If ever you or your clients are feeling as if you are having a hard time, experiencing feelings of unwantedness, or questioning whether you should “be here”, remember this: Life has already said “yes” to you. The very fact that you exist at this moment in time and are reading this article is a testament to the triumph and value of your existence. Period. Though some stories of ‘not being wanted’ or other events may be tragic and true, there’s a larger embrace that has carried you forward to this moment.

In our first week of existence, our growth is happening inwardly – the total circumference of the fertilized egg itself does not increase in size until nidation, the process known as implantation, around day 6. Before then our growth is a series of subdivisions from the one (the fertilized egg) to two, the two to four, four to eight, and so on. A practical/functional reason for this is that the egg, having been released into open space from the ovary, finds its way into a fallopian tube, which is usually where it meets the sperm that will fertilize it. The two now having become one, must remain the same size to successfully pass through the fallopian tube to enter another relative free space: the uterus. Then it finds its way to the nutrient-rich wall of the uterus.

For nidation to successfully occur, the local immune system in that area of your mother must ‘step back’ to create a receptive neutral ground for you to “nest” in. The fact that nidation occurred and your next phase of rapid growth began is a huge “yes” to you not only from your mother’s body, it can also be seen as a “yes” from Mother Nature, from Life itself. And I leave it to your own beliefs for all the “yeses” beyond that. The point is, you made it, you are here. And that is no mistake.

Same thing if your start in life was assisted by other technological means – the process may be different, however, the result is the same. You made it. Life made it through you, as you. 

Welcome!

The extraordinary growth that happens in these first weeks of gestation are via the process of transmutation and transformation. By about weeks 7-8 most of all our primary structures that are recognizable to us as our human bodies will have come into miniature form and then continue to grow throughout the remaining months.

Parts of us, such as the cranial bones, continue to transform and grow beyond our birth. For example, at birth our frontal bones (the forehead) are in two parts, as an adult it is one. Likewise, our mandible (the lower jaw) is in two parts at birth and eventually becomes one. In some cases, like our sacrum (tailbone) or the full development of the frontal lobes of our brain does not occur until around age 26!

We are forever in some process of growth, transformation, and change.

“Forces of growth and development are the same as the forces of healing,

adaptability, learning and change”.   -Bonnie Gintis, DO

What we call healing can be seen as a natural alchemical process of transmutative change, which can occur on the physical, psychological, and spiritual level. Craniosacral work in general has the potential to address any of these levels. In my work, Touch of Presence® Biodynamic Cranial Approach, I often refer to Embryology and our early embryological development to concretely explain it to clients and students. When we understand something about the natural forces at play in our creation and coming into being, which are the same forces that are currently involved in our health maintenance and balance, it allows the healing process to become a bit more tangible. We can see the result of it when we feel better after something has let go or resolved but much like we can’t quite catch the moment a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, so too is the process of transmutation and healing challenging to pinpoint. We know it happens, but not in a linear moment defined in time. When something like this happens behind the veil of our consciousness, we call it mystery. And yet, this mystery is happening all the time, right beneath our noses and our skin, so to speak, and in this and every moment…

In my 35+ years in healthcare, 22 of that in craniosacral work of one form or another, I have come to appreciate the power of understanding some of the fundamental forces that are behind our coming into existence and how it is related to health the healing process.

You are welcomed to join us for the upcoming courses in Embryology ~ Spirit and Essence and Fulcrum of Being to experientially delve into these “mysteries” in ways that are both practical and empowering for you and your clients. Through these courses you will not only receive valuable information about each topic, you will also find that these courses are applicable for craniosacral and other bodywork modalities, as well as everyday life. It will also give you a taste and invite you into the perspective of the specific Biodynamic Cranial Approach I will offer in 2023 here in Gainesville.