Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
Accessing the inherent healing power of the body with gentle somatic touch.
There is are inherent, intelligent and unexplained forces that create and maintain the human body.
Every second, 10 million cells are destroyed in the body, and have to be replaced immediately and precisely, otherwise the body would explode or dissolve. There is no way to predict where the cells will be destroyed. And yet - every minute, our bodies continue to re-produce themselves and we don’t even notice.
When we were formed as embryos, we first existed as fluid dynamics - before genes and neurons, fluid dynamics impeccably shaped our bodies.
What are the mysterious forces that reliably create and sustain life? What goes awry when they no longer function and disease, dysfunction and pain take over?
These are the questions at the heart of the practice of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST). While these mysteries go unexplained by modern science, the founders and innovators in the field of BCST found that there are subtle fluctuations and movements in the body, and that when these movements are augmented by therapeutic listening, patients recovered from a host of conditions.
Craniosacral Therapy is a gentle therapeutic approach based on the Osteopathic discovery of micro-movements in the body. Through extensive experimentation, early osteopathic physicians determined that when this motion has full expression, many conditions improve. The name “Craniosacral” specifically indicates the importance of the central structures of the body including cranium, spine and sacrum.
At its start, the work was very manipulative, but later practitioners discovered that less and less intervention was needed in order to make substantial changes, and that creating a supportive environment so that the client’s system generates therapeutic change from within, was actually very effective. This more subtle approach to the work was called “Biodynamic” Craniosacral Therapy.
A skilled biodynamic craniosacral practitioner listens to the subtle pulsations of the system as the body tells its story. The body speaks through its rhythms, micro-movements and especially through its experience-managing patterns of physical shaping. With deep listening the practitioner encourages revitalization of the inherent healing potential of the system, and facilitates the release of resistance patterns. This approach emphasizes hearing the health of the system and encouraging its expression.
Craniosacral Therapy involves gentle hands-on work that honors the client’s own self-healing process. The intention is not to fix problems, but rather to encourage the emergence of new levels of order in mind and body. Practitioners know how to recognize the presence of the Breath of Life in many levels and locations of the body, and use appropriate methods to support and nurture its natural expression.
Our BCST training program blends the development of practitioner skills for subtle sensing with thorough study of anatomy, the autonomic nervous system, trauma, and innovative scientific research. Our programs emphasize personal growth as an integral part of the learning process, creating an experiential and evolutionary approach to learning this work.
“Any one can find the disease, the call of the true doctor is to find the health.”
“I consider the fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid to be the fundamental principle in the cranial concept. The “sap in the tree” is something that contains the Breath of Life, not the breath of air– something invisible…
There is a deeper layer of activity that has barely been touched upon. This deeper layer has to do with the energies that integrate the animated, living, homeostatic body. The day will come when they too will be catalogued and their laws understood.”
“I am in deep gratitude. This class has blown my mind open so far; I couldn’t have comprehended how much I would have learned or how deep I would have gone into the experience of being connected with everything around me.”
“This course was a jaw dropping, life changing, health restoring, amazingly nourishing initiation into new world of work supporting the growth and healing.”
“This course has been the most profound learning I have experienced in my life. I have such a deep understanding and felt sense now of how we as humans are all connected and resourced with and between each other. ”
Training Dates
Annual BCST Intro
*This is not a pre-requisite for the full training.
Our annual introductory training gives a window into our full training and is suitable both for those interested in joining the full 2-year program and practitioners of other modalities looking to add some BCST into an existing modality. The week will include theory and hands-on practice and will culminate in a 40-minute session that students can practice on their own.
Dates: June 7-11, 2023
Times: 9am - 5:30pm daily; ends at 4pm on Sunday
Cost: $820
NEW in 2024: Dual Certification Training: BCST & Polarity Therapy Level 1
For the first time, in 2024, we will be offering a 13-module, dual-certification in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and Polarity Therapy. This course will certify you both as a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist and an Associate Polarity Practitioner. The curriculum will blend both BCST and Polarity Therapy, weaving them together into the coherent, overarching framework that has always guided our approach to working with the human energy system. These will be Anna Chitty’s final practitioner trainings in BCST and Polarity Therapy.
