NYCCraniosacralTherapist.com

Welcome to the NYC Craniosacral Therapist Blog
Stories of Healing and Restoration

Recovery from Stage 4 Cancer

Miracles can happen! A woman came to me with Stage 4 Colon Cancer whose oncologist gave her only 6 weeks to live. She had done rounds of chemotherapy and radiation with no change so she was prepared for her imminent death. She was 42 years old and had a beautiful family with 2 young daughters. Her spirits were dashed. Her energy was severely depleted from all of the medical interventions. I was her last hope.

One of my favorite aspects of Craniosacral Therapy is this. If the therapist sets the space and support for a session...then waits to hear from the client and her body to communicate with her therapeutic hands...the body takes over and miracles can occur. I asked this woman who was so despondent if she wanted to live. I asked what she would live for. She spent time speaking about being there for her husband and watching her children grow up. She got very innocent and childlike as she spoke. I asked her to keep an open mind to anything that may occur in our session.

I placed my hands on her head and sacrum and just waited to see what would present itself. What happened next was truly amazing! I have subtle sight and saw a cobalt blue light shoot through her body from head to toe. It was so powerful! She experienced it too. It felt like I was riding a comet racing through her body over and over again. I listened very carefully to my higher guidance and to her body. We stayed in this "blue healing state" for the rest of the session. Finally, the body communicated to me that the session was complete and that this wonderful woman was healed of her cancer. I was to tell her that she could go home to rest and enjoy her life with her family.

I asked her to rest and go back to her oncologist to see what effect had taken place in our session. She called me 3 weeks later saying that her oncologist ran more tests and could find no cancer in her body anywhere. A month later, her hair and eyebrows started growing back. Now it was growing in thick and curly! She was completely free of cancer.

Never underestimate that the body has phenomenal healing capability and can make extraordinary changes in quantum time. As practitioners of healing, we have to set the stage for the body to take over and do what is way beyond our scope of practice. "Something Else" takes over and there can be total spontaneous remission and healing on all levels. Today, this client is still cancer-free after 20 years since our session.

One of my Doula clients had an aunt who had a bad fall down a long staircase resulting in a stroke that paralyzed the complete right side of her body. After she suffered the stroke, she went into a coma. She had been in this coma for 3 months when her niece asked me if I thought I could help her heal and come out of the coma. I told her I would do as much as I could to help her.

Recovery from a Stroke and Coma

I asked the niece to tell me more about what had happened prior to the fall and asked permission to go and see her aunt in the ICU at the hospital. Before I went to visit this woman, I checked in with her energetically to see if she wanted me to come and see her. I have the ability to communicate energetically with people and animals here and on the "other side". This woman was angry and skeptical about who I was and was not sure she wanted my help. I asked her why she fell. She said she was angry because she did not feel that her family really loved her. This was her way to find out who would really be there for her. It was a test! I told her I would love to just come to be with her and hold her hand. She agreed.

When I arrived at the ICU, the attending doctors told me was in a coma and would be totally unresponsive to my being there. I got their permission to just sit with Mary and hold her hand. I could sense right away that she was a very feisty woman! As a Healer, I know that anger is stored in the liver. I asked her permission energetically to hold her feet and see if it felt comforting for her. She agreed and appeared to enjoy my warm healing touch.

In time, I asked if I could place my healing hands on other parts of her body to bring her comfort. She agreed. Slowly and gently, I did healing work and her body began to relax. She allowed me access to her to help her connect with me. I knew how vibrant and alive she was inside her coma and asked her to tell me if there was an area that I touched that bothered her. I knew that she was paralyzed on her entire right side of her body. I purposely asked her to show me that she wanted me to stop by raising her right hand as her signal to stop. She agreed. I placed my hand on her liver to release some of her rage and she immediately raised her right hand very vigorously! I knew she could do it even though her doctors said otherwise. She found this all very entertaining and said, energetically, "You tricked me!" I could see a smile start to creep across her face even in her coma.

Our first visit was actually very cordial and entertaining for both of us. Neither of us had any idea what would occur. I spent about 90 min. with her and later that day, her niece called and said that she had re-emerged from her 3-month coma. They transferred her to another unit of intensive care as she was now conscious but could not move her body or speak.

I went back to see her and she was energetically very happy to see me! Her doctor and the nurses said she could not communicate with me but we both knew better! Mary was joking with me that we knew that we could communicate but no one else would know our secret! I did another session for her in the intensive care unit and her voice came back and the effects of the stroke disappeared. She was overjoyed! She was transferred to a rehab facility for her next stage of recovery now that she was able to function again on her own. She received physical therapy to strengthen her body and bring her back into the world.

