Module 6

The Spine

Reading	Sills: Foundations of Craniosacral Biodynamics, Vol 2 SBJ & Venous Sinus System
Drawings	- Study relationships between the vertebra and the organs - Spheno-basilar junction - Venous sinuses
Practices	Tutorial #2
Writings	- Write 1–2 paragraphs explaining: What are you learning about the spine through your own experience of receiving sessions? - Write down a list of key characteristics that differentiate the 3 vertebral groups (cervical, thoracic & lumbar). Then write out some of the key relationships of each group (bony, muscular, nerve & energetic).
Projects	Cranial Nerve #2, 3, 4 & 6
TA Check In	- Write up 4 practice sessions or call and discuss with your homework TA. - Report includes what you noticed initially, what you did in the session, any results or outcomes observed or reported, and questions that arose for you. - Make arrangements to contact your TA twice between now and the next module. - Please don’t wait until the week before the module.

Sections in Bold Green are required for BCST practitioner certification and to be able to register with BCTA/NA.

Sitting at the shoulders – hands on the shoulders
Start by just listening – wait for settling/wholistic shift
When the body feels more whole – ask the body if there is a shape it wants to show
Orient to the zones and see which zone is most supportive for this shape
Listen for the potential of a 3-stage process to unfold
Feel how your sense of the core changes as the 3-stage process unfolds
Listen at the feet for integration

Listen at the side – hands on shoulder and hip
Sympathetic Balance: squeeze the neck with one hand, and meet sore spots in the muscles adjacent to the spine by digging into the groove and pulling towards you – with tamasic firm pressure – and wait for softening
O/A: Find the right amount of pressure and feel into the Occiput-Atlas joint. Light and firm pressure can be helpful here, see what helps the person feel met and held. With either pressure, listen with biodynamic attention for things to unfold. Bring attention to the zones to help the process unwind.
North Pole Stretch: give traction to the whole spine by cradling the occiput with both hands and pulling the whole spine towards you
Have the client roll to prone and pick a vertebrae to work with (could use red test)
Do motion testing for that vertebrae – asking it whether it likes to go in each of the natural movement directions (flexion, extension, side-bend, rotation). Listen for a 3-stage process, or any unwinding or stillness. Use zones for support if they feel stuck.
Hold the vertebrae above and below and listen for the movement of the group, and feel for any unwinding, stillness or 3-stage process. Use zones for support if they feel stuck.
Listen at the sacrum to integrate

Choose an organ or vertebrae you want to work with – look at the chart to see which vertebrae/organ that corresponds to
Listen at the side, with light contact on the shoulder and hip. Wait for a holistic shift
Hold the organ with one hand and the vertebrae with your other hand. Listen for any unwinding, and whether they start to make a circuit
Whichever hand’s contact (vertebrae/organ) unwinds more easily indicates the other is where the deeper “problem” is
If needed: make two-handed contact with the organ or vertebrae that is having trouble unwinding. Bring your attention to the zones to see what is most supportive and if this helps the process unfold
In side-lying, hold the occiput and sacrum and feel for curling and uncurling

If needed: Rock the whole body at the shoulders; listen with a light touch; wait for a holistic shift
Give a neck massage – giving pressure to anywhere that feels tight
Cervicals: spread your fingers on either side of the transverse processes of the spine with your thumbs slightly forward on the sides of the neck. Listen for a 3-stage process. Bring attention to the zones to help the process unwind.
Palpate the cervicals one by one – pick a single cervical vertebrae and ask it about moving in each direction, wait for settling, softening and opening
North Pole Stretch: give traction to the whole spine by cradling the occiput with both hands and pulling the whole spine towards you
O/A: Find the right amount of pressure and feel into the Occiput-Atlas joint. Light and firm pressure can be helpful. With either pressure, listen with biodynamic attention for things to unfold. Bring attention to the zones to help the process unwind.
5-pointed Star: give 5-pointed star contacts to help any held energy at the throat digest. Can be as simple as connecting the throat to both hip bones sattvically, or could be a fuller process – depending on what is needed.
Integration at the Feet or Sacrum