Craniosacral therapy
a 60-minute sober journey that became one of the most beautiful conversations I’ve ever had with my own body.
Hi from Dallas!
I want to share something I recently added to my nervous system regulation toolkit. I think you’ll love this one as much as I do.
It all started last week. I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop, cappuccino in hand, as I tuned in to class. I’m currently in a six-month program to deepen my somatic education as a wellness coach, and every Friday we spend several hours studying and exploring the nervous system. In this class, we discussed the concepts of overcoupling and undercoupling. Once it ended, I sat in my car and cried. I’m grateful for the ways studying the nervous system has expanded my knowledge… but it tends to bring up a lot of STUFF.
As I continue to dive deeper into this work and the complexity of this human experience, leaning on practices and resources that support my own nervous system has become just as important (if not more) than the education itself.
After a really good car cry, I took a long walk. Walking in nature is a huge resource for me, and I love listening to a good podcast. I stumbled upon a Bostics episode titled “How to regulate your nervous system,” where their guest spoke of craniosacral therapy. The concept fascinated me and resonated so deeply that I stopped in my tracks, found a spot to sit down, and began looking up “craniosacral therapy near me”. The following week, I had my first appointment.
So… what is it?!
It’s a very gentle form of bodywork that helps the body shift into a state where it can rest, regulate, and heal.
The biggest potential benefits:
Calms the nervous system through deep relaxation
Helps reduce stress and anxiety
Decreases muscle and fascial tension
May ease headaches, migraines, and jaw tension
Can improve sleep quality
Supports recovery from physical or emotional stress
Increases body awareness and a sense of feeling “grounded”
May help reduce chronic pain for some people
I personally like to think of it as creating conditions for your body to shift from a protective state into a more regulated one. And this is exactly why I wanted to try it.
In many ways, I think the last few years have prepared my body to receive what craniosacral therapy has to offer. I consider myself someone very curious and open to trying anything that supports mind, body, and spirit connection. With craniosacral, you’re simply lying on a treatment table while someone gently rests their hands on different parts of your body. From the outside looking in, I get why that sounds woo-woo. But guess what?… I have never experienced that much peace and relaxation in my body except during other forms of somatic therapy or sitting with plant medicine. I should add that this “treatment table” is heated, feels like a cloud, and comes with a Lola blanket.
At first, my mind was racing. As thoughts came flooding in, I caught myself judging them. I kept thinking they were getting in the way of what I was supposed to be experiencing. Eventually, something shifted, and instead of trying to push my thoughts away, I let them become part of the experience. They guided me toward memories that had quietly been waiting for my attention. Some of the most painful ones surfaced, and I could feel them living in my jaw, as if my body had been holding onto them all this time, waiting to be felt or noticed.
Images came. Emotions moved. Sensations rose and fell, and rather than resisting them, I simply welcomed them. As I surrendered, I noticed where the tension was, and I gave it permission to soften. I witnessed the tightness and felt parts of myself completely unwind. A cozy puddle of pure deliciousness.
Very few words were spoken during my session, but everything was felt. It was a 60-minute sober journey that became one of the most beautiful conversations I’ve ever had with my own body. This woman held my body in a way that reminded me of the sense of safety that lives inside of me. This experience offered my nervous system such profound support that my body finally felt safe enough to let go. Nothing to do, nowhere to be, but there.
This is somatic work. It’s not about fixing yourself…It’s about learning to listen and slow down long enough to feel the fluent language that your body has been speaking all along. It’s not always comfortable, but I’ve found that’s almost always where the breakthroughs and deepest growth happen.
While traveling to a place like Costa Rica to sit with plant medicine is an unforgettable, life-changing experience, it’s not the only path to cultivating safety and trust within. The real work begins when we come home. It is a daily practice.
We can’t truly feel at home in our bodies if we’re only seeking moments of transformation in extraordinary places. Lasting change is built through the small, intentional ways we return to ourselves every day. Regulating our nervous system isn’t something that happens in a single session. It’s much more like going to the gym. We build resilience through repetition and the small, consistent moments of choosing to come back to ourselves again and again.
For me, that looks like a daily commitment to somatic practices that help me reconnect with the natural peace, joy, and safety that already exist within me. Over time, these practices have allowed me to access a deep sense of inner bliss. Not as something I experience only during a wellness retreat, but as something I intentionally nurture and carry into my everyday life. We’re all worthy of moving through our daily lives with a predominant sense of ease and presence within.
Something like craniosacral therapy is a form of somatic therapy that can be incredibly powerful (and I’m going weekly until further notice!!), but I like to think of these supporting external tools as the cherry on top, not the entire sundae. The beautiful part of nervous system regulation is that many of the “reps” are completely free. A conscious breath. Feeling your feet on the ground. Noticing a sensation instead of immediately distracting yourself from it. Learning to stay with your experience just a little bit longer. It’s a superpower.
In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s so easy to spend our lives living from the neck up, completely disconnected from the wisdom of our bodies. We’re taught to prioritize looking good, while feeling good often gets put on the back burner. Not to mention the fact that there’s a ton of shame in our society around feeling anything at all. But feelings are simply messengers from our body.
Our body speaks to us through feelings, sensations, emotions, behaviors, symptoms, memories, and even images. The question is... are we listening? Or maybe you’re asking the same question I asked for years: How do I even begin to listen? Maybe the answer isn’t in doing more or searching harder. Maybe it’s simply in being… and in becoming quiet enough to hear what has been there all along. Maybe nothing needs to be changed or fixed… just noticed, and held.
If you’ve tried craniosacral therapy or any other somatic tools that have changed your life, I’d love to have a conversation and hear about them. Or, if you’re curious any of the modalities I mentioned and have any specific questions, message me. <33
Wishing you a really beautiful week ahead,
Xx,
Court