Beginning the Journey...



Have you started your journey? Are you wanting to train in CranioSacral or another hands-on therapy but you don't yet have the background? Or have you been doing the hands-on but find that your anatomy, physiology & pathology knowledge is a bit rickety or rusty?  

You are in the right place - we can help! 

This training, that we call the 'Foundation Certificate in Body Science', is just that... a basic training that will give you a great foundation from which to build, a 'certificate' after pieces of home study and an exam are passed, all from a decent blend of 'body science'. You also get an in-person ‘Becoming a Therapist’ module covering ethics and legalities etc, setting up in practice and an introduction to hands-on palpation, specifically tailored for those motivated and committed to becoming a CranioSacral Therapist.

It is intensive. It needs extra work. And it is really rewarding.  

If you are really keen to start the Upledger Institute CST classes, it may be possible, depending on scheduling, to begin a CST1 class before this training is completely finished.  

Just so you know, this course has been developed by the College of Body Science in conjunction with the Upledger Institute UK and the Cranio Sacral Society, who have refined and ratified the syllabus.

What is covered each week?

Building the framework and adding the details

There are 10 weeks of online lectures, demonstrations, quizzes and activities for you to complete on the anatomy and physiology. These are supported by 10 weekly, live, online sessions on Monday mornings, after which you will have access to the next week's online material. After a break there are 3 weeks covering pathology.  Then you will have time to review and revise before the exam. The 3-day in-person session will usually be scheduled yearly. 

Each week we will look at a different part of the body, starting at the head and moving downwards. We will not teach it in the typical system by system way, but will introduce aspects of each system where they are relevant and review and expand when we meet them again. 

For example we will have a (very) short introduction to endocrinology when we look at the brain, hypothalamus and pituitary on week 3, but we will cover more details, types of hormones, their feedback loops, etc, when we get to week 4 and the thyroid, and the adrenals on week 8. Similarly for aspects of the blood supply - we will mention key vessels when relevant, re-cover that when we do the heart on week 5, then add in more vessels on weeks 8 and 9 when we get to the lower abdomen, pelvis and legs. We have found this seems to work quite well for students!

So here is a breakdown of topics for each week:

  • Introduction: anatomical language, body components, the cell, tissues, organs
  • The Head: bones of the cranium, joints, muscles, TMJ, meninges, ventricles & CSF
  • The Brain: structure of the nervous system, nerves, endocrine system, special senses, blood supply
  • The Neck: bones, joints and blood supply, hyoid, pharynx, thyroid, neck muscles
  • The Thorax: bones & muscles, respiratory system, heart & cardiovascular system, blood & lymph
  • The Shoulder & Arm: bones, joints, muscles, movements, physiology of bones & muscles, fascia
  • Digestive abdomen: Function & physiology of organs, getting fuel in and wastes out, peritoneum
  • Posterior Abdomen: urinary & reproductive systems, adrenals, endocrine functions
  • The Pelvis and Lower Limb: bones, muscles, nerve & blood supply, joints of hip, knee, ankle
  • Pathology: immune system processes & cells, cardiovascular & respiratory pathologies 
  • Pathologies of the digestive & musculoskeletal system, nervous and endocrine system
  • Participatory review of all coursework - areas determined by student need and request
  • AP&P Exam


Phew! Look at all that! We think that covers the start of what you need to know. 

It will give you approx 85 contact hours (approx 50 by recorded video, 15 live online and 20 on the in-person days), plus extra consolidation study for a recommended 3-5 hours a week. 

It is equivalent to a level 3 / 4 qualification (and then some to be honest) honed to give you what you will need as budding cranial or other hands-on bodywork practitioners. 

Of course, there is always more, and you will continue to broaden and deepen your knowledge as your training progresses. But we feel this is a good start. There are pieces of written work to be completed and an exam to give you the impetus to help you find your own inventive ways to absorb it all - and prove to the world that you did!  

It is intensive. Students often say "when you said it would be intensive I didn't realise you meant 'intensive'!" You will need to have time each week to go over and learn the information that we have presented. But they also say it is very rewarding. And those that are studying CranioSacral Therapy too are really well prepared when they start their hands on training.  

The In-Person Piece

(Steps to) Becoming a Therapist

These 3 days will blend a day and half of hands-on palpation in the CranioSacral Therapy style, with a day and a half of many of the things you need to be aware of, think about and know in order to be ready to start a therapy practice. 

The palpation piece will explore:  

  • the importance of grounding, neutrality and how to us a light touch and still blend with the body
  • ways to treat the fascia in the body, especially the key areas of transverse fascia in the trunk
  • how a light touch can help us listen and follow what the body needs us to do
  • what it is like to receive treatment as well as give 


The practical information will cover: 

  • legal and ethical requirements of being a practitioner
  • the art and science of taking a client's case history
  • things to think about in creating a therapy room and a client base
  • professional requirements before, during and after sessions
  • ideas for advertising and promotion
  • and lots more... it is a really fun three days!


"I loved all of the anatomy and pathology courses I took from the College of Body Science. Caroline is an amazing teacher. Her methods of delivering information are excellent. She knows how to focus on important things and how to present them in an easily digestible way so that you actually retain what is taught. Caroline is particularly good at explaining how the body actually functions and how everything connects. 

I have taken the 'Foundation Certificate in Body Science' course which was very in depth and better planned than most university courses I attended in my life. I have also taken several other online courses and I would definitely recommend them to anyone with a passion for or curiosity about anatomy."  

Vlad Hasiu

When is the next course running?

2023: Live sessions 10am-11am on Mondays

The class that started in January is already in progress so...

Live tutorials will begin again at week 1 in September 2023:

8 September (welcome session) and then from 18 September - 4 December (except half-term) & for Pathology from 15 January - 5 February.

CAN I START SOONER?

If you want to get going before September yes you can! There will just not be the same level of tutorial support until September, but you are welcome to join in once we start that again and you will be well prepared!

Becoming a Therapist module - to be scheduled. It will be in Brighton.

The cost for the course is £1450

This can be paid in one lump, as 5 monthly payments of £300 or 6 of £250. We can also arrange other payment plans if you need a variation on this - the only (obvious) requirement is that it is all paid up before the end of the course!

What you get for your £££

We want you to succeed.
We know you will be inspired.
We will help you keep motivated and on track.

  • Awesome sets of online presentations released each week - you will find them engaging, comprehensive and interactive to help you learn AND remember

  • 14 live online tutorials - great for creating connections with other students, getting tutorial support, having others to work with and keeping up momentum

  • Workbooks and notes - the slides I have used will be there for you to print out, follow along with and add notes to; there will be all sorts of images to label, tables to fill in and in workbooks to help you consolidate what you are learning

  • Homeworkplay (!) and an Exam - because these HONESTLY help to get you where you want to be... confident and knowledgeable about the terrain you will be working with as a hands-on therapist!

  • PLUS if you start feeling rusty or a bit forgetful, or just fancy a revisit, you can come and join any or all of the live-time tutorials for no extra charge - that's how committed I am to you getting all the information you need to know into your heads and hands!

How would you like to pay?
Choose from 3 ways....


You can either:

a/ Pay it in one go

b/ Pay 5 lots of £300 payments, or 6 lots of £250, monthly

c/ Call the office to set up BACS payments via a payment plan