What I Learned From a Flat Tire on the Freeway

This time last year,  I was driving home on I-5 South in my Huyndai Santa Fe, Rosebud, when my steering wheel pulled hard to the left and I felt that unmistakable clunk clunk clunk that could only mean a flat tire. 

I'll spare you the part of the story where Roadside Assistance left me stranded on the freeway, but eventually I did get my car to the nearest tire shop.

"Your car is out of alignment and your suspension is shot," the guy said. (A second opinion at a different shop confirmed this was the case.) At some point, I probably hit a pot hole without thinking about it and over time, these imbalances put undue wear and tear on a tire that was brand-spankin' new only a year ago.

$2,000 later, I had four new tires, an alignment, and new suspension. 

There are two big lessons I learned from this:

1. If I had addressed these issues earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.

2. The tire was the symptom, not the problem.

When it comes to our bodies, we tend to think the problem is where the pain is. So, we treat the problem in isolation without looking at how the whole system works together.

What if I had just replaced the flat tire instead of fixing the suspension, alignment, and replacing the other tires? That same tire would have just blown out again in a couple of months. That's why those moments can take you by surprise when you throw out your back, tear a rotator cuff, or blow out a knee when you've never had problems in those ares before.

Let's say you have knee pain and your PT gives you a gazillion exercises that isolate the knee. You might have some relief, but if your pelvis, ribcage, and shoulders aren't participating, you're likely to keep ending up with the same problem.

When you receive massage and craniosacral therapy from Eric and me, we don't just look at the symptoms- we look at your whole body and how one movement or pattern is connected to everything else. You might be surprised that when Eric works on your legs, your neck suddenly frees up. Or I might work on your foot and suddenly your hip feels better. That's what can happen when you work with the whole body instead of chasing symptoms.

During the month of January, Eric and I are offering 40% off CranioSacral Therapy + Massage when you book with both of us!

If you've been struggling with chronic pain and traditional massage, physical therapy, or chiropractic aren't helping, we can help you rebalance your body from the inside out.