Australian Yoga Journal - April 2018

48

april 2018

yogajournal.com.au

craniosacral

therapy

PHOTOS: DAVE WADDELL/STOCKSY; THIS PAGE: NEMANJA GLUMAC/STOCKSY; ALEKSANDRA JANKOVIC/STOCKSY; HELEN RUSHBROOK/STOCKSY

chakra

balancing

THERE ARE SEVEN MAJOR ENERGY

centres—or chakras—in the body.

“Ancient Vedic knowledge tells us that we

have a vital energy called prana moving

through these energy channels in the

midline of the body. Each centre of energy

relates to a core human need,” says Candice

Covington, a certified aromatherapist and

energy worker at The Chopra Center in

Carlsbad, California.

TRY THIS THERAPY IF... you’re feeling

blocked. “When a chakra is blocked,

energy becomes stagnant and intentions

are more difficult to realise,” says Covington.

So, for example, if you have a blockage in

your heart chakra, you may have feelings

of shyness or loneliness. “Unblocking that

energy channel can help you find ways to

break old patterns and overcome obstacles,”

she adds.

HOW CAN A PRACTITIONER lightly holds her patient’s

skull and sacrum create profound health benefits using barely

detectable movements? Craniosacral therapists believe these

minute manipulations boost circulation of cerebrospinal

fluid—the stuff that cushions the spinal cord and brain—

improving the functioning of the central nervous system.

“When my hands are holding someone’s body, I’m listening

for the tidal movement in their cerebrospinal fluid,” says

Manchester, a certified craniosacral therapist. “Once that

person reaches what’s called a ‘still point,’ the body is able to

drop out of fight-or-flight mode and drop into the wider wisdom

field, where there’s more capacity and less contraction.”

TRY THIS THERAPY IF... you don’t need scientific evidence

to prove the effectiveness of subtle-body energy work.

Craniosacral therapy was developed by an osteopath in the

1970s, yet since then there’s been little research proving its

effectiveness. While the American Cancer Society says this

therapy may relieve the symptoms of stress or tension, the

organisation also notes that there’s no evidence proving

craniosacral therapy’s effectiveness in treating cancer or other

diseases. However, proponents find it deeply relaxing and a

helpful adjunct to other treatments for pain, trauma, chronic

fatigue, and more.

reiki

CREATED IN THE EARLY 1900S, this Japanese technique

is based on the principle that a Reiki practitioner can

channel energy into a client by means of gentle touch or

near-touch to activate the innate, natural healing processes

of the patient’s body. “It’s based on the idea that an unseen

universal life-force energy flows through us,” says Andrea

Hakanson, a licensed massage therapist and Reiki master and

author of Yoga Journal Presents Your Guide to Reiki. “In yoga,

we call it prana; the Japanese call it ki. If that energy is low,

we’re more likely to get sick and feel stressed; if it’s high,

we’re better able to be happy and healthy.” Reiki practitioners

channel energy to their clients to help balance that life force.

The result? Relaxation, more energy, and improved overall

health, says Hakanson.

TRY THIS THERAPY IF... you believe the energy of those

around you can affect your own. Reiki is a practice that uses

and harnesses healing energy, says Hakanson, and if you’re on

board with the idea that someone else has the capacity to affect

your energy, you’re primed to find this treatment beneficial.

“Everything and everyone is made up of energy,” says

Hakanson. “Sometimes you can feel it when someone’s energy

is off—you might say they have ‘bad vibes.’” And sometimes,

that energy—whether it’s coming at us from someone else, or

originating within us—can bring us down, making us feel

depressed, she adds. “Reiki practitioners act as conduits who

put a higher, universal energy into someone else.”