Animal Work

For:

Animals respond brilliantly to the bodywork modalities I use. They typically work more quickly than humans; animal work is always a challenge but it is an absolute pleasure to work with them, and watch the instinctive self correction reflexes so obviously in action.

My most recent non-human client: Calypso the Bearded Dragon, who had a few stuck vertebrae in his ribcage that may have been contributing to digestive upset.

In October 2008 I was privileged to work with Bactrian camels and some other special beings at "Fear-No-More-Zoo" in California. The zoo is set up as a place where the animals can teach us humans a thing or two about what is really important in life. Watch this site for an upcoming article. In the meantime my appreciation for the non-humans has deepened, with a corresponding deepening of the work I do with them. Here is one of my new californian friends:

I am pleased to report that my body work has proven effective on another species: the bacturian camel. Little "Not-Two"(only 3 or 4 months old) came to me on several occasions asking for help with a twist in her neck:

Clicking on thumbnails will get you a bigger picture:

Levi Cranial 1

Levi 2

Levi 3

Levi says
"thanks"

Duchess
Duchess's tail release...

...makes a
girl yawn!

Cranial work...

...makes Duchess...

...VERY relaxed.

Testimonial

Hi Craig,
Thanks for seeing both Willy and I last Friday. I have felt so good since, and Willys tail and back end is so loose and different to ride!
Before the treatment my horse and I were sore and the healing from a recent accident was slow. The treatment session itself was very relaxing and certainly non invasive, both my horse and I enjoyed it very much. When it had finished I could tell things had been moved around for the better. My horse was very relaxed and loose to ride the next day. Immediately after I got up I felt much better. A week later and almost all of the swelling has gone and I can move more freely than before.

Thanks again, Petra (from Ardmore)

"Craig has worked with our horses on several occasions over the past few months, and I have to say that I have never seen them respond so well to anything before. During each session the horses relax, and seem to really tune into Craig, and allow him in to their space without a problem. Each of the horses clearly ask for more, even our little baby horse, Levi, who actually shoved his whole back leg and end into Craig's arms - and the lovely thing is that Craig is so accepting of that too. He is never phased by the horses actually pushing themselves into him.

"Duchess, our warmblood mare, is notoriously difficult to handle, to the point where it has been suggested we put her down. She had put her sacroiliac out and has an extremely explosive personality with a particular dislike of males. But she loves Craig, and actually calls out to him from the paddock when he arrives. She was so receptive to his work that I thought at one point during a session she was going to fall over. Since the treatment she has calmed down, seems to be moving better and appears to be a much happier horse.

"Mate, our spotted thoroughbred, has a bilateral extensor process fracture with spurs on each pedal bone that impacts on the coffin joint every time he moves. He also has chronic arthritis in his hocks. As a result I have been contemplating putting this horse down. But since the treatment from Craig, coupled with some remedial shoeing, the horse is back in work. He has won his way out of pre training already this season, which is a real accomplishment for a horse with his injuries... With ongoing treatment from Craig is his coping and has a second chance - and a new show name "Die Another Day"... thanks Craig!"

Maggie Tarver, Muriwai

Release sessions have benefitted mainly horses so far, but also dogs, cats, birds, a goat and two pigs!

Owners have witnessed personality changes as well as physical - stroppy horses calmed, a horse floating issue solved - animals can use this work for all sorts of changes! Sometimes behavioural issues are actually a sign of stress due to physical pain, in other cases the subtler aspects of the work such as cranio-sacral techniques can make a difference with "behavioural" issues

Contact Care, Ortho-Bionomy and Zero Balancing are all effective because they are based on principles formed by observing what works in nature, so it is natural that animals should respond well to them. The trick is just getting the horses to lie on the massage table... - just kidding!

Sometimes issues are sorted in a session, but 3 sessions one or two weeks apart seems to work well for many cases.
Small animals can be brought to the clinic, and call outs can be arranged for the bigger paddock dwellers.