Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) provides a safe space for traumatic or challenging experiences to emerge, shifting the body towards resolution and eventually release. This therapy is an interactive process of meeting and exploring sensations as well as emotions, with gentle awareness from the practitioner. During this process, the client is guided towards deepening the connection to their body, settling their nervous
system and building the capacity to better self regulate. While exploring a clients unique emotional landscape, Alison has the opportunity to create safety through relational contact and encourages the body to shift into a place of balance and stillness. She is truly gifted at helping people settle their nervous systems, relieve pain, trauma and ultimately build more resilience within their own bodies.

BCST helps to create conditions where the body can begin to let go of old patterns and stories that can accumulate over time. It provides individuals with the opportunity for agency by teaching them how to continuously check in with their bodies and learn how to negotiate with and navigate the more complex, difficult sensations and emotions that may arise. BCST brings us closer to the intimate awareness of what is really going on for us and provides us with the opportunity to check in and fully realize ourselves as complex beings.

With a background in Pre and Perinatal Somatic Therapy, Alison holds a deep awareness of the early imprints of our lived experience, which tends to shape how we respond to our life, the world around us, as well as our perceptions surrounding what is safe and what is not. “People who have experienced trauma in early life have a much higher likelihood of developing chronic illness, depression, addiction and other challenges”. When we are triggered emotionally, our nervous system gets impacted and we can quickly shift into a state of “fight, flight or freeze”. Alison explains that in these moments, we tend to fall back on old coping mechanisms, as the body had once created these mechanisms as a source of defence. Since our brains are wired for survival, we can get stuck in a state of hyper arousal where we are constantly anticipating danger. As you can imagine, this as a prolonged state can have many serious implications for our physical and emotional well being. Additionally, trauma can leave individuals experiencing high levels of disassociation and disconnection from their bodies and trauma resolution therapies, such as BCST, provides a wonderful opportunity to bring people back into their bodies, teaching them how it feels to be truly present and safe.

Alison works with her clients to help orient their nervous systems towards focusing on feelings of safety and goodness. She explains that, “The more we train our brains to notice and remember these good feelings, the more resilient our bodies become and the less likely we are to get triggered, sending our nervous systems into challenging states”.

​After learning more about the many benefits of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to connect with Alison for a session over zoom. Before my session, I was asked to fill out a set of comprehensive intake forms which helped to provide a detailed account of my physical and mental health history, alongside some questions about my lifestyle, my hopes and intentions for effective treatment, in addition to questions about my early life and birth experience. After chatting with Alison, we started our session together with a simple grounding practice.

Seated upright in a comfortable chair, I began by taking some slow deep breaths. As I was breathing, Alison asked me to notice the contact I was making with the floor and to bring my awareness to the soles of my feet, noticing how they make contact. I was then asked to feel into the various sensations I might be experiencing within my toes and feet. After I described some of the sensations, Alison then asked me if there was a part of my foot that felt good? I responded stating that the arch of my right foot felt good. “What are the sensations that tell you that it feels good?”, she asked. I explained that it felt good, in the sense that this part of my foot felt free. I felt there was space that could move underneath it and surround the foot itself. I noticed that this part of my foot did not feel constricted, or heavily weighed down and that there was no observable pain in this particular area.

Alison then invited me to stay with these positive sensations, really allowing them to imprint themselves within my body. As we continued our grounding practice, I was asked to notice other parts of my body and the sensations I was feeling throughout. As my nervous system began to settle, I started to feel a sensation in my knees that felt as though the energy in my body was wanting to move upwards. I continued to breathe
deeply and was guided to continue to hold the awareness of my feet, seat area and breath. As our grounding practice came to an end, Alison had me turn my head slowly from side to side, opening my eyes gently to take in some of the objects in the room around me. She explained that this practice teaches my nervous system to recognize that in this very moment I am safe and that nothing about my environment is threatening. It
is truly incredible how the practice of breath and observing subtle sensations within the body can really help one to ground and ease the nervous system into a state of greater relaxation.

After this practice, we moved our session to a place where I could lay down. As I lay on my yoga mat, using pillows and blankets as supportive props, I was asked to ensure that my spine was generally aligned and that I was comfortable, so that Alison could begin her work. “As you lay there, allowing your body to be held by the floor..notice all the ways that you are in contact with the floor...your back, the back of your head, your seat, the backs of your legs. As you are breathing, allow for softness in your body and notice if there are places that perhaps don’t feel so soft and just accept them”. Alison then invited me to do a slow body scan, starting with my head, moving down my neck, noticing the shape of my body and with each place noticing contact. She asked me to observe any sensations and without doing anything, just allowing them to be. She then asked if I was ready to have her come into contact with my energetic field. Bringing her attention to the edge of my field, I felt her come a little closer and could feel her supportive, warm presence. Before making any closer contact, Alison reminded me that I could let her know if something didn’t feel comfortable and that we could adjust the experience at any time. Throughout our session, Alison constantly checked in with me to ensure that I felt held without experiencing any sort of pressure or discomfort.