I did one more session at the the rehab center with Mary. She was in amazing spirits! She was so happy that her family had gathered around her and brought her the love she had craved all along. I asked her what I could do for her in this session. She said she knew she was still not "back in her body" so I did more Craniosacral work and some grounding to bring her fully back into her body. She was now strong, present and so grateful to be alive and well. I asked her what she was going to do with her new lease on life as she was not ready to go back home yet. She said "I want to do what you do and help other people to recover from depression and injuries." I am happy to say that she is a thriving healing therapist today with a very grateful heart!

Comfort at the end of life.

I am the gatekeeper for birth and death. I am a Birth Doula and a Healer. As a Healer, I find myself helping those who are transitioning from this life. My Mom had cancer when I was 10 years old until she died when I was barely 15. Her long battle with cancer and her death at that tender age marked me for life. There are no greater events in life than birth and death. Edgy and profound...journeys of life that require courage and grace.

One of my birth clients asked me to come and bring comfort to her Mom who had Stage 4 Cancer and only had a few weeks to live. I was very honored and happy to come and do some Craniosacral work to bring her some ease in her body, mind and spirit as her days were now numbered.

When I arrived, I saw this tiny lady lying in her bed surrounded by legions of pill bottles on her night tables and dresser. Her skin color was charcoal gray. Her body was like a construction site packed with plastic tubes and parts from all of the surgeries she had endured. She was barely a shell of her former beautiful self...all in the name of trying to save her life. Still, there was a quiet grace and beauty that emanated from within her. She asked me to close the door as she wanted to be alone with me without the noise and peering eyes of her family.

I asked her to tell me her story and what would bring her ease and comfort now. I listened with compassion and real interest to hear all that she had the energy to share. After explaining a little about the work I do, I asked her for permission to place my warm healing hands on her frail body. I gently placed my hands on her head and sacrum and she felt very much like a newborn baby to me. In her own way, she was so innocent and precious. Her sovereignty, space and body had been invaded so many times. I wanted to touch her with the utmost care and respect.

Energy started filling her body from my hands and her body jumped as if I had place jumper cables on her. It was a shock to her and to me. I apologized as I had no idea that her body would respond like that. I took my hands away and asked her if the energy was too much for her body to handle in the state it was in. Tears ran down her cheeks and she blushed. She said "I have not felt life in my body for so long. It was a shock to my system. Please put your hands back so I can feel "life" again." She told me that no one had touched her in so long. I spent a long time holding her like a baby and doing Craniosacral work to ease her pain and resource her body as much as possible. She drifted off in a deep peaceful sleep.

I called a few days later to see how she was doing and her family told me that she loved the session so much. They also told me that doing that work had given her the ease and comfort to let go and transition a couple of days later. She was completely at peace. I will always be grateful that I was a gatekeeper for this precious woman to ease her into her forever sleep.

I was attending a birth with a client of mine and all was going well in her labor for about 19 hours. Michelle was excited and felt strong and bright. She was working through her contractions with good breathing techniques and changing positions regularly to manage the pain. She was focused on meeting her new baby boy and the joy his birth would bring to her family. She had lost her Grandfather a few years ago and she thought about how excited he would have been to meet this precious baby boy. She was considering naming him Michael after her Grandfather.

Recovery from Bell's Palsy

As her labor intensified and the contractions became really unbearably painful, we got up and moved around. We walked, squatted, danced and kept moving to ease the pain. Labor progressed and intensified even more. I used Craniosacral Therapy to relax her shoulders, back and hips. Soon, Michelle started vomiting from the intensity of the pain. Nausea is very common in labor but this was particularly intense. It would not let up. I felt so much compassion for this beautiful woman who was so courageous and determined to have an all-natural birth. I was supporting her as she rocked and swayed on her birth ball to her favorite soothing music when, all of a sudden, she had a huge contraction that really rocked her system. She felt like she jumped out of her body! I was sitting behind her working on her back so I came around to face her to see if she was alright.

Now she was vomiting with great distress. I looked at her face and was shocked at what I saw. One entire side of her face...eye, cheek and mouth...had suddenly drooped quite dramatically. She had a case of Bell's Palsy that was initiated by the stress of her powerful vomiting in labor. Her husband saw the shift in her face but remained silent. We both did as we did not want to alarm her when she was working so hard to manage her labor. Michelle's face stayed in that drooped state for the remainder of her labor. Finally, she got up and walked to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and saw her face for herself. She was scared and devastated. I told her not to worry. This was a temporary state induced by the ferocity of her labor and that when it was over, I would help her face to recover.

