Subtle Facia and Energy-Body Massage techniques, cranial osteopathy, craniosacral therapy, auricular medicine, and emotional healing.
With excerpts from the article:
Craniosacral Therapy - Revolutionary Approach to Health:
By Anky Aarts, written for The Source “The Maritime’s Holistic Health Journal, June/July 1997. Now updated May 2017 for A Different Touch Health Clinic’s website.
Who can benefit?
If you are suffering from acute or chronic pain, fatigue, whiplash or head injuries, dyslexia, migraines, stress, neuro-vascular, TMJ, post-surgery, or pregnancy issues, developmental delays, anxiety or emotional trauma, then Subtle Oscillatory massage techniques, Craniosacral Therapy, Auricular Medicine, combined with emotional healing techniques may be the answer.
Mary was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers to help reduce pain from her whiplash and injuries sustained by seat belt and airbag impact after her car accident. She had tried all kinds of therapies for five years. When she came to A Different Touch Health Clinic she still had a lot of pain, concentration problems, and recurrent headaches. Mary was surprised to start feeling no pains and energetic again after several sessions. Initially her pains would come back after a few days or so, but over time she became pain and headache free. Mary also began to feel like her true self again, and could work without stress or fatigue, much to her delight.
I had a severe case of H1N1 in 2009-2010 that lasted for 6 months. I tried every medication and inhaler available but could not get rid of my chest congestion. In an effort to try something different I visited Anky and within an hour of treatment I could take a deep breath - my first deep breath in six months! she cured me within a hour. Never underestimate her power of healing. ?The reason i tried her is because my cousin tried her and got rid of her (...) so I thought I would give her an opportunity to help me. Sounds like hocus pocus but it works. I swear by her! Mike Lipton.
Nothing but good thins to say about this wonderful woman. If I could rate more than 5 stars I would! Reid.
The therapist is amazing, friendly and very talented. If you want professional help with pain management this is the place to go. Cambee C.
Subtle Oscillation and Craniosacral Therapy, Auricular Medicine, and Emotional Healing – What is it?
Massage therapies using Craniosacral and Structural Subtle Oscillatory techniques include: Myofascial Release, muscle energy, strain-counterstrain, positional release and subtle oscillations. They are gentle and non-invasive massage techniques that help heal our body by facilitating the self-correction ability of our energetic and physical body. The effect of these modalities is usually felt as a deep relaxation, a sense of feeling more yourself, more flexible, and a relief from pain. Its healing effect can be felt in all our motor-sensory, fascial, neurovascular, visceral (organs), joint & bone tissues, brain & nervous system, and can improve our intellectual functions.
Most of our complaints represent an imbalance within the subtle energetic & physical body that tends to disturb the craniosacral, physical and energetic rhythms that facilitate our brain, neurovascular, meridians, chakra, and digestive functions. The correction of this misalignment and imbalance is set into motion during the treatment. This self-correction process will continue for several days or longer. The initial results are usually felt immediately albeit in a subtle manner.
Rooted in the Western Medical Science
Subtle Oscillation Massages: It was American osteopathic physician Dr. W. G. Sutherland (1873-1954) who developed a systematic approach for the rhythmic changes of the skull bones (cranium) and meninges, in the footsteps of Dr. Andrew T. Still. Sutherland discovered the mobility of our cranium and body, which he called the ‘primary respiration’. He successfully treated ailments that other medical doctors could not cure. Medical science however has largely ignored his findings.
In the 1970’s Dr. John Upledger discovered that the bones and membranes surrounding our brain and spinal cord contract and expand in a rhythm of their own. He called this expression of our being the Craniosacral System. This system became also associated with the Primary Respiratory Mechanism (PRM) that permeates all our tissues. You can think of this mechanism as kind of the starting motor of our physical functioning. The PRM provides a link to other vital functions: the functioning of our heart, central and peripheral nervous system, the circulation of our physical fluids & hormones & neurotransmitters, our circadian and ultradian rhythms (wake and sleep cycles), and digestive system. These rhythms (motilities) that pulsate throughout our energetic and physical body and tissues can indicate what’s wrong with us.
Anky also trained with French Osteopath Dr. Jean Pierre Barrall, the so-called ‘father’ of Visceral Manipulation and world renown for his teachings on gentle oscillation therapies for the digestive and nervous system; his prodigee Frank Lowen, developer of the Dynamic Manual Interface, and Dr. Sharon Weiselfish Giamatteo, developer of various Integrative Manual Osteopathy Therapies and subtle oscillatory techniques. And, Dr. Aminah Raheem, developer of the massage of meridians based on the 5-element theory combined with Jungian Dream Body & Process work.
After her training in the Osteopathic Manual Sciences & Practices, Anky further enhanced her skills for continued credit purposes with Mohit Khosla, at the School of Structural Therapy: advanced cranial techniques for the spine and neck with myofascial release, muscle energy, strain-counterstrain, positional release and oscillations.
Auricular (ear) Medicine: Ear acupuncture started through research in the last century, by French physician Dr. Nogier. His discoveries inspired a variety of methods based on research by medical specialists in Germany, China, England, the Netherlands, and United States.
