Healthy Essential's Massage & Body Work

02/22/2026

02/20/2026

This pragmatic randomised controlled trial compared homeopathic and conventional primary paediatric care for acute illnesses in children from birth to 24 months, with conventional medicine used as a safety back-up in the homeopathic group when medically indicated.

Among 108 infants in India, those receiving homeopathic care experienced significantly fewer sick days, fewer illness episodes—particularly respiratory infections—required fewer antibiotics, and incurred lower treatment costs than those in conventional care. Children in the homeopathic group were also taller, though not heavier, over the study period.

Overall, the findings suggest that homeopathy, integrated with conventional medicine for safety, may be a safe, effective, and cost-efficient primary care approach in the first two years of life.

Read the study here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39425766/

02/18/2026

02/14/2026

Interesting news from Russia - with thanks to Dana Ullman.

"On February 5, 2026, one of the leading news portals for the pharmaceutical industry in Russia reported on the appointment of Sergei Kolesnikov, MD, as the new deputy chairman of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ (RAS) Commission for Combating Pseudoscience. Dr. Kolesnikov is a prominent Russian medical scientist and physician with a distinguished academic and research career, including the following credentials:

• He is a Doctor of Medical Sciences (MD/Dr. Sc. (Med.)) and a professor.
• He is a Member (Academician) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), one of the highest scientific honors in Russia.
• He has served as Chief Scientific Officer at the Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems in Russia.

What makes this appointment especially newsworthy is that Dr. Kolesnikov has publicly expressed support for homeopathy—the alternative medical system based on highly diluted substances and the principle of similia similibus curentur (“like cures like”*)—a system that mainstream biomedical institutions have long labeled as pseudoscientific and lacking reliable evidence of effectiveness."

To learn more visit: https://danaullman.substack.com/p/russia-reconsiders-homeopathic-medicine

02/14/2026

CranioSacral Therapy for the Cranial Nerves 1 (CSCN1)
The 12 cranial nerves are central to balance, homeostasis, and overall well-being. This course teaches CST techniques to address dysfunctions, restore function, and support trauma recovery, social engagement, and optimal nervous system regulation.

📍Learn anatomy, physiology, and hands-on methods to influence cranial nerve health.
Study with the pioneers and innovators of CranioSacral Therapy.

To register or for more info, visit: https://shop.iahe.com/Workshops/CranioSacral-Therapy-for-Cranial-Nerves-1-CSCN1/CSCN1-V-02.19-22.26-VIRTUAL

02/10/2026

Yesterday we talked about the pelvic and sphenoid bones, those twin ink-blot shapes at opposite ends of the central axis. Today, I want to touch on how we actually begin to balance them in bodywork, not by forcing symmetry, but by clearing the line of conversation between the bowl and the butterfly.

I think of the pelvis and sphenoid as two tuning forks on the same string. The string is the dural tube, the deep fascial midline, the pressure system that runs from the pelvic floor to the cranial base. Our work is not to hammer either fork, but to reduce the noise around the string. Practically, that means starting with breath and the diaphragm. Free the respiratory diaphragm with rib, sternum, and upper abdominal work. Invite motion in the pelvic diaphragm with sacral holds, gentle pelvic floor softening, and SI joint decompression. When the diaphragms begin to move like coordinated tides, the cranial base often starts to reorganize on its own.

From there, I like to pair contact. One hand on the sacrum, the other on the occiput or sphenoid line, feeling for rhythm and drag rather than trying to create change. Craniosacral style holds, sacral traction, and still point inductions can reduce dural tension across the whole axis. Intraoral and jaw work add another powerful lever. Releasing the pterygoids, maxilla, and palate reduces strain at the sphenoid, and that shift frequently echoes down through the spine into sacral position and tone.

Add fluid movement to the mix. Abdominal and visceral fascial work improves glide around the mesenteries and reduces internal drag on the dural and fascial core. Gentle spinal unwinding, suboccipital release, and thoracolumbar fascial work help the message travel without distortion.

The technique is real and specific, but the spirit stays the same. We are not making the pelvis obey the sphenoid or the sphenoid obey the pelvis. We are restoring their signal line. When the static drops, these two distant shapes begin to resonate again, and the body recognizes its own symmetry without being told.

02/06/2026

01/29/2026

📢 How Do Your Organs Influence Your Emotions and Decisions?

🌿 Did you know that your gut, heart, and other internal organs are constantly communicating with your brain—shaping your thoughts, emotions, and even your sense of self?

🧠 According to neuroscience research, this “interoceptive” feedback influences behavior, memory, mood, and motivation. It even affects how we perceive fear, safety, and connection to others.

