Your first visit
What a session is like
If you’ve never had CranioSacral Therapy, it helps to know what to expect. Here’s how a session unfolds, from what to wear to what you might notice on the table.
Photo: the treatment room
Before you come
Wear comfortable clothes
You stay fully clothed the entire session. Skip clothing with lots of buttons, zippers, or very thick fabric, since I need to feel the layers of tissue underneath.
Complete your intake form
Once I confirm your first appointment, you’ll receive an online intake form. Please fill it out before we meet. It’s where you tell me about any medical conditions, injuries, or recent procedures, and if you’re under a doctor’s care, so I can work safely.
Expect to talk first
Your first visit begins with a conversation. The session itself is one hour, and I set aside up to 30 extra minutes, at no charge, to explain how CST works and answer your questions. I believe in explaining the process before we begin.
Where my hands go
I don’t work on breast tissue, and I stay above the pubic bone. For women, that can include gentle work on the lower abdomen, over the uterus and ovaries. I’ll mention this at the start of your session. If you’ve experienced emotional trauma, I’ll ask your permission before working in these areas. And wherever my hands are, if you start to feel unsafe, you have full permission to ask me to move them. I won’t take it personally.
On the table
A light touch, from your feet to your head.
You’ll lie face up for the whole session. If that’s hard for you, just tell me and we’ll make it work.
I begin every session the same way, with very light touch (5 grams of pressure or less) at your feet, thighs, the tops of your hips, lower ribs, shoulders, and finally your head. This opening lets both of our bodies settle from the day, calming the fight-or-flight side of your nervous system so you can move toward rest. While I do this, I’m also feeling for tension in your tissues.
After that first pass, I place my hands where I feel the most tension and let your body unwind where it needs to.
What you might notice
Notice What You Notice.
You’re welcome to fall asleep. Many people do. If you’re awake, I invite you to be curious.
- Can you feel your body, and the tension patterns within it?
- How are you feeling? Relaxed, tense, unsure?
- What are you thinking about? Can you let your thoughts go and simply be here?
Our culture rewards thinking, and many of us find it hard to feel our bodies and emotions. If you spend the session trying to figure out what’s happening, you won’t get many answers.
So I tell everyone: if you catch yourself wondering “What is Michael doing?”, change the question to “Can I feel Michael’s hands?”
Once you can feel my hands, feel deeper. What’s between them? What else in your body can you sense? Questions like these build a new kind of awareness, and that awareness is something you take home with you.
After your session
Everyone’s experience is different, because everyone comes in for their own reasons. I don’t have expectations for your session, and I’m not looking for a particular outcome. Your 4 Bodies release what they’re ready to release.
Most people leave feeling much more relaxed. Beyond that, here are a few things clients have shared with me:
- Some clients who live with anxiety or have trouble sleeping notice better-quality sleep over the next couple of days.
- After their first several sessions, some clients have found themselves crying once they reached their car. Not tears of pain, but of release. A good cry.
- One client texted me from her car: “I can smell again!”
Whatever comes up for you, the invitation is the same: Notice What You Notice. You don’t need to figure it out. Feel, and begin to trust your felt sense.
When should I come back?
It’s the question I hear most, and my answer is always the same: it depends on what your body needs. To find out, I recommend starting with three sessions, one a week for three weeks.
Week 1
A baseline
You don’t yet know what to expect, so your first session simply gives you a baseline: your first experience of the work.
Week 2
A comparison
A week is enough time to notice how your body responds. You come in remembering the first session, and because your body has changed, it releases different patterns.
Week 3
Triangulation
With two sessions to remember, the third gives you more information and helps you decide when to come in next.
After that, you might come in weekly for a while, twice a month, or once a month. You get to decide what your Bodies need, and I’m here to support you when you’re ready.
The practical details
Session length
One hour. Your first visit includes up to 30 extra minutes of conversation, at no charge.
Fees
$125 for a one-hour session.
Payment
Cash, check, credit card, Zelle, or Venmo. I don’t take insurance.
Location
3112 O St #12, Sacramento, CA 95816. Hours & directions. I will meet you in the lobby by the front glass doors. Text me when you arrive and I will come get you as soon as I am able.
Booking & cancellations
Book online at least 24 hours ahead. For a same-day or next-day appointment, text me at (916) 281-4284. Please give 24 hours’ notice to cancel; later cancellations are charged the full fee. See my policies
Related reading
The first step is your first session.
Questions before you book? Text me at (916) 281-4284 or email Michael@MichaelSpackman.com. I usually reply within a day.