What to Expect

What can I expect from a session at Awakening Wellness?

Each session is as unique as the individual and is specifically tailored to what each client needs. I begin by scanning the client’s body while they are standing and also when they are lying on the table.   Your body will draw my attention, like a magnetic pull, to the area that needs the most attention. Then depending on what your body needs, I either begin with CranialSacral Therapy (CST) techniques or Visceral Mobilization (VM) techniques. I am always re-scanning the body during the session to see “where to go” next. Everything in the body is connected through the connective tissue (fascial) system. Releasing tensions in one area will then point to its related counterpart in the dysfunction pattern.

Just as each individual experiences a session differently, the results can be diverse as well. You may leave in such a relaxed state that you feel like sleeping for hours. Or you may leave full of boundless energy. You may feel a decrease in pain or an increase in function immediately after the session, or the effects may develop gradually over the next few days. 

Since CST and VM help the body resume its natural healing processes, it’s common for your improvements to continue weeks after the session. You may also experience a reorganization phase as your body releases previously held patterns and adapts to a new state of wellness.

What can I expect from a CranioSacral Therapy treatment?

CST is a full body treatment that is done while the client is fully clothed and relaxing on a massage table.  The session can last an hour, although some people choose to have a 90 minute session.  The therapist will sit or stand, positioned at various points of your head, torso or feet. At times your practitioner may also support your limbs and spine while helping your body release accumulated tension. 

What you experience during a session is highly individual. Some people say they feel deeply relaxed, while others describe feeling unwinding sensations as the body releases tension. You may even recall circumstances surrounding a past trauma or injury that caused your body stress. While it doesn’t occur in every session, this aspect of the process – called SomatoEmotional Release – is perfectly normal, and helps the body reverse dysfunction and restore optimal levels of mobility. 

Just as each individual experiences a session differently, the results can be diverse as well. You may leave in such a relaxed state that you feel like sleeping for hours. Or you may leave full of boundless energy. You may feel a decrease in pain or an increase in function immediately after the session, or the effects may develop gradually over the next few days. 

Since CST helps the body resume its natural healing processes, it’s common for your improvements to continue weeks after the session. You may also experience a reorganization phase as your body releases previously held patterns and adapts to a new state of wellness.

How does CranioSacral Therapy work?

Every day you endure stresses and strains and your body absorbs them. But your body can only handle so much tension before the tissues begin to tighten.  CranioSacral Therapy releases these tensions to allow the entire body to relax and self-correct. Using a gentle touch — starting with about the weight of a nickel — practitioners evaluate your internal environment. Then they use distinctive light-touch techniques to release any restrictions they find.  By freeing the central nervous system to perform at its best, CranioSacral Therapy works with the body’s natural healing mechanisms.  It eliminates pain and stress, strengthens your resistance to disease, and enhances your health and well-being.

How does Visceral Mobility work?

VM is a technique that requires contact to the skin or your abdomen or thoracic (chest) cavity. You will be fully clothed and your belly will be exposed for the treatment. Some people prefer to wear gym clothes which are loose fitting and women often wear a sports bra for greater comfort. The techniques are performed with the client either sitting or lying on the massage table.

During a session the practitioner will gently and firmly connect with and then engage the body’s organs (liver, kidneys, stomach, intestines, heart, lungs, etc.) and surrounding connective tissues. Using specific and direct techniques, the practitioner will release tensions and restrictions in the organs, surrounding tissues and supporting ligaments, enabling the body to self-correct, restoring both mobility and better function. As a result, the organs will glide freely, work more effectively and there is better overall whole body communication.

What Conditions do CranioSacral Therapy and Visceral Mobilization Address?

These techniques strengthen the body’s ability to better take care of you.  It helps alleviate a range of illness, pain and dysfunction, including, but not limited to:

  • Migraines and Headaches
  • TMJ
  • Chronic Neck and Back Pain
  • Stress and Tension
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Post-surgical pain & dysfunction
  • Digestive Problems
  • Hormonal Imbalances
  • Fatigue
  • ADD / ADHD
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Motor Coordination Problems

Infants find benefit to alleviate the following issues:

  • Colic
  • Elimination isssues
  • Hard to soothe babies
  • Breastfeeding Difficulties
  • Spitting Up
  • Reflux
  • Birth Trauma or Difficult Birth
  • Sleep Problems
  • Torticollis
  • Misshapen Heads

In young children, CST  and VM can help alleviate:

  • Chronic Middle Ear Infections
  • Headaches
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Digestive Problems
  • Elimination Problems
  • Sensory Integration Problems
  • Developmental Delays
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Motor Coordination Problems