Sylvia Rowley Craniosacral Therapy - Melbourne

28/09/2021

I hope to be able to practice again in late October when lockdown is lifted. In the meantime I hope you are all finding circles of support in some way during this time.

I found solace this weekend in re-listening to David Whyte read his poem 'Everything is Waiting For You':

https://onbeing.org/poetry/everything-is-waiting-for-you/

Please get in touch if I can be of support or you'd like to find out more about what I do.

(Artwork by me)

08/06/2021

What can you connect with in your environment that offers stability and grounding?

Way below our own quick mammal heartbeats, movements and thought-streams, exists a long, slow steady presence.

The old trees that have seen a hundred thousand dawns. The rocks that carry the memory of millions of years of sun and rain. The hills that have watched over their valleys for longer than humans have existed.

I've been practicing tuning into these sources of steadiness in recent days.

I was listening to a webinar by craniosacral practitioner and trauma therapist Brigitte Viksnins and loved a question she posed: What is there in your landscape that you could push against and it would stay steady for you - for a month, a year, a hundred years?

I've been practicing physically leaning on/pushing against rocks and earth, and also bringing my attention to the base of my spine and listening for this slow, steady background hum of life. It's been a source of support and co-regulation in these uncertain times.

What in your environment brings you a sense of being on steady ground?

As I write this I'm on stolen Boon Wurrung country, and I'm also reflecting on the long and steady connection between First Peoples and this land, and paying my respects to elders past, present and emerging - Always Was, Always Will Be.
Photo from a recent trip to Pangerang, Minjambuta, Duduroa and Jaitmathang country, up near the King Valley.

24/05/2021

The Path Into and Out Of Chronic Pain

I like this infographic describing some of the factors that can contribute to somebody developing an overprotective nervous system, and pathways to healing.

A nervous system that's continuously in alarm mode can cause all sorts of chronic symptoms like fatigue, gut issues and anxiety, as well as pain.

Such a big part of healing is discovering what's going on in your body, and in time learning to feel more safety, agency and goodness in your body again. What that looks like exactly is different for everybody.

This is something I'm really passionate about. It's path I've walked deeply myself, and I wish I had found this type of information sooner. Our bodies have an inherent drive to heal, given the right support.

The podcast Tell Me About Your Pain, from the same people as the graphic, is also a good free source of pain science education: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZKWLekvhHKchJ3zjOFUEt

20/05/2021

Healthy anger helps me to plant my feet firmly on the ground, to find my tall spine, to bring aliveness and clarity to my being, to hold space for myself and others.

Over the past 18 months I’ve been on a big journey with anger, clearing out old unexpressed anger, and stepping more into responsible anger in the form of groundedness, clarity, presence, boundaries.

On a nervous system level, reconnecting with healthy anger has helped me to move out of freeze states, into greater presence and empowerment.

Anger says “I’m here, I deserve to be here. And I want to live, fully.”

In craniosacral work, where there is such a beautiful yin energy of holding and nurturing, low level responsible anger helps me to hold a safe and clear space for my client’s nervous systems to rest into. Befriending anger also means that when I sense anger arise in somebody’s system I can meet it with a welcoming ‘yes, you’re welcome here too.’

This shift was catalysed by a workshop called Reclaiming Anger, run by Stacia and Gero from The Art of Relating that I’ve now also started assisting.

If you’d like to delve into this topic more you can listen to an interview I did with Stacia on the Weekly Service podcast where she talks powerfully about her own journey with anger:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4f6YRSb6zeWICLk5ZtgV10?si=tqPgjuOKRqiLyjixcKcbNg

Listen to this episode from Stories from the Heart - The Weekly Service Podcast on Spotify. Stacia Beazley is a trained holistic counsellor, facilitator, writer, mentor and all round feelings ninja. Today she’s talking about how reclaiming anger has been transformational in her life, and why she b...

