As a Naturopathic Physician with many tools at my disposal, it may seem odd that I have turned my focus so strongly towards craniosacral therapy. The reason for this is how much craniosacral therapy has changed my life both personally and professionally. Many of us who are drawn to healthcare come to it through an experience with illness — either our own or another’s. 

I have lived with pain, limitations, fatigue, and emotional turmoil for as long as I can remember.  It began with chronically sore, weak ankles and knees coupled with anxiety and chronic digestive pain in my childhood. By my adolescence, deep depressions, horrendous migraines, and skin sores joined this list. By my twenties, I had developed metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovarian syndrome, precursors to diabetes and heart disease.  

My experiences drew me to medicine, not only to seek the answers my doctors didn’t have for me, but also in the hope of benefitting others who found themselves in similar circumstances. If I could aid others in ways that I wished to be helped, maybe I could wring some purpose from my pain.

Hoping to find some answers, I pursued a career in Naturopathic Medicine. Upon graduation, I opened my own primary care practice and began treating people like me, who desired healing, but lacked financial resources and had been overlooked and discounted by institutional medicine. This went well for several years, but something was missing. My health was in decline, and people were overwhelmed by the large to-do lists I was trained to prescribe. On a whim, I decided to take a class in craniosacral therapy.

As soon as I began to offer this comfort and care, my patient interactions changed.  People wanted this, people needed this, and they were leaving my office feeling better. Our to-do lists also became shorter and more manageable. Their healing continued between our visits.

I, too, began receiving craniosacral therapy and found it profoundly helpful and unlike any other therapy I had tried.  Pharmaceuticals only worked temporarily before my body would revolt with worse symptoms. Fancy supplements did the same, and I couldn’t afford them anyway.  Massage, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, and even acupuncture could spiral my health into huge flares of pain and weakness that would last for weeks on end.  But craniosacral therapy soothed me, and in it I began to find relief and positive changes in my health at all levels.

As I type this, my health is better than it has ever been and I spend much less time fixated on it than before. My metabolic syndrome, migraines, and PCOS are gone. I can think clearly, my emotions are stable, and my pain level has gone from all-consuming to merely niggling. The looming fear of complete disability is now gone. I no longer struggle with constant digestive pain and can enjoy food again. Exercise and the joy of movement has returned; for the first time in my life, my body feels like a friend rather than a prison.

My health regimen is now easier, more flexible, and much less expensive. If I have a painful day, I can take an over-the-counter NSAID, adjust my expectations for myself, and move on with life. Previously, I would have been stuck in bed reeling in pain despite the opiate medications in my system. 

Don’t get me wrong: my skin is still spotted with sores, and I continue to have minor joint pain. If I get careless about my food, my anxiety is triggered and my body revolts. I cannot consume intoxicants without my depression rearing up to greet me either.  My life is a balance, but I get to actually live it now, rather than spend hours dissociating in search of relief. 

None of this seemed possible prior to beginning my journey with craniosacral therapy.  When I was a new mother of twenty two, my doctor told me that I would be completely disabled by the time I turned 30, and that there were no treatments available for me.  Who would have thought that I would be healthier at 41 than I was at 8?

As a practitioner, I have witnessed incredible instances of healing in those who have come to seek my aid.  Sometimes it is the end of a chronic pain pattern, and sometimes a symptom that was “incurable” disappears or improves significantly.  Other times, people find a new relationship with themselves and their lives.  And every so often, we experience things that cannot be explained, but are profoundly healing nonetheless. I help people with their acute pains as well, and it’s always a delight when someone climbs off my table freed from their discomfort. I enjoy watching them move their bodies to test just how much has changed during our hour together.

I have finally found my way, and am the healer I always wanted to be.  I’ve done this for myself and for others.  It has come through a growing faith in myself, a lot of patience, trust in the healing process, and many humbling lessons.  I have nothing but gratitude for where I am now, for those who have helped me along the way, my teachers, and especially the people who have trusted me to help them find relief.

Over the course of this year, I wish to share more with you about craniosacral therapy, including what we know about how it works, the research that has been done, and what to expect during and after treatment.  Join me for this year’s articles and share them with others. May we all find the healing we have been seeking. 

With love and gratitude, 

Danielle

To find a craniosacral therapist near you visit Upledger International.  There you can search by your zip code or city and also compare therapists based on their level of training.  This is for therapists trained in the same school as I.  There are other forms of craniosacral therapy, but I have not participated in their training programs, so I cannot speak intelligently about them at this time.