Craniosacral Therapy in North Cyprus

As we move towards winter many people begin suffering from aches and pains and stiff joints as well as coughs and colds. Furthermore, the depletion in sunshine levels even in a country as sunny as Cyprus can negatively affect some people, causing them to feel blue or even depressed or causing them fatigue and even creating headaches in some people – as a result achieving the levels of optimum health necessary for us to go happily and peacefully about our daily lives can seem difficult.

However, did you know that there is a lesser known, non-invasive and affordable therapy that detects and alleviates imbalances of the body in order to enhance overall health and wellbeing and that there is a highly qualified practitioner of this therapy living and working in Northern Cyprus?

Most people have never even heard of this particular type of therapy which is called ‘craniosacral therapy’ and yet, when given the opportunity to experience it from a trained technician such as Layle Stephen-Anderson from Lapta, it can be a life changing occurrence…

What is Craniosacral Therapy?

Craniosacral therapy is a peaceful and deeply profound treatment carried out on a fully-clothed patient and used in response to many and varied health problems such as allergies, chronic pain, headaches and migraines, neck and back pain, TMJ dysfunction, chronic fatigue, motor coordination difficulties, stiff joints, eye problems, depression, hyperactivity and central nervous system disorders, menstrual and menopausal problems and clumsiness for example - and the therapy is particularly effective with newborn and crying babies as well as in the treatment of hyperactive or worried, tense or anxious children.

How does Craniosacral Therapy Work?

Just as we all have a cardiovascular and a respiratory system so we all have a craniosacral system which, like the cardiovascular and respiratory systems can also influence many of the body’s functions.

An imbalance in our craniosacral system can adversely affect the brain as well as the spinal cord which in turn can result in sensory and motor dysfunctions causing imbalance and a sense of feeling unwell, uncomfortable or unhappy.

The name ‘craniosacral’ is derived from the cranium and the sacrum bones - the head or the ‘cranium’ is at the top of the spine and then the triangular shaped bone at the base of the spinal column is called the sacrum. There is a membrane that encircles a semi-closed hydraulic system that connects the whole craniosacral system and the fully trained craniosacral therapist is able to sense and connect to the motion inherent within the craniosacral system from anywhere in the body. However it is easier to tap into via the skull, the sacrum and the coccyx because they are all attached to the membranes which actually enclose the cerebrospinal fluid.

The positive effect of craniosacral therapy relies to a large extent upon each patient’s natural self-healing abilities which we all have within us. As each of us produces a different reaction to trauma, stress, illness and a loss of healing capacity we therefore present our own unique combination of ailments, pains and dysfunctions to a craniosacral therapist. It is the therapist’s light, hands on touch that assists the natural hydraulic forces within the craniosacral system, that helps to clear the way and improve the internal body’s healing mechanism to be more effective – the therapy’s scope is therefore very wide indeed particularly when administered by a highly trained technician with a great deal of experience, such as Layle Stephen-Anderson.

The History and Teaching of Craniosacral Therapy

Cranial therapy was first used by Dr. William Sutherland (1873-1954), a leading osteopathic doctor at the American School of Osteopathy - but the concept of craniosacral therapy was developed by Dr John Upledger who is an American osteopath, physician and surgeon dedicated to the ongoing development of craniosacral therapy.

Dr. John Upledger’s research and clinical work of the 1970s and 1980s led him to deeply understand the craniosacral rhythm, and this understanding ultimately led him to the development of craniosacral therapy which he has found to be particularly effective with poorly understood dysfunction, with chronic pain, constantly recurring infections and low energy problems in patients.

During Dr. John Upledger’s extensive research, clinical evaluation, writing and teaching he has realised that the use of craniosacral therapy should not be restricted to the medical profession which often prefers to prescribe pain retardant medicine for chronic problems - but that it should be available to all healthcare professionals and complementary practitioners and therefore this hugely beneficial techniques is starting to reach far and wide.

Dr. Upledger’s continuing work with craniosacral therapy distinguishes the therapy from other craniosacral techniques that you may have heard of – basically his ongoing research into how we each handle our emotions and how this profoundly affects our physical health is called Somato Emotional Release and this is a natural development of craniosacral therapy which is also currently helping to resolve many difficult to treat problems in patients around the world.

How Could Craniosacral Therapy Help You?

If you are suffering from any of the ailments or problems previously mentioned in this article such as chronic pain, headaches, migraines, neck and back pain or stiffness, fatigue, motor coordination difficulties, eye problems, depression, stress, hyperactivity and central nervous system disorders, menstrual or menopausal problems or clumsiness, then chances are your craniosacral system is imbalanced and craniosacral therapy could help you.

I personally visited Layle at her treatment rooms in Lapta after waking up one morning almost unable to breathe because of pain I felt in my hip that I believed was as a result of a fall I’d had the previous day…I felt that at 32 I was too young to be walking with a stick and a stoop and I knew I needed treatment, but was loath to go to a doctor for pain killers or an osteopath who would crunch my bones back into alignment!

Instead I called Layle because I had heard of craniosacral therapy from a friend whose constantly crying baby had been helped by the therapy and I discovered that North Cyprus had its very own practitioner of craniosacral therapy, thanks to The Buzz Book.

Layle saw me almost immediately and after just one treatment the pain I was in subsided enormously, I was able to breathe and walk without pain and I felt a great sense of wellbeing. A few subsequent follow up treatments have healed all of the pain and after a visit to Layle I always leave feeling so much better in myself, about myself and about the wider world in general!

In Conclusion…

Craniosacral Therapy is in many respects an additional treatment to others in the field of complimentary and manipulative medicine. In the case of Layle she has several years experience as a reflexologist and has worked longer as a healer and it is this combination of experience which makes her technique of craniosacral therapy so special.

So if you’re not feeling 100% well I’d advocate craniosacral therapy as at least a complementary treatment to any medical assistance you are receiving purely based on my own exceptional experiences of the therapy - and if you wish to find out more about the treatment before you try it from Layle or book an appointment to see her you can call her on 0392 821 2339 or 0533 849 2742.