Blog
What Your Posture Says About You
“Sit up straight.” “Don’t slouch.” “Stand tall.” How many times did we hear those phrases from well- meaning parents and teachers? What they didn’t know was that conscious efforts to hold a straight posture are futile! Poor posture reflects deeply rooted stress patterns, stored traumas, and a defensive stance toward being in the world.
Our posture is a physical manifestation of our inner state of being. Our view of the world and our mental, emotional and spiritual state are reflected in our general expression, including our posture. The good news is that through our posture we can identify opportunities and get direction for healing life-long stress patterns.
Stress patterns and traumas are a result of life experiences that were overwhelming for us at the time, and that we have never fully integrated. Whether it’s physical, emotional or chemical stress, if it’s too much for us, our nervous system “pops a circuit breaker” and we take on a defensive posture to protect ourselves. The stresses then get stored in our bodies becoming “stored trauma,” which we carry until we have the ability and support to release them. Stored trauma has three predictable effects: physical degeneration and aging, self-defeating patterns, and self-limiting beliefs. One of the physical consequences is postural problems. For example, one of the most common postural deviations is a forward head tilt, which 90% of us living in this culture exhibit. If our head is just one inch forward of its natural balanced position, it increases the strain on our shoulder and neck muscles more than 10 times, and our low back more than 30 times. This can lead to such common ailments as: headaches, neck and back pain, arthritis, migraines, etc. It causes even more far-reaching effects on the heart and lungs by compressing the chest cavity.
Network Care helps by releasing the roots of poor posture and the over-tensed neck muscles naturally relax allowing our head to have freedom of movement in relationship to our spine. This freedom of movement results as the head re-learns to balance lightly on top of the spine. This allows all the other mechanisms and reflexes throughout our body to work as nature intended – our spine becomes longer, our neck becomes freer and all our joints and muscles function with a minimum of excess tension. All of this leads to a greater sense of ease, comfort and freedom in our bodies and in our lives, healthier and more active lifestyles, improved relationships, increased energy and a profound sense of well-being.
The Purpose of Pain
Wow! What a week….
I just spent an incredible week in snowy Colorado at The Ultimatum with my Chiropractor and teacher, Donny Epstein. It was so many things… I expanded into states of gratitude, joy and connection like I have never experienced before. And, I also got to feel the depth of my suffering like never before. At one point during the program I felt so much physical and emotional pain and kept asking myself what is this about? As if he heard me asking the question, Donny spoke about the purpose of pain and the 4 types of pain the next morning,
The purpose of pain is this….
Simply, pain interrupts the life we are living so that we can find more resources and do something different. When we are living in an energy poor or neutral state (which is living less than what we are meant for), our bodies give us the gift of pain, so that we can be aware that we need to bring more energy in so that we can live in a more energy rich state.
The 4 types of pain are:
1. The pain of avoiding pain. Let’s be real…life can be painful- physically and emotionally. Most people avoid taking the time to really feel the depth of their pain. When we stop, acknowledge and accept the pain and just be with it, we are adding energy into the system, which creates change. I had an amazing experience this week. I had so much physical pain when I woke up one morning and instead of rushing to make it on time to the morning talk, I stopped, put my hands on my body and started to cry. I cried so hard for a long time, and just accepted the physical pain and after a while knew that I was feeling the emotional pain of the women in my lineage and was expressing what they could not. I accepted this emotional pain and blessed and thanked them for being who they were, so I could be who I am, and when I was done, the pain was 90% gone.
2. The pain of not being able to manage circumstance. The more we have a need for certainty in life, the more pain we experience. When we are able to connect with and accept the mystery of life, and actually start to get excited about instability in our lives, the more freedom we feel physically and emotionally.
3. The pain of not making enough progress or fast enough progress. This is the pain that creates a hunger in us for more energy richness. It helps us move towards greater states of energy in which we can be fueled by soul and be more of who we are meant to be in the world. Staying small creates pain, which again is the gift that says, “Wake up and start living as if this were the last day of your life!” How would you be and how many lives would you seek to touch if you lived this way?
4. The pain of soul. This is the pain of not knowing or giving the gifts you are meant to give, and not receiving the gifts of others. This is most painful type of pain, and hurts the most people around the one who experiences it. Again, the pain is there to remind us that this is ultimately why we are here- to know what our unique gifts are and to give them, while being open to the medicine of others in each moment.
When you experience pain, the key is to add energy. Whether that means just stopping to experience the pain and be with it to let something else emerge, inviting in more instability, doing your practices that energize you and help you play more full out, embracing new thoughts and behaviors that are more aligned with who you truly are, or simply giving your gifts and shining your light more brightly!
