The Kensey Centre, Launceston

07/05/2026

A Strange Way to Make Friends?

Here’s something nobody warned me about when I started training in CST.

By the end of four days, people have had each other's hands on their heads, feet, and various specific holds on the body. Some have been on the treatment table in front of a room of new people, willing to be a demo, and what happened may well have been quite moving. They've practised on each other, sat with each other explaining things that are hard to put into words, and shared a mixture of bewilderment, fascination and excitement feeling new things under their hands for the very first time.

It's a strange way to meet people, really.

And yet.

We have practitioners who did their first CST1 in the 1990s who are still in touch (literally – ha ha!). Still in study groups together. Still showing up as assistants or for new classes. Why? Because the community is something they actually want to be part of.

Some call it the Upledger family. Others feel they’ve found their tribe, sometimes we think of it as friends old or as yet unmet!

I've been part of this for 26 years, delighted in watching it happen more closely since running the Institute, and still deeply appreciative of the connection I have with people and I see them have with each other.

Relationships grow that transcend our usual lives. Having these shared experiences that are extremely hard to explain if you haven't been there too creates a different kind of bond.

Two CST1 courses coming up: next week near Launceston in Devon and next month in London (9–12 June).

Wherever you're coming from - beginner, established practitioner adding a new tool, or somewhere in between - you'll be walking into a room of people who may start as strangers, but may well become decades-long friends.

Consider yourself warned.

Find out more at www.upledger.co.uk

06/05/2026

5 things I love about CST1:

5. Meeting new people who have somehow been drawn to this work - and finding out the story or the desire that has brought them there... (its rarely ordinary!)

4. Seeing people faces as they say: 'I really can feel something!', when they begin to confidently feel the craniosacral rhythm...

3. Explaining to students some of the geeky details about the fascia that sits around our brains and spinal cords - and why it's so cool to know how to work with it...

2. Watching people get off the table after each trade, often slightly grinning and wondering 'what just happened?' - but knowing it felt interesting and gooooddd...

And lastly, my top one...

1. Watching students put everything they have learned together, on the last day, into a full treatment that they give and receive (and yes, being proud that I managed to teach them all that in four days!!). Knowing that they will go back into the world and help more people in new ways with this approach.

Lets say we have a class of 20 students, going out to practice this A MINIMUM of 40-50 times each before the next class, that's 800-1000 sessions - people, real people - that get to experience something changing in their lives.

There are so many other things too but that's my first round!

We have this opportunity coming up next week and can fit in a couple more keen beans if there are any?

Is that you? Get in touch!

upledger.co.uk

06/05/2026

We had fun with this workshop today!

It can be challenging to succinctly explain what we do when we're asked to describe CranioSacral Therapy (CST) in a few words.

We often find ourselves leaning too heavily on anatomical explanations that listeners don't really understand, or perhaps sounding a bit vague and using seemingly 'wishy-washy' or woo woo terms that don't really convey the depth of what we offer.

Today, we tackled this head-on.

We explored our personal reasons for doing CST and what we get out of it, going a little deeper than ‘because we want to help other people’. (Not that that’s not reason enough!)

We thought about who comes to see us, and particularly: (a) What do they come for? (b) What happens in the session? (c) What do they say about it afterwards?

Everybody had noteworthy stories and moments from their practice, both from a personal learning point of view and in terms of the changes their clients experienced. (This is where some of the 🌟gold🌟 can be extracted from!)

We then took this information and turned it around.

Instead of focusing on what we do when we're treating with CST, we looked more into the effect it has: who we help, who we work with, and what happens after their session/s.

We went from:
‘I do a light touch therapy called CST that treats the dural membranes around the brain and spinal cord helps your body heal itself'
to:
'I treat all sorts of people who come to me with pain and discomfort. After working together many of them find they are in less pain, have more confidence in their bodies and are able to plan activities to look forward to.'

And numerous other variations.

Once we got to the end, the difference was quite noticeable.

There were smiles on people's faces as they realised the impact this slightly different viewpoint could potentially have on how they talk about their work.

For any CSS members who couldn't make it, the recording will be in our membership area as always. (It does need an edit first though!)

It was a fun and, I hope, useful session. Thanks to all of you who came along!

13/04/2026

Craniosacral therapy training all the way down here. It doesn’t often come this far south! And it probably won’t be back down this way again for another five years so if you’ve been wondering about whether this therapy might offer you a new way of working or a change in career come and join us.

