Life and motion
Life expresses itself as motion. At a deep level of our physiological functioning all healthy, living tissues subtly "breathe" with the motion of life - a phenomenon that produces rhythmic impulses which can be palpated by sensitive hands. The presence of these subtle rhythms in the body was discovered by osteopath Dr William Sutherland over 100 years ago, after he had a remarkable insight while examining the specialized articulations of cranial bones. Contrary to popular belief Dr Sutherland realized that cranial sutures were, in fact, designed to express small degrees of motion. He undertook many years of research during which he demonstrated the existence of this motion and eventually concluded it is essentially produced by the body's inherent life force, which he referred to as the "Breath of Life." Furthermore, Dr Sutherland discovered that the motion of cranial bones he first discovered is closely connected to subtle movements that involve a network of interrelated tissues and fluids at the core of the body; including cerebrospinal fluid (the 'sap in the tree'), the central nervous system, the membranes that surround the central nervous system and the sacrum.

The "Breath of Life"
The Breath of Life produces a series of subtle rhythms that may be palpated in the body and which make up an integrated physiological system. At least three subtle rhythms have been identified in this "primary respiratory system", each having a different rate and producing rhythms within rhythms. These three "tides" are referred to as: the cranial rhythmic impulse; a more superficial rhythm expressed at an average rate of 8-12 cycles per minute, the mid-tide; a tidal rhythm that carries ordering forces into the body expressed at a slower rate of approximately 2.5 cycles per minute and
the long tide; a deep and slow rhythmic impulse expressed about once every 100 seconds. The long tide is considered to be the first stirring of life and motion as the Breath of Life emerges from a deeper ground of stillness at the center of our being.

Essential ordering principle
In the biodynamic approach of craniosacral work the subtle rhythms produced by the Breath of Life are regarded as expressions of health that carry an essential ordering principle for both body and mind. Dr Sutherland realized the important role played by the fluids in the body (particularly cerebrospinal fluid) in helping to disseminate these ordering forces throughout the body.

The essential ordering principle carried in the rhythms of the Breath of Life acts as a blueprint for health which is present from the time of our early embryological development and is the fundamental factor that maintains balance in our form and function. Thus, the ability of cells and tissues to express their primary respiratory motion is a critical factor in determining our state of health - when these rhythms are expressed in fullness and balance, health and well-being naturally follow.
Inertial patterning

During the course of our lives our bodies become patterned, shaped and conditioned according to how we¹re able to deal with any stresses or traumas. If stresses or traumas are overwhelming, they become locked in the body as sites of inertia - until such a time as we are able to access resources that allow them to be processed and released. These sites of inertia effect the natural rhythmical movements of the Breath of Life and so hinder the ability of our essential blueprint for health to manifest at a cellular level.

Common causes of inertia are physical injuries, emotional and psychological stresses, birth trauma and toxicity. Due to an accumulation of these stresses, tissues can become imprinted with the memory of unresolved experiences and so act like video tape which may keep replaying whenever stimulated.

A gentle facilitation
The emphasis in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is to help resolve the trapped forces that underlie and govern patterns of disease and fragmentation in both body and mind. This involves the practitioner "listening through the hands" to the body's subtle rhythms and any patterns of inertia or congestion. Through the development of subtle palpatory skills the practitioner can read the story of the body, identify places where issues are held and then follow the natural priorities for healing as directed by the patient¹s own physiology.

The intention of treatment is to facilitate the expression of the Breath of Life and so enhance the body's own self-healing and self-regulating capabilities. This is done in a non-invasive way as the practitioner subtly and gently encourages the conditions that allow for the reemergence of primary respiratory motion. Furthermore, the practitioner's deep and clear quality of presence can become a reflective mirror for the patient and an invaluable cue for their potential for change.

