CS-Q Reflections
As a part of their final exam, we asked the recent graduates of the Group “Q” BCST training to reflect on their experience in the course and its impact on their life. We were moved and humbled by their touching and profound comments, and it just felt right to share. We are deeply grateful to these students and excited to see what they do next!
The BCST course has been life-changing for me. I signed up for this course at the recommendation of my dear friend and massage therapist. Initially, I thought this series and work would augment the body-mind work that I sought to do with children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. As with my graduate school and other academic pursuits, I entered this course with the thought that, “I would acquire one more modality that would help me work with others therapeutically.”
Interestingly, by the second five-day course in this series, which highlighted nervous system functioning and patterns, I realized that my dear friend likely recommended the course as an opportunity to create more space and healing of my ownnervous system, which had operated in a state of sympathetic overdrive for two-and-a-half decades (starting with competitive ballet training, continuing with the race through graduate school, the premature burnout of two seriously-sought careers and the challenge of a high-conflict divorce…from someone I would not have married had I listened to even one cell in my body, at the time).
As much as I was fascinated and beginning to attune to the lessons inherent of Yin in the movement of the dance style I taught at the time, my life style and way of living screamed everything to do with YANG…which was not working. As a result, I was at odds with my linear pursuits and the fashion in which each domain imploded.
I sense, feel and believe this work, with its Yin pace and unfolding, has done much to restore my sense of faith in the Tao (after all, to quote John, “karma trumps talent”), allowing me to connect with my deeper trust in co-creating a space of allowing (instead of “forcing” or trying “to make happen”). Through the course of this class, I have reconnected with my sense of inner strength and resilience; I have found community with others who are like-hearted and like-minded, and I have felt validated for some deeply held beliefs and ideas I’ve had about working with people (and myself) in a way that is gentle, humble and health-focused.
The skills we covered in the first five days surpassed anything I experienced in an entire decade of learning to sit with another human being in a counseling or other therapeutic setting. (In hindsight, I could not settle, nor did I realize the non-verbal qualities that truly lent to being present in my own body and being, which may explain the early burnout I experienced in this field in my 20’s.)
Anyway, Anna and John, this is a drawn-out way of saying, “Thank you both for the work that you do, for the wisdom that you teach and for the space and school you have created that lives and breathes your philosophy and life experiences.” Your school, teachings, assistants and community has helped me reconnect with my body, self and being.
This course has been a huge growth opportunity for me. I came into the course thinking that I was going learn a new form of bodywork to add to my massage practice. I realized soon that it was much more subtle work, that went much deeper than just the body, and honestly frustrated me at first. I felt completely out of my realm. However, as I stuck with the course I realized I had a lot of my own processing to complete and make space for. As I come to a close in this course I can finally appreciate the power in the subtleness of this work. I have worked through trauma I was unaware of, learned to regulate my nervous system, and learned to find resources. Now I feel so much more capable of helping my clients with these things as well. I have grown as a practitioner and as a spiritual being in this body.
I am in deep gratitude. This class has blown my mind open so far; I couldn’t have comprehended how much I would have learned or how deep I would have gone into the experience of being connected with everything around me. The sense of spirituality I’ve gained from the basic concept (maybe not so basic actually) of “the field” is something I’m excited to keep exploring, and I’m excited to explore everything we’ve touched on in this class. It seems like the tip of the iceberg. I’m sad that I’ll no longer have our modules to go to, sit in, and absorb all of the information; I’ll miss it very much.
This course was a jaw dropping, life changing, health restoring, amazingly nourishing initiation into new world of work supporting the growth and healing. The pacing, while at times is repetitive and very slow, works! I don’t believe that I would be where I am in my practice if there had not been ample time for the material to unfold, and a process that holds technique, anatomy, personal trauma stories, and experiential learning the way that this course does. I also really appreciated the emphasis on self-care, permission to be met wherever we were at emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually in each module. I appreciate my TA, so much, and it was helpful to have the consistency of the same TA throughout. I also really appreciate the humbleness of John and Anna, and their willingness to repair and help repairs happen.
This course has opened up a whole other world of experiencing life. I have enjoyed the connections made with others in the class. I have felt supported and heard. I have gained greater insight and a deeper appreciation, not only for myself, but for others. This course seems like the very beginning of the trail that I have chosen to set out on. I have known for so long that I am here to do this kind of work. I am grateful to have finally found a fitting, natural and very real healing practice to cultivate. Or did it find me? Either way this course has acted as the spark that has ignited my true purpose. I would take it again if I ever get the opportunity. Thank you!!
