What To Expect In A Spinal Flow Therapy Session

Are you on the fence about getting your first spinal flow therapy session because you don’t know what to expect? Or have you booked your first session and want to know what’s ahead?

Well, in either case, you’ve come to the right place.

In today’s post, we’ll explain everything that happens before, during, and after a spinal flow therapy session so you can walk into your first session with confidence and know exactly what to expect.

What is Spinal Flow Therapy?

First, let’s spend some time unpacking spinal flow therapy, so you know exactly what it does and doesn’t involve. 

Spinal flow therapy is a relatively newer holistic healing modality pioneered by Dr. Cali Axford. It involves noninvasive, gentle hand-touch techniques to locate and release stress blockages along the spine. 

Stress blockages are buildups of chemical, emotional, and physical toxicities that accumulate in the body and restrict the flow of energy across the nervous system. 

As a result, the communication between the mind and body (your muscles, tissues, glands, and organs) gets dampened. 

Why is this a problem? 

Because the connection between your mind and body enables your body’s innate self-healing intelligence to express itself.

What’s this innate intelligence we’re speaking of?

Think of it this way: when a doctor aligns a broken bone in your body- are they the ones who mend the bond between the bones or the body itself? 

The body, right? That’s the innate intelligence we’re referencing here. Your body already has stored the intelligence and power to restore balance within you and help you reach your fullest potential. 

But the stress blockages that we’re referring to interfere with the flow of this intelligence in your body and stop it from expressing itself to its fullest capacity- eventually causing physical and mental health problems.

Spinal flow practitioners are trained to identify these blockages in your body, particularly within the 7 gateways of your spine (specific locations along the meninges of the spine where these build-ups usually form), and release them using gentle touch techniques on the 33 access points located mainly on the sacrum and the cranium. 

As these blockages are removed from your spine layer-by-layer, your seven spinal gateways open up to their full capacity- each restoring balance to the cells, tissues, muscles, glands, and organs that correspond to it, until, eventually, your entire body achieves harmony. 

For reference, the table below shows the location of these seven gateways along the anatomy of the spine and the parts of your body that are associated with them.

A Table shows the seven gateways of the spine along its anatomy and the correspondence of each gateway to different parts of the body.

It is important to note that while spinal flow therapy can help alleviate the severity of the symptoms of your physical and mental health conditions, it is by no means an alternative treatment to them. 

Instead, spinal flow therapy is an excellent complementary treatment that should be used in conjunction with other treatments provided by health care professionals, such as doctors. 

Spinal flow practitioners are not medical professionals, meaning they don’t and do not claim to cure or treat physical and mental health conditions. 

What To Expect From Your First Spinal Flow Therapy Session?

Alright, now that we know what spinal flow therapy is (and isn’t), let’s talk about the kind of experience you can expect before, during, and after your session.

What To Do In Preparation Of Your First Spinal Flow Therapy Session?

Generally speaking, spinal flow therapy is a safe treatment because it involves no invasive procedures or harsh physical adjustments—it is a simple, gentle touch technique that releases stress blockages along your spine. 

Before you walk in for your first session, I will email you a health history intake form with your booking, and this will give you the opportunity to share with me the reason you want to come to see me, your past and current health concerns which we will discuss  further at your initial consultation

For this reason, it’s good to list on your phone any questions or concerns that you may have that I can help you with.

Once your medical history is reviewed, I  will typically perform an initial posture and gateway assessment that will give your body an opportunity to show me exactly which gateways have blockages. 

I will then do a palpation of your spine. This entails laying belly-first on a massage table fully clothed (ideally wearing clothes that are thin and loose) as I will gently touch several points along your spine where the blockages tend to build up.

In the same initial examination, your spinal flow practitioner will also assess whether there are any stiff vertebrae along your spine- anything that might disrupt the flow of energy through your body.

A spinal flow practitioner asks about a client’s medical history.

After your initial examination is complete, your spinal flow practitioner will sit you down, share their insights into the blockages they have discovered (as well as their location), explain how these blockages might be affecting you, and recommend a treatment plan based on your needs, i.e., the number of sessions you would need and their frequency to see long-lasting results. 