Dates:
Dual Certification: Cohort Z with Anna Chitty and Elizabeth Chitty Sandoval
This cohort is currently full - waitlist spaces available
Module 1: Sept 25-29, 2024
Module 2: Dec 4-8, 2024
Module 3: Jan 22-26, 2025\
Module 4: April 16-20, 2025
Module 5: June 25-29, 2025
Module 6: Sept 10-14, 2025
Module 7: November 12-16, 2025
Module 8: Jan 28 - Feb 1, 2026
Module 9: April 8-12, 2026
Module 10: June 17-21, 2026
Module 11: August 19-23, 2026
Module 12: October 21-25, 2026
Module 13: Jan 6-10, 2027
Dual Certification: Cohort Y with Anna Chitty and Elizabeth Chitty Sandoval
This cohort is currently full - with spaces available on the waitlist
Module 1: August 21 - 25, 2024
Module 2: October 23 - 27, 2024
Module 3: January 8 - 12, 2025
Module 4: March 26 - 30, 2025
Module 5: June 11 - 15, 2025
Module 6: August 20 - 24, 2025
Module 7: October 22 - 26, 2025
Module 8: January 7 - 11, 2026
Module 9: March 18 - 22, 2026
Module 10: May 27 - 31, 2026
Module 11: August 5 - 9, 2026
Module 12: October 7 - 11, 2026
Module 13: January 20-24, 2027
Times: 9am - 5:30pm daily; ends at 2:30 pm on Sunday. We have a 1.5 hour lunch break daily, except on Sundays.
Cost: $12,350 (paid in $950 increments / module). We charge a $20 administrative fee / module for payments made via Credit Card & PayPal.
We have scholarships available for BIPOC students, as well as modest scholarships from the John Chitty Memorial Scholarship Fund. We also offer no-interest payment plans. Both the John Chitty Memorial Scholarship Funds and no-interest payment plans have a cap per cohort - so please inquire ASAP if you are in need of these financial support.
Please note that attendance in all 13 modules are required for graduation. Modules are presented sequentially and must be done with your cohort.
Ongoing Trainings (Enrollment Closed)
Group X (Enrollment Closed)
Module 1: October 26 - 30, 2022
Module 2: November 30 - December 4, 2022
Module 3: February 15 - 19, 2023
Module 4: April 19 - 23, 2023
Module 5: June 21 - 25, 2023
Module 6: August 16 - 20, 2023
Module 7: October 11-15, 2023
Module 8: November 29 - December 3, 2023
Module 9: January 31 - February 4, 2024
Module 10: April 3 - 7, 2024
Curriculum & Logistics Overview
Logistics
CSES Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy training leads to BCST and/or RCST® practitioner status. The dual-certification training consists of thirteen modules of five days each, held roughly nine weeks apart. Certification is for 825 hours of training, 430 in class and 395 in supervised independent study.
Price: $970 for each five-day module ($9,700 total). Administration fee ($20/module) is waived for payments received via cash, check, Zelle or Venmo. Tuition is usually paid incrementally, per module.
Instructors: Anna Chitty assisted by Elizabeth Chitty Sandoval
Location: Boulder, CO
Hours: Wed-Sat 9am-5:30pm (with 90 minute lunch) and Sun 9am-2:30pm (with 30 minute lunch)
Curriculum Overview:
Module 1: Practitioner Skills: Presence, Relationship and Listening
Module 2: Co-Regulation, Settling, Social Nervous System and Wholistic Shift
Module 3: Working with the Autonomic Nervous System: Anxiety, Depression and Trauma
Module 4: The Reciprocal Tension Membrane system
Module 5: Embryological Forces and the Spine
Module 6: Venous Sinus Drain & Cranial Base Dis-engagement
Module 7: The Face: Ethmoid, Maxilla, & Frontal Bones
Module 8: The Mandible, TMJ & Hyoid
Module 9: Birth Processes
Module 10: Completion