BTI Continuing Education Workshops
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy:
Introduction to Primary Respiration
with Michael Shea, PhD
October 14-17 | Thursday-Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm | 28 contact hours | $585 | practitioners only
Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle but powerful approach to healing through mindful touch. Especially effective in harmonizing the nervous system, treating trauma, and supporting the body's ability to regenerate, the biodynamic approach is based on understanding the physical processes that guide the development of the human embryo. It posits that we are, in a sense, all perpetual embryos, even into our adulthood -- and that our bodies are far more fluid and capable of repair than what is commonly thought.
This seminar seeks to impart the skills necessary to begin to work with primary respiration, a therapeutic tidal-like movement in the fluids of the body named by Dr. William Sutherland, the founder of Cranial Osteopathy. Working with it requires a still heart and deep perception and listening skills. We will learn practices that will permit us to establish presence and grounding and to sense subtle movement in the fluids of the body.
We will also cover: appropriate therapist/client boundaries; the theory underlying the Biodynamic Approach to Craniosacral Therapy (the view of the body as a fluid structure of living water, and how it communicates its stresses, patterns of resistance and past traumas); the four stages of dynamic morphology based on the development of the human embryo; palpation of the long tide (primary respiration) by contact with the shoulder, pelvis, feet, sacrum and spine; and how to decompress the structures around the heart and how this manual work relates to the psychospiritual dimensions of the human heart. The focus of this class will be on the development of the heart and the therapeutic implications of the Biodynamic Approach.
Educational Objectives:
- Differentiate the biomechanical and biodynamic models of craniosacral therapy: The history of Craniosacral Therapy
- Explore biodynamic theory: The soma, the fluid body of potency, the tidal body of Primary Respiration and the state of Dynamic Stillness
- Learn the four stages of the Dynamic Morphology of the human embryo
- Palpation with the shoulder and pelvic girdles, feet, sacrum and spine
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT LOCATION:
This seminar will be held in Durham at the movement studio of Sarajo Berman.
Directions will be provided to registrants.
Michael J. Shea is one of the preeminent educators and authors in the fields of craniosacral therapy and somatic psychology. He presents seminars throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. He received his master's degree in Buddhist Psychology at Naropa University, and a doctorate in Somatic Psychology at The Union Institute. Dr. Shea was certified in 1986 as one of the first Full Instructors of CranioSacral Therapy by the Upledger Institute. He is currently adjunct faculty and teaches human embryology in the pre and perinatal psychology doctoral programs at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in California.
As a long-time student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his teaching style is grounded in his spiritual practice of developing compassion with the use of manual therapy. For many years he has also apprenticed with a Navajo medicine man on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Along with this in-depth study of shamanism, he brings a unique cross-cultural perspective to teaching health and healing. Because of the influence of the Dalai Lama, his clinical focus is on treating infants and children with neurological problems and developmental delays. This also includes teaching clinical skills for adults that carry pre and perinatal trauma.
Dr. Shea is the author of a number of books, including, Somatic Psychology, and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy - Volumes I and II. He is a Certified Advanced Rolfer, has been a Florida Licensed Massage Therapist since 1976, and is a founding member of the International Affiliation of Biodynamic Trainings. Most recently, he served as a member of the Task Force for the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Project. He makes his home in South Florida with his wife, Cathy, and can be reached through his website: www.michaelsheateaching.com.