Interview of Munts Puig conducted by Alberto Panizo for the magazine Benestar Natural
Craniosacral Therapy is gentle and at the same time profound, and is applicable to both adults and children and even babies. The therapy not only treats physical traumas but also emotional states, whether of stress, excitement, repression…, which will be reflected in characteristic patterns and postures, both physical and emotional. When tensions are released, the energy that was previously used to maintain contraction is also released. The method applies various manipulations or techniques, scientifically developed over the years, that use the bones of the skull, neck, vertebrae, base of the spine and soft tissue throughout the body as a way to evaluate, release and balance the body. The first to discover and develop this therapy at the end of the last century was Dr. W. Sutherland, disciple of the father of osteopathy, Dr. Taylor Still (1828-1917).
1.- What are the pathologies that are most successfully treated through Craniosacral Therapy?
Craniosacral Therapy is successfully applied in different and varied cases, among which I would highlight: headaches and migraines, back pain, muscle tension, joint and structural problems, hearing, vision or mouth problems, digestive problems (such as heartburn and constipation), sequelae of accidents, eye strain, improvement in some types of depression, stress, anxiety, chronic fatigue, lack of concentration, emotional problems, treatment in relation to the mouth (of TMJ syndrome, and bruxism…), psychosomatic rebalancing, etc…
It is also very, very recommended for babies and children with colic, allergies, otitis, hyperactivity and childhood trauma.
And remember that Craniosacral Therapy does not replace or interfere with medical or psychological treatment but is a complementary method.
2.- Do you have to have any dysfunction to receive a Craniosacral Therapy session?
No. Craniosacral Therapy is also closely related to well-being. It will help us calm and relax the muscles, vitalize the organs, improve blood circulation and enhance the beauty of the person from within. It helped us relax by activating the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system; normalization of the “BRAC” (basic cycle of activity and rest). And we will experience “ideal” sensations such as lightness, comfort and pleasure, and also qualities of movement such as fluidity, ease, freedom and precision
3.- What techniques are used to listen to the body and work with it?
Different techniques are used. These, carried out on a stretcher and dressed, range from working on important physiological and energetic points of the body (sacral coccygeal complex, solar plexus, thoracic cavity, neck), to gentle manipulations with the bones of the head and jaw. We also use sustained stretching and pressure, positioning and unwinding techniques that will help the body to release, and some direct decompression techniques.
We also use passive techniques of great importance, such as the “still points”, which have a meditative, relaxing effect and activate the body’s self-healing forces. In my DVD “Craniosacral Therapy” (published by Mandala) I have shown some basic techniques of the therapy.
4.- In therapy, the aim is to decongest both physical and emotional shocks to the body, so is it true that an emotional trauma can cause the same damage as a physical one to our body?
Yes, an emotional trauma that the mind and emotions have not been able to assimilate will leave in the person consequences as important as a physical trauma can leave in the body.
The body keeps track of even what we think only the mind registers. The traumatic events that we cannot even remember are there in the body, and their impact is manifested through frozen gestures, tics, irrational fears, low vital energy, depression, shame, anxiety or distress. The body keeps track of even what we have unconsciously erased from our memory to avoid greater suffering.
In our training courses, in the last two levels you learn the Panizo Somato-Emotional Liberation method, complementing the Craniosacral method.
And how does daily stress affect us?
The requirements and challenges that humans have today are immense and different from a few years ago. The balance has been broken and we have become more mental and less physical. And this affects and will affect our nervous system more and more in the coming years. The natural balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system, sympathetic and parasympathetic (action and brake) are unbalanced. The polyvagal theory emphasizes that the nervous system has more than one defensive strategy, and that the decision to use the active defensive strategy of fight/flight or that of blocking and immobilization is not voluntary.
It is a proven fact by the different studies that stress can be a trigger or aggravating of different pathologies. We can consider it a plague of our time and that will affect a greater number of people. With Craniosacral Therapy and Somato Emotional Liberation we work in a holistic way with stress.
5.- What is “Vital Breath” and how can we use it to achieve our well-being?
