Wisdom in the Body

'Wisdom in the Body' is a comprehensive book about Craniosacral Therapy, which should appeal to a wide audience - doctors, nurses, complementary practitioners, lay public and health care professionals. There is an excellent Glossary and the Reference section is comprehensive. The book acknowledges Craniosacral's roots in osteopathy but also describes Craniosacral therapy as a discrete discipline using the Breath of Life model in which the sacred relationship between spirit and matter are pondered, explored and utilised to facilitate the expression of our inherent health. Each chapter is introduced with an appropriate quotation from a spiritual source or from general literature. There are many quotations throughout each chapter either from exponents of osteopathy and Craniosacral therapy or general literature.

In the early chapters, the book goes into the history of Craniosacral therapy, the Craniosacral concept and the Primary Respiratory Mechanism. There are also ample clear diagrams and anatomical drawings. However on page 69 the arrows on the sphenoid show rotation in the same direction as the occiput; they should be reversed.

The short chapter called 'The Intelligent Body' makes an excellent bridge between the earlier necessary anatomical and physiological explanations and rest of the book which is about the application of Craniosacral therapy in practice in different situations. In this chapter, Michael looks at the whole person and the need to listen to the intelligence of the body which requires individual attention. The process needs to be open, fluid and dynamic, because it works with the way in which the Breath of Life unfolds as a living expression, which is rhythmic and dynamic and not static. The practitioner assists the body to make its own adjustments by encouraging a reorganisation of its intrinsic healing forces. Treatment therefore happens from the inside, deals with the causes and should ensure that the client is helped by creating the conditions in which their inherent potency can work. The practitioner's function is to BE and not to DO. Healing only occurs in the present moment NOW. However to avoid repetition and to give a fuller view, the chapters 'The Intelligent Body' and 'A Holistic View' really belong together. 'Patterns of Experience' describes fulcra in health and disease, the importance of the midline and the three tides. The inherent ordering force in the body is the potency of the Breath of Life. This biodynamic potency organises the cellular and tissue world, maintaining balance and health in the body. Stress and trauma act as stressors, which Dr. Becker refers to as biokinetic potencies. Biodynamic and biokinetic are used to describe an interplay of forces which occurs as our intrinsic health has to meet with any conditioning influences. 'The Art of Diagnosis' looks at the Whole person. Skills of case history taking, palpation and perception are the main diagnostic tools. These procedures focus on how health is being expressed within the patient and the location of any patterns of inertia. This assessment places emphasis on motion, balance and the qualities being expressed by the primary respiratory mechanism. The treatment then becomes a conversation between the client and the practitioner. The chapter on 'Stress and Trauma' lacks any diagrams. I would have liked to see the anatomy and physiology of the Autonomic Nervous System discussed before going onto the effects of trauma. The cycling between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic systems is key to the resolution of traumas. Having said that, the section on Shock and trauma Skills is clear but the chapter seemed to end rather abruptly. Likewise the chapter on 'Pregnancy, Birth and Children' did not discuss the birth process as such but dealt with things that could go wrong in the mother which could affect the baby. A brief description of normal labour would help. This is a delicate area, as mothers feel guilt for what happens to their children subsequently. Consideration of the reaction of the baby to what happens in utero depends on the nature of the child - not everyone reacts in the same way to trauma. Trauma makes us what we are. Greater emphasis on the need for space, time, stillness and silence during delivery, as expounded by Michel Odent would go a long way towards making birth the enjoyable, oxytocic event that it should be. A lot of work is needed to create the parasympathetic conditions necessary for a potentially safe, happy event and to counteract the current 'fight and flight' response so often encountered in maternity departments. The description of forceps delivery is not completely accurate. It is possible to be delivered with forceps without sustaining trauma. The aim in applying forceps is to protect the baby's head from excessive pressure and not to 'pull the baby out'. The action of the forceps should be synchronised with the efforts of the uterus to expel the baby. In contrast the use of Ventouse extraction always results in trauma. There is a section in the chapter called 'A Holistic View', page 195, where the Eastern view of three energies coming together to form a human being is mentioned. This is only half the equation. There are two triads involved in conception, as in all other events, and unless these triangles come together and stay together, the pregnancy does not proceed. The second triad consists of the soul seeking reincarnation, the mind and the conditions of the vehicle, i.e.the uterus. This subject belongs to the chapter on 'Pregnancy, Birth and Children'. A concluding chapter or paragraph would have brought the whole book together, as would a suitable enlightening quotation to finish the book. Apart from a few typographical errors, this book, the first of its kind for general consumption, has a great deal to recommend it. There is inconsistency in the use of the word fulcrum(s), the plural of which is fulcra! It would be helpful to have a summary at the end of each chapter of the contents of each chapter. Perhaps it would be possible to create a Handbook, with the essentials for easy reference?