I have been quite hesitant to do this. However, some things must be experienced in order to be understood.
I take no responsibility for any injury that might result if you choose to follow this exercise. It could be potentially dangerous.
I would not undertake this exercise if I had a serious illness, a history of major trauma (physical or psychological), participated extensively in contact sports or soccer, had significant orthodontia or if my mother had a difficult labor or delivery including C-section.
If you are really interested in OCF contact the Cranial Academy for a for physician referral, look for someone who is a Fellow of the Cranial Academy or at least an instructor. Send a self addressed, stamped, business size envelope ($0.57 postage) to the address below. Please include the city and state of the referral:
The Cranial Academy
Referrals
8202 Clearvista Parkway #9-D
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Get treatments, shadow a practice, and take the basic course.
In an earlier thread someone suggested have someone ?squeeze? their head to feel the sutural motion.
MANIPULATING THIS SYSTEM IS SERIOUS MEDICINCE. PLAYING WITH IT IS AKIN TO PLAYING WITH A SCALPEL.
What follows is an exercise to learn to palpate the cranial rhythmic impulse on oneself. It will probably take more than one sitting, maybe days, weeks or even months of consistent practice.
It has been culled from multiple sources.
This exercise will probably will not come easily however, be assured that you feel the cranial rhythmic impulse all the time. You are just not aware of it.
It is like (METAPHOR ALERT) the background noise that a city dweller experiences.. One cannot hear it unless one ?changes? the way one hears. When city dwellers go to a more rural area they are often struck by the silence. Or, if the city dweller slows down and listens for it all the noise of the city is there. The background can become the center of attention if one changes their usual frame of mind.
For example, the first time I was aware of it came quite by accident. It was during yoga practice and I was coming out of Bridge pose and I used a block to isolated my low back. As I rested with my sacrum balanced on the block, I became aware of waves of motion rhythmically moving through my body. When I held my breath, it was there. When I slowed done and felt my heartbeat, it was there, distinct and independent.
The styles of yoga that I have practiced teach students to adopted the attitude of the ?Beginner?s mind.? It is based on mindfulness meditation or ?Insight meditation? techniques (see Jon Kabat-Zinn and Thich Nhat Hanh). One attempts to adopt an attitude that sees each moment as something new. One attempts to approach each breathe as a very young child might approach something new. It is savored, experienced and then let go of without regret.
If you have a regular meditation, or mindful movement practice (such as yoga or Tai Chi) do it before you begin this exercise.
To start, you need three raisins, a dime and quite, private space where you will not be interrupted.
Take off your shoes, loosen restrictive clothing, adjust the room temperature and lighting and sit comfortably at a table or desk in chair with good back support.
Put the raisins on the table in front of you and adopt an attitude of nonjudgmental mindfulness. Pretend that you have never seen a raisin before. Engage and experience each raisin with all your senses. Touch the raisin; roll it between your thumb and forefinger, note texture, temperature, stickiness. Really look at it as if you had never seen it before. Roll it close to your ears so you can hear the sounds that the raisin makes with your fingers. Smell it. When you put it in your mouth feel it with your tongue, cheeks and gums. As you taste and chew it note the flavors and sensations as if they were all unique and new. Experience the raisin as something unique and new even if you normally find raisins distasteful.
Repeat with at least two more raisins, more if you still are not in a nonjudgmental mindful frame of mind. Many people such as Dr. Nick and myself who tend to have an over inflated sense of self importance struggle with adopting an attitude of nonjudgmental and mindfulness. It takes time. Engage your frustration mindfully.
Now hold a hand out in front of you. Put the dime on a finger and experience the weight of the dime. Try this with each of your fingers and get comfortable with this amount of weight and pressure. This is how much pressure you will apply to your cranium.
I assume that you have undertaken a highly detailed study of the anatomy and physiologic motion of each of the bones in the body including the face and the cranium and that you can very clearly visualize all the structures beneath your hands when you touch a persons body. If you have not, you are simply wasting your time with this exercise.
One important note, your touch is with your finger pads; they have many more nerve endings
Now, sit comfortably. Raise your arms, bend your elbows and place your hands gently on your head with your fingers spread. Suspend your wrists like slings from your elbows. With a dimes worth of pressure place your thumb pads under your occipital base and your fifth finger pads at the sides of your temporal. Let your other finger pads mold your skull. Relax as you mindfully move into the experience of your skull. Begin to visualize all the anatomy and physiologic motion under your fingers.
Bring your mindful attention to your thoracic respiration. Experience your breath; feel each inhalation and exhalation as if it were something new and wonderful. Feel your whole body move as you breathe. Feel your head subtly nod.
Now, move into the sensations beneath your finger pads. Feel the arterial pulsation in your scalp. Be with it.
Now, feel the entrainment between your breath, the arterial pulse and the more subtle impulses. Feel your whole body moving as your sit in poised stillness.
The CRI is felt as a widening and shortening and then a narrowing and lengthening of the whole skull.
It can be deduced from the pendular motion in your elbows as the subtly rock back and forth. Bring your attention to your scapulae as they float in and out of synch with your elbows. Use your joint proprioception to amplify your tactile proprioceptive pathways. You can try holding your breath for a cycle to make the CRI more clear.
Each phase of flexion and each phase of extension takes about 3 seconds; some people have faster rate, some have a slower rate.
When you have become aware of the rhythm practice being with it without judgment for a time, begin to note its qualities such as amplitude and symmetry.
Move back and forth between all thoracic respiration, arterial pulse, and the CRI.
Feel your whole body moving as your sit in poised stillness.
DO NOT TRY THIS ON ANOTHER PERSON WITHOUT ADEQUATE INSTRUCTION.