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Zoom Courses!

Stay tuned: This spring (2001) I will be hosting a series of four 2-hr workshops that anyone can join. Choose one or all! I will be presenting & sharing:

The energetics of healing & how to do CranioSacral Therapy on yourself!

Participate in CranioSacral self exploration and care, including learning hands on CST self-release techniques, feeling your own CranioSacral rhythm, guided meditations, at home exercises for grounding & vagus nerve tone, developing your energetic presence, conscious evolution, and discover how to access a feeling of human connection so needed during the Pandemic.

We will create a sanctuary that we can regenerate in. These webinars aren’t an experience of consumption of material; we will have a supportive shared experience, with potential for growth, enriching ourselves during challenging times.

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Michelle Stoppi, MA, LMT

Scroll for Courses & Articles:

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2017 Summer CranioSacral Courses At Educating Hands

https://www.educatinghands.com/2017_craniosacral2-2/

https://www.educatinghands.com/2017_connectivetissuerelease/

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New Spring/Summer CranioSacral Therapy CEU Courses

Join me in June and August for CST Levels 1 & 2, as well as a new course, Connective Tissue Release Techniques for the Cranium, Face and Spine

https://www.educatinghands.com/2017_craniosacral1/

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My Book is in the Works!

Michelle Stoppi is the creator of CranioSacral Miami, and soon to be author of "The Only Visible Brahman: A Yogi's Guide to the Craniosacral System" (to be released in 2015).  She is celebrating fifteen years as a licensed CranioSacral Therapist and a E-RYT 500 hr Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher & Teacher Trainer. After graduating & earning her Masters Degree from Boston University Magna Cum Laude as the President of the Psychology Honor Society, Michelle traveled to South East Asia where she spent five years living & training in the Far East, including three years living with Himalayan Sufis who taught her how to embody a different perspective of "being" than that which Western civilization offers. She returned to the states & started her career in Yoga, and ultimately in CranioSacral Therapy. Although originally trained in the lineages of Astanga and Yin Yoga, Michelle’s multidimensional background now sets her apart as a pioneer in Yoga and it’s relationship to the Cranial System. Her writings & workshops bring the esoteric aspects of Yoga a physical presence thru the science of the Craniosacral System. Her courses suggest how a simple shift in focus can completely transform a yoga practice towards greater clarity and a sense of bodily ease and grace. Since 1998 she has taught and held Teacher-Training courses at studios such as the Sports Club of LA at the Four Seasons, the University of Miami Medical Wellness Center, The Fisher Island Spa, Crunch Fitness, Prana Yoga Center, Synergy Yoga South Beach, and Vitality Health and Wellness.  In 1999, she won the Miami New Times Best Yoga Teacher Award. She is also a teaching assistant at the Upledger Institute for Craniosacral Therapy for core seminar levels 1 & 2. Whether by teaching at Miami's top studios or by working privately with people from all walks of life including movement masters, music icons, movie stars and supermodels, Michelle has been graced with the opportunity to help others along their paths.  

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Yoga and "The Breath of Life" Weekend Workshop

Experience the CranioSacral System

Continuing Education with Michelle Stoppi, E-RYT 500, MA, LMT

The CranioSacral System is comprised of the cranium, spine, nerves and connective tissue matrix. It is a physiological pumping system that has been referred to in abstraction by ancient Sanskrit texts and Yoga Gurus for thousands of years. 

It is also the voice of the body. It's role and inherent energetic intelligence within form the basis of consciousness and how you feel. It is where you connect to your inner wisdom and inner sense of peace.

Merging an experiential awareness of the Craniosacral System with Yoga will allow you to teach & practice in a more energetically mindful, yet grounded way. You will:

· Explore the Craniosacral System.  Get an introduction to the valuable skill of palpating the Craniosacral equivalents of the the yogic energy currents (vayus). Learn how to work with them in Asana & Bandhas

· Examine key areas of the Craniosacral system that when released, result in profound changes in the body. Use this new knowledge & experience to help better understand Therapeutic Yoga and prevent Yoga injuries

· Explore Pratyahara—the quieting of the mind and turning inward—the next spoke in Patanjali’s Astanga wheel which is intimately related to the health of the Craniosacral System.