When her baby was born, she and her husband were elated but she was still very worried about the state of her face. She had eager family members waiting outside her labor room just waiting to see that she was safe and doing well. Michelle told her husband to tell everyone that she was too tired from her labor to see visitors. They were so disappointed and now worried about her. She refused to let them see her in that state. She was traumatized and did not want them to be traumatized as well. I helped her to cuddle with her baby and just rest after her birth. I kept reassuring her she would recover soon.

I had never worked with a client with Bell's Palsy so this was new for me too. After a couple of hours of rest, I placed my hands on the cranial nerves that govern the function of her face while she took a nap. I began doing Craniosacral work to resource and repair the function of her facial nerves. The two sides of her face were dramatically different. I spent plenty of time allowing her face to begin it's re-balancing and recovery. Michelle told her family to go home and sleep. I did the same as it was a very long day for all of us. The great news is the baby arrived with a feisty cry and looked absolutely perfect!

I came back the next morning and there was still a distinct difference in the alignment of the two sides of her face. She was having difficulty eating as her mouth was so drooped. I reassured her that I would keep doing Craniosacral work until her face was back in perfect balance. She was a bit doubtful but relieved. I did 2 sessions a day for her during the 3 days she was in the hospital and then one more session when she came home. To my amazement, in that short time, her facial nerves regained their function and strength. Her muscle control returned as did the perfect alignment of her face. By the time her parents and family came to see her at home, her face looked fine. She was so grateful!

She finally told her Mother what happened to her face during her labor. Her Mother smiled quietly. She said that was very interesting as Michelle's Grandfather had also had Bell's Palsy. No one had ever mentioned that in all of the family history. Michelle was quite unaware of it. Michelle did name her baby boy Michael after her Grandfather. She said it was a sign that her Grandfather had been with her in her labor bringing new little Michael into the world. She felt his presence and was deeply touched. She fully recovered in just a few days. Her face looked restored and functioned perfectly.

Turning Breech Babies

I am a Birth Doula as well as a Craniosacral Therapist so I see pregnant women for prenatal Craniosacral Therapy sessions regularly. Some of my clients come to me because their babies have turned from head down or vertex position to a breech position which dictates that they will have a Cesarean Section birth. These clients come to me to help turn the baby into a more favorable vertex position to avoid a surgical birth. Sometimes the baby is positioned with their head up and feet down. Sometimes they are lying transverse in the pelvis. Sometimes they are positioned with their feet up around their body and their bottom is wedged in the pelvis. I have had many babies turn with ease using Craniosacral Therapy...often in just one session.

Babies are constantly in motion in the womb. Even in late pregnancy when there is little room left, they manage to turn. I had one client who went to her doctor's visit where she was told that her baby was "locked and loaded" in the correct position in the pelvis. Later that same day, she went into labor and the baby had turned even at that late stage of pregnancy and fully in labor. The good news is that doing Craniosacral Therapy can help them turn back into the optimal position for a vaginal birth.

There are many reasons why a baby would turn around in the womb and face a new direction. The baby may have a short umbilical cord that holds it in the new position. The pregnant woman can have a very tight pelvis or have misalignments in her hips and sacrum. The baby may be in an asynclitic position...at an angle...in the Mother's belly and finds it difficult to turn without assistance. The Mother can be very anxious and tighten up the pelvic muscles out of fear. The baby senses when the Mother is not ready to give birth and can turn into a breech position until she is ready. I have seen this several times when the partner has to go away on a business trip and will not be there for the birth, the baby will often change position to wait until they return. Sometimes, if the Mom has a flu or is not feeling her best, the baby can change it's position and change back again when she is feeling better and is ready to go through her labor.

I find that if I can invite the pregnant woman into a deeply relaxed state with Craniosacral Therapy, she will relax her pelvis and the baby will gently turn on its own with ease. I like to ask these clients to tell me what is going on for them in their lives and ask if there was anything going on when the baby turned. If a pregnant woman is stressed emotionally or physically with work or home life, the baby can turn and wait to be born. In listening carefully and allowing the woman to tell her story, she releases her stress and anxiety. The baby senses that it is safer to be born and turns into a more optimal position for birth.

I position my pregnant clients on their side on the therapy table for their session and work along their entire spine. I focus the work specifically in their hips, sacrum and around their diaphragm. Their shoulders relax and drop down into a better alignment. Their spine decompresses and more energy can flow to the Mother and baby. Hips can swing open to create more space for the baby and allow more flexibility which will be beneficial in labor and for delivery of the baby. The diaphragm of pregnant women is often tight and strained. This is due to the weight of the baby pulling down and out from the body. It is so fascinating to be working on the body of the pregnant woman and sense the baby respond by finding a new, more comfortable position within her during the session. Most of my pregnant clients become so relaxed in their sessions that they go to sleep on my therapy table. They get off their feet...let go of their cares and stress...and enjoy a little private time to relax and recharge their energy.