A holistic approach
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy takes a whole-person approach to healing and the inter-connections of mind, body and spirit are deeply acknowledged. It is an effective form of treatment for a wide range of illnesses helping to create the optimal conditions for health, encouraging vitality and facilitating a sense of well-being. It is suitable for people of all ages including babies, children and the elderly, and can be effective in acute or chronic cases.

The Seven Depths of Stillness

The physical level

The emotional level

The mental or psychological level

The mind level

The spirit level

The level of Source

The physical level can be thought of as the first depth of the experience of stillness.  There may be a sense of a deep stillness throughout the body.  Physical resistance may resolve as inertial fulcrums are processed and you may perceive pulsations of potency, lateral fluctuations of fluid, and reorganization of tissues.  The autonomic nervous system and brain stem may discharge autonomic traumatization and shock affects.  The practitioner may perceive this as subtle trembling in the tissues and a perturbations within cerebrospinal fluid.

The emotional level may be perceived as a stillness of emotional tone and of the emotional charge that may be held in the system.  A deep sense of emotional well-being may arise here.  Conversely, the limbic system may discharge traumatic emotional effects during this level of stillness, and patients may sense the release of emotional energies during treatment sessions.  The outward expression of emotional process is not the object here.  It is ideally a gentle and subtle processing of the energies that arise.  The resolution of emotional energies may be experienced as streaming of energy.

The mental or psychological level is stillness at the level of psychological patterning, the developmental and psychodynamic layer of the conditioned self.  In this layer of stillness, the conditioned mental sets of the cerebral cortex may open and shift.  Insights into one’s historical and reactive self may arise and a deep letting go of the automatic reactions of developmental trauma may be possible.
The next levels really begin to take us deeper into the unconscious and unknown reaches of the human psyche.
§  At the urge of heart level the deeper tendencies of our personality system may enter stillness.  This is the layer of karmic tendencies, the conditioned urges and instinctual imperatives of our psyche.  It is the conditioned push-pull of the system.  It is the level of the “it” of Sigmund Freud, usually translated in English as the “id.”  This is a level of deep, unconscious conditioning, the basic instinctual energies of the human system, and the complex karmic tendencies of the person.  At this level of stillness past-life memories may arise, and generational tendencies, sometimes called miasmas, may be stilled and processed.  Karmic tendencies may be resolved.  Life issues revolving around the unconscious may begin to become more conscious and the potential for insight, clarity, and resolution may come to the fore.

At the mind level there is a depth of stillness possible that resonates with the archetypal underpinnings of our reality.  It is the level of Big Mind.  It is a level of transpersonal possibilities and experiences.  Archetypal energies and images may emerge.  At this level of stillness the potential of greater interconnectiveness and a more holistic experience of life unfolds.  The mutuality and inter-being of human life process can be experienced and appreciated.  A deep sense of compassion for the human condition will arise.  As understanding of the mutuality of suffering and a concurrent arising of great joy may be experienced.  Along with this, a deep experience of universal connection, love, and inner warmth may arise.

At the spirit level such a deep sense of stillness and peace may arise that the sense of a personal self is lost and issues of separation and duality melt into unity and openness.  The inherent openness and spaciousness of the human condition is deeply experienced and appreciated.  A basic sense of the openness of life and an abiding in a nondualistic experience of unity and spaciousness may arise here.  An experience of what is sometimes called cosmic consciousness may arise where boundaries and divisions are ended and a deep sense of unity is realized.

Finally, at the level of Source there is depth that is beyond descriptive terms and has to do with the inherent truths that the great spiritual traditions point to.  Here is the potential for the appreciation of what has been called God-realization, satori, nirvana, Dao, and so on.  It is the realization of the basic emptiness and openness at the heart of all unfoldments.  It is about the Still heart of creativity itself.  It is an emptiness that is complete and has all possibility enfolded within it.  Time is meaningless as past, present, and future are mutually enfolded.

—Franklyn Sills, Craniosacral Biodynamics Revised Edition, Volume One, quoted with permission of author