The power of ‘Points of Balance’ in practice, and in everyday life.
“A fulcrum doesn’t do anything itself; it creates possibilities.” ~Fritz Smith, M.D., D.O.
We hear it idealized in our culture that being centered, on the mark, and balanced are goals to achieve, and how we should be. In craniosacral work it’s being in our midline. “Midline” can be defined in different ways depending on your perspective. In our work, midline is a centering presence, and one of the foundation principles of the Biodynamic Cranial Approach (BCA).
“Midline is an event, an occurrence, primarily a function, not a structure. There are structures that are visible as effects of its organizing presence, but the midline itself is a nonmaterial, nonphysical field of influence. Depending upon the source to which you refer, a wide variety of descriptions of how and why the midline expresses itself are offered.
~Bonnie Gintis, D.O.
The conventional understanding of midline in the craniosacral field is our spine and spinal cord. These and other structures develop out of germ layers in our early embryonic development, which themselves arise from something more fundamental called the Primitive Streak… which is space not a structure. It is the core organizing principle for the developing embryo.
A fulcrum is a point of stillness or space around which energy organizes. These still places and spaces have potency (force/power).
“In black holes, what astronomers talk about, are the most powerful sources of energy and life.”
~Nikola Tesla
Everything has a fulcrum: atoms, cells, organs, planets, solar systems, and universes. Every molecule of each cell is polarized and has a balance point, center, or midline, which coherently organizes the function and shape of the organism. The human body employs a multitude of natural fulcrums in physiological function and balance. The concept of fulcrums has been used in the application of classical craniosacral techniques such as approaches to spheno-basilar joint lesion patterns, for example. And it is not limited to that. There has been an evolution of understanding relevant to BCA.
“A paradigm shift occurred in the Osteopathic profession when Sutherland asked Osteopaths to consider that the power for functioning is at or in the fulcrum, and not at the ends of the lever.
~Rachel Brooks M.D.
Another common craniosacral concept is that of the still point, which can be understood as a point of interchange, like the shift from inbreath to outbreath, or as a place or state of balance.
Is Fulcrum, balance point, and still point one in the same? It has evolved. Even Dr. Becker, a well-known and celebrated Osteopath, said it is a difficult thing to define:
“The silent point is a tough thing to talk about. How do you discuss potency? How do you discuss anything that has to do with the fulcrum- with that still point? It is demonstrated every day in our lives, and yet how do you discuss it in a way that makes sense to those who are listening to you? Frankly, I don’t know.”
~Rollin Becker, D.O.
When we open to the wisdom of the body by exploring through the lens of fulcrums within this Biodynamic Cranial Approach, we find a continuity that allows us to go beyond mere understanding of it as a concept or therapeutic intervention. Through our exploration we step into a domain where the information reveals itself to us by direct experience. Understanding and integrating this direct experience informs our practice and approach. Embodying it allows us to live the principles in all aspects of our lives.
“The Fulcrum of the whole is the Whole”
~ James Jealous, D.O.
This information serves us both practically and functionally in our bodywork practices and invites us into a larger domain of perceptual and palpatory skill, which can expand our view and support us to feel connected to an inherent centering principle and life process.
There are numerous practices from many traditions that acknowledge the importance of how we orient to life. Mindfulness, prayer and contemplation, movement and breathing practices like yoga and chi kung… they all have relative value. Even BCA can be considered a “way”. But what if I were to tell you that all these practices “work” because you are already “there”? That the state or ideal you seek is already happening in you all the time? That it is a natural, inherent, and already functioning element of your body, and nature, and being?
“Stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.”
~Tao Te Ching
These practices help us to drop the pretense and let go of what is not truly us. They make space for more presence, more stabilizing force, to inhabit us. In the process of accepting ourselves as we are, we more fully embody that which we are, and our inherently genuine selves shine through. Seeking balance is no longer a goal — it is our natural state, something we can learn to recognize and lean into. Once we catch on to this, we can be resourced from it and informed by it to the point that we can begin to trust and rest in it.
The result is not only learning about a new topic that can be integrated into our current practices but also allow for a potential skill development, refinement, and maturation on all levels. We get a glimpse into a larger view that can directly impact any aspect of our lives. In that sense we connect with our “larger selves” where we have access to more presence, sense of space, source, resource, with a resulting capacity to be responsive rather than reactive. We become more centered and balanced in an ongoing way, because we discover it is our nature.
“At the heart of every fulcrum, there is love.”
~Giorgia G. Milne
So, this process loops and spirals back onto itself and permeates inwardly and out like a breath cycle. The more we open to the fulcrum or the place and space of stillness – the organizing principle – the more we become naturally centered, balanced, authentic, and our perceptual capacity expands. This embodied “view” renders us more responsive to what is in the moment and more capable to offer that to our clients, and anyone around us.
“When I was treating, I was an agent of transmission of healing power. What you are aware of when you establish a state of balance is an invitation to that.
~ Anne Wales, D.O.
To explore these concepts in person, join Giorgia for “Fulcrum of Being”, which is being taught for the first time in the USA, here in Gainesville starting April 30th. For more information visit the Fulcrum of Being workshop page here.