Level 1 Weekend Master Workshop*

CranioSacral Practitioner & Master Yogi Michelle Stoppi has over 12 years of experience as a CranioSacral Therapist, an award winning Yoga Instructor, and a Yoga Alliance Certified E-RYT 500 level Yoga Teacher Trainer who has teacher-trained hundreds of Yogis in Miami. She brings to the table her Masters Degree in Psychology and over a decade of teaching Meditation, Yoga and Healing seminars and teacher trainings worldwide. She is a licensed Massage Therapist who spent five years living & training in the Far East including three years living with Himalayan Sufis who taught her how to live from the heart. She is a teaching assistant at the Upledger Institute for Craniosacral Therapy for seminar levels 1 & 2. Her Craniosacral practice is located in South Beach, Miami, at Vitality Health & Wellness.  

Michelle’s multidimensional approach sets her apart as a pioneer in Yoga and it’s relationship to the Cranial System. Her writings & workshops bring the esoteric aspects of Yoga a physical presence thru the science of the Craniosacral System. She has taught globally at top Yoga studios & wellness centers. In Miami, this includes The Sports Club of LA, the University of Miami Medical Wellness Center, The Fisher Island Spa, Crunch Fitness, Prana Yoga Center, Synergy Yoga South Beach, and Vitality Health and Wellness.

CranioSacralMiami.com

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Free the Sacrum! Workshop

Thru hands-on practice you'll discover a unique understanding of the sacrum's distinct energetic properties, it's range of movement in the human body, and how this understanding helps to free it in asana and other movement exercises, enabling Cerebrospinal fluid to circulate and Kundalini energy to rise.  

The sacrum (and its relationship w/its neighbors) embodies the energy of the upward & downward triangles of the Chakra system.  When it's Craniosacral Rhythm is restricted, stress, sciatica, headaches, scoliosis, depression and other symptoms can take their toll.  

Learn exactly how a balanced, mobile sacrum enables us to feel both present and effective in our lives--while at the same time feeling nurtured and content in the universes ability to provide for us.  Workshop will consist of Discussion, hands-on palpation, learning & listening and investigation in steady gentle asana poses.

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Yes, The Bones in YOUR Head are Moving!!! (the bone on the far left is the ethmoid behind your nose, the bone at mid-left is the Sphenoid behind your eyes, and the Occipital bone on the right side makes up the back of your head and foramen magnum) This is the area of the living, "breathing" third eye!

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Meeting the Lotus Thread

The lotus thread that Shiva speaks of, while esoteric, has a physical component within the central nervous system. Within the spine, cerebrospinal fluid can be equated with Amrit, or the ”nectar of immortality” as described by ancient Yogic gurus.  Waves of cerebrospinal fluid (or amrit) rhythmically wash up and down from head to Sacrum. It can be physically palpated and perceived everywhere in the body as the Craniosacral Rhythm.  

In Yoga, the spine moves with these intelligent cranial wave patterns in every asana.  The ability to meet the lotus thread in Asana enables purification of being by means of settling in, listening, relaxation and letting go. Yet for many of us, this quieting of the mind and letting go is not so easy to accomplish.

In Craniosacral work, we specifically focus on using bony landmarks as handles for freeing up restrictions in the soft tisue that encases the Central Nervous System to enhance the flow of Cerebrospinal fluid. In a session, one is gently guided with hands on bodywork to access a place of profound stillness— a place of letting go that reverberates throughout the body. It is in this place that one meets the Lotus Thread.