If you're driving down the A30 from Devon towards Cornwall, before you cross the border you'll spot the 'Nearly There Trees'.

They're a small copse of approx 140 Beech trees. Also know as Cookworthy Knapp apparently.

Just beyond here is Lifton and the venue for next CST1 class!

Interested in beginning a journey to become a CranioSacral Therapist and help clients with this very light touch approach?

It's coming up on the 13 - 16 May - so we're nearly there!

Come and join us - and go see the trees too 😄.

Check out the website for all the details (well, about CST - not the trees, although there are some interesting stories of how they got to be there!).

www.upledger.co.uk

30/01/2026

If you want to up your A&P knowledge this is the way to go. Caroline teaches in an engaging, easy to learn way that enables you to hold onto new information. For all you therapists out there it really brings the structures under your hands to life.

Interested in studying CST but know nothing about anatomy right now?

Imagine… in only 5 months you could be confidently talking about ventricles, meninges, neurotransmitters and oh so much more, like they're old friends!

You can start the Foundation Certificate in Body Science any time but most people prefer doing it with the live check ins and with a group. This is what starts again in 3 days. If you've been putting off your CST training because the 'science bit' feels scary, this is your most supported way through.

We'll give you 50+ hours of videos to dig into, play, pause and replay. Quizzes that actually help things stick - at different levels - to match your learning as it grows. Workbooks and slides that help it all make sense. And every Monday there's me - live - to answer your questions, work through the tricky bits, and do some fun review activities with your cohort.

It's intensive, yes. You'll need time each week. But you'll finish with a solid grounding of what you’ll need to know when you treat. That confidence will be worth every hour.

Find out more here: https://www.collegeofbodyscience.com/courses/foundation-certificate

Payment plans available to to make it easier!

30/01/2026

Why train in CST? What will it bring to your practice, your clients, YOU?

It will give you new techniques, new tools, a new way of working with clients. Which is great.

But that's only part of it ...

What it also brings, one step at a time, is a shift in how you think about helping people. You'll start to change from doing to listening, fixing to following.

Imagine trusting that your client's body already knows what it needs and you don't have to figure it out for them, you're more there to help them figure it out for themselves.

For your clients? They get someone who's not trying to override what their body is telling them. Someone who's creating the conditions for their own inner wisdom to emerge and do what it needs to do. That's powerful. And quite rare, actually.

For you? Well... this is work that doesn't get boring. Every session is different because every body has its own story, its own tangles, its own way of showing you what it needs. You might be working with fascia one moment, fluid the next, or something more subtle that you can't quite name but can definitely feel.

It keeps you curious, you HAVE to be present and this in itself brings its own reward.

And your practice? CST fits alongside whatever else you do - massage, osteopathy, physiotherapy, energy work. It will adds layers of depth to what you already do and ways of working that your clients will notice. ('Could you do some of that funny stuff you do to my head' is a literal quote from a client!)

Will it transform everything overnight? Probably not.

But over time? It will gently change how you work, how you listen, how you think about healing. And that... well, that tends to change a lot.

-----

Interested?
CST1 is our entry level course and we have them coming up in Leeds, Lifton & London. Get in touch for details.

www.upledger.co.uk

24/12/2025

Dear All
I’m a lousy manager of this FB page for which I apologise, more a “stalker” of other peoples’ posts I fear. But because it’s Christmas (and oh joy, the sun is shining) I wanted to take the opportunity to wish my amazing team of therapists and the wonderful patients who come through our door at The Kensey Centre; to each and everyone of you a peaceful, joyful and loving Christmas Holiday.
With Love and Best wishes from Debs
at The Kensey Centre. 🎄🥰

05/08/2025

Groundbreaking Research Reveals How Your Calf's "Forgotten Muscle" Slashes Blood Sugar by 52%, Prevents Heart Failure, and Burns Calories for Hours—All Without Breaking a Sweat

09/07/2025

I'm running an Intro to CST @ The Orchard Centre. Come and join us if you'd like to know more about this amazing therapy. Learn techniques that you can use at home to treat your loved ones or pets! For you therapists out there, learn how to use light touch to get deep results. Plus 14 hours CPD!

24/05/2025

These are such amazing courses at kings college London. Caroline Barrow is such a good teacher. The anatomy is so clearly and well presented. Highly recommend. And it’s very cool learning at Kjngs!