Why the Spine?
I get asked on a fairly frequent basis - why do you do what you do? To answer that, I’ll have to tell you a little bit about your body first - specifically about your spine!
Why the Spine?
Our spine is arguably the most important part of our bodies. It allows us to be upright – sometimes so upright, that we are uptight!
Our spines are designed to protect an even more important part of our bodies – our spinal cord. It is the highly sensitive and durable extension of our brain – sometimes called the brainalcord, and the information superhighway between our body and our brain. The nerve system comprised of the brain, spinal cord, and the whole network of nerve pathways, control our body’s functions. Bones, ligaments and muscles also are controlled by the nerve system, as they don’t have a mind of their own. When your body is tight and stiff, or in pain, it is often the response of your nerve system holding tension. This tension modulates energy and restricts or binds when we are in pain or discomfort, and flows when we are at ease.
You have likely heard the colloquial term ‘uptight’. That’s exactly what happens when we get stressed – we get uptight, literally holding tension in our neck, that creates an equivalent tugging throughout our spine.
One of the keys to a healthy life is being flexible, right!?! It feels good to feel flexible, we feel embodied, able to move and respond with ease. However, we don’t want to be so flexible that we ‘don’t have a backbone’.
This saying comes from invertebrates, the class of animals including spiders, slugs, crabs, tapeworms, ticks and more! Obviously, I’ve mentioned some of the most hair-raising of the bunch for effect and it anchors the point (Butterflies are also invertebrates and that should put you more at ease for this next section of the article!). According to the English dictionary, being spineless is synonymous with lacking resolution, weak-willed, weak-kneed, ineffectual, indecisive; fearful, namby-pamby, lily-livered, chicken-hearted, wimpish, wussy, gutless and yes, we can go on and on! Your skin might be crawling again – is it?
So you see, a healthy spine really is the secret to a healthy life! You want a flexible and healthy spine, -not too tense, -not too rigid, -not too ‘lacking resolution’. You want a spine and nervous system that has the flexibility, resilience and resourcefulness to do all of these things at most appropriate moments. This is so that you can lead your busy, active life filled with your career, family, friends, activities and much- much more.
All of this is why at Sojourn Wellness Center, we help people find this glorious place of being agile and vita, through having a healthy spine! By adjusting spines in a gentle and extraordinarily effective way, people resolve long standing tension and pain patterns that have ruled and sometimes limited their lives. When you choose Sojourn Wellness Center, you’ll get world class chiropractic care, the opportunity to learn to listen and respond to the messages your body has been giving you, and be happier for yourself and your family!
Take the first steps to feeling better! Set up a complimentary consultation to discuss your situation, your health and your goals. The dawn of your new, healthier, happier, more fulfilled life may be right around the corner.
Joie Mazor, DC practices in Oakland, California. She uses gentle and extraordinarily effective chiropractic technique, Network Spinal Analysis, to help you feel more vitality and be adaptable, even with all the stressors of life. Feeling more alive and healthy is for families and individuals. “Being healthy is not just the state of one person’s body, but truly is measured by the whole interconnected web of life.” Her mission is for Oakland to be the healthiest city in the U.S.