Holistic Approach – Big Island News
By Diane Koerner as featured in Big Island Weekly news
Would you like to overcome pain and stress naturally? CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on modality that has been added at Swami Om’s Healing Arts in Kealakekua, and Big Island residents can try it for free now through September 1. Healing Hawaiian-style has been the hallmark of the healing art center, where Swami Om offers lomilomi massage and touch for health (muscle testing) to tap into the body’s innate wisdom on how to achieve balance and optimal energy. Now that she has completed phase-one training in CST, Swami Om is eager to share this method to improve the functioning of the central nervous system.
CranioSacral Therapy improves whole-body health and performance and relieves pain and dysfunction by releasing tension trapped deep in the body. According to the osteopathic physician who developed CST, the human body encounters stresses and strains that cause body tissues to tighten and distort the cranial sacral system. This tension creates a barrier to the healthy performance of the central nervous system, and potentially every other system it interacts with.
With CST soft touch techniques are used to release these restrictions, enhancing the body’s ability to self-correct. This therapy has been used to alleviate a wide variety of dysfunctions, from chronic pain such as migraines, neck and backaches and TMJ, to sports injuries, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Stroke and neurological impairment have also been successfully treated with CST.
Swami Om first became interested in CST when she took a three-day class in the 90s. “I felt the rhythm and was ecstatic about the whole process,” she remembers. “But, I didn’t think people were interested in a light touch and went back to my regular routine of lomilomi massage, a very yummy bunch of kneading strokes and deep pressure.”
Her interest in CST was renewed after she had a car accident in which she hit her head and began having migraine headaches accompanied by nausea.
“I heard that CST had relieved headaches, TMJ, and a lot of other health problems, and my interest was renewed after a few treatments,” she says. “I 
was very curious about the similarities to some of the touch for health techniques which I already used. Since CST is so subtle, I’ve decided the best way for people to feel and see change is by using muscle monitoring. I’ve seen a weak muscle test stronger after simply holding CST points with a light touch, opening the energy flow. So, I do the regular muscle tests for a meridian balance and observe again after going through the CST protocol.”
When starting a session, Swami Om asks the client to set a goal in the form of a positive affirmation. She explains, “Today I had a client whose affirmation was ‘I keep my center even in the midst of a storm.’ Then, I muscle tested her and checked for over-energies in the meridians. Her lung and spleen meridians were over-charged. I had her take a deep breath before I did the 10-step CST protocol. After, we rechecked her muscles to find they all checked strong, the over-energy had been cleared, and she was able to take a fuller, deeper breath, and tested strong for her affirmation.”
To make an appointment, call Swami Om at (808) 323-3344 or email her at dalomilady@gmail.com. For more info, see http://www.swamishealingarts.