When we focus inward on meeting the lotus thread in Asana, all pulling, pushing, thinking, efforting and becoming dissolve away. We are left with something real to touch upon that draws us even deeper into our practice…beyond the breathe or the heartbeat to the “breath behind the breath”—to the vital resource of life itself. It is restrictions in the connective tissue matrix that restrict our craniosacral rhythm and pull us away from our ability to center with quiet mind. When these begin to release with awareness through a conscious yoga practice, we are better able to touch divine stillness.  This process involves settling in and relying on the natural strength and wisdom of the bones and spinal column (with proper muscular cues when needed) for an inner sense of symmetry & support, instead of focusing on the strength of the muscles to dictate and push us to a goal. It involves knowing when to stop because you are compromising the integrity of the spine. 

In this way, we are keeping our sense of integral wholeness, instead of literally pulling our body apart!  The bones become levers & even “intelligent communicators” that serve to open up and release the connective tissues surrounding them.  The craniosacral system is enhanced and we are helping to prevent Yoga injuries.

Namaste,

Michelle Stoppi

For information on upcoming workshops with Michelle, visit CraniosacralMiami.com

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Meeting Subtle Jalandhara Bandha in Childs Pose

Beginner vs True Jalandhara Bandha

Unlike the coarse, gross Jalandhara action taught to beginners, which is to raise the sternum and tuck the chin down and in, subtle Jalandhara Bandha occurs when the back of the upper neck subtly releases and the tissues in the throat relax. After over 10 years of teaching Yoga, I have seen and experienced that continuing with a "beginner" approach to Jalandhara Bandha for too long can work against the natural curve in the cervical spine.

In subtle Jalandhara Banda, the base of the cranium releases from the cervical spine.  The back of the head elongates and curves upward, following the angle of the curve of the head, which enhances healthy Craniosacral motion of  the Occipital bone.  The connective tissue in that area releases as if one was yawning "backwards".  This makes space for the muscles and connective tissue around the soft pallate, the root of the tongue, throat and hyoid bone to unwind and settle further into the neck. As opposed to the gross anatomical instructions given to beginners, true Jalabandha is accomplished in micromovements, and even can happen spontaneously along with a spontaneous pause in breath.  

Purpose of Subtle Jalandhara  Bandha

Julandhara bandha serves to alleviate the fragmentation and dissipation of Udana Vayu energy.  Udana is the pranic wind of ascent at the throat that "enlivens" the head. As a tool for pratyahara, this bandha gathers or harnesses the energy of the throat chakra to feed the Sashumna Nadi. 

Jalandhara and Pranic Vayus (Winds)

Ideally, healthy Udana Vayu emanates and reflects from healthy Samana Vayu.  Samana Vayu is the pranic expression of our core wind which emanates around the navel area.  Yet for some of us, the Udana "wind of ascent" is in a state of disconnect--fragmented or off center.  Samana Vayu is then less able to shine/reflect upward thru Udana at the throat.  It is then that we need balance.  In my Craniosacral practice, I've been made aware of the powerful role of the thyroid gland in expressing healthy Udana Vayu. When the thyroid drinks in energy from caring hands, it can act as a bulb illuminating and restoring the subtle "radiance" of Prana in the head. 

Jalandhara Bandha & the Citta (Connective Tissue Matrix of Consciousness)

The Atlanto-Occipital Joint is where the Atlas vertebrae comes into contact with the base of the skull at the foramen magnum.  In Yogic terms, this area is the back of Ajna Chakra, the third eye.  The connective tissue of the dural tube and the flow of CSF in this area are especially prone to adhesion and stagnation.  The top of the spine and the dural tissues passing thru the "foramen magnum" hole in the base of the skull delicately depend upon the alignment of the rest of the body's connective tissue matrix for health. This area must be approached delicately.  It can be negatively effected by inversions (plow pose, headstand etc) when a person is predisposed to injury in such areas from pre-existing weakness, connective tissue imbalance, or from over-exertion.

Where the base of your skull turns in to meet the brain stem, there is a type of fascial diaphragm called the Cranial Base.  Like the other fascial diaphragms (areas that have an abundance of horizontal connective tissue fiber in the body), it acts a path of awareness or consciousness in the soft tissue.  This dense connective tissue surrounds the brain stem and makes its way down and out of the foramen magnum. As such, it is an important area to keep open, relaxed and free from restrictions.

