Spinal Flow with Heather
What is Spinal Flow Technique?
Spinal Flow Technique® is a gentle, holistic, hands-on modality where a skilled practitioner tunes into the client’s nervous system through light touch on 33 specific Access Points along the spine, sacrum and cranium to awaken what is known as the Spinal Wave - an energetic release of healing life force energy that exists within us all.
By contacting specific Access Points along the spine, we facilitate the release of stored stress and trauma in physical, emotional, and chemical layers, called Spinal Blockages.
Spinal Blockages interfere with the body’s innate intelligence and its ability to thrive. The fewer Spinal Blockages a person holds, the more freely Spinal Flow can circulate and restore life force energy and mobility to each vertebrae, supporting the body’s natural self-repair processes.
Born from Chiropractic Science and developed by Dr. Carli Axford, Spinal Flow Technique is a complete healing modality that empowers your body to heal itself and restore balance from the inside out for optimal wellness.
This root-level healing work from the nervous system is our body’s innate healing intelligence at work. When we support the process to clear blockages one layer at a time, we restore our life force energy to its most optimal vitality, so we can live a more free, abundant life in the days ahead.
The Science Behind Spinal Flow
Although we do not yet have peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support the healing potential that Spinal Flow Technique can offer, we have a plethora of healing stories as experienced through the thousands of Spinal Flow practitioners and recipients around the globe.
These healing shifts often show up as postural realignment, increased mobility, decreased pain and symptoms, lower inflammatory markers, and feeling more at ease in the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.
We know this to be true from lived experience, and look forward to having more scientific understanding in the proof of why. We are a masterfully connected human body system of vitality, with so much to explore from ancient wisdom to our amazing modern science.
In the meantime, Spinal Flow Technique remains grounded in these scientific principles:
Neuroplasticity: Your brain and its tail (spinal cord) together create a central nervous system that can reorganize, change, and adapt to new synaptic connections. Spinal Flow encourages new, healthier patterns by calming the stress response.
Fascial Tension Repatterning: Stressors (emotional, physical, and chemical) can create "static" in the nervous system, which eventually shows up as tension in our spine, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. We call this held tension along the spine a Spinal Blockage. Spinal Flow helps the body to release and clear these layers of static through light touch, which activates the parasympathetic response in the nervous system, allowing the body to unwind, reorganize, circulate, nourish the organs, and heal.
Autonomic Nervous System Regulation: Your body knows how to heal best when stress is low. Through light touch on the 33 access points along the 7 Gateways of the spine, we activate the calm response in the nervous system so that your body can safely let go of what it holds—long held tension and trauma—so that healing can happen.
Who Can Benefit from Spinal Flow?
Spinal Flow Technique is a holistic healing approach suitable for anyone seeking greater ease, balance, and vitality in their body and life. Because it works gently with the body’s central communication network, it can support healing on physical, emotional, and energetic levels for lasting relief and improved wellbeing.
People often turn to Spinal Flow when they are experiencing:
Physical Concerns
Back, neck, or shoulder tension
Headaches or migraines
Postural issues or restricted movement
Chronic pain, fatigue, or low energy
Vulnerable immunity or allergies
Emotional or Mental Stress
Anxiety, overwhelm, or burnout
Difficulty relaxing or sleeping
Feeling “stuck” or disconnected
Emotional blockages or stored trauma
General Well-Being & Preventive Care
Desire to feel more grounded, calm, and centered
Support during times of change or growth
Enhancing other wellness practices (Reiki, massage, yoga, meditation)
Strengthening the mind-body connection
Spinal Flow is safe, gentle, non-invasive, and appropriate for people of all ages and stages of health—from newborn babies to our wisest elders.
If you are managing an acute or chronic condition, or simply want to feel more vibrant and at ease in your life, consider giving Spinal Flow Technique a try!
What to Expect: Healing Sessions
When you first come into the Spinal Flow Clinic with a healing project, we are here for it. Whether your goal is general (“I want to feel better”) or specific (“I have a diagnosis”), the process of awakening and strengthening your unique Spinal Wave will take consistency and may take time.
Your first session as a New Client will last up to 60 minutes. We discuss your Health Form and Goals, perform a Posture and Gateway Assessment, formulate a healing plan, and you receive your first treatment.
If you are new to Spinal Flow, your nervous system may take some time to fully relax and let go. Healing happens every time we hold an access point, though we often find that it can take several sessions for a new client to feel the flow expanding.
Each session lasts up to 45 minutes, and begins with light Tui Na to open the energy channels of the body before we sink into Nervous System healing with Spinal Flow.
Ideally, we see you at our Clinic 2-3 times a week for the first few weeks to activate and grow your flow. Once the flow is moving, we lessen our frequency.
Each session includes a brief check-in, treatment, and remarks on what is softening and shifting in your body. After approximately 12 treatments, we reassess your Posture and Gateways, identify what has shifted since our first time together, and decide upon next steps.
During a typical Spinal Flow session:
You lay down on the massage table comfortably, fully clothed. We sweep the back of the body and rock the joints with some light Tui Na to open up the energy pathways in the entire body.
Then we check for tension or stagnation using the 7 Gateway Assessment system.
We activate Nervous System healing through Spinal Flow, using light touch on the very best access points, primarily at the sacrum and cranium.
Your body begins to respond, often through small movements, shifts in breathing, or a visible Spinal Wave.
Most healing sessions last up to 45 minutes and leave people feeling lighter, calmer, and more at ease. In some cases, symptoms may temporarily magnify—this is a sign they are clearing out of your body.
As symptoms and conditions clear through your system, you may experience less stagnation, more ease, and notice a feeling of expansive space within, where deeper healing can take place.
How Do We Begin?
Book a New Client Appointment and complete the Health Form that we will send your way upon booking. We ask that you send the completed form back to us at least 24 hours prior to your first appointment.
Although each healing journey is unique, we generally recommend new clients receive 2-3 healing sessions a week for the first 4 weeks to activate and grow your Spinal Flow.
Our work together is meant to help you heal and track progress, which requires a level of commitment to show up and lay on the table with regularity as we activate your innate intelligence repair systems.
Once the flow is active along the whole spine we lessen our treatment frequency, with an ultimate goal of one optional “maintenance” healing session a month.
Spinal Flow Technique is a beautiful integration of therapeutic self-care and clinical healing work.
All sessions are fully clothed—please come wearing loose, comfortable clothing and socks.
We look forward to seeing you in our Spinal Flow Clinic, located at:
BayTree Wellness Center
430 Peninsula Ave, #3
San Mateo, CA 94401
Spinal Flow Technique creator, Dr. Carli Axford, describing this healing modality through words and example.
