The magic of craneo-sacral massage

Massagem sacro-craniana

A massagem sacro-craniana faz-se habitualmente após uma massagem normal na água, que à partida nos deixa com o relaxamento necessário para receber o bombom final. É algo um pouco inexplicável, porque só experimentando podemos sentir o que uns toques aparentemente simples alteram a nossa disposição e bem-estar. Realinhamento, despertar, abrir percepções, descansar, deixar de sentir peso e tensão facial… É realmente difícil explicar, por isso perguntámos à Marina Sans que processo é este, em que apenas segura na cabeça.

Antes do momento da massagem sacro-craniana, tu introduzes uma sessão de relaxamento em que trabalhas todo o corpo e fazes imersão. Porquê?

Antes do tratamento sacro-craniano na água, é necessário e muito positivo relaxar o corpo, especialmente o corpo articular, e também a mente, de forma a entrar na escuta crânio-sacral. Há mais possibilidade dos tecidos fluídos serem trabalhados. Não necessariamente com imersão, depende se as imersões relaxam quem vai receber a sessão.

A massagem sacro-craniana é subtil, quase imperceptível, no entanto, tem um objectivo específico. Podes explicar qual é?

O sistema sacro-craniano tem a função vital de manter saudável o meio em que o sistema nervoso central funciona, ou seja, o líquido cefalorraquidiano ou cerebro-espinal, que envolve e protege o cérebro e a medula espinhal, e em consequência as membranas meníngeas e os ossos aos quais se fixam, incluindo o crânio – abóbada, face e boca – e o sacro. O líquido cefalorraquidiano tem grande influência em muitas funções corporais.
Com um leve toque, um terapeuta treinado pode perceber as pulsações do sistema crânio-sacral transmitidas a todo o corpo através do sistema fascial. Como cada órgão, cada músculo, cada veia é envolvida por esta fáscia, uma restrição nela pode alterar a estrutura do corpo e afetar sua função. O trabalho terapêutico consiste em ajudar o paciente a restabelecer o fluxo normal de movimento pela atenuação ou desaparecimento dessas resistências.
Essa metodologia tem mostrado, além de relaxar e proporcionar clareza, aliviar uma ampla gama de distúrbios como disfunções congênitas, problemas de sucção e respiração em bebés, lesões do sistema nervoso central, medula espinhal e nervos cranianos, dor craniofacial e enxaqueca, fadiga e estresse, descoordenação motora, dor crónica no pescoço e nas costas, escoliose, discopatias, hérnia de disco, bruxismo e disfunções da articulação temporomandibular (ATM), distúrbios de aprendizagem, stress pós-traumático e emocional, autismo e transtornos de conduta.
É também recomendado como tratamento preventivo, pois melhora o sistema imunológico e proporciona mais energia, qualidade de sono e equilíbrio físico e mental.

Com as tuas mãos, sentes onde a massagem está a actuar? É diferente de pessoa para pessoa?

Oh, sim! Sinto os três pulsos ou fluxos diferentes (gosto de chamá-los de marés) do líquido cefalorraquidiano – quando atinge a cabeça, circunda o cerebelo e o cérebro e se expande pela coluna vertebral. Muda muito de pessoa para pessoa e na mesma pessoa em momentos diferentes. Já o fluxo desse fluido varia de acordo com as tensões ou bloqueios entre os ossos cranianos e espinhais e o estado da fáscia (conectado a tudo). Portanto, cada sessão varia conforme o estado do mar varia a cada dia.

Muitas vezes a capacidade de visão depois desta massagem fica melhor. Qual é a razão?

Sim. O líquido cefalorraquidiano encontra-se por trás dos olhos. Quando o crânio e a coluna são desbloqueados e o líquido pode fluir melhor, aumenta a quantidade de fluído que sustenta os olhos, por trás, para que a transmissão de informações entre eles e o sistema nervoso seja mais fluida e direta.

Que feedback tens das pessoas que recebem esta massagem? Como se sentem na maioria das vezes?

Resultados recorrentes após a terapia são sensação de melhor visão, maior clareza, eixo. Calma. Mais energia disponível. E muitos outros… Normalmente todos saem de uma sessão sacro-craniana felizes. Quem quer se integrar bem neste trabalho costuma fazer um processo de 10 sessões.

Quais são as condições ideais para um terapeuta aplicar esta massagem?

