Massage, Chiropractic, Rolfing and there are two more extremely important pieces for my bodywork puzzle: Acupuncture and CranioSacral Therapy (CST).
I understand the basic mechanics behind massage, chiropractic and Rolfing. What happens beyond that, I’m not even going to try and decipher it. Part of me doesn’t want to know the specifics — kind of like someone explaining why the sunset is as beautiful as it is. I don’t really care about the dust particles. I just like to marvel at the colors. (If you do care, here is a quick explanation: (University of Wisconsin, Madison 2019).
CST and Acupuncture are a whole other beast in terms of my coming to grips with what’s going on under the skin.
Acupuncture. You know, the scary sounding needle thing. It’s not so scary. It’s pretty delightful, actually — if the person knows what they’re doing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any acupuncture (my Doctor of Oriental Medicine, DOM, left town. I tried a couple more, but they didn’t have the same level of expertise), but boy was that a helpful piece of relieving my physical discomfort puzzle. To read a little about acupuncture, including links to some research behind it.
It was my original DOM that taught me that the sacrum is a negative feedback loop. It’s worth thinking about the next time you have any lower back pain. What is stuck in there? What are you holding on to that needs to be set free?
CranioSacral (sometimes also called Cranial Sacral Therapy) or CST is my latest thing. I was sent there a few years ago for some prep work before my frenectomy, the tongue tie release. I didn’t know what to expect, really. What I found was amazing.
My favorite thing in CST is the skull stuff (technical terms, you know😬). The lightest of light touches, “using about 5 gm of pressure, or roughly the weight of a nickel” (Upledger 2008) on my cheeks and skull somehow made my teeth line up differently. I’ve had my stuffy nose open right up as they just barely press and move on my cranial bones — it feels like I’m being finely tuned while simultaneously getting my head screwed on straight! It’s very cool. My latest CS therapist makes me so relaxed that I go subterranean — truly, I am in another world during that time. I think it’s the most relaxing stuff I’ve ever experienced. (I did have one particular acupuncture session 20 years ago that did something similar, though.)
Again, these are my experiences with these modalities.
All of these body work things can be serious therapy and they shouldn’t be taken lightly. Make sure you find someone who is truly trained in what they are doing. Make sure they didn’t take a weekend course and are passing themselves off as an expert in their field. I have had big bruising following work by a not very good acupuncturist. I have gone completely dizzy and thought I was about to vomit when a new CS therapist did something goofy to my vagus nerve. Make sure you speak up if something doesn’t feel right.
This is all fine and dandy, but what does it have to do with homeopathy?
This week, I want to introduce the cell salt Calcium fluoride or Calc fluor. Calc fluor is known for its ability to maintain elasticity of the tissues. It’s for things that are too tight or too loose. “Use it for uterine displacements, teeth loose in their sockets, sluggish circulation, muscular weakness, and ailments of tendons, ligaments and fibrous tissue. Associated with this elastic tissue builder are cracks in the skin, especially in the hands and toes” (Weintraub 1999).
Calc fluor may help stiff and achy joints and it has a reputation for preventing stretch marks and helping with varicose veins and hemorrhoids. A person who may benefit from Calc fluor often feels better with continuous gentle movement.
The real point of these last few articles (here and here) is how homeopathy can assist these physical modalities. If you are suffering with structural pain, there are many good options to try (in addition to homeopathy, of course!) which may afford you some relief. Just make sure you find someone who is fully trained in the modality you choose.
Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath
#wellnessawaits