Three years ago I was in a classroom at five o’clock on a Saturday evening. I had just spent three days receiving intensive training in CranioSacral Therapy. I sat slumped in a chair, thought processes melted into a puddle of exhaustion.
I noticed that I had received a text from my sister. It was a short sentence. No explanation, no hysterics. Just a few words stating that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration.
Macular degeneration is a condition where the patient loses the ability to see in the middle of their vision. This makes it hard from them to read books or recognize faces, although they can often glimpse enough through the side of their eyes to continue with daily tasks. It is estimated that up to 30% of people over the age of 70 have macular degeneration.
My sister seemed much too young to suffer from a degenerative condition like this. I sat staring at the message on my phone, wishing I knew something that could help.
The instructor came back into the room. “I know everyone is tired,” she said. “But we have one more technique we are going to learn today. It is very helpful for people who have macular degeneration.”
Coincidence? I think not.
With macular degeneration it is important to get as much nutrition to the eyes as possible. One of the problems is that there are membranes within the skull that can become tight, just like a muscle. When they are tight they can put pressure on blood vessels, restricting the amount of blood that reaches the eyes. Using CranioSacral Therapy I coax these membranes to release their tension, thereby allowing the maximum amount of nutrient-rich blood to reach the eyes.
My sister drove up once a month so that I could treat her. At the end of the year she went to her eye specialist. Test results showed that her macular degeneration was only 50% of what it had been a year before.
My sister is relatively young to have the disease and I started work on her soon after it was detected. Her results may have been more dramatic than others might experience.
But if you are sitting patiently at home while your vision deteriorates from macular degeneration, know that there is something you can do. You can come into my office and see if the gentle techniques of CranioSacral Therapy can improve the blood flow to your eyes so that your body can heal itself.
*picture of CranioSacral System by John Toribio and Dr. Lisa Upledger