Then, you will get to experience your first spinal flow therapy session with me 1:1.  I’m a group practitioner, so for follow up sessions, you will be amongst up to 3 other people.  I believe that the collective energy from group sessions brings about faster, deeper and quicker healing for all.

If you live in Miami, Gold Coast, Australia, and are looking for a place to get your first spinal flow therapy session, Saltwater Spinal Flow offers the best spinal flow therapy in the area! If you’re interested, you can book your initial consultation here.

What Happens During A Spinal Flow Therapy Session?

The previous section covered everything you need to know in preparation for your first session. Now, it’s time to discuss the experience of getting spinal flow therapy

Your first spinal flow therapy session will be very similar to the examination your practitioner performs during your initial consultation. 

You’ll lie down fully clothed and belly first on a massage table as your spinal flow practitioner re-visits the points of blockages they identified during your initial examination. I will place the sacral bolsters where needed  and then I will use gentle touch techniques to release those blockages one by one. 

Since no invasive processes or harsh adjustments are involved, you won’t experience any pain at all during your spinal flow sessions. It’ll feel very similar to getting a relaxing back massage. 

What Happens After A Spinal Flow Therapy Session?

Once your spinal flow session is complete, you will sit upright as your practitioner asks you questions to check if you feel any difference in your body.

If you’re like most people, you’ll experience a deep sense of calm, relaxation, and restoration immediately after your first session and a noticeable improvement in your back’s mobility. 

Releasing physical, emotional, and chemical blockages from the body surfaces suppressed traumas and emotions. For this reason, many people end up crying after their first spinal flow therapy session. So, if that also happens to you, just know that it’s completely normal. 

When Can You Expect To See Results?

One of the most common questions we get from our clients is, “When can I expect to see results?”

While your results will typically depend on your situation, you will generally experience a great sense of relief right after your first spinal flow session. However, the results of a single spinal flow therapy session tend to be short-term. 

That’s why it’s absolutely crucial that you follow your first session with a couple more—as recommended by your spinal flow practitioner. This will ensure that your results stay for the long run. 

How long do you need to take these sessions to make your results long-lasting? Again, that will also depend on your specific individual case. But typically, spinal flow practitioners recommend getting 12 sessions in total over the course of 1 month (3 sessions per week).

What results can you expect to see with spinal flow therapy? Here’s a quick list:

  1. It energises you

  2. It improves your sleep

  3. Reduces your stress and improves your mood

  4. Helps fix postural and mobility problems

  5. It helps alleviate period pain

  6. Improves overall circulation in the body

  7. It helps with stiffness in the back

  8. Helps with a variety of physical health conditions like nerve impingement, sciatica, and fibromyalgia. (based on anecdotal evidence)

If you’d like to read more about the benefits of spinal flow therapy, check out our complete guide here.

FAQs About Spinal Flow Therapy

Will I remain clothed during my spinal flow therapy session?

Yes, you will remain fully clothed throughout your spinal flow therapy session. Spinal flow practitioners can identify your blockages even with your clothes on.

What should I wear to my spinal flow therapy session?

Ideally, you should wear light, loose, and thin clothes so your spinal flow practitioner can more easily identify the blockages in your back through touch.

How long does a spinal flow therapy session last?

Depending on the terms of your booking with your spinal flow practitioner, a single session of spinal flow therapy will typically last between 30 minutes to an hour.

Is spinal flow therapy painful?

Not at all! Spinal flow therapy does not involve any invasive or harsh physical adjustments, only gentle touch techniques- making it absolutely painless (and on the contrary, extremely relaxing).

How to prepare for my first spinal flow therapy session?

You don’t have to do much to prepare for your first spinal flow therapy session. If you have any physical or mental health conditions, you should consult a certified healthcare professional before signing up for spinal flow therapy. Additionally, it helps to note down your medical history on a piece of paper, as your spinal flow practitioner might need it to see whether you’re eligible for the therapy.

Is spinal flow therapy safe?

Absolutely! Spinal flow therapy is completely safe as it only involves gentle touching. 

Can children get spinal flow therapy?

Yes, children can absolutely get spinal flow therapy, as it is a completely safe and gentle treatment that only uses hand-touching techniques to help the body.

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