Freedom At Last
What would it be like to truly feel free… free in your body and emotions, free in your mind, and free to move in your life in a way that really lights you up? So many people are prisoners and don’t even know it. They live with pain in their bodies, limiting thoughts in their mind, and settle for a life of going through the motions just to survive. Why do people do this? You don’t have to be stuck in a life that is less than extraordinary in which you experience freedom in all areas.
I literally have the best job in the world. One of the things that I heard from a patient in the office this week was, “After I got off the table yesterday, I went for a walk and knew exactly what to do to bring harmony back to my relationship with my husband. And now we are in a better place than we have been in a long time.” Another patient got off of the table and said, “That is the first time that I’ve experienced love moving through me for me and not someone else.” Another patient came in and told me that they were able to experience joy after being stuck in depression for years.
This is why I am a chiropractor. Not to take someone’s pain away so they can go on living the same life they have been living- staying comfortable and certain. What I get excited about is helping people live lives in which they feel more emotion and are able to express it, experience more passion and inspiration, feel more connected to the people they love and harness their power and courage to take risks and make the changes that will truly set them free.
When you make the decision to reclaim your life and do whatever it takes to experience this freedom, and you start actually listening to your body and seeing your pain as the message that something needs to change NOW, amazing things happen. And, the pain no longer has to be present because you are paying attention and making the changes that you have been waiting way too long to make.
You deserve to live an extraordinary life in which you feel amazing in your body, have incredible relationships, give your gifts fully to others and are able to create exactly that which brings you the most joy.
Are you ready to feel more freedom in your life? Call 541-701-9174 for a free 15 minute consultation!
A Passionate Life: A viewpoint from Italy
I write this on the train leaving Vernazza, Italy after 5 magical days in the Italian Riviera. The people there are so full of life and love and live more passionately than any culture I know. They express themselves freely, feeling all emotions, and have a love of beauty and laughter and live in community. It is this absolute “YES!” to life that is what excites me about being in practice and helping people remember.
With all of the daily stresses of that come with life, piled upon all of our past traumas, our nervous systems become stuck in a state of fight or flight, or survival mode. In this state, not only is our physical health compromised, but our ability to feel all of our emotions, to live with more love, passion and connection is also much less. We have a limited perception of the possibilities of who we are and what we can create in our lives. The part of our brain that tells us to make different, healthier choices, which is also the same part of the brain that helps us experience gratitude, forgiveness and compassion, is also not as activated, and we are less able to express emotion, be confident and live from a place of passion.
Through Network Spinal Analysis, the nervous system learns a very sophisticated language that helps us to see ourselves and life from a new viewpoint. We get connected to how we want to live from our souls, rather than from what culture tells us is right. We remember that “YES!”, and are inspired to move in this life with unbridled passion and joy! It is from this place that we are then inspired to give love and serve humanity. This is my intention when I work with you. The pain and symptom is only the messenger saying “It’s time to remember who you are and why you are here!” Because why not! This is your life…. Make it the one of your dreams.
Dr. Erin Pollinger
A Patient’s Story – Soulwave Chiropractic
My mother started taking me to the chiropractor when I was four. I went there with her and with my grandmother where we were all “adjusted.” Chiropractic care became part of my life; in college when I woke up with a stiff neck and afterwards when I dated a chiropractic student who continued my “adjustments.” The tradition was passed to my children who were also “adjusted.”
It wasn’t until my older son was awakened to Network Chiropractic in Vermont that I became familiar with the concept. It wasn’t until I had spent a very uncomfortable journey and wound up feeling as if I had another kidney stone that I sought some other kind of treatment. My son encouraged me to find a Network Chiropractor and that’s the path that led me to Dr. Erin Pollinger.
That was five years ago and Dr. Erin saved my life. For the first time I was no longer “adjusted,” but shown how to help myself. She helped me to turn the tension that was really painful into energy that can be creative and helpful. I understand now that treating the symptoms is actually the opposite of what we can and should be doing with our pain. We need to embrace that pain and use it to heal physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This is not an overnight process but neither is the pain that each of us builds and retains in our bodies over a lifetime. Embrace the pain – Yes! Don’t just get rid of it by allowing someone to “adjust” you. You will never learn what is needed to become a better person by yielding to someone else’s power.
Take your power back! Let Dr. Erin show you the way. Over the course of five years I have admired Dr. Erin’s professionalism that comes with a generous and caring spirit available to all her patients. On a personal level I call her a doctor, a true healer, a confidante, a mentor and a friend. There is always more to be done in this life and I am blessed to have Dr. Erin guide me on my path.
Patty
Applegate, OR
