Cathy Holway visits APT!

Mandy learns about and receives cranio-sacral therapy from our guest instructor, Cathy Holway of The Neurovascular Institute.

In early December, some APT and other therapists joined us to welcome Cathy Holway from the Neurovascular Institute to learn about cranio-sacral therapy.  Cathy is a doctor of physical therapy who received her training from the Upledger Institute, then later created her own form of work, Sacred Spaces, which has evolved into the Neurovascular Institute.   From her website:  the curriculum continues to synthesize outstanding, science-based medical education with the art and spirit of healing.  We spent the weekend practicing on each other, getting immersed in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and brainstorming how to use the treatment with our kiddos.

Cathy tells us that touch rewires the brain.

When touch is used to access the brain, as in cranio-sacral therapy (CST), the goal is to help a client (child or adult) to move in the world with less effort and to engage with the world in a more positive way.  In a typical session of about 30 minutes to an hour, the therapist moves along the client’s body “holding” in certain ways and areas to provide a release to the neurophysiology of the tissues.  As the practitioner, we learned that our presence, touch and breath has a profound influence on the effectiveness of CST.   For most of our kids, this would mean activating the parasympathetic nervous system to help calm and relax the child.

If you’d like to learn more about CST to see if it might be right for your child, speak to your OT or visit Dr. Cathy’s website where you will find a wealth of information.

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