What’s So Special About the Sacrum?
Given it’s role in the name Craniosacral Therapy, many people wonder why the sacrum is so important.
The sacrum is the bone at the base of your spine comprised of 5 fused vertebrae between your hip bones.
The word sacrum is from the Latin root sacer meaning sacred.
Structurally, the sacrum supports the spine and pelvis. It's connected to your head via the dural tube, a sheathe of fascia that surrounds the spinal cord.
Given this connection, tension in the sacrum often travels upward and can be felt as tension in the base of your head and neck. Tension from the head can also travel downward and can be felt as pain in the low back and hips.
Energetically, the sacrum houses the first and second chakras. Thus, the sacrum is highly connected to our sense of safety and associated emotions such as fear and anxiety.
Additionally, the sacrum is considered the "launching pad" of spiritual energy as it travels upward through the spine towards the crown.
On a clinical level, many people with hip and low back pain are unknowingly holding excess tension in their sacrum.
They may also have a misaligned sacrum causing pain, due to a range of factors such as anxiety, pregnancy, childbirth, and falls on their tailbone.
These are just a few of the reasons why the sacrum is so important. If you’re interested in supporting and freeing up your sacrum, consider scheduling a craniosacral therapy appointment.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. As the name implies, the sacrum plays an important role in craniosacral therapy. Sound Somatics offers biodynamic craniosacral therapy in Mercer Island, WA, just outside of Seattle and Bellevue.