Honoring the Stories

People always seem to have a story for how they got to where they are today.

I love to hear these stories, personally. They often remind me that we are more alike than we are different. Our stories are, yes, unique to us, AND I find that so many of these stories have common themes or traumas that have forged who we’ve become.

I know there are stories out there like mine. Not that they are the exact same, or that you’re going to choose to become a chiropractor, or what have you… I simply want you to feel heard, seen or validated in the experiences you’ve had in life.

So let’s dive in!

Growing up, I was your stereotypical, fearless kid, always managing to come home with road rashes, cuts and bruises. Given the amount of times I would crash my bike or roll my four wheeler, I’m surprised my mom even let me leave the house. Those days came to an end when I face-planted on the concrete while jumping bikes.

I know what you’re probably thinking – “what a cool kid!”

But let me tell you, I felt anything but cool with a face full of road rash. That accident led to a few doctor’s visits and the discovery of my scoliosis and degenerative disc disease.

It all made more sense – why I was experiencing difficulty with my proprioception, unaware of where my body was in space, issues with concentration and focus, and frequent speech problems. As time passed, these issues became more pronounced and I was experiencing more pain throughout my body, as my body compensated for this curve in my spine. I visited a physical therapist for my scoliosis, but the relief was only temporary. The handful of head traumas I experienced, including a concussion during high school, didn’t help either.

When did it truly start?

What I know now, that we didn’t know then…

This was likely a cascade-type process rather than an event, starting with birth (or maybe even before birth, but that’s a story for another time). We were told that I had a “growth spurt” and that was the cause of my scoliosis.

Okay… and…

What I know now is that birth trauma can have a significant impact on the development of our brain and nervous system. Our nervous system decides whether we need to be in a state of protection, or if we’re safe enough to grow and thrive. If our nervous system perceives an event as a stressor, our system can adapt and regulate back to baseline, or it creates tension patterns, decreased energy efficiency and therefore altered development.

That’s a lot of doctor talk, and all I’m trying to say is that a birth trauma can create tension patterns and altered development, if not attended to.

Babies rely on their parents to co-regulate and it’s nearly impossible for them to adapt through these kinds of stressors on their own.

Back to the story

My mother had an emergency c-section with me; I’m unaware if it was vacuum or forceps assisted, but I do know that my head was lopsided. There’s picture proof in the Thomas Residence if you don’t believe me!

My granny used to tell me stories of my endless cries when ANYONE, other than my parents and sister, would look at me. I was terrified of people, but why?

When I got a little older, I started crawling. Not the normal crawling you think of. I would do a one-armed army crawl. Seeing home videos was kind of scary, to be honest. Doctor version of me is able to draw the conclusion that there was a clear disconnect from one side of my brain to the other.

I believe it’s fair to say that my scoliosis was more than a “growth spurt.”

As an aside… If you are interested in learning more about the birth process and a more indepth story behind mine and Dr. Mel’s births, watch this Project Lioness Podcast Episode - Birth, Death and Rebirth Part 1. Or listen on Spotify!

Fast forward to the magic

I experienced my first chiropractic adjustment when I was 18 years old, several years after the discovery of my scoliosis. It was as if a light switch was turned on within my body. I felt a rush of warmth running between my head and neck, I had an immediate clearing of pain, I could focus, I was more aware of my surroundings and I had better control of my body.

My nervous system was finally functioning in the way it was supposed to.

Chiropractic gave me a greater appreciation for how I was able to experience life. Rather than being upset when I wasn’t functioning the way I wanted to, I felt empowered to understand what was causing the lack of function and to resolve that. It made me recognize that our nervous system cannot be in a state of protection and growth at the same time. If the obstacles are removed that cause the nervous system to protect, then we can begin to heal.

Would you rather treat the symptoms or the cause of the problem?

When I started college, I knew that I wanted to be in health care. I felt passionate about helping others and sharing my philosophy of adjusting the cause rather than treating the symptom. We can all agree that our society is overmedicated, right? Eighteen year old me thought I could help this problem by being a pharmacist, providing education for folks who were coming to have their prescriptions filled.

Synchronicities, not coincidences

After my first year of college, my chiropractor finally convinced me to visit a Chiropractic school. I was blown away by the people I met and the similar philosophies we shared. We had the opportunity to share our “Why” or what had brought us to consider chiropractic.

I don’t jump up at every opportunity to publicly speak, so this was my time to listen to the other folks share their stories. The mother of a prospective student went up to the podium… she shared that she’s a pharmacist and how mentally draining it is being behind the counter, filling prescriptions for medication after medication. She wanted to help people but felt like she was so far away from doing that.

That was a sign that I simply couldn’t ignore.

Attracting your true purpose

You might have had moments in your life, just like that. I hope you have!

Where you aren’t quite sure how, or why, you ended up there, and it’s clear you were meant to be in that place, with those people, at that time. That was that moment for me.

For years during my undergraduate school and even during my gap year after obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, I would have several of those moments, meeting people or experiencing synchronicities that reminded me that I was on the right path.

Life has a brilliant way of attracting the frequency in which you embody, or that which will serve you most.

Finding a profession that aligned with my own philosophy was only the first step towards manifesting a life more aligned with my mission. My healing journey is ever evolving. Each day I feel more attuned to myself, but my favorite part is the moment I realize that this life, my work, my mission, is so much greater than me.

Throughout care, I’ve learned that what I believed to be my healing journey, was actually a healing journey for those who came before me, too. The protected state I adopted when entering this world was the same protection my sister likely dealt with, my mother, my grandmother, and who knows who else along that maternal line. It has been so embedded in our physiology.

Having access to rewrite these stories, to release old patterns and welcome a newer/more authentic state of being… that’s where the magic lies. NetworkSpinal Chiropractic Care was where I found the strength to tap into that magic, and it’s where I’ve found the how to my mission.

We all deserve the opportunity to align the inner frequency of our nervous system, tune into our authentic self and liberate ourselves from the thoughts, patterns & past traumas that have inhibited our innate ability to heal.

Thank you for being intertwined with this journey, no matter how big or small.

WIth gratitude,

Dr. Aryn

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