I have several obstetricians who routinely send me their patients who have breech babies. The doctors and patients are pleasantly surprised that they do not have to undergo an external version or a Cesarean Section. They can have a natural vaginal birth. It is such a joy for me to help turn breech babies with ease. There is less stress to the baby and Mother than having a version or C-Section.

I have also had many clients experience severe back pain in labor even if the baby is positioned "head down" but is in the occiput-posterior position. Many times babies cannot fit through the pelvis if they are "looking up" and require a surgical delivery. I do Craniosacral Therapy in labor at most of the births I attend to create space in the pelvis for an easier birth. These occiput-posterior babies often turn during labor with this work and have a much gentler birth experience.

Lastly, I also help babies have an easier vaginal birth when there is a "compound presentation" in the pushing phase of labor. Compound presentation means that the baby has their hand or arm against their face as they are being pushed through the tight birth canal. This presentation can also result in a Cesarean Section as, often, the baby will not fit the pelvis with this presentation. I have turned many babies with this presentation into a better alignment and they have been born vaginally. Craniosacral Therapy is one of the biggest reasons I have a very low Cesarean Section rate with my birth clients.

Infant Craniosacral Therapy

Being born is no easy feat! A baby is all curled up snug inside the womb surrounded with muscles and bony structures. They can flex and stretch to some degree but they can be born with lots of strain patterns especially if they have a long difficult pushing stage of labor or have a vacuum or forceps-assisted delivery. They can also experience Torticollis which is a severe strain to the neck and shoulders resulting from pressures of the delivery. These strain patterns can make it difficult for the baby to breastfeed. These strains can be released and resolved quickly with Craniosacral Therapy.

Infant Craniosacral Therapy can start very early for a baby depending upon their birth experience. I have done Craniosacral work for babies that have just been born who have extreme forces locked in their "cone head" if they have been born by the use of vacuum or forceps. I have watched extreme shapes in babies' heads relax in a very short time if they are treated in the first hours after birth. One baby stands out in my mind as she gave me such a furious look as the nurses were handling her immediately after a very stressful forceps delivery. The nurse even mentioned that the baby was mad at the doctor who used such force on her head. I looked into her eyes, apologized to her for her painful experience and told her I would release her pain and did just that. I did some Craniosacral work on her head as the nurse held her. Her eyes softened and I felt the severe strain release. She closed her eyes and went to sleep in comfort.

I have seen other babies who have had the same deliveries who have not had this treatment and their heads can often keep this shape for a long time...even for life. My desire is to help as many babies and children relax into the best possible alignment to grow into their adult bodies as possible. I really enjoy working with babies and children. Their bodies are easily aligned. I will share a few success stories of babies who released massive strains. This work freed them from pain and trauma early in their lives.

I had a worried Mom bring her newborn to me as she was leaving the hospital after his birth. It had been a traumatic birth experience for her and her son. The baby had severe strain in his neck and he was pulling his legs up as if he was in pain. His shoulders were also strained. I had the Mom hold his little hand while he laid on my therapy table and was curled up in a ball. He was really uncomfortable and crying. I looked into the Mom's eyes and she was clearly stressed that they were both in pain. I told her that his pain would ease and we began the session. After a few minutes, his little shoulders relaxed and his spine was beginning to decompress. I asked the Mom to take out her phone and video the rest of the session. In a very short time, the baby's legs and arms uncurled and stretched out. His body straightened and his neck relaxed. There was a softness that came over his face which had been so strained when he arrived. In his first session, he re-enacted his entire birth story complete with all of its trauma and strains. I watched his Mom's face as she videoed the rolling smiles that were now shining through his newborn face. His body was totally relaxed and soft. He stopped crying and he fell asleep. They both left happy and at peace.

I had a little girl who was 18 mos. old when she came for a session. Her Mom had experienced a very difficult labor and 8 hours of pushing which had occurred in India. This is an extreme amount of time for the baby to be squeezed in the birth canal and being pushed with all of the powerful force the Mom could muster. In the US, pushing ends after 3 hours for the safety of the baby. This baby was inconsolable. She continually banged her head into walls and the floor to mitigate the pain in her head. The only person who could hold her was her Mom. I let her walk around a bit before our session began to watch her body move and her head-banging behavior. I approached her very gently and gave her a lot of space as she was clearly in a lot of pain. Eventually, I released the force vectors and severe compression she was experiencing in her head. She reached up to me and held me tight. Babies and children often hold my hands with theirs during their sessions. I know they realize I am helping them ease their pain. Her Mom was in tears as this little girl had not let anyone touch or hold her up until her session. In one session, she was completely free of pain and she never banged her head again. She loved being held and cuddled by her family for the very first time.

