In 2013 I started seeing an upper care specialist to help me with my trigeminal neuralgia. The results were steadily progressive and then hit a plateau. I continued seeing him, and then in 2014 I remarried and moved back home to Southeast Texas. I was pretty diligent making the almost two hour drive to see him once a month. As time went on, my pain subsided significantly and my year and a half of TN hell finally stopped. Every once in a while, I'd subtly feel tinges crying out for a full on shock to manifest. It was challenging not getting stressed about that, but I seemed to manage. Sometimes they'd make their way back home to my face, and whenever that happened, visits to my specialist were far and few between.
You see, since I was managing the pain, I jumped right back into life. I was fully involved in a local homeschool group, working at a local spa, living life with three teenagers, and getting into a routine of new married life, having just bought a house- enjoying my life. TN never actually went away for good. And it irked me that I, well we, are so dependent on others for our well being.
Seeing the upper cervical care specialist was good. Experts that can assist us are good. But it really bothers me that we are that dependent on people to keep us alive. I insist the body was created to heal itself. The theory IS plausible with everything we know about it's amazing resilience according to science. And according to faith, there are just too many real life stories to confirm that the body and the mind can bounce back with the right attitude and the right plan of action. This is just something I believe. So in order to shed the lies within that belief (See my post Believe), my first effort was to seek out noninvasive types of treatment, which eventually brought me to see a chiropractor who specializes in upper cervical care (See post on Upper Cervical Care).
But still-I needed him! I didn't want to need him anymore. I didn't want to need the meds anymore, and I didn't want to maybe need brain surgery one day. I've been a massage therapist for 14 years now, and so I thought maybe there was some type of way I could relax the muscles around the Atlas (C-1) or the Axis (C-2) myself. But I didn't know the kinesiology trains well enough. Then I thought maybe I don't have to learn without help. So I sought out massage therapy modalities that may help me find a massage alternative to the chiropractic treatments I had been slacking on. Nothing.
But I kept the focus in the back of my head, hoping one day I'll have an aha moment. As it turns out there was something. Actually, there are several somethings. But first, let me explain why I wanted to find a viable alternative that I could incorporate myself.
I learned about Upper Cervical Care during a time of research in 2012. I wasn't content having regular clients depend on me. I wanted to fix them, so that they would never need to see me again. See my post on Upper Cervical Care for the journey there. But basically, if your C-1 is out of alignment, it causes miscommunication within the body vehicle. Think of it like the electrical system in your car. This misalignment can take place as soon as entering the birth canal in the hours just prior to making your grand entrance into this life. It can happen during a wreck, a sports injury or tackle, a fall, a slip, and even stress can cause it. So your brainstem connects your brain to your spine, which is how signals come and go. And it passes through two uniquely shaped vertebrae, referred to as the C-1, or Atlas, and C-2, the Axis. These first two vertebrae of the spinal column are shaped for full range of motion of the head and to keep it in place. If they are misaligned, the nerves can be affected. If they are affected, that means communication breakdown, so your vehicle will not work properly.
But I stopped going to see my specialist. Why did I need him that much? There just had to be something I could do. And one day I stumbled upon an interesting article. In order to completely understand the next part of my story, I strongly encourage you to read this article. Say Yes! It recommends an exercise that looks like you are saying yes. Try it. Nod your head in the yes movement. Extend your head all the way back and then flex it all the way forward, and then back to home. You did it! That's the exercise. I call it the say yes to the universe exercise.
The reason I call it this is because there is just so much more to it than a nod, an exercise. To just say yes, or, no for the matter, can be quite mechanical. In fact, that is exactly how stress can cause misalignment of the atlas bone. When you are in an emotional rut or stressed in your mind, have you ever wondered how your body manifests the stress. If you don't know, then you are responding to life like a machine, in a mechanical sense. Pay attention. Do you clench your jaw when you are nervous or angry? Do you grind your teeth at night or ball up your fist when you worry about the future? Do you cry a lot? Do you have terrible posture when you are self conscious? I can go on and on, but I'm sure you are already aware of these manifestations that YOU cause. You cause them, because you are not aware. When life pushes you, those who are mechanical react without being mindful of their thoughts, where those thoughts came from, and who or what influenced them. You accepted the push, but your body did not. Your body speaks to you. Pain is a lot like fear. It is simply a signal to the mind, that one needs to pay attention and doctor up.
So by saying yes to the universe via this exercise, you're saying I accept today as is instead of trying to control every aspect of life. But you're not accepting the push from life. The push is a circumstance. That's not what you are saying yes to. You are saying yes to the lesson. The circumstances while varied happen over and over again, testing our strengths and weaknesses until we relinquish the need or the attachment to the circumstance and learn the many lessons that help us grow in this life. When we pay attention to the deeper meaning of why a thing did or did not happen and understand our contribution to the circumstance, our attachment to it dissipates. This is not condoning harmful behavior imposed on us by others. We are all responsible for our actions and our words. But there is always something to learn from every circumstance. It is a chance to utilize strength and an opportunity to strengthen weakness.
So that's the the gist of it. Somatic healing is a real thing, and I am excited to learn how movement plays a pivotal role in self healing. So when you do the exercise, please also be aware of the feeling of your head, your neck, and your balance as you feel through the motions, not just go through the motions.
Healing via the body isn't as simple as working out and eating 'right' I've found. Healing starts in the mind. First with gratitude. So be sure to remember what makes you smile every morning before you do this exercise. It helps not having knee jerk reactions and getting overly emotional to life. So with that, wisdom is inevitable. And with the wisdom of action, comes awareness to the things that will assist us to really take care of the only thing we own here on Earth. What will we do with the vessel given us and in the time allotted? So much to think about.
And please be aware that disruption to any nerves passing through the C-1, can cause miscommunication. So this isn't just a trigeminal neuralgia exercise. This is an exercise to help optimize your control system. How many of us have disorders or illnesses, where the structure nor the electrical system has been evaluated. How many of us have taken our vehicles to get repaired and the mechanic went straight to the symptom and could not figure out what was wrong? And after trial, error, and money, someone finds it is a simple electrical issue? The same thing can happen in the body too, my friend.
Please be mindful of your health. Our medical team is our health team. Team. It is not us. We are in charge of making those decisions. Do the research. Read about the nervous system. Be aware. Your life is your responsibility, so take those baby steps to learn to take care of that baby inside.
For further research:
https://www.britannica.com/science/brainstem
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-human-body-systems/hs-the-nervous-and-endocrine-systems/v/structure-of-the-nervous-system
http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/brain-spinal/brain-and-spinal-tumours/the-brain-and-spinal-cord/?region=on
https://www.laserspineinstitute.com/back_problems/spinal_anatomy/atlas/
https://www.ichd-3.org/11-headache-or-facial-pain-attributed-to-disorder-of-the-cranium-neck-eyes-ears-nose-sinuses-teeth-mouth-or-other-facial-or-cervical-structure/
https://www.goodmancampbell.com/spine-anatomy
https://brainworldmagazine.com/nod-your-head-up-and-down-make-yourself-happy/
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