cordyceps An ancient Chinese herbal remedy,
made from the fungus Cordyceps sinensisgrown in
the Himalayan regions of China and Tibet, that is
reported to improve athletic performance and
training.
See also CHINESE HERBALISM.
counterirritant A substance that irritates one part
of the body to counteract irritation to another part.
cranial osteopathy See CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY;
OSTEOPATHY.
craniosacral therapy A system of therapy based
on the idea that there is a rhythmic pressure and
flow of cerebrospinal fluid between the cranium
(skull) and sacrum (the base of the spine) that
governs the way the craniosacral structures,
including the brain, pituitary and pineal glands,
spinal cord, and meninges, or membranes, func-
tion and maintain the body’s well-being. Gentle
hands-on “manipulation” of the skull’s sutures,
that is, the delineations between the sections of
cranial bone, and of the spinal column, rib cage,
and limbs is reported to restore the flow and alle-
viate disorders including headache, sinusitis, brain
trauma, transient ischemic attack (called TIA, akin
to a ministroke), strabismus (cross-eyes), trigemi-
nal neuralgia (sharp pain in the jaw), asthma, colic,
Bell’s palsy, posttraumatic stress disorder, rheuma-
toid arthritis, dizziness, hyperactivity, visual distur-
bances, seizures, postpartum depression, learning
disabilities, ear infections, cerebral palsy, autism,
and injury to the head, torso, arms, and legs.
The American osteopathic physician John E.
Upledger developed CranioSacral Therapy (CST)
after conducting a team of researchers—physiolo-
gists, biophysicists, bioengineers, anatomists, and
others—at the Michigan State University College of
Osteopathic Medicine in the 1970s. Upledger
decided that his main approach would involve
manipulation of the meninges of the craniosacral
system. He theorized that cells and structures of the
body have the capacity to “remember” physical or
emotional shock, which manifests in certain areas
he called “energy cysts.” In order for the body to
function normally again, these energy cysts repre-
senting suppressed painful experiences needed to
be dislodged, released, or broken up both physi-
cally and mentally; Upledger described the process
as the technique of SomatoEmotional Release
(SER). Upledger’s disciples often combine CST with
SER, depending upon their patients’ individual
needs. Craniosacral therapy is considered a type of
energy medicine that targets the memory of past
traumas the body subconsciously harbors.
In addition to Upledger’s meningeal approach,
the sutural approach—manipulation at the cranial
sutures—was developed by Dr. William Garner
Sutherland, an early 20th-century osteopathic
physician. There is still controversy concerning the
ability of the cranial bones, which conventional
medicine claims are fused together, to move at all,
and also concerning the existence of a craniosacral
rhythmic impulse. However, there is some scien-
tific and clinical evidence that supports Suther-
land’s treatment, originally known as cranial
osteopathy. Another type of craniosacral therapy,
called the reflex approach, combines the tech-
niques of applied kinesiology with the stimulation
of nerve endings located within the cranial sutures
and in the scalp. A combination of all three
approaches is the Sacro-Occipital Technique
(S.O.T.), which was developed by Dr. Major B.
DeJarnette, a chiropractor and in the 1920s a stu-
dent of Sutherland’s.
Because craniosacral treatments consist of light
palpations, as opposed to chiropractic adjustments
or more vigorous forms of bodywork, critics claim
it cannot be effective. However effective or harm-
less the therapy may be, it may not be recom-
mended for young children or anyone with a
dysfunction that affects intracranial pressure, such
as a brain tumor or an aneurysm.
See also OSTEOPATHY.crystal and gemstone therapy Derived from the
Greek word krystallos and the Latin crystallum,
meaning a lucid substance that has solidified, crys-
tals and gemstones, which are precious and semi-
precious stones, were thought by the ancients to be
powerful, healing manifestations of electromag-
netic energies of the Earth. During a crystal therapy
session, crystals or gemstones may be held by the
client or practitioner or placed in the room or on
the client’s chakras, the energy circles along thecrystal and gemstone therapy 31