Online Classroom

1.5 hours of new lecture content to support our in class work. As we said for Module IV, this is intended to also be time for you to pursue specific inquiries you have regarding your process with CST. Rewatching lectures from other modules will be essential for you to get the most out of this process. Skills based learning is a cyclical process. Content you have seen before will teach you something different now that you have developed a context for it.

Lecture content includes:

• New anatomy lectures for the zygoma and maxilla. Combine these with:

• Frontal bone and tmj review

• Integrated Anatomy: Frontal and Occipital Bones with Membrane relationships: Very cool perspective on these relationships. Combine with:

• Membranes and echolocation, along with frontal and occipital bone review.

• Integrated Anatomy: Hyoids → Diaphragm: Also, very cool perspective on lesser explored link between the throat and diaphragm (and thus abdomen, consider this a part of your polyvagal anatomy understanding).

• Review anterior cervical myofascia and hyoid lectures.

Technique Instruction Videos

• Frontal-occipital

• Hyoid posterior cervical

• Zygoma

• Maxilla