This one is for the Moms!
I'm Dr. Erin Anderson. I've been a chiropractor since 2006 and am a proud mama of 2 smart, sweet and sassy 10- & 12-year-old girls. My superpower is connecting to people and teaching them to connect to their bodies, which have often been giving them some not-so-subtle requests for healing. For the first 15 years of my practice, I saw hundreds of people each week, knowing the key to unwind tension in their bodies by heart, and holding their stories and hopes.
Lucky for me, I have always worked with moms. My specialties are pregnancy and pediatrics, so I have spent tens of thousands of hours talking to mamas and mamas-to-be about their plans, their identities, and their worries.
Here’s what I know: Whether a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooling mom, or a WAHM, we are all so amazing - strong, kind, flexible, funny. I haven’t met a mama unwilling to sacrifice everything for her family, and often even for her job or community. Also, the things we do as moms - hold it together and pour out everything to do/be/have it all - takes a huge toll on our bodies.
What is too much for our bodies to hold, or feels too scary to express, gets stored in our spine. As I work gently on women’s bodies, all sorts of trapped stories and traumas come up so they can be released. When I was a newbie, this freaked me out! In the first year of practice, I had women confide in me about losses, violations, and medical traumas as my gentle contacts unearthed the stress their bodies had buried. Learning to hold space for tears and rage and helping release the energy became a skill as vital as having good technique.
For many moms, rather than trauma with a capital T, the stress our bodies hold is more mundane. Feeling frustration that our child can’t sleep apart from us, feeling unseen by a partner or isolated from friends and family, cleaning up the SAME DANG MESS again and again. I am far from immune from this - my long-term chiropractor has nicknamed a tight spot in my neck the “mother-in-law spot” ;)
Regardless of the type of stress our bodies hold, I advocate for all of us to let our pain, discomfort or tension become our teacher. When we suppress, work through, override, or tune out from the signals our bodies give us, our bodies become more disconnected and have to speak louder to get our attention. Instead, here’s an invitation to feel it and become curious… When do you notice the tension? How long has it been going on? Do you notice more symptoms when you feel any negative emotions (sadness, fear, overwhelm, anger)? If yes, you know your root cause and an area with room for growth or change.
Here are some common patterns of tension and connections to underlying emotions:
Tight shoulders - A sense of being overburdened, overwhelmed, or frustrated
Hips and low back - Feeling unsure of how to face the future
Jaw/throat tension - Inability to express your feelings or truth
Head - Feeling under-resourced/out of control
Gut/Stomach - Fear, disconnection from inner knowing
Tightness in the chest - Anxiety, sadness
Are you ready to let go of some of the stress and explore the root causes of your tension? I am here to help you tap into the amazing healing power in your body. Text (612) 280-6596 to set up a complimentary phone consult.
