Introduction to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy:
Exploring Primary Respiration

with Michael Shea, PhD

April 24-27 | Thursday-Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm
28 contact hours | $565 | 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 4-day introductory course for healing and bodywork professionals 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 Garner Sutherland, the founder of Cranial Osteopathy. Working with Primary Respiration requires a still heart, deep perception and listening skills.

The overall focus of this class will be on the development of the heart and the therapeutic implications of the biodynamic approach to craniosacral therapy. More specifically, you will learn:

• Practices to establish presence and grounding and to sense subtle movement in the fluids of the body
• Development of appropriate client-therapist boundaries
• Theory underlying the Biodynamic Craniosacral approach (the view of the body as a fluid structure of living water, and how it communicates its stresses, patterns of resistance and past traumas)
• Four stages of dynamic morphology based on the development of the human embryo
• Palpation of Primary Respiration (also known as the "long tide") by contact with the shoulder, pelvis, feet, sacrum and spine
• How to decompress the structures around the heart, and how this manual work relates to the psychospiritual dimensions of the human heart

Notes: This course is for practitioners with little or no prior training in craniosacral therapy, as well as those who have experience in other models of cranial work. This course is a requirement for the long-term training in this model offered by Dr. Shea. There is required reading from his textbook, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (available from BTI or other booksellers).

Michael J. Shea is one of the preeminent educators and authors in the fields of somatic psychology and craniosacral therapy. 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 - Volume I. 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. He makes his home in South Florida with his wife, Cathy, and can be reached through his website: www.michaelsheateaching.com.

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