This course has been very valuable for me by helping me to understand what a systemic and holistic healing process can look and feel like. I currently feel like a novice that has stumbled onto a box of magic with the ability to heal- if you can develop the sensitivity to let it use you. This course has given me the blueprint to develop that sensitivity. The more I explore the books about Craniosacral Therapy, the more overwhelmed I feel, but your teaching of ground, center, neutral brings me back from overwhelm to possibility and curiosity. I deeply appreciated the approach of blending an ethereal minded healing art while being deeply grounded in anatomy and science.
This course has been the most profound learning I have experienced in my life. It was interesting to be taking this concurrent with returning to grad school after 35 years and comparing the quality of instruction and learning that occurred in each instance. I appreciate the pace and attention to various learning styles you incorporate in your classes. Even though we are trained to go out and be of service to others, I feel a deep gratitude for the sometimes painful, but very insightful personal learning. Even though I may not have many years to practice, I have such a deep understanding and felt sense now of how we as humans are all connected and resourced with and between each other. To have experienced that connection with others on such a deep level is something I did not expect and will likely be the motivator to practice going forward. I thank you deeply!!
My overall experience of this course was one of amazement, wonder, and opening the door to a bright, vibrant world. I appreciated the balance of experiential learning in solo, paired and group exercises alongside informative and interesting lectures. There was a lot of freedom to be me in this course, and I learned more of who that “me” is. I opened up on many different levels, in my abilities to perceive the subtleties in myself and others, in my self-expression and ability to control or let go, and in the ability to process difficult experiences, new and old. There were times when I was frustrated with the dynamics of the group, but I recognized them as helpful learning experiences, and overall I was impressed with Anna and John’s facilitation of the group.
My experience in this course has been deeply enlightening and transformative on nearly every level of my being. Learning this work has been fascinating and although the course is thorough I feel as if I’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg that is Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.
The practitioner skills have translated into ‘life skills’, as I have learned to find my own center and neutrality that reach far beyond the treatment table. These skills translate into relationships and the way I engage in life. I am excited to practice these skills both with clients on the table and out in the world as I move through life.
Information on the nervous system has been invaluable, and the resourcing skills I’ve learned have transformed my own nervous system in a deeply resourcing way. I love that I can describe myself as a person who USED to suffer from a lot of anxiety. I owe much of this to what I’ve learned in this course. Learning about NS phenomena, attachment theory, birth trauma/patterning etc. has given me a newfound awareness and perspective on my own life experience and the experience of my family, friends, lovers, clients, and the lady standing behind me in the grocery story (so…..everyone, really. )
One of my favorite things about this course has been the way that ‘esoteric’ philosophy combines so skillfully with human anatomy. I now have a deep understanding (intellectually as well as experientially) about energy as the underpinning of matter, and I see it as a dynamic and interrelated system, no longer two different things. Words are hard to do this course justice. I’m grateful, humbled and inspired.
This class has been life changing for me in so many ways. I’ve explored so many studies in health and I feel like I finally landed with something that feels “at home” for me with CSES. It has been deeply healing and just so happened to be during my Saturn Return. I feel like I am finally in a place of health where I can really be available to help others- something that wasn’t really available before without self-sacrifice before, nor would I have been able to recognize this before taking the class. Learning to sense what is happening in my own body has been one of the most helpful, as well as learning to trust my experience, and also to see ways that I am very perceptive and able to give in my unique way. I am really committed to serving others with this work and hopefully teaching it in years to come, to create change on a large scale, starting with the body, at the most practical level. YAY!
I feel like I have moved from a place of unknowing to a place of understanding in who I am and why I am here. The class was profoundly moving, insightful, educational, exciting, wondrous, empowering and hard for me. First and foremost I have learned about myself, I understand much more about my nervous system and how and why it reacts as it does. I have found great appreciation for the underlying intelligence and because of that have ease in letting go and knowing there is something greater at work within me. My nervous system has settled and my eyes have opened up to a world of deep beauty and joy. My curiosity is piqued and I want to learn more, know more, but first, I want to practice and use what I have learned. I have found my life’s work here in BCST and I am thankful I can fall into the hands of the intelligence of the system and continue my learning. I look forward to deepening my practice through the wisdom of my clients and when the time is right, taking more classes to deepen my understanding. I feel so lucky to have spent this time with you learning, growing and receiving the vastness of your knowledge. Overall, this has been a beautiful 2 years, thank you for your wisdom!
I am in deep gratitude. This class has blown my mind open so far; I couldn’t have comprehended how much I would have learned or how deep I would have gone into the experience of being connected with everything around me. The sense of spirituality I’ve gained from the basic concept (maybe not so basic actually) of “the field” is something I’m excited to keep exploring, and I’m excited to explore everything we’ve touched on in this class. It seems like the tip of the iceberg. I’m sad that I’ll no longer have our modules to go to, sit in, and absorb all of the information; I’ll miss it very much.
