Now Autumn is here. The days are shorter, the fruit is ripe and many animals are thinking of hibernation. Sometimes it seems like a good idea to join them.
But for us humans there is a challenge that comes with Autumn: we have to find an inner strength to get through the winter darkness. We have to find how to generate light and the warmth from within our own beings.
Today (29th September) is Michaelmas, the day of celebration of Saint Michael and all the Archangels- a day to call on the power of the hidden world to help us survive the winter and the dark.
I like St Michael, he is reputedly the patron saint of healing and of horses, so I feel we have a lot in common.
Michael is often portrayed slaughtering the dragon, but maybe a new way of looking at the challenge of Autumn is to learn to harness all that dragon power and link it to our own will-power so that we can use the dragon fire to keep us warm and illuminate the dark of winter.
For many of us the coming of winter challenges our ability to maintain optimum health, or even sometimes to remain cheerful.
It is probably obvious to say that the two are very closely linked, but in Craniosacral therapy this link is fundamental to our approach to health.
Clients who are feeling overwhelmed often lament the fact that it is hard to get pleasure from the everyday beauty that surrounds them. That feeling of being overwhelmed also affects our ability to heal and replenish ourselves.
We speak of our immune system being compromised or, in more everyday speech, we are “run down”, “under the weather”. (And isn’t that literally the case at this time of year?)
So how can we refill the healing bank?
First, the most simple thing of all —
BREATH
(Totally irrelevant, but did you know that dolphins have to be conscious to breathe? When they sleep, only half the brain goes to sleep, the other half stays awake to take them to the surface to breathe, then the sides of the brain swap over. Imagine if you had a lazy half to your brain that wanted a lie in! And how on earth did anyone find this out?)
Humans, however, have both conscious and unconscious elements to our breathing (and thank goodness we can do it in our sleep).
When we are anxious we breath lightly or hold our breath; but we also have the capacity to change the pattern deliberately, a fact that underlies a lot of meditation practice. So just by focussing on our breathing we can change the mood we are in and the tension we are feeling.
And we can recharge our batteries:
By having FUN.
By doing the things we most ENJOY.
By taking a BREAK.
By having a TREAT.(Even a little thing can cheer us up)
It is amazing how resistant we can be sometimes to taking time off, having a treat or being thoroughly frivolous. I love Julia Cameron’s suggestion in her book The Artist’s Way of “the artists treat”: A time set aside each week in which to play. She calls it “a necessary frivolity” and that’s the point- we need to have frivolity in our lives to keep healthy.
But for all of us there are times when we become overwhelmed and can’t any longer find that space of joy and peace for ourselves. That’s when Craniosacral Therapy sessions can help.
Because the therapy is not asking anything of the body, but allowing the body to tell its story at its own pace, it is ideal is ideal for times of stress, overwhelm and despair. It allows the body a safe space to recuperate, and the mind a time to switch off.
Having a CST session is like treating yourself to a mini hibernation, deeply restful and empowering. A wonderful way to reinvigorate a tired, chilly body and reawaken some of the dragon’s fire we all have within us.
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