CST is an extremely gentle technique of bodywork in which as a patient, you will feel deeply relaxed. The practitioner feels for subtle rhythms in cerebrospinal fluid which bathes the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and allows that rhythm to slow down and regulate. A practitioner will also feel for the natural rhythm of organs, circulation, muscle tension, and joints, allowing free flow in these different systems. This allows for our bodies to regain access to our parasympathetic nervous system, where physiological healing is possible.

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Our nervous system (NS) is divided into two areas - the sympathetic NS "fight, flight, or freeze," and the parasympathetic NS, which is responsible "rest and digest" functions. The body naturally reacts to stressors by initiating "fight, flight, or freeze" functions. The more stressed one is in life for any reason (ill health, chronic pain, loss of a job or home, or general anxiety, etc.), the more time our body spends performing sympathetic NS functions. This is a natural survival mechanism to keep us on our toes and able to defend ourselves, escape, or hide. Ideally, as soon as the threat has passed, we shake it off (literally, if you've ever watched a herd of antelope after they evade a lioness, the whole herd shakes), and return immediately to our relaxed, parasympathetic state. However, as we become more and more stressed as a society, and spend less and less time in sympathetic activation, the more difficult it is to return to "rest and digest."

 

Luckily, our bodies are just as hard-wired for relaxation as we are for evading threats. It doesn't take much to remember.

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This transition into the parasympathetic state initiates our body's healing functions. The more time we spend in a state of relaxation, the more regeneration our cells are allowed to do. CST's ability to reset the body to rest and digest is at the heart of why so many conditions begin to improve with treatment. In particular, the function of tissue repair and regeneration is impossible when the body remains in fight or flight. Without this function"turned on," healing slows dramatically. ​