Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Volume One [Paperback]

Michael J. Shea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Volume One presents craniosacral therapy as a compassionate healing art that can be used by psychologists, midwives, chiropractors, and massage and physical therapists. Author Michael Shea explains how the fluids of the body hold stress and offers practical, extremely gentle touch exercises that help practitioners heal physical, spiritual, and emotional conditions in both infants and adults. He also presents a unique perspective on depth psychology and embryology—the defining differences between biodynamic craniosacral therapy and other forms of cranial therapy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Upon receiving this volume from Michael Shea, a real sense of expectancy and excitement arose as I looked at the chapter headings. I was not disappointed. Shea brings us not only to the heart of the biodynamic approach but to its archetypal and spiritual roots. He covers so much territory here that a good slow read and reread is not only required but essential to allow the sweep of the material to enter.”
—Franklyn Sills, author of Craniosacral Biodynamics, Volumes One and Two

“Michael Shea could arguably be called the most powerful and clear voice innovating the field of biodynamic craniosacral therapy. His approach reaches a depth of healing and accesses inner resources uncommon in the field of alternative therapies.”
—Carol A. Agneessens, MS, RCST, certified advanced Rolfer and author of The Fabric of Wholeness: Biological Intelligence and Relational Gravity

“Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy articulately and poetically reveals the deep intelligence that underlies patterns of suffering and disease in the human system. With a profound comprehension of embryology, and drawing inspiration from both science and the spiritual traditions, this book clearly unfolds an understanding of the primary forces that organize our form and function.
—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

“As the title implies, this book offers a dynamic approach to human physiology, in which anatomy is experienced as an intelligently evolving metabolic field, with the inherent, ever-present potential for change. It will stimulate the biodynamic therapy field as a provocative, insightful call to a much wider scope than has previously been articulated, and it deserves a wide audience and close reading among educators, students, and practitioners.”
—Anna Chitty, biodynamic craniosacral therapist and co-owner of Colorado School of Energy Studies

“Dr. Shea presents a magnificent synthesis of craniosacral therapy, developmental biology, embryology, neurosciences, meditation practices, and depth psychology. Practitioners will find ample guidelines for how to deepen their therapeutic practice while the layperson will find ways of making sense of the marvelous effects we experience from this work in addition to clues for how to turn to it in one's spiritual and psychic journey.”
—Don Hanlon Johnson, PhD, author Everyday Hopes, Utopian Dreams and professor of Somatics at The California Institute of Integral Studies

“Michael Shea’s book is full of pearls for practitioners working with infants, children, and adults. Drawn from his decades as a mastery-level practitioner and trainer, this book reads as a rich tapestry of leading-edge information, knowledge, and practitioner wisdom.”
—Wendy Anne McCarty, PhD, RN, author of Welcoming Consciousness: Supporting Wholeness from the Beginning of Life—An Integrated Model of Early Development

About the Author

Michael Shea, PhD, has studied the Cranial Concept for thirty years and taught somatic psychology, myofascial release, visceral manipulation and craniosacral therapy at numerous massage schools and educational centers throughout North America and Europe for nearly three decades. His career focus has been on treating infants and children with neurological problems and developmental delays. Over the past twenty-five years he has presented his pediatric craniosacral therapy programs at children's hospitals, universities, and pediatric clinics in North America. Dr. Shea was one of the first certified Full Instructors of CranioSacral Therapy in 1986 by the Upledger Institute before co-founding the International Affiliation of Biodynamic Trainings (IABT). He has been a licensed massage therapist in the state of Florida, where he lives, since 1976.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556435916
• ISBN-13: 978-1556435911
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #778,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and moved to South Florida when I was 9. My first breath of fresh air was when I graduated from high school and attended Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. That time of my life was all a blur.

Following college, I spent three years in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany. It was there that I was involved in a terrorist bombing attack and nearly killed. I write about this in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Volume 2. This altered my career path from a family of attorneys to becoming a licensed massage therapist and eventually moving to Boulder, Colorado, where I studied for several years at the Rolf Institute.