If you draw a straight line from the cranial base in the back, to the front of the face, it aligns with the back of the throat and the bottom of the upper palate.  Here we have entered into the Stomagnathic System... the "avenue of expression" which consists of the mouth, throat and esophogus, and is responsible for "getting what you need" in the forms of ingestion and communication.  As such, the connective tissue/mind- body connection of the Citta at the avenue of expression may be the seat of deeply held emotional and physical memories and/or traumas which may also create restrictions in connective tissue matrix that impede Udana Vayu and the ability for true Jalandhara Bandha to occur.

Udana Imbalances in the Citta 

An unbalanced Udana Vayu can show as thyroid problems, overall lack of energy, TMJ Dysfunction, excessive talking, negativity, arrogance and/or stubbornness.  Although healthy Udana is tied into the health of all of the pranic vayus in the body and the entire connective tissue matrix, Udana Vayu can be fragmented or thrown off balance from injury to the cervical vertebrae (whiplash, sports related injury, Yogis falling on neck in inversions etc) or from traumas or surgeries to the mouth and throat.  Examples include surgeries (or medical procedures where a tube is forced down the throat such as stomach pumping), sexual assault, physical assault, children getting mouths washed out with soap... to any event where the ability to scream is thwarted. 

Meeting Jalandhara Bandha in Childs Pose

Why do we "meet" the bandha? Because it is a natural movement already capable of occurring on it's own if we allow it to. We do not move the Occiput away from the spine, it moves by it's own will, in accordance with it's own inner wisdom of the cranial tides. We are but a witness allowing it to occur!

Those with TMJ disorders, chronic fatigue or any throat disturbances also may benefit from this exercise, although accomplishing these subtle movements is not always possible or easy for TMJ sufferers and others with a history of any mouth or throat/neck trauma (orthodontics, whiplash, fall in handstand pose or other neck injury, etc).  The tissue needs to learn how to unwind and relax back into it's natural rhythm.

Exploring and finding Jalandhara bandha in Childs Pose helps to calm and center the root of Udana Vayu to bring it to a more balanced state. Childs pose allows a restorative time for the weight of the head to come off the spine.  Gravity helps to create more space where the neck and back of the head meet, and the frontal bone pressure helps to relieve restrictions in the cranial base so the Occiput may release.

In Childs Pose, the frontal bone of the forehead is gently compressed, helping to quiet the mind and to literally move connective tissue and consciousness inward in what craniosacral therapists would call a frontal stillpoint. This aids pratyhara, the turning inward of the self and the centering of the mind.  A frontal stillpoint will in turn aid the release and correction of other bones in the cranium such as the occiput.  As such, it is a perfect pose for the effortless conscious exploration of subtle Jalandhara bandha. 

When drawing your attention inward, imagine only the sensation that you are in the process of a deep yawn.  Feel it in the back of the throat and let the sensation spread backward to where your spine meets your cranium.   Allow the sensation of the Occipital bone behind your head to gently glide upward from the cranial base, along the same angle as the curve of the back of the head.

Experiment with turning your attention to the front of your throat, to the area of the voice box, the root of the tongue, the thyroid and the u-shaped hyoid bone above it.  Allow the root of the tongue and Hyoid bone to float and unwind freely in micro-movements until they settle inward in what feels like a comfortable fluid place in your neck. Feel the skin on the chin and front of your neck and throat soften. Notice the skin under your chin at the jawline and allow it to soften and feel more fluid as well.  Keep allowing the root of the tongue under your chin and the area from the hyoid bone to the collar bones to relax in "waves". Allow them to  unwind and float along in the what feels like the waters or ocean of your body.

Feel your collar bones begin to soften and  spread, enabling your Thoracic Inlet to soften in order for the energy and cranial waves to gently pass and connect to the heart.  In micro-movements, allow the sternum bone to release from any grasping of the ribs which may be holding it down. Allow the sternum to float along on the center of your chest like a surfboard floating on the waves.