Para o tratamento sacro-craniano na água, as condições necessárias para este são muito precisas. Uma delas é silêncio, para ouvir o movimento de um líquido interno na cabeça da pessoa que recebe a sessão… A água na qual o corpo flutua deve estar em total quieta. Se for uma piscina, não pode haver outras pessoas nela ou qualquer tipo de circulação ou movimento da água durante o tempo de tratamento.
Outro aspecto importante é a temperatura. Sendo um tratamento que escuta os movimentos internos do corpo, mas sem movimentos externos e níveis elevados de relaxamento são alcançados, é essencial trabalhar na água à temperatura corporal (34-35 graus). O LiquidZome, para além de especial pelo seu carácter precioso e mágico, é uma das piscinas mais bem climatizadas que conheço.

Aquatic Therapy Aguahara

Aguahara

Water flight

Exploring our capabilities in the water is very rewarding. Feeling where the power of deep relaxation goes, of surrendering to smooth and fluid movements is highly liberating. The sensation after a session is of enormous well-being. But it’s not just at that moment that we feel this revitalization. The days that follow are different, as if that flight lifted us for a while, lifted our weight, with rare comfort. Like most water therapies, Aguahara explores this tranquility for the body and mind.

The origin

Hara is the Japanese word that means the center of everything, the beginning of movement, the focus. Aguahara is an aquatic bodywork technique developed by Alex Sieberstein. In the genesis of this therapy there is a lot of movement, fluctuation and immersions, but also an enormous reconnection with the environment that surrounds us. Because of this, and because it includes more dynamic movements, it is one of the therapies that can better be done in wild and colder waters. It is based on the flow of the body and not so much on the pressure of touching the muscles. This flow results in several good things: deep relaxation, relief from muscle pain, lightness, regeneration of the nervous system or blood stimulation, among many others. It can be applied to anyone, even if you don’t know how to swim. Sessions are tailored to each person’s needs or mood. It is recommended for anyone who needs to release tension. At LiquidZome, one of the people who follows this line of therapy is our dear Rita Maldonado. Try it!

Fascia and the somatic aquatic experience

This journey starts by meeting Marina Sans, founder of Liquid Cosmos, a very particular style, developed by this water goddess, master of Aguahara and eternally curious about the mysteries that surround our body. One of them is the fascia, a layer like a net which is found in all parts of the body (between the skin and the muscles and between the bones) and which holds within itself a specific sensitivity, the subject of Marina’s investigations. Having this therapist at Liquid Zome is not only a pleasure for her energy and company, but also for her ability to share knowledge, with and without words, just by observing the way she works her art.

Life source

The importance of water and the enormous reach of its benefits can be understood in so many ways. At Liquid Cosmos, that understanding goes deeper. It has a reading of the experience in the physiological, therapeutic and artistic field. It’s like a dance, but designed to touch the most relevant points of the fascia. The practitioner that guides us through the waters and leads us in movements, has a different awareness of touch. For this, it is necessary to feel the needs and state of the person receiving the session, to realize if they are tired or with a lot of energy, if there is a physical problem or just the desire to relax. Inside, as if by magic, we will always discover more. And sometimes what’s too much has to come out. It is the transcendence of the waters and their healing power. You can always go further and be surprised.

Listening to the body

The multiple states of consciousness and perception, the motors of action and emotion, the dynamics of the arms, legs, trunk, head, all these are factors evaluated in a fluid session focused on the fascia element. Hence its somatic character, in which the objective is to relieve the body and mind of tension and discomfort, of ailments and disturbances, which are so often hidden. In this type of investigation and exploration of somatic education, there is a whole journey to access all layers of the body, from skin, to muscles, to organs and to each person’s complete and unique universe. The more one studies about the somatic experience from the fascia, the more paths are opened for new movements and new sensations in the water.

Aquatic Therapy Fluid Presence

Shantam Fuid Presence

With wisdom enriched over 20 years, Shantam has become one of the people who best understands the therapeutic effects of water. It was she who developed Fluid Presence, the most holistic of therapies, which understands the body and movements as a whole, in and out of the water.

Baby Swim

Created by Kfir Kol in 2005, this technique was developed while observing and working with his own newborn babies in the water. Over the years, he has perfected not only the movements, but also the cognitive, ergonomic and sensorial knowledge of the baby, becoming the biggest expertise in the field. For babies, the experience provides the activation of recent womb memories, the return to freedom of movement and to a natural and protected aquatic environment.