I got a call from a client who had just given birth at 23 weeks gestation. Their baby was on life support in the NICU at the hospital. They had to make a decision to continue life support or let him die peacefully. They wondered if I would come to the NICU and do some Craniosacral work for their son to give him every chance to survive. I went to see him and did several sessions to give him the resourcing he needed to thrive. It was so interesting to barely touch him in the first few sessions as he was in such a delicate condition. He was not able to open his eyes and was completely hooked up to life support machines. After several sessions, he opened his eyes and started to respond. Over time, he stabilized and became more animated. He was in the NICU for several months. I am happy to say that he survived and is now a very lively little 2 year old boy full of life. It was such an honor to be there when he needed help the most.

I had a little 2 year old girl who had a bad accident in the tub. She slipped and fell on the lever in the tub drain. It lodged in the palate of her mouth as she fell. She had gone to the emergency room and they repaired her palate but her face was very distorted from the traumatic force of the fall. She came to me to see if I could restore the balance in her mouth and face. We did 3 sessions and with each one, her face improved its balance. She looked forward to coming for her sessions and improved really quickly. At her last session, her mouth had completely healed and her face was back in total balance. She was so sweet as she left her last session. She held my hands in hers and gave them kisses. That was a very dear way of showing her appreciation for restoring her face.

There are times when a client needs healing work and they are far away. I have done distance healing for 25 years. The results are just as powerful and successful as if the work is done in person. I have worked on people and animals in this way with great results. Some clients, who are particularly sensitive to energies, can feel my energetic presence when I come into their space and when I leave. I love that there are no boundaries to the work that can be done...anywhere...at any time. Time and space are very relative.

Distance Healing

The picture here is of a baby who was born way too early and has needed my distance healing work to help her survive. She was on life support for a couple of months but is now making amazing progress. She weighed just 16.6 oz. when she was born but thankfully, now at 4 months old, she weighs 3lbs. 2oz. She has been on breathing tubes as her lungs were not fully developed and have collapsed several times. In her short life, she has endured heart surgery, eye surgery and lately, surgery to insert a feeding tube. She is a real champ! She is very feisty and deserves every chance to thrive. I have loved doing distance healing sessions for her and getting medical updates from her family regularly. She has such a strong will to live and I can feel it in her sessions. She has a huge fan base of people who love her and cheer her on every day. I will continue to do these distance healing sessions for her as long as she needs them. She has made amazing progress every step of the way and will continue to thrive!

One of my favorite distance healing stories is of a man who lived in Sweden but traveled the world as a captain of private luxury yachts. He is a very colorful character who did not have time to go to see doctors as he was always at some exotic location around the world and could not stay in one place long enough to establish roots. He called me when he came home to Sweden for a visit and finally went to see a doctor about the pain he had in his left leg. His doctor ordered him to go to the hospital for evaluation. By the time he called me, he was in a room with another patient who had the same condition. They both had cancers in their legs. He called me and said that his leg was being suspended in a sling hanging from the ceiling and that both he and his roommate were scheduled for leg amputation in the next 2 weeks. That was very shocking news for him and for me. I had known him for many years. Nothing kept him down. He was always full of life and on the go!

He asked me what I could do to help him heal and avoid having his leg amputated. I asked him to trust me and that I would do everything possible to help him keep his leg.

I did distance energy healing work on his leg and communicated with the part of his leg that had the cancer. I noticed, even from a distance, that the medicines that were going into his blood stream where not reaching the cancer. There was a block in his circulation. I asked him to speak to his oncologist about this and ask if the doctor could create a way to deliver the medicine directly to the cancer itself instead of having it go through his blood stream. This man knows nothing of energy medicine but he was desperate to save his leg and get out of the hospital. So he spoke to his doctor. To his credit, the doctor went to the lab and created a special medication that could be injected directly into the tumor and administered over the next 2 weeks. At the same time, I did distance healing on his leg twice a day for that period. At the end of the 2 weeks, his leg had made a dramatic improvement and he learned that he would continue with this new therapy and they would not amputate his leg. The other patient in his room had her leg amputated in those 2 weeks. This man fully recovered from his cancer over the next several months. He went back to being a captain of luxury yachts and traveling the world in great health.

Welcome to the NYC Craniosacral Therapist Blog Stories of Healing and Restoration