Once you meet true Jalandhara bandha, it can be of service in meditation, and almost every asana!

Namaste~

Michelle Stoppi

CranioSacralMiami.com

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The CranioSacral Impulse IS the Pranic Life Force

The flow of the breath has the diaphragm muscle to make it pump. The cardiac pulse is driven by the beating of the heart muscle.  The CranioSacral impulse has NO muscle associated with it’s ability to pump!  It’s driving force is believed to be the Breath of Life itself.   It is first ignited by the original spark of life itself.

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About Michelle's Yoga Classes

Michelle currently teaches Yin Yoga for Healing, a Yin Yoga class where steady seated and reclining poses are modified to suit the hip girdle and pelvis of the Western/European body for release where Westerners need it.

This gentle 1 hr class with Michelle helps restore, unwind and make space in the body for greater health to shine through. For all levels including people with health issues.  The class also helps to balance out an active yang Vinyaysa Yoga practice or a high energy fitness routine.

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When not teaching, Michelle maintains her CranioSacral Therapy private practice in South Beach where she spends quality one-on-one healing time with her clients. She can be reached at 305-502-5525, email: Michelle@Stoppi.net

Some prior classes/locations taught:

 Astanga/Vinyasa Yoga : The University of Miami Wellness Center

 Yin Yoga: Dharma Studio, Coconut Grove

 Astanga/Vinyasa Yoga: The Fisher Island Spa, Miami

 Astanga/Vinyasa Sunday Class at Crunch Fitness, South Beach

 Astanga & Vinyasa Yoga Classes: Synergy Yoga & Healing Arts South Beach

  Teacher Trainings Taught:

 Astanga, Energetic Anatomy & Yoga Sutras: Co-taught 200 hr RYT teacher training at  Synergy Yoga South Beach

 Energetic Anatomy: Co-taught Prana Yoga 200 hr RYT teacher training in Coral Gables

 Yin Yoga & Hands-on Healing Training: Created and taught a six week RYT continuing education course at Amrit Yoga Shala, South Beach

Sample of Workshops Taught:

Spinal Curves in Asana: Vitality Wellness, Aventura

2 day introduction to the Craniosacral System for fitness Instructors: The Sports Club of LA at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami

An intro to CranioSacral Anatomy for Yoga teachers & students: Ayama Yoga, N Miami Beach

Yoga & The Art of Letting Go: Miami Life Center

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On a Personal Note...

Born a traveler, everywhere I went people were so different from one another. I was intrigued by a "universal link" that is shared by people all over the world.

At an unusually young age, I began my quest to understand what makes up this universal link and it's intrinsic connection to humanity and the individual. As a young girl I searched the world and my soul for answers. I then turned to formal education. I earned a BA and Masters Degree in Psychology at Boston University where I was the President of the National Honor Society in Psychology. There I found that to truly understand what this connection was, I needed to delve deeper.

By the time my thesis was written and my presidential graduation speech was given, I was off to the Far East for some real live education. I lived with Himilayan Sufis for three years. We lived from the heart. We were all Guests of God under one roof. It significantly stretched my western mindset. The West is so mentally over-developed that now it was time for me to focus on the heart.

My awareness had indeed expanded, but I needed to grow some roots and roots grow best in native soil. And so I returned to NYC as a homebase for exploring the globe for a few more years. I studied Yoga & other Eastern healing modalities as a way to keep centered & connected to the East, which now felt like my new home. Yoga became my passion, and a new level of awareness ensued. It was as if Yoga had been waiting for me, and I was the natural medium for spreading Yoga to others. A few years later I moved to Miami and began teaching Yoga & traveling to continue my own training. I practiced Astanga first and second series, and Yin Yoga.

For several years I brought my diverse multidimensional background into Yoga classes & Teacher Trainings. I taught the mainstream. I taught top Celebrities. I taught the terminally Ill. I even taught in Juvenile Prison. I often taught over 100 people in a day.

