Relax your body, strengthen your immune system and build up your nervous system…

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle body therapy.

This form of therapy is used in empirical medicine. u.a. for exhaustion, pain, birth preparation, pregnancy discomfort, joint problems, concentration and learning difficulties, headaches, trauma, menstrual discomfort, migraines, back pain, stress, teeth grinding and for babies after difficult births, cesarean sections, premature births, colicky babies, postural problems, breastfeeding problems.

If someone z.BIf you experience pain, something in your body is out of balance. Figuring out the cause of pain is sometimes quite simple and sometimes very complex. Our body is a marvel in which muscles, tendons, bones, as well as the nervous system, hormones, and emotional factors all interact intricately.

What do I do as a craniosacral therapist?

I perceive the entire body. For example, headaches might originate from a blockage in the pelvis, leading to tension in the head via the spine. The jaw might also be involved – the masseter, the large chewing muscle that runs from your cheekbones to the lower jaw, is one of the strongest muscles in the body.

At the same time, this also means it has the potential to pull on various bones and other muscles in the body when tense. If the masseter and temporalis muscles (the muscle above the ear) are tense, this can even lead to impaired hearing through various factors, because the delicate system of the ear is disrupted by the strong muscle contractions.

Try gently stroking the muscles above your ear – where is the skin tight, and where does even gentle pressure cause pain? Carefully massage these areas with light, circular movements. The masseter muscle also benefits from gentle, downward circular motions. Caution – never press so hard that it hurts – this can worsen existing tension!

Craniosacral therapy employs various techniques to release and relax both muscles and bones. Additionally, essential oils can be helpful – formulated into a cream, they have pain-relieving and antispasmodic properties, such as peppermint, lavender, or marjoram. Alternatively, plants can be taken internally, such as lady's mantle to strengthen the nerves and tone muscles, or St. John's wort tincture to relieve pain and strengthen the nervous system.

That's the beauty of combining bodywork and medicinal plants – you can work directly on the muscles, nerves and bones, and at the same time treat both the mind and body through the plants with their complex active ingredients.

Mindful bodywork incorporates the understanding that the body also stores emotional issues within its structures. When I release tension, old feelings that were previously held back by this tension can surface. Through herbal medicine, with its effects on both the mind and body, I can support the process of genuine transformation and the emergence of something new.

A muscle of similar strength to the masseter, the psoas, is located in the pelvic-abdominal region. It reacts to criticism and fear, among other things, by shortening, and it doesn't like it when we're sitting and under stress. This fascinating muscle runs through our pelvis to the thigh and inserts on the other side of the thoracic spine, directly below the diaphragm.

If the psoas muscle is shortened or hardened, this can lead to back pain, leg problems, discomfort in the thoracic spine, but also to depression and exhaustion via its connection with the spine and various parts of our autonomic nervous system.

As you can see, our body is a wonderful, interconnected system. And sometimes the causes of a symptom are located in a completely different place than you might think. This makes working with the body sometimes a bit like detective work.

When someone asks me what exactly I do, I say: I'm actually a construction worker. I release blockages in body and soul. I read with my hands where energy isn't flowing. In other words, where—to stick with the road analogy—the traffic isn't flowing. Then I find out why it's stuck. And then, if possible, I release the blockage. I support this with medicinal plants—as tea, cream, oil, or tincture.

Here's an everyday tip for you.

A wonderful tea blend for strong nerves, which also contains many nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium, and boosts our metabolism:

• Stinging nettle for detoxification and our inner clarity
• lavender For strong nerves and restful sleep, roses help us to love ourselves, relax our core, and enhance the effectiveness of all other plants.
• Dandelion flowers and leaves for renewed courage and transformation, and to strengthen and relieve our organs of change, the liver and kidneys.

Mix the herbs in equal parts.

For a healing tea, use 1 teaspoon per mug, cover (to prevent the essential oils from evaporating with the steam), and let it steep for 10 minutes. Enjoy.

Warmest regards and stay healthy,

Anne Hentschel

About our author

Anne Hentschel is a trained alternative practitioner, craniosacral therapist and expert in medicinal plants and aromatherapy.

She works in various practices, treating adults, children, and babies. Her own practice, "Lichtkräuter" (Light Herbs), in Hamburg-Blankenese, opened at the end of 2012. Since 2013, she has also worked as a freelance lecturer, offering training in wild and medicinal herbs for experts and interested individuals. The next course (free of charge in Hamburg) is on [date missing]. March 15th - a Introductory course in wild herb training.

Anne also offers courses online. For example, on April 10 on the subject "Make your own cosmetics". AWESOME!

Here is the contact information for Anne:

Anne Hentschel

Erik-Blumenfeld-Platz 19

22587 Hamburg – Blankenese

Appointments by arrangement

Tel.: 040-27 86 25 71

Mobile: 0177-563 28 69

Website: www.lichtkrauter.de