If Osteopathy is based in anatomy, Cranial Osteopathy is based in embryology (the study of the formation and growth of the body in utero).  

 Cranial Osteopathy is a refined and subtle type of osteopathic treatment that uses a particular contact to remove motion restrictions throughout the body, not only in the head as it's name may suggest.  It is applied to any part of the body, in people of all ages.

Cranial Osteopaths are fully qualified Osteopaths who have undertaken additional training to feel a very subtle, rhythmical shape-change (called involuntary motion or IVM) that exists in all body tissues.  The IVM is present in a person from the very early stages of their embryonic development and continues to function throughout their life.  Using the IVM, osteopaths can feel whether a person is working in the best way and in an optimum state of health, or whether there is something preventing healthy movement of the tissues from occurring.

The rhythms detected in body tissues by cranial osteopaths are all expressions of this primal force, which Dr Sutherland called "Primary Respiration" - the breathing or rhythmic movement of the body which is present in utero before we take our first (thoracic) breath. Primary respiration is the rhythm of life that underlies all movement in the body. By connecting with the expression of primary respiration in the patient's body (through the IVM), the cranial osteopath engages with the body's own self-healing mechanism.

Treatment is based on harmonising with the body's own integral forces and helping them to express more fully, allowing a greater expression of health.

Cranial osteopaths treat the whole body using the original principles laid down by Andrew Taylor Still M.D. (the founder of osteopathy) and Dr Sutherland.