I witnessed many people around me getting injured along the yogic path. In the year 2000, while in the process of recovering from my own Yoga injury, I discovered Craniosacral Therapy.

It was like stumbling upon the missing link that changed my life. How come, in all of my studies and practice and travels, no one had ever told me about the CranioSacral System? You mean there is actually a physical bodily system that governs our sense of aliveness and our ability to connect to the source where we are all ONE?!!?

I delved into training at the Upledger Institute in Palm Beach, where I also went for treatment, as well as training in other forms of Cranial Balancing as well. I was challenged on a deeper level than I ever knew I could be, and it brought me the grounding and peace of mind that so many Yogic Gurus promise (other Yogic Gurus promise mystic powers, but I already had those:-). Over a decade later, I am still living & loving Craniosacral Therapy in my private practice, now at Vitality Wellness in South Beach (Vitalitywellness.com).

I enjoy helping all people, including Yoga students and Yoga instructors, to stay healthy and grounded in their journeys. Namaste~

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Your Brain Rocks!!!

March 17, 2012

“The mind is fastened to prana like a bird tethered to a post that flies tither and hither before coming to rest on the post in deep sleep or meditation.”

…Swami Sivananda

The movement of the bird that Sivananda speaks about is mirrored by the Sphenoid and Occiput in the cranium as they dance & rock along with the cranial rhythm.  In the centered mind, the sphenoid (the part of the cranium behind the eyes) rocks with more symmetry. When the sphenoid movements are twisted or off center, so is the mind.  The shape of the sphenoid bone resembles a bird, bat or butterfly. It meets the occiput at the Sphenobasilar junction (joint).   The Sphenoid rests in neutral on the Sphenobasilar Junction in deep sleep and meditation.   This is the “post” where the sphenoid meets the occipital bone. (You can refer to the 3d image in a prior post at CranioSacralMiami.com to see Sphenoid movement at the SB Joint.)

The Pineal Gland (a rice sized gland— known as the spirits master gland of light energy) is located above the Sphenoid.  On the top of the Sphenoid is a landmark called the “Cella Turcica” (the Turkish Saddle).  The master gland of light “rides” on the waves of the Sphenoid bone.

Above is a 3D image of the ventricles of the brain, where cerebrospinal fluid empties and fills in the center of the head, behind and around parts of the Sphenoid bone.

(Image from Anatomy of the Brain: Cerebrospinal Fluid, uploaded to Youtube by Medbenmedben)

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What is Craniosacral Miami?

Craniosacral Miami was created by Michelle Stoppi, MA, LMT, E-RYT as a way to share her life's work. Michelle Stoppi has over 12 years of experience as a Craniosacral Therapist, an award winning Yoga Instructor, and a Yoga Alliance Certified E-RYT 500 level Yoga Teacher Trainer. She brings to the table her Masters Degree in Psychology and over a decade of teaching Meditation, Yoga and Healing seminars and teacher trainings worldwide. She is a licensed Massage Therapist who spent five years living & training in the Far East. She spent three years living with Himilayan Sufis who taught her how to live from the heart. She is a teaching assistant at the Upledger Institute for Craniosacral Therapy for seminar levels 1 & 2. Her Craniosacral practice is located in South Beach, Miami, at Vitality Health & Wellness. Michelle's multidimensional approach sets her apart as a pioneer in Yoga and it's relationship to the Cranial System. She brings the esoteric aspects of Yoga a physical presence thru the science of the Craniosacral System. She has taught at top Yoga studios & wellness centers including at The Sports Club of LA, the University of Miami Medical Wellness Center, The Fisher Island Spa, Crunch Fitness, Synergy Yoga South Beach, and Vitality Health and Wellness. For more info visit http://m.massagetherapists.healthprofs.com/cam/name/Michelle_Stoppi_MA,LMT_Miami+Shores_Florida_529630 www.vitalitywellness.com