Vivienne Moss

Plant the Seeds of Change

Craniosacral therapist, Vivienne Moss, has much to be grateful for she says, but more than that, she is passionate about helping people to make a difference to their quality of life as she has made a difference to her own.
"There are many alternative or complementary medicines on offer these days. Add that to mainstream medicine and you have quite a choice," says Vivienne. "In an ideal world we would have a health system for the nation where we had a spread of options available, from which we could then make choices. While some of the more established 'alternative' medicines are finding their way into mainstream medicine, it is still early days."
Vivienne appreciates that there is a time and a place for all forms of medicine. Complementary medicine is often seen as complementary to mainstream but of even more importance, she feels, is that it is balancing and harmonizing for you.
Quality of life is everything, she insists. "So many people have lost the ability to listen to their bodies and advice is aimed at the masses, whereas we are all unique, despite being essentially the same."
"We are all the sum total of all our experiences and what we have done with those experiences but some things leave a legacy, a scar. Sometimes the scar is visible, sometimes not. We learn to compensate but in time the compensations come at a cost to the quality of our life."
The question, asks Vivienne, is, 'Would you like the quality of your life to be better?'
You'll know yourself that if you deal with a minor problem, say for example with your car, you can often prevent other problems from developing. Vivienne highlights the word 'disease' as 'dis-ease', lack of ease. In a way, symptoms and disease are like a safety valve as they alert us to something being amiss.

A turning point

Talking from personal experience, Vivienne discusses how she changed the course of her life when her father died from cancer. She embarked upon a career in complementary medicine, firstly in osteopathy and naturopathy before being hooked on the gentle treatment of craniosacral therapy.
Craniosacral therapy evolved from osteopathy over 100 years ago and is a non-invasive, hands-on treatment which lends itself to all ages and stages of life, its gentleness making it particularly suitable for old and young alike.
"It's like listening to the language of the body and giving it a chance to see what it needs to get back on track, to recognise, to understand, and resolve the legacies of life's happenings that have become locked in the body, often without us realising. It aids the body's ability to self repair thus helping it to maximise its potential and enhance the quality of our life," states Vivienne.

The gift of cancer... the gift of life

Vivienne's life took another turn when she was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago. "It was a new beginning for me", she says. "In addition it gave me a greater insight into health and disease and highlighted the importance of quality of life. It contributed enormously to my personal and professional life."
Whatever it is that is holding you back in life, cancer or something totally different, listening to your body can make a difference, says Vivienne. "You are where and how you are for whatever reason. If you knew what to do to help yourself I'm sure you would have done it already. As for the body, we can never know what's possible, or what our bodies are capable of until we give them a chance. Why not plant the seeds of change?"

Article written for Healthy You magazine, May 2008.

• Turn an opportunity into a gift
• Take a chance
• To make a difference

Make the most of life

Craniosacral Therapist Vivienne Moss explains the benefits of this treatment

Reading some articles about complementary and alternative medicine you might get the impression they are a cure all, and in others merely a placebo. In essence their approach is that of working with the whole person. This allows for the individuality of each human being. The body is the only expert on itself -- each individual is unique, each needing different things at different times. Symptoms are the body's way of asking for help.

Craniosacral Therapy -- from the words Cranium (the head) and Sacrum (the base of the spine) -- a subtle, yet potent, hands-on therapy, has evolved since its early beginnings in Osteopathy over 100 years ago. It aids the body's own self-healing processes, offering it the chance to resolve some of the legacies of life's happenings which can become locked in the body tissues, often without us even realising it.

The Cranio-Sacral System, made up of bones, membranes, and fluid, acts like a breathing mechanism, expanding and contracting from the first breath of life, and even before, to the very last. Restrictions in the body can effect the quality of this motion .

One of the earliest influences on that system is that of our birth. The very nature of birth has a stimulatory effect on this system. In the first ten days or so after a baby is born a parent will often witness the changes in the shape of the head of their baby, as the baby's body adapts to the effect of birth. Whilst the body does have the ability to adapt to survive, sometimes the nature of our birth can leave a lasting effect.

In time, as the body continues to deal with the physical knocks and emotional stresses in everyday life, these adaptations can come at a cost to the quality of our life. In some people signs of the body's struggle can show up earlier than others.

Cranio-Sacral Therapy gives the body, the person, the chance to see what it needs, a chance to assimilate what has happened to it, a chance to release restrictions in the body that have come about as a result of life's happenings, restrictions which can have an impact on the proper functioning of the body and to the quality of an individual's life.

Life's happenings leave their imprint. Cranio-Sacral Therapy, suitable for people of all ages and stages of life, brings the gift of making the most of life's happenings.

Article written for Healthy You, July/August, 2008