Craniosacral therapy is based on concepts that date back thousands of years and are buttressed by 20th century medical research.
An American osteopathic physician named William Sutherland is credited with being the father of what is known as craniosacral therapy. While he is credited with being the founder of this work, some of the concepts predate him by thousands of years.
Earlier Applications and Understandings
There is a Chinese text from four thousand years ago which makes reference to the art of “listening†and “calming†the heart through touching the body very lightly. Cranial manipulation is also thought to have been practiced by the ancient Egyptians and members of the Paracus culture in Peru around 2000 BC- 200 AD. This concept of listening to the body acknowledged that the vitality of the body is connected to the neural network.
More recently in the Middle Ages, European practitioners known as “bone setters†utilized light manipulations of bony structures to basically reset fractures and dislocations and to even treat headaches.
The studies of 18th century, European philosopher and scientist, Emmanuel Swedenborg, noted the regular cycle of expansion and contraction of the brain.
Dr. William Sutherland
While the concepts at the foundation of craniosacral therapy have existed through history, Dr. Sutherland created a system of research that gave us the ideas and observations that demonstrated a physiological basis. His study into the work of the cranial bones and the craniosacral system started in the early 1900s.
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