The rhythm of a swimmer’s strokes and kicks, the sounds of her deep breaths and bubbles at her ears. Where is any of that in the sea’s meditation songs?
~
My favorite craniosacral modalities so far include:
(1) cerebral pumping—wherein the practitioner’s manual manipulation of continuing the rhythmical movement of the craniosacral system may serve to “milk” the pituitary gland, an important stimulus for the development of the brain, and wherein this motion around the skull sutures may pump these newly formed red blood cells out of the flat bones of the skull and into general circulation3
(2) lymphatic draining—which supports the function of the lymphatic system as it circulates fluids, proteins, and immune cells throughout the body, while simultaneously eliminating toxins and waste products.4
~
My vision therapist’s wife is the front-desk receptionist.
She has been and continues to be a constant source of reassurance, due in no small part to her vigilance in helping me to at least attempt to submit insurance reimbursement paperwork.
Vision therapy shouldn’t be an exclusion. Aetna disagrees.
~
At the vision therapy facility, I am reminded of my dad.
Friends and family flipping through magazines in the waiting room, the soft beeps and hums from within the clinic, that quiet murmur between therapists and patients, all of it reminds me of my dad’s physical therapy clinic.
When I was little, I used to nap in his office after school. He’d come in from the adjoining clinic every few hours to do dictation. It was all jargon except for snippets like, The patient’s daughter Louise is getting married this weekend stop. Remember to ask about the wedding next week and specifically about the dress stop. It was her mother’s stop. End of dictation.
~
Every Thursday, my vision therapist asks all the right questions. Were you able to sit through class this week? Did your dad play any golf over the weekend? Still going to the pool every day? How many laps are you up to now?
_________
3 Rollinson, John. “The pressurestat model of the CranioSacral System.” RoseTrust. 10 Feb 2013. Web.
4 Lymph Drainage Therapy. Palm Beach Gardens: Upledger Institute, 1996. Print.
14 | Psychopomp Magazine