✨ Manual therapy, especially approaches like Visceral Manipulation and CranioSacral Therapy, works directly with these pathways—supporting the body’s ability to regulate from the inside out.

👉 By gently addressing restrictions in the organs, fascia, and autonomic nervous system, these therapies help restore internal balance and improve emotional and cognitive function. This is more than just muscle work—it's about optimizing the whole-body communication network.

Read here:https://www.iahe.com/storage/docs/articles/visceral-influences-on-brain-and-behavior.pdf

Barralinstitute.com Searchable Article Database

01/22/2026

The craniosacral rhythm (CSR)—a subtle physiological rhythm experienced by manual therapists for decades—continues to be explored through ongoing and emerging research. 🧠💫

In the Winter 2025 issue of Massage & Bodywork Magazine, The Craniosacral Rhythm; What Are We Learning About This Physiological Pattern? by Thomas Rasmussen and Dawn Langnes Shear explores current research and evolving perspectives on this clinically observed phenomenon.

This article brings clarity, scientific context, and respect to what skilled practitioners have long experienced through their hands—and it’s a valuable read for anyone engaged in gentle manual therapies. 💛📘

👉 Read the full article here:
https://www.iahe.com/storage/docs/articles/PeDoFV0o55wmZhFpbhYumNHIQ0pbrLahfw4KbqwY.pdf Upledger.com Searchable Article Database

12/15/2025

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The Body’s Archive

Understanding the science of trauma begins with recognizing that the body reacts far faster than the mind. Trauma is not only a story of what happened, but it is also a physiological imprint that alters how a person breathes, moves, feels, and processes the world. When something overwhelms the system, the body responds in ways that bypass thought entirely. These reactions live deep in the nervous system, the muscles, the fascia, and the receptors that gather and interpret sensation.

The limbic system is the body’s emotional lighthouse. It scans every environment for signs of danger and remembers the subtle details of past overwhelm long before a person is consciously aware of them. When something familiar touches that memory, even gently, the limbic system illuminates the entire internal landscape as if the original threat were happening again. It is not betraying the person. It is trying to keep them safe.

The amygdala acts as the guardian of survival. It does not differentiate between yesterday and today. It only knows what once felt threatening. When it senses a reminder, it signals the body to prepare. Your heart rate rises, breathing shifts, and muscles contract. This is why trauma responses appear instantly and powerfully. They are ancient reflexes shaped for protection.

The insula is a crucial region of the cerebral cortex that allows a person to feel themselves from within. It determines how much sensation and emotion the system can tolerate at any given moment. When danger is perceived, the insula may dim internal awareness to prevent overwhelm, creating numbness or dissociation. Or it may amplify it, making every sensation feel sharp. It is the body’s internal dimmer switch, adjusting intensity moment by moment.

The vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the heart, lungs, gut, and organs, shifts into its protective pathways during trauma. This can create shallow breathing, emotional distance, digestive shutdown, or a muted sense of connection. When safety returns, the vagus nerve slowly widens its communication again, allowing the body to reenter a state of rest, integration, and presence.

Muscles respond instantly to threat. Inside each fiber, chemical messengers activate actin and myosin, creating contraction patterns that mirror the body’s survival needs. These patterns are not random. They are survival etched into muscle memory, created by repetition and necessity.

Fascia is the body’s great storyteller, a living web that surrounds every muscle, bone, organ, and nerve. It responds to trauma by thickening, tightening, and changing its internal fluidity. Collagen fibers reorganize themselves into protective shapes. Mechanoreceptors, proprioceptors, and nociceptors within the fascia begin sending altered messages to the brain, shaped by what the body has endured. Fascia can hold emotional energy, bracing patterns, and unprocessed survival responses like a woven archive of experience. It is not just connective tissue; it is a sensory organ that records the history of what you have lived through.

Trauma imprints through every one of these systems. Neural pathways fire in practiced patterns. Breath becomes guarded. Movement becomes shaped by what once hurt, and the body protects until it believes it no longer needs to. And in many people, that protection outlives the original danger.

Understanding this science allows both clients and bodyworkers to approach the body with compassion rather than confusion. Trauma responses are intelligent adaptations, not weaknesses. The body is not malfunctioning. It is remembering. And with the right conditions of safety, warmth, steady touch, and presence, these patterns can soften and reorganize.

When we understand what is happening inside, we honor the body not as something to be corrected, but as something that, in every way it knew, has tried to protect the person carrying it. This is the foundation of trauma-informed bodywork. It is where science meets art, and where healing begins.