Somewhere in my 40 years of bodywork experience was learning about the importance of the body’s four diaphragms: pelvic, thoracic, cervical thoracic and cranial. It may have been in Dr. Upledger’s or Tom Myers’ great books.
I have recently seen this aspect clinically in a young child where the fascia in his thoracic diaphragm was frozen. As a shallow breather, he was just locked down, running zero cycles, and having a lot of health issues.
Over a series of visits, his diaphragm has freed up well, his entire body has opened and he is now running 200-plus-second cycles. Yesterday, his mother came in with tears and started to tell me some great things he is doing now. My eyes started to swell with a tear or two.
These children are out there in the world having a lot of treatable issues, with many starting at birth. My mentor, Dr. Viola Frymann, found that 88% of 1,250 hospital infants in her research had craniosacral restriction. So this is not some rare phenomenon of one child in 100,000; it is ubiquitous in the culture.
Birth may be the most difficult thing we do in life. Forty weeks in a confined space can create its emotional and physical issues. Coming out tight into this breathing world of bright lights and noise can be a tough transition. Let’s correct the craniosacral fascial strains then to avoid a lot of future suffering.
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