Tag Archives: craniosacral

Locating and healing stuck fear in my body

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I woke early, not sure when, still dark, though.

It happens.

I’ve listened to multiple Yoga Nidra/NSDR meditations on YouTube to help me get back to sleep, enough to improvise one for myself.

So I did! I included my chakras and central energy channel as well as breath and body parts, and indeed, went back to sleep until daylight.

Hmm. New idea for teaching Biodynamic Meditation in person!

So when I did my own Biodynamic Meditation, I was already primed.

By the second physiological sigh, I sensed radiance at my face. By the third, my central energy channel with Tide.

A cranial stillpoint came on. Then swirliness.

Then I felt a steady sensation of coolness in my abdomen. At first it was larger, and as I stayed with it, it became smaller.

I don’t know what’s going on, except that there is a holding pattern there that feels old that I haven’t noticed before.

Our bodies hold so much history.

It seems related to fear. Stuck fear.

It didn’t unwind or dissolve today, but the healing energy showed it to me and gave it more healing resources.

I’m wondering if this will be a new focus in future sessions, the way my cranial bones and pelvis — sites of multiple injuries — have.

This is day 87, practicing Biodynamic Meditation. The sun is shining on a lot of tree damage in the Austin area, and power is coming back on for many. My office park is without power or water… I look forward to working when it’s restored.

Photo of Florida sunrise by Eric Towler, photographer and Zen friend.

Radiance at my face

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My Biodynamic Meditation this morning:

Set Insight Timer for 40 minutes.

Physiological sighs.

Radiance at my face.

It felt strong today and kept my attention the whole rest of the time, except for a few check-ins of my central energy channel, where I felt the Tide ascending and descending.

This radiance is different from a stillpoint at the cranial end of the central channel.

It’s different from sensing cranial chakras, although they may also be open while my face feels radiant. Today they were open but not strong.

The radiance involves my whole face.

When I first began to sense it, it was only across the middle of my face.

Over time the radiance has spread.

Discerning sensations is part of knowing thyself.

Then, the age-old human question is, “But what does it mean?”

I don’t really know, except that it feels life-affirming.

It is also a sign of healing for me. Because of an early trauma, I wanted to hide, to be invisible.

This radiance has found my face and put a shine on it.

Cold spell in much of the U.S. No snow so far in Austin, Texas. I love the stillness in this random online photo.

May you be warm and safe.

Expand your patterns of awareness so that more life can unfold for your appreciation

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Yesterday I shared the 12 states of attention … useful tools in Biodynamic Meditation and in life.

It helps to notice your own patterns of awareness and expand beyond them, as well as appreciate them.

You may notice that some people are primarily visual. Some are primarily externally oriented. Some are drawn more to details.

You can cultivate the states you are not so familiar with, and you will have more attentional flexibility … a key factor in appreciating life.

And … there’s always more.

This morning I’m focusing on another aspect of attention that’s important in meditation and in life, and that is … waiting.

When you bring your attention to your central energy channel, in order to sense the Tide ascending and descending, you will usually need to wait for the sensation of internal motion to make itself known.

Then you may sense something, but it isn’t clear, and you wait some more for it to clarify.

It’s a process of inquiry…of being curious and deciding to investigate by bringing your attention there…and waiting for indications of the Tide to be felt.

This is patience. This is allowing. This is staying with.

This is life, unfolding for your awareness.

Photo taken by Louise Thayer, Happy Dog Ranch. (Thanks, Louise!)

Developing flexibility with the 12 states of attention helps with Biodynamic Meditation, and more

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One of my influential teachers, Nelson Zink, investigated the 12 states of attention, which I first learned of in 2010.

We have three primary ways through which we perceive: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

We have locations in which to place our attention, internal and external. The skin is the boundary.

Our attention has range, narrow to broad.

We come to favor a few of these states. Practicing the ones less used gives us more attentional flexibility.

Since the quality of our attention is important, I thought I would share this here.

When I settle my body into my sitting posture, I am using Kinesthetic, Internal, moderately Broad attention, K I B — moderately broad because I’m attending to my whole body and the surrounding biofield.

I tune into my central energy channel, K I N.

When I feel radiance at my face, it’s K I N. When I sense energy moving from far away, it’s K I/E B.

Stillpoints are K I N.

Monkey mind/internal chatter is A I N.

I don’t often get visual input when I’m meditating or receiving a Craniosacral Biodynamics session, but a few people who have received sessions from me have had visions, such as being showered with golden light (V/K I B).

When I give sessions, I open my eyes, looking out the window into the woods and sky outside. That would be V E B, while I’m sensing with my hands and field, K I/E N/B.

If you are curious about this, Google “navaching” and “12 states of attention” to access Nelson’s website and some blog posts I wrote years ago.

If you are challenged trying to sense the Tide, stillpoints, or other aspects of Biodynamic Meditation, you may find it helpful to access states of attention you don’t usually use.

This can be very powerful!