I will be unpacking this journey, in the course, for many years to come. I have a deep appreciation for the experience of this course and am finding a way to sip in secure attachment which is one of the greatest gifts I’ve discovered. At times, not always easy to regulate my nervous system, a deep unwinding of patterns has been ignited. I can’t possible thank you enough for my gratitude and how this has changed my life. I’m not sure if enough support can be given for anyone willing to dive into this process, but I’ve been modeled a open-hearted community that will keep informing me on my journey. Words can be limiting, thank you sounds trivial BUT….THANK YOU for a big game changer with my souls peace. All my love to you both of you.
Early on I was delighted to open up to a very strong experience of the energetic/spiritual in the physical. It has made my relationship with Source much more tangible and real in myself, my life and in my practice.
I have felt tremendous support from Anna and John and all the Teaching Assistants. I feel very seen, held and encouraged, and I learned a lot.
I have really appreciated the great combination and integration of right brain/left brain material. I feel much more at home in the beautiful jungle now that I can identify at least some of the flora and fauna!
Finally, I have been touched by the easy sense of community that has grown over the many months. I have made some very sweet connections that will be important to me even after class is over.
The entire experience has been wonderful on all levels. I feel much more complete, coherent and alive! Thank you!
My experience of this course is every superlative word together. I feel I received the highest quality of excellence in learning and experiencing BCST. I have taken many wonderful continuing education classes including a number of Cranial Sacral therapy classes and this one has surpassed all other classes in exceeding my expectations and satisfaction way beyond what I ever knew or imagined. I now know I love being taught from a yin perspective with a strong developed field and relaxed environment. I have felt safe, relaxed, secure, nurtured, nourished and able to express myself, ask questions, and share. I felt everything I learned through the lectures and practice sessions was for the first time, brand new with a gentle and yin approach. It was days or modules later before I remembered I had been exposed to a lot of the concepts in my other classes. I felt what I was being taught was also strongly modeled by my teachers which weaved a greater understanding and larger holistic picture. I feel what I learned on and off the table is now naturally part of my daily life and new way of being. I feel grateful I was guided and called to BCST training and my life work. I say I have THE best job for me as I get to consciously be present with God every day through working with beautiful people. As a result of my experience of taking this course, I feel confident, steady, and secure with a strong foundation of practitioner skills and a wide selection of tools to work with any body and most any condition.
This course has been very valuable for me by helping me to understand what a systemic and holistic healing process can look and feel like. I currently feel like a novice that has stumbled onto a box of magic with the ability to heal- if you can develop the sensitivity to let it use you. This course has given me the blueprint to develop that sensitivity. The more I explore the books about Craniosacral Therapy, the more overwhelmed I feel, but your teaching of ground, center, neutral brings me back from overwhelm to possibility and curiosity. I deeply appreciated the approach of blending an ethereal minded healing art while being deeply grounded in anatomy and science.
This course has been a journey of self-healing and discovery, in the classroom as well as receiving sessions. A big discovery for me was the ANS and learning tools to keep it regulated. Also on the personal level I’ve had the empowering experience of revisiting my own birth. Learning about all the imprints that have happened or could happen but didn’t happen and not to mention all the repairs that had happened during this time. So far, everything sounds self-related! I am thankful for it. As a practitioner I did the 150 hours of practice applying my practitioner skills trying to help the person on the table and to explore and apply all that I could absorb from the classroom. I have experienced these moments of love with BCS where I believed that this is the modality to heal any health condition. Now, I see it as a path of study and dedication and I feel motivated to do it. Thanks Anna and John for your teachings and support during this time.
Perhaps the most important learning from this course is the reality that if I am grounded and neutral I can hold a space for a client to “heal thyself”. I experienced a growth in myself and discovered tools to deal with challenges in my own life and purpose. I learned that without resistance, change will not take place. Therefore, as I considered self-healing, I realized the importance of self-healing as a basis for helping others in their own healing process.
I tasted of “shalom” where life forces are in peace, have a sense of harmony, experience wide awareness, and sense vitality. I see this shalom and grounding as a gift of grace which is the unconditional life force of love connecting from the Source of the Breath of Life. This awareness influenced my appreciation for craniosacral therapy skill of not looking for symptoms but rather being open to discover the inherent health in the patient. I learned the importance of this “yin” approach to health. I learned the importance of being “present”. This helps me listen to the story the body and the spirit unfolds.