Craniosacral and the Limbic System

Craniosacral work can help to:

·   Release stored emotional tension and trauma from the body by accessing implicit memory

·   Reduce stress so the brain can function more clearly

·   Improve nervous system regulation and resilience

Deep inside your brain sits a collection of structures called the limbic system — sometimes called the “emotional brain.” This part of the brain is responsible for how you feel, how you remember experiences, and how you respond to stress. Two of its most important parts are the hippocampus and the amygdala.

The Hippocampus: Your Memory Keeper

The hippocampus is the part of your brain that forms long-term memories — the kind you can consciously recall, like remembering a conversation or a specific event. It develops during your second and third year of life and plays a crucial role in how we process and recover from difficult experiences.

Think of the hippocampus as a “timestamp” for your memories. It gives each experience a beginning, middle, and end, helping your brain understand that an event is over. This is especially important when it comes to trauma.

“If the hippocampus cannot mark the end of a traumatic event, the brain never gets the signal that the danger has passed. This is believed to be at the heart of

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).”

The hippocampus is also sensitive to cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. It helps regulate stress by sensing when cortisol levels are high and telling the body to calm down. But prolonged exposure to high cortisol levels can physically shrink the hippocampus over time. This has been observed in people with PTSD, severe depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

When the hippocampus is suppressed, traumatic memories can’t be stored as clear narratives. Instead, they get recorded as raw emotions and physical sensations — distress without any clear memory of why. People may experience this as:

“Something happened. I’m not sure what — but I’m really upset.”

The good news: the hippocampus can recover. When stress and cortisol levels come down, it can regrow and heal.

The Amygdala: Your Emotional Alarm System

The amygdala is fully formed at birth, making it one of the brain’s earliest active systems. Its main job is to evaluate incoming information and attach an emotional meaning to it — deciding whether something feels safe, threatening, rewarding, or worth paying attention to. It then signals the rest of the body to respond accordingly.

The amygdala is involved in fear, reward, and social behaviour — including reading other people’s facial expressions. Unlike the hippocampus, it is not particularly vulnerable to cortisol, meaning it tends to remain active and reactive even during prolonged stress.

The amygdala also forms implicit memories — the kind we don’t consciously recall, but that still shape how we feel and react.

Two Types of Memory:

Understanding how trauma and emotion are stored in the brain often comes down to two different types of memory:

Explicit memory is conscious, clear recall — remembering what happened, when, and in what order. It’s formed in the hippocampus and accessed through thoughts and mental images.

Implicit memory is emotional and physical — a sense of unease, a gut reaction, a tension in the body — without any clear story attached. It’s formed in the amygdala and accessed through physical sensations rather than thoughts.

Talking about trauma is not always enough — much of it lives in the body, not just the mind.