CranioSacral Therapy for Grief and Loss: Hands-On Techniques to Release Trauma Stored in the Body

Practical support for the trauma of losses, from large to small Loss, abandonment, separation, and grief—many of life’s most challenging experiences are also the most common. But the trauma created by these experiences does not need to hold us back in life. As Diego Maggio shows, we can use the techniques of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) and SomatoEmotional Release (SER) to understand, address, and overcome the stress that traumatic events cause and transform the painful experiences inherent in life into opportunities for growth and expanded awareness. Sharing Dr. Upledger’s techniques and his own innovative applications of CST and SER across 20 years of practice, Maggio presents tools and exercises to facilitate your inner self-healing mechanisms and support yourself and others through the stages of grief and bereavement following a loss—whether the loss is large or one of the “small deaths,” such as losing a job or ending a relationship. The author explores all of the biological and energetic evolutionary stages of the life cycle through the lens of CST and shares manual therapy techniques and self-help exercises to process emotions and experiences, assess the energetic framework of the body and the chakras, and recognize and transform destructive energies into constructive processes. He looks at how to combine CST techniques with other protocols for managing the grieving process, including the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ stages of grief. He also explores how CST and SER techniques can help support the dying and those around them in the process of transition. Revealing how CranioSacral Therapy can help us integrate challenges and traumas whether recent or long past, Maggio shows how our experiences can give us the opportunity to evolve and grow as we journey through the beautiful cycles of life.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE Ode to Life INTRODUCTION My Curriculum in This Life Cycle CHAPTER 1 A Brief History of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) and SomatoEmotional Release (SER) CHAPTER 2 Life Cycle (Cyclus Vitae) Observations CHAPTER 3 The Patient-Facilitator Relationship in CST CHAPTER 4 Foundational Techniques: A Synthesis of Knowledge CHAPTER 5 Ego: Its Functions and Anomalies CHAPTER 6 Biological Processes in the Life Cycle CHAPTER 7 Separation and Loss: An Introduction CHAPTER 8 Measuring Stressors: The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale CHAPTER 9 Processing Emotions: Using CST and SER for Integration and Release CHAPTER 10 Constructive and Destructive Energy: Harnessing Polarity for Transformation CHAPTER 11 The Cerebral Hemispheres: Connection and Harmonization CHAPTER 12 Transformation: The Concepts of Psychosynthesis CHAPTER 13 Seats of Emotions: The Viscera and Meridians CHAPTER 14 Small Deaths: Midrange Values on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale CHAPTER 15 Energetic Framework of the Human Body: Assessing with the Vector/Axis System CHAPTER 16 Chakras: Energetic Landmarks for Mapping the Vector/Axis System CHAPTER 17 CST and SER in Grief: Support for the Living CHAPTER 18 Entropy and Syntropy: Therapeutic Energy in CST and SER CHAPTER 19 Major Stressors: Critical Events on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale CHAPTER 20 CST and SER in Death: Support for the Dying CHAPTER 21 The Final Treatment: The Origin of Techniques for Death and Transition CHAPTER 22 Therapeutic Vibrations: Harmonizing Energy Flow with Sound Frequencies CHAPTER 23 Form of the Third Space: Visualizing the Perception CHAPTER 24 Mind-Body-Spirit Continuum: Our Request to the Universe CHAPTER 25 A Seven-Step Treatment for the Dying Process CHAPTER 26 Ode to Life: Open-System Human Being PARTING Panta Rhei: Everything Flows Acknowledgments Notes References Figure Credits Index

About the Author :
Diego Maggio, BSc (Hons), DO, CST-D, is a doctor of osteopathy who studied CranioSacralTherapy as a direct apprentice to Dr. John E. Upledger, the developer of CranioSacral Therapy. Before completing his training as a facilitator and instructor of CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release, he served as assistant to Dr. Upledger and other instructors around the world. The copresident of Upledger Italia, he lives in Trieste, Italy, where he continues to treat patients and teach seminars.

Review :
“Diego Maggio expertly weaves a comprehensive exploration of CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release fundamentals in this book. His expertise is beautifully extended through a broad and exceptional range of interconnected material. CranioSacral Therapy for Grief and Loss stands as an indispensable resource for practitioners and anyone interested in the far reaching foundations of CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release.” “Diego Maggio has created a masterpiece in the world of hands-on therapies, especially concerning CranioSacral Therapy. As a practitioner in the healing arts myself since 1971, CranioSacral Therapy for Grief and Loss exceeds any expectations that I had imagined. This is such an all-encompassing book. The depth and breadth Maggio delves into are a delight for the reader with an interest in the human energy field. He covers the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms in an easily-accessible fashion. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the human condition and the therapeutic approaches to help elevate our shared experience of life on Earth as well as in making the world a touch better and then some.” “In his book CranioSacral Therapy for Grief and Loss, Diego Maggio beautifully addresses grief and loss from a complete holistic perspective. Reading this book takes you on a journey through all aspects of the life cycle. His personal stories and deep emotions will have you re-experiencing your own story and life cycles, inspiring hope and healing. The depth and knowledge within these pages will entice you to revisit it more than once. I predict that each rereading will reveal a different layer of yourself on your path to wholeness. His in-depth knowledge and honoring of CranioSacral Therapy give the uncanny experience of feeling Dr. Upledger’s presence.” “The Sky Above Berlin (Der Himmel über Berlin) is a film in which angels wandering in the city observe people while listening to their thoughts. I remember a scene in which an angel enters a library, and so the people reading silently simultaneously gives voice to all the authors of the books. Diego Maggio may not be an angel, but in his book we find the same consonance of that library coupled with the strength of his thought, which transforms into a natural therapeutic gesture.”