I have had some people comment that craniosacral therapy is “just touch” – what’s the big deal?! Why do I need to study for 2 years just to learn how to touch? I even had one person who had seen some YouTube video about how to give CST and had “learned” it like that and was giving treatments – and the treatments according to him were working! He said my clients are feeling relaxed and calm.

It is true, that our bodies enjoy touch. Especially touch from a person who has the intention to help and heal. Somewhere, the person receiving that touch will feel good. However, there is a big difference between being relaxed and feeling pleasant, to actual healing taking place.

The touch of a person trained to touch with thinking, feeling fingers is a completely different experience. With the skill that has been learned and practiced for years, a CST practitioner can assist the body to unlock its own healing potential. During a CST session, the practitioner ever so gently nudges the body towards health – a space where every single body inherently wants to be. Here, in this almost sacred space, healing happens. And through the healing, a sense of deep calm emerges. And the client rests.

This relaxation, which is a function of the healing that has taken place, is light years apart from the superficial relaxation that a person can bring about by just touching.

Think of someone who is hungry. You show them pictures and a menu full of mouth wateringly delicious food. For sure, they will have saliva secreted in their mouths and a bit of acid in their stomach, as the body would get ready for the feast to come. But that’s about it. There is no real food there, and their hunger is not satiated. Much the same way, the touch of a person who has learned superficially just tantalizes the client’s body with the promise of healing. A person who has studied deeply and practiced their technique over a long period of time actually brings about healing.

CST as it is practiced today is the culmination of more than a hundred years of research by absolute visionaries and geniuses. Doctors and healers who went against the institution because they believed in the innate ability of the body to heal itself and the role a practitioner needs to play to bring that about. The field has a rich lore of Knowledge and techniques which at their core, is touch.

When you are wanting to learn and practice a delicate alternative healing therapy like CST, with the intention to truly help others find health, do you really believe that a YouTube video or a weekend seminar will help you find and hone that precious skill?

You only delude yourself when you think you know CST if all you have done is a weekend seminar or two. Decide what you would rather be – a person who can help another relax, or a practitioner who can bestow the gift of health to their client.

You blossom as a practitioner only when you dedicate yourself to learning and practicing this profound healing modality. You become an asset to society and help countless people through aches, pains, ailments and traumas to become whole again.

One of the best compliments I have received from a client after a few sessions of CST is – Bawa, I feel like myself again.

SSTCHA offers a two-year part-time course to learn Craniosacral Therapy – Read more about our program and how to apply for it