Not being satisfied with the status quo of manual therapy, I attended Naropa University and graduated with a masters degree in Buddhist and Western Psychology in 1986. My father died that year and I moved home, back to Florida, to become my mother's healthcare surrogate. She lived the last 12 years of her life on a total life support.

It was during this time that I worked on and received a doctorate in Somatic Psychology from the Union Institute. I actively began writing and teaching and still do to this day. Reading and writing is something I've always loved doing.

My spiritual path is deeply involved in Buddhism and I am fortunate enough to have His Holiness the Dalai Lama as my teacher. In addition, I spend time on a Navajo Reservation studying indigenous healing and shamanism. I stay busy and love what I do, especially my 20 year marriage to my wife, Cathy. I married a beach bunny and we live across the street from the Atlantic Ocean, which is where I go frequently to restore and renew myself.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth owning, September 3, 2007

By 

dadigan (boulder,co) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Volume One (Paperback)

I've been involved in alternative health since my early 20's and have read and studied extensively in body and energy work, nutrition, and numerous forms of healing, far too many to mention. I gravitate naturally to energy work and have been very interested in the visionary aspects of cranial therapy ever since reading the books of Milne, Gilchrist, and Sills.

Dr. Shea's book easily holds it's own with these forward thinking individuals and helped open new insights in my thought process regarding the role of embryology, psychology, and mythology as it relates not only to energy work but also to us as human beings. He started me thinking in whole new directions from perspectives I had only touched upon in the past. For me the section on embryology was worth the cost of the book but there was so much more as a bonus.

I have not studied cranial osteopathy, or cranial sacral therapy, specifically but have come to many of the same experiences mentioned in these books naturally in my own journey with energy healing. Not having the same terminology as an osteopath some of the material went over my head not because I couldn't understand it but more because I was less interested in trying to learn it. I was able to get the underlying meaning quite easily anyway because of Dr. Shea's writing style. I would highly recommend anyone involved in healing, or therapy, to read this book as there are a ton of insights in it that will help any therapist regardless of modality.

Dr. Shea is very engaging, extremely honest about his own past experiences, which I found truly authentic and much appreciated, and he is also an enjoyable writer...important in such a book. Believe me, as I've read many such books that weren't and they can be agonizingly long.

I am looking forward to the next volume in the series when it comes out and will be among the first to buy it. Biodynamic Cranial Therapy is one for the book shelf. Hope this helps.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biodynamics as Embodied Spirituality, October 20, 2007

By 

Jeff Rockwell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Volume One (Paperback)

This book was a delightful surprise for me. A long-term student of vitalistic chiropractic, biodynamics, poetry, and the Natural World, I was very pleased to see that this book embodied all of that and more. Today, we are witnessing the "waking up" of many people in the West, many of whom teach, hold satsang, and give pointers to the "beyond the Beyond." In this book, Michael Shea doesn't just write about Truth, but teaches ways to perceive and access It, in ways that are simple, profound, even romantic (in the best, biggest sense of the word). Sure, this is another in a stream of (mostly wonderful) books on the "new" field of Craniosacral Biodynamics, and it succeeds on that front. But, more importantly---to me---this text skillfully posits cranial work almost as a metaphor for the spiritual path of the Natural andd Naturally Non-Dual World and ushers you towards the means to embody that.

And---this is only Volumee One of Three!

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's impact has been truly seminal for me!, February 3, 2008

By 

Alegriagirl "Alegriagirl" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Volume One (Paperback)

Michael J. Shea is so generous! I'm half way through his book and I'm changed forever! For the very first time, I can see inside me and I've started to clear up the clutter. Thus my time has lengthened and I can accomplish more & be more effective in my communication with others. I feel so confident now with regard to my career & my life. And I'm getting great responses from the outside world; thus validating my new direction.