Today’s meditation was all about my central energy channel

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Today’s Biodynamic Meditation went like this:

Physiological sighs to shift my autonomic nervous system more parasympathetic

Settling into my cross-legged upright posture, left hand cradling right hand, palms up, in lap

Bringing awareness inside my body

Noticing sensations in my central energy channel

Noticing radiance at my face and my third eye and crown chakras open

Notice heart and throat chakras open

Noticing the Tide ascending and descending in a cycle of about 18 seconds in each direction

Noticing the radiance at my face become stronger, pressing inward

Being curious about my lower chakras, checking in with them, sensing solar plexus, sacral, and root chakras open

Staying with the Tide, chakras open, radiance at my face the rest of the 30 minutes

Photo: San Solomon Springs, Balmorhea State Park

Homesickness for God directs us toward peace and healing

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This quote from Stephen Levine about being homesick for God accurately captures why I’m so drawn to Craniosacral Biodynamics, and why I want to share the practice of Biodynamic Meditation with you.

Today’s sit: breathing, central energy channel, sensations, Tide, radiance at my face, swirliness in upper abdomen, sacral stillpoint.

Sensing the Tide’s motion and rhythm

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The Tide is one way of sensing the healing energy of the inherent healing process.

When the healing energy ascends and descends in the central energy channel, that’s the Tide.

When I work with clients, I need to be still in both mind and body, with attention to sensations in my hands lightly touching their feet or cranium, to sense the Tide.

The Tide is such a deep internal phenomenon, the motion affects every cell in the body, even moving the bones. Ever so slightly!

When the Tide ascends to the cranium, the cranial bones widen and the feet rotate externally. Ever so slightly!

When the Tide descends, the cranial bones narrow and the feet rotate internally, ever so slightly.

It is a subtle motion found by sensing slight changes in pressure in your hands. Then staying with it, noticing it moves rhythmically.

In Biodynamic Meditation, I’m inviting you to notice sensations in your central energy channel.

You may feel motion ascending and descending anywhere in the channel.

You may also tune into your cranium to sense it widening and narrowing.

When I sense this, it’s on the sides of my head, right above my ears.

I’ve taken a lot of craniosacral therapy classes and can attest that by noon on the first day, every student can sense another’s Tide with their hands. Even if they wonder if they’re imagining it! That means they’re getting close!

If you are wanting to sense your Tide and haven’t sensed its rhythm moving in your central energy channel yet, you might try tuning in deeply to sensations of your cranium widening and narrowing. Stay with it, either way.

~

My Biodynamic Meditation today had moments of deeper stillness. I sensed the healing energy settling in my ethmoid bone, a small cranial bone with dural membrane attached.

It’s yet another observation of my cranium being subtly reshaped by the inherent healing process, most likely from the challenges of my birth.

Experiencing gravity and levity and balance

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I dreamed I was dancing, able to leap high enough to touch the branches of trees, and to descend to the earth safely, only to do it again and again and again, higher, higher, almost floating back down, with buoyancy.

How exhilarating!

So… We were talking about the Tide, about sensing the Tide ascending and descending in your central energy channel.

How to be still and bring your awareness to that channel, the channel that is home to and connects your chakras.

The cranial pole of the channel (crown, sahasrara chakra) opens upward, to heaven, the cosmos, the universe, spirit.

That upward direction is called levity.

The sacral pole of the channel (root or muladhara chakra) opens to the earth.

That direction is called gravity.

Gravity and levity. Grounded and open to Spirit: balance.

My dream was about levity.

Who needs a dream like this?

Someone who is growing a private practice in Craniosacral Biodynamics, exploring Biodynamic Meditation with you :-), teaching, making 5 trips this year for training and personal growth, who is now also looking at a new location after 12 years in the same place.

Lots going on. Balance needed.

Today’s Biodynamic Meditation was about breathing, posture, sensing Tide. I invited a cranial stillpoint. Ajna chakra, radiance at my face, crown chakra. Swirliness in my cranium, then in my abdomen at manipura chakra, then in pelvis, ending with sacral stillpoint.

Balanced.

We are exploring what we’re exploring with ~ Gabrielle Roth

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Yesterday I wrote about discovering the Tide in you.

It may take a few efforts to discover the sensation that ascends and descends in your central energy channel.

That sensation forms the basis of our inherent healing process, aka swirliness.

It’s there, working for us, maintaining life, all of the time, in various forms: Tide, stillpoints, swirliness.

The founder of this lineage called it Primary Respiration.

Bio (life) + dynamic (power).

It was pouring rain during this morning’s Biodynamic Meditation.

Like the solid sound of hard rain, my meditation felt solid and full.

Breathing, ajna chakra, Tide, sit bones, radiance at my face, abdomen, cranium.

A sensation I’ve occasionally felt before, of something like pressure on my body.

This time, pressure surrounding my cranium.

Is it shaping me somehow? Is it trying to get inside me?

Mystery.

Photo from Big Bend National Park: Rio Grande. Mexico on left, Texas on right.

Re-Sourcing for change and challenges ahead

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“Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Take heed, do not squander your life.” ~ Dogen Zenji

This quote from Dogen has stayed with me from my early Zen days, and I’m finding it handy when life presents challenges.

Yesterday I learned that I may need to find a new place to live in the coming months.

This morning, my adored one messaged he’d started having symptoms of COVID. I’ve been exposed. I’ve escaped it so far, one of the few.

Here I sit with change, hoping for the best outcomes on all counts, holding confidence in that.

My Biodynamic Meditation was deep. Breaths, posture, radiance at my face, Tide in central energy channel. Healing energy in pelvis, heart center, ajna chakra, balancing my instinctive, emotional, and mental centers.

The healing energy knows I need to be resourceful. It knows!

Sometimes in Craniosacral Biodynamics sessions, the practitioner’s head involuntarily nods, from brainwaves heading into delta territory.

That happened, too. Delta, change.