Auricular Medicine uses the energetic homunculus (a representation of the human body - both physical, emotional, and energetic), which can be found on the ear. This homunculus shows any dysfunction in the body, mind and spirit as points on the ear in distress. The brain responds to the stimulation from gold or silver pellets (some schools use seeds, heat, or needles) when placed on ear points in distress, allowing the body to self-correct. Is still regarded a mystery as to why placing gold or silver little pellets on the ear homunculus can create healing in a seemingly ‘immediate’ way in case of acute, and over time, for chronic ailments.
Frank missed the nail-head and instead hit his thumb on a job. While the bone tissue of his thumb were ‘screaming’ in pain, placing a golden pellet on his thumb point on the ear took his pain away on-the-spot, like when you hit a light switch and the light comes on. The human energy field can be balanced by using gold/silver pellets on this homunculus. This allows the autonomous nervous system to switch from stress into relaxation and healing.
Energy Psychology is a collection of mind-body approaches involving thoughts, emotions, sensations, behaviors and bioenergy while addressing the underlying energetic aspects of an issue or blockage. These therapies use the human energy field to access the energetic imprints of trauma. Techniques include working with visualization, body postures, healing sentences, or tapping on meridian points to release memories and change pathways of thought patterns. The use of foot prints can support the release of stressful memories from injuries and trauma, be it inherited through the generations, or from memories related to war, forceful impacts from sport or accidents, surgeries, or other traumatic events. These therapies often achieve observable and measurable results, even though we can't always explain these effects scientifically. If only Quantum physics was easier to understand, we could have possibly proof of how this works already!
How subtle Oscillation & Craniosacral therapy, Auricular Medicine, and Emotional Healing work: What to expect?
Every client is evaluated with a body scan technique on physical and energetic imbalances, restrictions and blockages (mobility issues), as well as alignment problems and rhythmic disturbances (motility issues). Healing the energy body allows the nervous system to switch from stress into healing mode. Subtle oscillation and rhythmic massage techniques of restricted tissues and blockages are used as indicated by the pull of the body's tissues. This usually results in relief of a complaint by triggering the self-correcting ability of the body.
What happens when our body starts to self-correct is that the impact of an injury – such as a fall on the buttocks – might also release recurring other pains such as migraines or nightmares. Whiplash or dental work can result in rotation of the cranial bones, causing compression of the chin, jaw and neck tissues, which over time can result in stiffness of the shoulders and eventually causing headaches. By turning this condition around, subtle oscillation and craniosacral therapy combined with auricular medicine and using the ‘felt sense’ of the tissues, can help you avoid later occurrences of dizziness, migraines, fatigue, digestive issues, or memory problems.
Bob’s restrictions were located around his right kidney and liver area, although he complained mainly of debilitating fatigue, barely making it through his day of work. While releasing these restrictions and restoring the mobility of his right kidney, he tuned into the ‘felt sense’ of his blockages. This allowed him to remember an incident that happened when he was sixteen, at his parents farm. He was thrown off the tractor and experienced a momentarily ‘black-out'. Once this memory got processed and released, his total body started shaking lightly, while releasing the stored memory of the shock of that impact. Once the shaking stopped he felt refreshed and uplifted. Two weeks later I received an email in which he described how energetic he was, and in the words of his wife: "unstoppable, even after a full day’s work".
Energetic blockages are sometimes called ‘imprints’, ‘energy cysts’ or ‘somatic' blockages. This can happen when the impact of an injury or emotional trauma is too much for us to process or ‘handle’ on the spot. Our body has the capacity to block such an experience so we can move-on with life. By ‘walling off’ the force of an impact, not only further tissue damage is avoided, but a blockage(s) is created in our energetic field. Our body can adapt to such blockages, but over time tends to loose its effectiveness doing so. The ability to compensate around restrictions can result in recurrent chronic pain, inflammation, and fatigue. Our body’s self-correcting ability can be re-activated which is how we can overcome such blockages, no matter how old the injury is.
Using this simple and cheap tool on your occipital ridge on your scull and activate your self-correcting ability (10-15 minutes daily).
How to ‘create’ your own personal assistant:
Your energetic health is facilitated by the dynamic function of the subtle energy and physical body, the craniosacral system and our primary respiratory mechanism. It can be enhanced on a daily basis by using a tool developed by the Upledger Institute and simplified by A Different Touch Health Clinic, using two ‘soft rubber balls’ in a sock or pantyhose (with a knot on either side so that they don’t separate). It can help you get over work-stress, headaches, back-pain, or muscle fatigue from working out, or digestive issues, as well as with overcoming the initial shock of minor injuries.
Simply lie down on your back while resting your head on the two balls. You can find the location by drawing a straight line from your ear opening to the back of your head, until your find a bony knuckle. You can also arrive at this bony knuckle on the back of your head (known as ‘occipital protuberance’ or the ‘great knuckle’) by placing four fingers from the base of your scull upwards. Laying 15 – 20 minutes each day on your personal friend will revitalize your body and mind. Enjoy!
Anky Aarts is a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT), and is registered with the Massage Therapist’s Association of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Massage Therapist Alliance.
In Europe she was certified and was licensed with the Royal Dutch Physiotherapy Association. In the United States she is certified as an Integrative Manual Osteopathy Therapist, Anky also has certifications in Process Acupuncture, Auricular Medicine (German, Anglo-Dutch and Chinese school). She is trained in a variety of Energy Psychology therapies and Systemic Constellation methods, and is registered with the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia.