2018 Breath of Life Conference Videos

The BCTA/NA 2018 Breath of Life Biennial Conference and Anniversary Celebration took place on September 5 – 9, 2018 at the Pearlstone Retreat Center, Reisterstown, Maryland. Below are descriptions of the enriching presentations delivered at the Conference. You can purchase access to videos of these presentations for $100. (Videos are only available for online viewing.)

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VIDEO PRESENTATIONS

The Breath of Life, Formative Forces and Connections with our Work
Franklyn Sills, RCST®In this presentation we will discuss the nature of the Breath of Life,
Franklyn Sills’ history and experiences, clients’ experiences, the history and nature of primary respiration in reference to Taoist concepts, the three functions of potency, the underlying support of Long Tide and Dynamic Stillness and where the work is and may go in the future.


Cherionna Menzam-Sills
Cherionna Menzam-Sills, RCST®, BCTA teacherCherionna will be talking about her new book The Breath of Life: An
Introduction to Craniosacral Biodynamics, a unique approach to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, a whole-body healing therapy focused on working with the forces underlying health and healing.


The Body Security System: Early Trauma Resolution Stories
Brigit Viksnins, RCST®Review polyvagal nervous system maps and hear transformational trauma
resolution stories from a BCST-based bodywork practice. The physiology
shows us unfinished patterns, which can loop forever looking for relief.
Bringing together principles from several healing modalities, including using different styles of touch when trauma histories do not at first allow for fluid work, Brigit Viksnins has a simple yet profound way of working with acute and chronic dynamics, leftovers in the being from overwhelming experiences. This leads to a new alignment with blueprints of health, with latent potential becoming active.


Integrating Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and Somatic Experiencing for Clients with Perinatal Trauma
Kate White, MA, CMT, CEIM, SEPBodywork combined with trauma resolution approaches and verbal skills are blending into an effective therapy for prenatal and perinatal clients. This presentation will detail a therapeutic triangle of Craniosacral Therapy and bodywork (touch therapies), trauma resolution in the pre and perinatal field, and Somatic Experiencing™ (SE) as a container for recovery from difficulty in birth and improving health outcomes. Innate to these therapies are effective treatments of the autonomic nervous system. Participants will learn about each approach in the triad (Craniosacral Therapy, Pre and Perinatal trauma resolution, and SE) and their applications for the prenatal period, birth and families with babies. It answers the questions about how they are blended to form an effective healing container through case studies that illustrate their optimal use.


Biodynamics and Biotensegrity of the Pelvis
Christopher Muller, RCST®, RPPThis session will show you the essence of biotensegrity through the use of models and illustrations, how biotensegrity creates space within the joints during movement in surprising and unexpected ways, and you will see the practical applications of session work that incorporate biodynamic and mid-tide approaches in ways that are gentle and effective.


Concussions and Cranial – Wholistic Approach
Kate Klemer, RCST®This lecture will go through what can happen with a concussion and
how we can help people with concussions and post-concussion syndrome.
We’ll then consider what clients can do to get better and stay better outside of the treatment room.


What Do We Do and How Can We Do It Better:
Developing Presence and Connection: Building skills for contact with self and others

Edward Feldman, RCST®, D.C. (1978), GCFP (Feldenkrais certified)Enhancing Presence and Perception: In order to be in contact with our
client, we need to be in contact with ourselves. It implies a deep knowing of ourselves, through experiencing and accepting all of our sensations and feelings and feeling tones. We attune to their nervous system, and they sense it immediately. “It’s safe, I can let go” and self-organization begins.This happens before we negotiate physical contact and attention/intentional boundaries. We come into direct perception of their life force.


Developmental and Integrative Movement
Gayle Buchner, RCST®, B of Ed. / MA of Sp. Ed.This workshop is hands on and interactive. It includes information from Brain Gym and Movement Based Learning. We are born with a specific developmental pattern. Sometimes this has been interrupted or never awakened and we can facilitate that to happen. This can lead to growth
and development both cognitively and physically. It supports easier learning, communication, comprehension and organization.


Christian Mysticism and the Biodynamic Sensory Experience
Ryan Hallford, RCST®Mysticism is widely regarded as the pinnacle practice within each of the world’s great spiritual traditions. By embracing the mysterious sensory experiences brought to them by primary respiration and stillness, and entering into delicate states of “not knowing,” the mystics have found a
time-honored path to healing, transformation, and profound wholeness. In this presentation we will come to a better understanding of the path of
western mysticism in particular, and find some correlations to biodynamic concepts and sensory experience. What does this ancient map of understanding have to offer those of us following the Breath of Life in the modern world?


Craniosacral Therapy’s Gift to the Allied Health Professions
Roger Gilchrist, MA, RPE, RCST®This brief and focused seminar examines craniosacral therapy’s place in
the health care spectrum. We’ll take a multidisciplinary view of health care demographics, trends, finance, and emerging health policy. These facts will point out critical reasons that Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy could be more directly involved with the allied health professions.


Balancing the 5 Autonomic Nervous Systems
Mary Louise Muller, M.Ed., RCST®, RPPThis presentation is a new model of the autonomic nervous system. Rather than being a dual model of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic, it includes Stephen Porges’ model of the Social Engagement System and it also includes the Enteric and Cardio Nervous Systems. There will
be an interesting PowerPoint and also self-help movements to balance the Nervous System.


Cranial Nerves and More: Working with Birth Issues
Myrna Martin, RCST®, RN, MN, RCC. This presentation will outline the primary impacts of difficult births on the cranial base and the cranial nerves necessary for breast or other feeding methods, and ways to treat these babies. Just as importantly,
the relational issues of difficult births and lasting impacts into adulthood will be delineated and treatment strategies outlined. Because these issues show up in our work with adult clients as well, this presentation will be of interest even if practitioners are not treating infants as their specialty.


BCTA: Why Our Work Matters in Today’s World
Margaret Rosenau, MA, RCST®, SEP, APPThis lecture will frame the tools of our beloved Biodynamic Craniosacral
Therapy within the framework of both ancient knowledge and present day understanding. We will explore formative forces, the relational field, pacing and the blueprint, with an eye to their timeless nature. We will discuss how our work has or can be changed and deepened in these times of uncertainty.