The American osteopath doctor Wiliam Sutherland (1873-1954) discovered, in the early 1900s, that the bones of the head had a certain mobility, based on the idea that the bones of the skull are not solidly welded but that there is a micromovement or flexibility through the sutures. During the following 50 years he dedicated his life and clinical work to demonstrating and finding the implications that this mobility had for the human body. In the last years of his life he began to expose his most advanced theories. He presented the concept of “breath of life” as the force in the human system that expresses an inherent principle of order and healing.
It can be perceived as a subtle mobility or tide, throughout the body, forming what osteopathy calls the “primary respiratory mechanism”. He developed a system of examination and treatment of the whole body and achieved very good results. Subsequently, an important line of therapists in the last century scientifically developed these ideas. In my book on the integral approach to health I have developed this topic (Book: “Integral Approach to Health in Physiotherapy”. Authors: Alberto Panizo, Andrzej Pilat and others. Publisher: ONCE University School of Physiotherapy.)
6.-Craniosacral Therapy gives more importance to fascia than to muscle. What is fascia?
Fascia, or soft connective tissue, is the most abundant tissue in the human body, which is attached to the bones that make up the craniosacral system and extends throughout the body, enveloping and protecting each structure, from the cell to the organ. When the fascia is distorted, it affects the system and, vice versa, the dysfunction of the system has a great impact on the fascia. Sometimes we do not know what the conflict is, but we know where it is located in the body and this is a very important principle to solve it.
7.- Craniosacral Therapy is holistic in nature because it takes into account the vision of the human being as a whole. So, does it also work on our emotional part?
Yes, and it is very important. It is already an accepted fact, even by orthodox medicine, the relationship between the body and the mind. I would even say the intimate relationship between body, mind, emotions and spirit. In the field of psychoneuroimmunology, connections have been discovered between negative psychological states and their influence on the immune response. Our body can read our mental and emotional state. Our emotional states, whether they are stress, excitement, repression, etc., will be reflected in characteristic muscle patterns and postures. Even physical and emotional traumas from the past are reflected in our tissues, what we call “energy knots”.
8.- Do we all have this capacity for self-healing or do the resources depend on our age, physical and mental state, predisposition to healing, etc.?
Therapy is respectful and non-intrusive, and will work better if we take responsibility for our healing. On the other hand, we all have the capacity for self-healing. Within therapy sessions we guide the person to make changes in their daily lives that are beneficial for the body, mind and emotions.
9.- Studies in the Therapy assure that traumatic experiences in the womb or during the first years of life, have a decisive influence on our physical and mental development throughout our entire life, so is it necessary to practice therapy on babies?
Yes, and it is very important. Craniosacral Therapy due to the gentleness of the manipulations and the characteristics of stimulation of the body’s own health resources is very suitable for the treatment of boys and girls from birth. Different “mistakes” in the birth can make a birth not as natural or simple as one would wish: use of forceps or a vacuum to extract the baby, cord wrapping around the baby’s neck, presentation of the baby in a position different from the normal one (breech, with one arm, etc.), birth to stop psychological problems of the mother, etc.
Sometimes they are children who present asymmetries in the shape of their head and/or in the movement of their arms and legs, who take a long time to suck to eat, who cry excessively, who are too sensitive to any stimulus, who regurgitate frequently, who vomit, with constipation and gas, breathing difficulties, problems with strabismus and/or torticollis, scoliosis (deviation of the spine), with slow or irregular development, insomnia… Other times the symptoms appear when the child starts going to school: hyperactivityvitat, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, dyslexia…
In general we will say that anywhere the skull suffers compression and it is natural. And the body’s self-correcting system will correct many tensions but there will be a certain percentage of babies who need craniosacral correction.
10.- The therapist establishes a conversation with the patient’s body and unlocks the imbalances so that they find their way of well-being, and thus any of us could develop the ability to listen to our own body and self-heal?
In theory yes, but sometimes we need outside help. Especially because of the physical and emotional aggressions that we receive at the end of our lives. We do not treat our bodies well, we work in jobs that we do not like, we are in relationships that do not bring us well-being, we have not learned to trust our intuition and know what we want from life.
Munts Puig
Alberto Panizo
Osteopath, craniosacral therapist and writer. Author among others of the DVD “Craniosacral Therapy” (publisher Mandala-2006) and co-author of the book: “Integral Approach to Health” (Publisher: ONCE University School of Physiotherapy. ISBN 978-84-484-0196-2).