Where do you carry your stress?

Almost all of us carry stress in our body when we get uptight.  The real art is how to pay attention to it.  Recently I've had people in my practice talk to me about:

1) clenching their jaw
2) headaches
3) neck aches
4) pain in the shoulders that causes headaches
5) loss of appetite
6) heartburn
7) loss of sleep
8) anxiety
9) getting sick
10) diarrhea

In each of these specific incidents all these things entirely related to stress in their life.  But more than just the fact that stress was present - that is universal for us all from time to time - it's how they responded to it.  When we suffer with things like this we typically go with how we have been trained; ignore it.  Sometimes with our force of will but often with medications.

I believe a wiser approach is to ask "what is my body trying to tell me?"  Be present to what hurts, lean in to it.  Most of the time, for most of us we need not suffer nearly as much if we would simply push ourselves a little less.  Go to bed when we're tired, one more show is not worth it.  Say "no" to the one-more-thing trying to squeeze it's way into your to do list.

If we listen better to our own needs of rest, recovery and sleep, if we say no a little more often rather than saying yes through gritted teeth, if we have a little more tolerance for outcomes we were trying to control against, in short; listen a little better to the wisest and best within us, we will suffer less.

Back pain is a signal - Here's what to do about it

Before I pass on the following advice, I'd like to be clear about how I personally use Chiropractic care as well as how I recommend using it - for the overall improvement of body, mind and mood function, for the overall improvement of health and immune system and for the overall improvement in quality of life.

Using Chiropractic for the relief of pain only is like going to a nice restaurant and buying an expensive meal, just for the sake of sitting in a comfortable seat.  You miss out on the most valuable aspects of the experience.  I have an older post that gives more detail about this idea, look here.

Having said that many people are still suffering with a lot of pain, and the good news is, there is a lot you can do on your own to help yourself in a very effective way.

1) Get up and move more.  Every hour stand up and change body positions.  Sitting all day at work, in the car, on the couch and at the table is terrible for you, in many ways.

2a) Stretch in the morning.  It does not need to be formal or fancy.  Just a big ole' fashion grunting spastic stretch is great.  Can you picture your baby, dog or cat as they wake up?  What's the first thing they do?  The reason it feels so good, is because it is stimulating your brain in the right way, and your brain rewards you by feeling good.

psoas muscle

2b) Stretching upward specifically helps a particularly important muscle called the psoas.  It attaches at the lower spine and connects to the top of the leg, on both sides.  When it flexes it bends the leg up, like being in the sitting position.  So when we spend all the time we do seated it shortens that muscle, and it pulls on the spine, overtime this increases the chances of the spine functioning poorly and with it more pain.  So, stretch up...  And grunt, it always helps me.

3) Check this out: Foundation Training and do the training daily.  For the most part, pain is a desperate request from your body saying to you "we're not doing something right!"  Follow this training and begin to use your magnificent body in line with the way you were designed.  Also this video can help to avoid common mistakes when doing this exercise.  I personally have gotten a lot from this exercise.  I know the developer of this work has written a book.  I'm sure it's good, in fact quite good, I just can't speak from experience about it.

If you're interested in learning more about this work go to Mercola.com, an indispensable tool to living healthier.

4)  Regarding books I do have experience with is Pain Free by Peter Egoscue.  Very helpful stuff, particularly the chapters related to the low back and pelvis.