The School of Inner Health, founded by Margaret Rosenau, is a holistic educational organization committed to quality instruction in a supportive, relational, and dynamic environment – all courses are taught from a biodynamic perspective. She shares her thoughts with MysticMag.
I quote: “I had access to something bigger running through the human body” – Could you elaborate?
Prior to discovering Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) I spent several months in India where I had many profound spiritual experiences that I also felt in my body and felt my body was changed by. When I first put my hands on someone in a Craniosacral class several years later, I felt that same energy, an intelligent aliveness, a sense of spirit embodied within human softness and physicality.
What inspired you to teach Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and has this deepened your understanding and passion for it?
During a trade in my Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Practitioner Training (the same program I now teach) I was the practitioner working with one of my classmates. I felt very strong purposeful energy moving up her midline from her pelvis towards me. As this energy reached her shoulders, I heard the words “we need you to teach”.
I was stunned and initially resistant, but I had to listen because teaching wasn’t something I had thought of or wanted to do. Soon after, I began a several year mentorship and training journey and was approved as a teacher by the Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Association of North America in 2006.
Teaching has certainly deepened my understanding of the work and how to hold space for that same felt sense of something bigger that called me to this work to move through me. I’ve always been passionate about BCST, but teaching BCST has given me the gift of living, breathing and growing with it as a constant presence and teacher.
Do you prefer students to have some kind of previous bodywork experience?
It is helpful if students have previous bodywork experience because those who do are generally more comfortable with touching and being touched. However, I have seen students with no previous bodywork experience excel and thrive in BCST. An energy medicine background, doing a lot of personal work and having an embodied sense is also very valuable to learning BCST.
What can you tell us about the courses you offer at the School of Inner Health?
We offer several introductions to BCST, both in person and online in one-, three- and six-day formats. We also teach shorter courses on nervous system regulation both in person and online that includes an introduction to nervous system anatomy and physiology as well as an understanding of how trauma and resiliency express in the body.
And we teach a two-year 51 day Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy practitioner training course. The course is taught in one 6 and nine 5-day modules. Each module is separated by 2-3 months and covers different aspects of anatomy, embodiment and hands-on practice. The course is filled with endless discoveries about the body and ourselves. As a graduate of this program says: “If you took this class for personal growth alone, it would be worth every penny.” Students are encouraged throughout the course to challenge what they’ve previously believed and follow what interests them. The course is taught in a way that intends to spark curiosity and build confidence.
Students learn to refine subtle levels and layers of perception that are uncommon in the modern worldview. In a world where we see everything as separate, the ability to make connections is essential. This is the ultimate goal of the course: for students to have a greater facility with, and understanding of, the whole human body, as well as the ability to meet each body, person, and story with skill and presence.
In your experience, are some people innately gifted with this ability – and is working in Craniosacral accessible to everybody?
We are all alive and we all have bodies – so the ability to sense bodies and aliveness are available to all of us. BCST brings us in touch with this innate aliveness in ourselves and others, as well as the places within and without that are not currently in contact with that aliveness. Sometimes our life stories or traumas can create distance from our deepest knowing and ability to perceive, and that can create challenges in perception and palpation. But with time, practice and support, the skills and awareness that Craniosacral Therapy holds are accessible to all.
Want to find out more about The School of Inner Health, Visit https://www.schoolofinnerhealth.org/ or follow on https://www.facebook.com/schoolofinnerhealth/