17/05/2021

I love my room at Elk and Me, it feels a bit like a womb and I'm finding it to be a potent transformative space.

I'll be there this Saturday (22nd) and am offering $20 off initial consults in May.

05/05/2021

Receiving craniosacral therapy brings me back into connection with myself.

When I soften and let go into feeling deeply held and supported, there is an ocean of potential available to me.

And what coalesces in that ocean is different every time.

Often - there is rest. A sinking back and down into my body, a quietening of the buzzy, busy parts, an exhale into a deeper stillness where I can recharge.

Sometimes from this place I hear the quiet voice within more clearly. It sounds like: 'This is what I need', 'this is what's going on', 'this is what I long for'.

Other times, a wave of feeling arises - some part of my aliveness that hasn’t felt safe and supported enough to come forth before now.

Tears of loss and reconnection, quivers of fear, roars of rage, and laughter at the joy of feeling myself.

And when I reconnect like this I feel more whole, more present, more myself; and I can show up in the world and be more of service in the ways I want to be.

Often this doesn't happen overnight, and sometimes my body just isn't ready to connect with something. Craniosacral therapy is a relational practice and it deepens over time. Cultivating that feeling of greater safety, support and trust in my body (first as a client and then as a practitioner) has taken time, and it's different for each person.

✨I’m offering session at Elk and Me this Saturday if you’re interested in receiving✨

06/04/2021

As I've been healing my nervous system I've become increasingly aware how often perfectionism is there in the background. Mercy to this survival strategy, it's an audacious one - "If I do EVERYTHING flawlessly I'll be safe and loved". But I'm done with this life-denying way of being in the world. I stand in fierce loyalty to my full, messy, human self. And I stand for that in others too.

(Artwork by me)

22/02/2021

I love practicing craniosacral therapy. It’s an honour to witness how the wisdom of the human body can unfold when being held and listened to from a nurturing and non-judgemental place.

I've written more about my approach to the practice on my new practitioner page (bookings via the button at the top of this page) ✨

My background is as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, and I trained as a craniosacral therapist after finding the modality profoundly helpful in my own healing journey from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

11/02/2021

I have a new clinic space northside for 2021! I'll be at Elk and Me Therapies and Dispensary every second Saturday, starting this week. You can see my calendar and book in or get in touch via the booking button at the top of the page.

I'm feeling joyful about stepping back into practice after gratefully soaking in some river and ocean time over the summer.
https://elkandme.com.au/

28/09/2020

Good morning Melbourne folks. I know many of us are carrying a lot in this late stage of lockdown, and our resilience might be wearing thin. I know I have been longing for more connection, co-regulation, and just to be held by dear friends and family. This is so normal, we're designed to find safety and comfort through connection with each other.

Hang in there!

As the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter and we begin to transition out of lockdown, my mind has been turning towards this practice of craniosacral therapy that is so precious to me. I can feel the desire to be held by my fellow practitioners, to feel in my body that I am safe and held and supported, and can un-grip and exhale in the deep way that craniosacral therapy allows me.

And I am so looking forward to supporting others to do the same. To having the honour of holding my clients in a nurturing, non-judgemental, attuned way so that they can begin (or continue) to process and integrate these last few months. To unwind and shed tension. To feel viscerally that they are supported and don’t need to carry it all alone. It can be such a relief.

As soon as it is safe & legal for me to practice I’ll be there with bells on! In the meantime I wanted to share this online women’s retreat being held next weekend by my dear meditation teacher, Jess Huon. It will be a wonderful and nurturing opportunity to settle and ground in our bodies as women.

12/06/2020

I'M BACK! I've started practicing again, and if you're an existing client you can now book in online on this page. I'll be taking extra precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and monitor case numbers in Victoria.

I am also exploring how I can contribute long-term to racial justice through the embodiment work that I do.

This is an excellent intro to how white supremacy plays out in our bodies: https://onbeing.org/programs/resmaa-menakem-notice-the-rage-notice-the-silence/