He gives workshops for parents who wish to develops skills to work with their babies in water and to aquatic bodywork students wishing to specialize in BabySwim.

When in Portugal, he regularly works with us at the LiquidZome.

Aquatic Therapy Liquid Flow Essence

It is one of the therapies most based on the principles and methods of Watsu. It was developed by two therapists from the Quiet Healing Center in Auroville, India, between the forest and the sea, in an environment that brings together various complementary and alternative treatments, in a kind of community work-in-progress from different areas. In other words, a small paradise of well-being.

 

Origin

Amongst the activities at this centre, there is a section dedicated to aquatic therapies, with a pool heated to 35 degrees where different therapists carry out their practices. Dariya and Daniel are the duo of residents who created this concept called Liquid Flow, a series of movements and touches that resulted in a very unique style, in line with the foundations of Watsu. At the center and also in other parts of the world, there are several people dedicated to aquatic therapies who have had specific training in this style, and many are linked to Liquid Zome.

 

The experience

It is different because it mixes the qualities of Watsu, OBA (Oceanic Bodywork Aqua), Healing Dance and Water Dance. The therapy starts at the surface, while the body relaxes, with smooth but continuous movements, so that the muscles and joints receive the effects of the warm water.

During the session, you can combine the placement of a nose clip, so to enjoy the second part of this massage: submersion. It is at this point that the experience becomes deeper and more relaxing. The sensation is similar to the passage of a river through us, in a fluidity of water that comforts us and stretches the body.

 

The Benefits

They are immediate, but they also extend over time. Water massages are a unique way to release tension and rest your body. They are a vehicle for treating injuries or muscle pain. They welcome a sense of effortless surrender that leads us to overcome mental or physical barriers, letting the body and mind flow freely. The session ends with a gentle return to the outside world, so that the impact is not sudden. There is a a moment of grounding that awakens emotions and bring a sense of inner peace. This sensation of floating remains even when we put our feet on the ground and it accompanies us for a long period of time after this wonderful experience.

Marjorie Sá and the art of rebozo

 

We spoke with Marjorie about the technique that gives comfort to women during pregnancy. Water Rebozo uses cloths to wrap bodies on land or in water. It’s an ancient art that we practice at LiquidZome, and without a doubt Marjorie is the best person to explain exactly what it is and what benefits it brings.

 

What is the art of rebozo in water for you?

It’s lap. This practice comes to us through the inspiration of the mother who carries her child, in the womb and in water, wrapped in muscular, facial and epidermal tissues, and outside the womb, in the lap, breast, arms and universally traditional, by bands and fabrics, perhaps reproducing in some way this feeling of belonging, wet and penetrating like water embraces us, within a shell of security, senses and affection.

Is it inspired by the rebozo on land? Is it usually practiced on land and in water in the same session?

Certainly inspired by the midwives’ Rebozo, we keep this name even in his honor. Rebozo is the Central American name, but there are historical records of similar cloths used on all continents to facilitate pelvic and bodily mobility during childbirth, and to accommodate the bones and bodies of mothers and babies after childbirth.
We don’t usually do both dynamics in the same session, only in courses, in a more didactic way. As an experience, I believe it is good to give the body time to perceive and digest the experience in each environment, land and water, with its due time and different nuances.

 

Does Water Rebozo bear any resemblance to another style of water therapy such as aguahara, water dance or liquid flow?
Water rebozo complements other therapies. At our Waterdoulas school, we develop practice in group dynamics, in pair or couples sessions and in individual care. Each promotes a different interaction. Collectively we support the floating body, stimulating its autonomy of movement and relationship with the water, with the rebozo serving as support, stage, delimitation. In peer practices we play with symmetries, both there is this space of individual support and there is a space of shelter and embrace, when we treat couples or relatives. In the individual sessions we have already managed to include massage, working the body in parts and integrally, on the surface and with immersions.
I would say that it forms a bridge between aquatic movement therapies and deep relaxation and rebirthing practices, since it is very common for our body to awaken uterine memories in this type of environment and stimulus. The fabric becomes an extension of the therapist’s arms, a large womb, a comprehensive lap that both contours and shelters and allows you to expand and perceive the texture and time of the water.

 

What do pregnant women usually report after these sessions?
For pregnancy, we explore pelvic and lumbar supports, which provide great comfort in floating, for example. The report is usually one of relaxation, restoration, intimate connection with the movements and a heightened awareness of the baby.

