Cherionna Menzam-Sills - The breath of life : an introduction to craniosacral biodynamics

The Breath of Life captures the depth and essence at the heart of biodynamic craniosacral therapy. Menzam-Sills also includes exercises that bring us into sensation that ground the work. The book creates a balance between concept and fluid based embodiment of the principles of the work. This is a fantastic book!

Mary Louise Muller, RCST, international teacher, and cofounder of LifeShapes Institute

This book is an important contribution to the field of Craniosacral Biodynamics that beautifully articulates key principles of practice from a feminine perspective. Menzam-Sills describes the great Intelligence that generates and organises our health and offers insights from many years of clinical experience, which are interwoven with experiential exercises to provide the reader with an embodied sense of this work.

Michael Kern, course director of the Craniosacral Therapy Educational Trust in London and author of Wisdom in the Body: The Craniosacral Approach to Essential Health

In her new book, Cherionna Menzam-Sills takes us on a journey to understand and experience Craniosacral Biodynamics. She brings us to the heart of the work with a personal, experiential approach that deepens and complements her clear expression of the theoretical basis of Biodynamics. Her style, descriptions, stories and guided exercises will enliven and enrich understanding for both newcomers and experienced practitioners.

Anna Chitty, BCST, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy course director, and cofounder of the Colorado School of Energy Studies

Copyright 2018 by Cherionna Menzam-Sills. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by

North Atlantic Books

Berkeley, California

Cover design by Nicole Hayward

Interior design by Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Printed in Canada

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The following information is intended for general information purposes only. Individuals should always see their health care provider before administering any suggestions made in this book. Any application of the material set forth in the following pages is at the readers discretion and is his or her sole responsibility.

The Breath of Life: An Introduction to Craniosacral Biodynamics is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Menzam-Sills, Cherionna, 1955- author.Title: The breath of life : an introduction to craniosacral biodynamics / Cherionna Menzam-Sills.Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2017046680 | ISBN 9781623172053 (trade paper)Subjects: | MESH: Mind-Body Therapiesmethods | Manipulation, Osteopathicmethods | MassagemethodsClassification: LCC RZ401 | NLM WB 880 | DDC 615.8/52dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017046680

North Atlantic Books is committed to the protection of our environment. We partner with FSC-certified printers using soy-based inks and print on recycled paper whenever possible.

I dedicate this book with love, gratitude, and appreciation to my beloved husband, Franklyn Sills.

1. Figure 1: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Session
2. Figure 2: Beveled Like the Gills of a Fish
3. Figure 3: Breath of Life Blown into Nostrils
4. Figure 4: Transmutation
5. Figure 5: Cellular Sacrum Breathing
6. Figure 6: Biomechanical Evaluation Cranial Base Torsion Pattern
7. Figure 7: Biodynamic Holding of Inertial Fulcrum
8. Figure 8: Three-Week Embryo
9. Figure 9: Spiral Galaxy
10. Figure 10: Three Ways of Moving and Perceiving the Hand: Physical Hands
11. Figure 11: Fluid Hands
12. Figure 12: Cosmic Hands
13. Figure 13: Practicing Presence
14. Figure 14: Polyvagal Nervous System
15. Figure 15: Sensing the Heart
16. Figure 16: Holding from the Heart
17. Figure 17: Infant on Table
18. Figure 18: Source, Being, and Self in Relationship
19. Figure 19: Mother and Child
20. Figure 20a: Midline Awareness
21. Figure 20b: Widening Awareness out from Midline
22. Figure 21: Primary Respiration
23. Figure 22: Tensegrity Relationships Affected by Injury
24. Figures 23a & bThe Fluid Body and Mid-Tide: Inhalation and Exhalation
25. Figure 24: The Three Bodies in Long Tide
26. Figure 25: Natural Fulcrum Rising within Inhalation
27. Figure 26: Inertial Fulcrum Added to the System
28. Figure 27: Inertial Fulcrum Organizing Tissue Pattern
29. Figures 28a & b:Holistic Shift
30. Figure 29: Inertial Fulcrum Presenting within Network of Fulcrums
31. Figure 30a: Torus
32. Figure 30b: Primal Midline within Torus
33. Figure 31: Early Embryo within Torus
34. Figure 32: Bioelectric Field (Torus) with Field of Light
35. Figure 33: Schauberger Spiral
36. Figure 34: Winfree Scroll Ring
37. Figure 35: Fields within fields: A View inside Winfree Scroll Rings to the Organizing Center
38. Figure 36: Embryo as Ball of Cells
39. Figure 37: Early Bilaminar Embryo within Sacs
40. Figure 38: Primitive Streak and Notochord Rising up the Primal Midline within the Torus
41. Figure 39: Primal and Quantum Midlines
42. Figure 40: Somites Forming around Notochord
43. Figure 41: Embryo Resonating with Cosmos
44. Figure 42: Folding
45. Figure 43: Primal Midline Rising through Vertebrae
46. Figure 44: American Sign Language Sign Spring
47. Figure 45: Social Engagement Nervous System: Nursing Infant
48. Figure 46: Figure Ground: Faces and Vase

I was so happy when Cherionna decided to write this introductory book on the nature and practice of a biodynamic approach to Craniosacral Therapy. Most of the textbooks in the field have been written by men, yet the vast majority of practitioners are women! It is so important to have a womans perspective on this wonderful work we do. I am also so appreciative of the style and quality of Cherionnas writing, which I find helps me receive a felt sense of what she is sharing and describing. I also so appreciate the illustrations she created for this book. They again bring a visceral or felt experience into my awareness as I look at many of them along with the accompanying written sections.

I met Cherionna, who is my wife, many years ago at an American Craniosacral Biodynamics conference. She was talking about and demonstrating Continuum Movement, a wonderful movement form that uses movement, breath, sound, and open attention. Cherionna was an authorized Continuum Movement teacher and was close to her mentor, Emilie Conrad, the founder of the work. Continuum Movement does indeed seem to help participants return to fluidity and ease in their mind-body system and is very resonant with a biodynamic approach. I was so taken by Cherionnas presentation that I approached her after her demonstration, which started us on our lovely interpersonal journey into love, connection, and marriage.