Frequent Asked Questions

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle, hands-on approach in which I listen through light touch to what your body is expressing. I see it as anatomy-focused energy healing. For me, the essence of it is peace: a quiet space where your nervous system can settle.

Shanti means peace. Ala is the Latvian word for cave and the Latin word for wing, so Shantiala holds both a sheltered place of peace and the wings to leave it when you are ready.

Every session begins with a warm conversation. Then you rest, fully clothed, on a massage table while I work with gentle touch. Every session closes with a conversation that helps the experience land.

No. You stay fully clothed, so please come in comfortable clothes.

Many people come to me when they feel stressed, tense or overwhelmed, or when they simply need a pause. Shanti is a quiet, hands-on space to let your nervous system settle. Everyone’s experience is different and I can’t promise particular results, but people often tell me they leave feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, recharged and inspired about life.

Yes. People who feel anxious often come for a calm, safe space to rest. Craniosacral therapy is not a treatment for anxiety or any other medical condition, and it does not replace medical or psychological care. If anxiety is affecting your daily life, please also speak to your doctor.

Feeling worn out is one of the most common reasons people book a session. Shanti and Shanti Deep give you time to rest deeply and slow down. If your exhaustion continues, please also check in with your doctor.

Shanti Heart is a four-session package of craniosacral therapy for anything to do with love, including a broken heart after a divorce or the end of a relationship. It is a safe space for your grief to be felt and to move at its own pace, with focused emotional support. It does not replace psychological care, so if you are struggling, please also reach out to a doctor, a therapist or a support line.

Shanti Heart also works with the wide-open heart that says yes too often. It is a safe space to notice your own no, practise it, and feel what it is like to have it respected, drawing on Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent.

If you want a quiet pause, choose Shanti (1 hour), or Shanti Deep (90 minutes) for more time. If your face and jaw are holding tension, choose the Shanti Face package. If it is your heart that is asking for attention, choose the Shanti Heart package. Not sure? Get in touch and we will find it together.

Shanti Face and Shanti Heart are four-session packages of craniosacral therapy, each with a theme: the face and jaw, or anything to do with love. Each session begins with a conversation and Anna’s Pinpoint™, then you settle into stillness, as in every session, with guided conversation woven through. Where it helps, we add breathwork and some gentle exercises. The added element is the conversation.

Anna’s Pinpoint™ is the shortest consultation form there is: a very light conversation that helps to pinpoint where you are and how your internal batteries are running. It is a simple check-in at the start and end of a session, so you can notice what has shifted.

Not in Shanti or Shanti Deep: there is nothing to fix, say or figure out. In Shanti Face and Shanti Heart there is more conversation, always guided by your intention and at your own pace. You choose what to share, and your no is always respected.

Yes, for some sessions. Shanti and Shanti Deep work beautifully at a distance, so you can work with me from anywhere: you need a quiet space at home where you will not be disturbed, we begin and end with a conversation, and I tune into your energy field from a distance. Shanti Face works directly with the cranial bones and fascia, so it is only available in person. Shanti Heart is available both in person and at a distance.

Sessions last 1 hour or 90 minutes. You can book a single session: some people come once, to rest, and others come regularly. If you want to go deeper, there are also two four-session packages, Shanti Face and Shanti Heart. There is no rule: we talk after every session, and you decide what feels right.

Yes. Shanti Face is a four-session journey for the face and jaw, and Shanti Heart is four sessions of 90 minutes. Each package is a cycle of four sessions, one session a month over four months, for going deeper and releasing patterns in your own time. The four sessions are used within four months, because your body needs a safe container: the knowing that four moments of bliss and sanctuary are waiting for you. The package is for one person, and sessions not booked within the four months cannot be carried over, so please book each one in good time. Anna’s Pinpoint™ at the start and end of each session helps you notice what has shifted along the way.

It is a gentle, non-invasive practice that uses light touch. Please tell me about any medical conditions, recent injuries or surgery before we begin. Craniosacral therapy is an alternative healing practice. It works alongside medical care and does not replace it.

No, though people sometimes ask, since both are gentle, hands-on energy practices. Reiki is a Japanese energy healing tradition, working with the body’s wider energy field, and it can be given with the practitioner’s hands resting lightly on or just above the body, or at a distance. Craniosacral therapy comes from osteopathy and works with the anatomy: the bones, tissues, membranes and fluid around the brain and spinal cord. I see it as anatomy-focused energy healing, so it sits between the two: hands-on, gentle, and always beginning with the anatomy. Both are complementary, alternative practices, and neither replaces medical care.

Craniosacral therapy is an alternative healing practice. Research has not shown clear medical benefits, so I do not promise results or treat medical conditions. What I offer is a quiet, safe space to rest, and people often describe deep relaxation and a feeling of peace.