Cranial osteopathy is so called because the scientific hypothesis behind it stems from the head (the cranium).

The central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord, are bathed in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). The CSF transfers nutrients and waste products to and from the central nervous system, flowing in a constantly alternating state of secretion and reabsorption. CSF is produced by the choroid plexus, circulates through the ventricles, the cisterns, and the subarachnoid space to be absorbed into the blood by the arachnoid villi.

This stimulates a subtle rhythmical pressure fluctuation in our cranium and spine, which is accommodated by tissues all over the body, as our central nervous system communicates with all parts of the body via different structural means. This fluctuation is expressed in the whole body and can be diagnosed.

This rhythm (just like our heartbeat and breathing) is called the Primary Respiratory Mechanism, and this is what cranial osteopathy is able to operationally direct. Where this rhythm is compromised, the physiology is compromised, establishing a predisposition to disease, injury and poor healing. The aim of a cranial osteopathy treatment is to re-establish the proper rate and amplitude of this rhythm.

Cranial osteopathy has the basic principle of gathering subtle life forces towards an ease in the tissues, generating a reset in the nervous system, which consequently enables the release of traumatic forces present in the body, realigning them according to the blueprint of our health. As our health is never really lost, merely impeded by the traumas of stress, a cranial osteopathic treatment is a means of revealing already present inner health.