Ebb and Flow of the Tide

Many things in nature, including the human body, undergo fluctuations. Similar to the waves in the ocean, we can perceive the ebb and flow of these rhythmic patterns. One obvious example is your breath. Some fluctuations are much more subtle however, and this includes what is referred to as “primary respiration.” What is primary about it? Well, it seems to arise from “nowhere” and is a fundamental motion that is intrinsic to biological life. In this regard, it is referred to as the manifestation of the Breath of Life (aka Chi or Prana).

This fluctuation in the human body can be directly perceived by a patient observer. Dr. William Garner Sutherland, an early pioneer in the field of Osteopathic Medicine, referred to this as the Tide. One of his colleagues, Dr. Rollin Becker, later also referred to it as the Long Tide to distinguish it from other rhythmic changes that can be felt in the body. This is fundamental to the practice of what has come to be known as craniosacral therapy (which is effectively this art practiced outside of Osteopathic Medicine).

One major characteristic of this Long Tide, is just how long it is: 100s in total, with a 50 sec inhalation (expansion) phase and 50 sec exhalation (contraction) phase. So how can this be useful in a practical sense? A practitioner, through contact with a patient, can start to ride this wave; guiding it without inhibiting it. In that place of harmony with this primal life force, Franklyn Sills, an early pioneer in craniosacral therapy describes “a streaming of radiance that seems to move through both practitioner and client all at once… A deep sense of interconnection and support… What the Buddhists call the mutuality or co-arising nature of all things becomes more obvious.”