 

Do you also practice rebozo during childbirth?
Yes, even in the common bath or in the birthing pool we take the water rebozo to support. Of course, the most important thing is to stimulate throughout pregnancy, with this and other subtle bodily dynamics, how water can become an ally for the parturient woman.

 

What about postpartum?

In the postpartum period, we bring it more in the form of restraint, since the birthing body is a body that has expanded to its limits, in the postpartum period, the therapy is gentle, supported, enveloping movements, which help the mother to define her new body. The rebozo collectively also allows us to open a large bed that can accommodate the mother and baby together, or even just her, since these small moments of relaxation in the water, being supported and feeling safe, are equivalent to a night of sleep. We also do the practice of closing the bones in the aquatic version.

 

In terms of benefits to the pregnancy process, what are they?

As I said above, with regard to preparation for childbirth, the most important thing is perhaps to understand how water is a powerful ally, which inspires more relaxed states, fluids, which warms the tissues, which allows free movement of gravity, and that all helps labor, as a non-pharmacological resource for pain relief. As in labor we often need points of support and security, the fabric interface helps in this situation, of contraction, and welcomes the body in relaxation between waves.
For the pregnancy itself, we focus on well-being and relaxation, the therapeutic processes tend to unfold naturally from there, whether related to bonding, fears, relationships, memories, plots, unusual situations. Each one goes where they can, and each therapist also leads from their spectrum of action.
As aquatic therapy, we focus more on physical well-being, joint mobility, touch and stretching, lightness and body awareness that water provides. As a doula, naturally, I will include more issues related to the pregnancy-puerperal process within our aquatic meeting. However, they are distinct dynamics and we encourage both as trainers, that is, those who work in aquatic therapy delve deeper into the themes of the pregnant body and its special needs, those who work with pregnant women in other contexts, include aquatic dynamics in their services. woman or couple feel nourished, relaxed, happy, united to their own body and their baby, I believe these are the great benefits.

 

Is this therapy also recommended for other situations other than pregnancy?

For sure. For anyone. On a physical level, it is welcoming for those with physical restrictions or fear of being in the water, pelvic and lumbar pain, birth trauma, grief situations, changes in life in general. We also work with water rebozo in family dynamics, with babies, children, the elderly and the physically disabled and their caregivers.

 

For you personally, what does water bring to our body, our mind, our life?

Water brings life and allows our communication. It is a facilitator in connection, in clarity with me, with my internal waters and with the world. But for me water is not just a peaceful agent, it also brings agitation, storms, a lot of emotional mobilization.

 

Do you feel that there is still a lot to explore in the world of Water Rebozo?

Is happening. It’s beautiful to see. With Waterdoulas we are at full steam, we have been developing this research since 2017 and we are finally able to launch now the first face-to-face courses and also an online module. We always receive very positive and creative feedback from those who are inspired by our practice. In addition to witnessing, through networks and reports, a growing interest, in various therapeutic and recreational aspects, in the use of fabrics in water and the multiplicity of uses and reactions that it provokes. I believe it’s an element that is here to stay and become an accessory or even an important tool.

On this path we feel immense joy for the pioneering spirit in presenting this practice in an organized way, making this collage between babywearing, massage with cloths, the aerial fabric of the circus and mainly in total reverence to those who most inspired us in this exploration, the traditional midwives, and so keep the Rebozo in the name.

Aquatic Therapy Healing Dance

The Healing Dance is like receiving a dance in ten steps, without any kind of effort, just enjoying it. The denomination of healing comes from this ability to revitalize the body through a sequence of movements. This treatment was first developed by Alexander George in 1993.

Aquatic Therapy Water Dance

Desenvolvido por Arjana Brunschwiler e Aman Schroter nos anos 80, é também conhecida por Wasser Tanzen ou WATA. Caracteriza-se por movimentos mais dinâmicos, coordenados com a respiração e elementos de massagem, Aikido, ondulações, inversões, dança e imersões gentis (com a ajuda de um nose clip).

Aquatic Therapy Flydeeper

Há quem descreva a sensação que se vive numa sessão aquática como um retorno ao útero, uma submersão que nos traz segurança e nos liberta do peso da gravidade. Flydeeper é uma das terapias em que mais facilmente podemos atingir esse estado de entrega e leveza. A sequência de movimentos é lenta e intuitiva.