The first skill a Biodynamic Craniosacral practitioner learns is also the one we return to most often: the skill of being, or presence. Before a session begins — sometimes long before — I scan my own body, top to bottom, front, back, and all around. I ground, center, and seek neutral. These are the cornerstones of every session, and of how I move through the day whenever I notice myself slipping outside the window of inner regulation.
Setting the field
When I first walk into the treatment room, I take a moment to glance around — stopping at several points in the space — to confirm a presence in this moment and this place. A deep breath, and continued focus on the breath, helps lower the volume of thoughts in me, and I sense it does the same in clients. A calmer field opens the opportunity for what we call the third presence — the inherent intelligence of the work — to reveal itself.
A neutral, non-judgmental attitude
The skill of being asks for a neutral, non-judgmental, and non-pathological stance. It is just as important to understand the bodily sensations the practitioner is experiencing as it is to attend to the client’s. Seeking inner stillness is, at its core, a way of calming the autonomic nervous system — opening the doorway for healing to occur.
Be kindness. Be kind to yourself. These are the abiding arcs that further the deepening into the work.
Why it matters
Without presence, the rest of the practitioner skills have nowhere to land. With it, the body — yours and the client’s — has a chance to remember its own inherent treatment plan.