Our Emotional Stability is Rooted in Our Physical Stability

In this entry I'd like to demonstrate my latest body awareness as a realization of how the mind and body connect, intrinsically.

I've recently had an epiphany regarding my lower back issues and those of my clients in the past few weeks with the help of a superb chiropractor Dr. Jaimila Neyon of Balance Point Chiropractic in Oakland, CA.

Twelve years ago I caught an edge and fell on my back in a HUGE jump in the park while snowboarding at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe. At the time the only thing that helped me be able to walk again without pain was an adjustment from a couple of visits to the chiropractor (after taking x-rays). I was amazed that this work took the pain away because conventional medicine had me on valium (which made me throw up and then increased the pain) and lay in bed. In the past 10 or so years I've used yoga to help my back feel better.

Many people are skeptical about chiropractic work -- and not surprisingly so. To crack someone's back is pretty invasive and can be a bit scary. Add that to the fact that many people assume chiropractors to be quacks and people are unwilling to try out this modality.  However, what I've learned is that anyone in any profession can suck at what they do. I've found that a certification or license doesn't mean anything if that professional doesn't apply precision to their work, have a high level of integrity concerning their work or if they lack empathy for those they are helping. These days healthcare professionals that I choose must meet these pre-requisites because I take these values to heart in my own work.

So when I recently met Dr. Jaimila Neyon I was super excited to learn more about how the body works with reference to its many joints. My expertise lays in muscles and human movement science so learning about how the body's joints affect movement patterns and pain has opened up my eyes to healing the body on a whole different level.

What I've recently learned is that grinding my teeth, the knot in my back and my lower back pain are attributed to an unstable pelvis. Dr. Neyon informed me of a chiropractic theory and practice of the connection of the sacrum (hips) to the cranium (neck and head). I couldn't figure out why my right gluteus muscles would tighten up and go all the way up into my jaw. She informed me that these two massive joint regions are connected through spinal fluid. Therefore, if the pelvis is weak or unstable, then the jaw will tighten as a means of compensation.

I am very strong physically, but my chiropractor told me that I have a ligament in my pelvis that has been sprained and never fully healed. So since I started seeing her, I have been wearing a belt to literally hold myself up since the ligament that holds those bones together is not able to do its job. The belt will help it heal and I have gone off gluten and have dramatically cut back on my alcohol and caffeine intake as these are all inflammatory (she also does muscle testing with nutrition).

And this whole past year I was thinking that I needed major psychotherapy to help me learn how to relax when in reality it has been my structural makeup that is weak! I know that I have some emotional work that is connected to my pelvic integrity so I will also be working on that...

Now I'm not grinding my teeth or feeling unstable emotionally or physically and I couldn't have figured this out without Dr. Neyon's help. I've already referred 3 of my clients to her.

We can look at how our emotional stability is rooted in our physical in other ways too. When we are sick or injured, we just don't feel good or strong emotionally. I'm glad to learn that some of my personal weakness can be based on something that I've never put much thought into such as my bone, tendon and ligament structures.

For the past few years I've been thinking that I don't know how to relax. I've been praying to G-d every night for a year or so to help me be calm. As a result of the work I've been doing on myself mentally in the past year and now with the help of my new inner work, physically ;) of wearing this belt and having weekly adjustments, I feel more stable, centered and calm. It's nice to know that I'm not as crazy as I thought I was and that I can blame some of it on my physical structure...some of it...maybe half ;)