Every time I think I have my head on straight, Dr. Morgan reminds me that my head is not on straight until she makes it so. She is an Upper Cervical Care practitioner. As an Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractor, she uses an advanced scientific instrument to adjust my atlas without manual manipulation or cracking my fragile neck. Larry and I work hard and play hard. There are no couch potatoes at our house. Dr. Morgan is my last resort before surgery. I cling to her healing gift like a life raft.
Speaking from personal experience, Brittany warned me, I better put my own oxygen mask on and navigate my own perils in life before trying to help anyone else. As usual, it was timely advice. Sometimes, all it takes is looking at things from another perspective to see things more clearly.
After a big health scare and now that my chakras have been unblocked, I feel enlightened. Like I woke up from a different side of the bed and I feel more awake than ever. The term chakra is not widely embraced in Western culture. We all have them. Chakras are energy vortexes that exist within all living things. Imbalances, large and small in our chakras can cause serious mental and physical ailments. Addressing these blockages holistically gave me the answers conventional medicine refused to address and honestly were only causing more problems than fixing.
My mom is a super-ager. Jaws often drop when she reveals her age of 96. She acts and looks decades younger. It isn’t luck or magic. It’s in the jeans. My mom literally rocks Levi skinny jeans! Genetics certainly play a part in our health, but studies show that 70% of our health is determined by the good and bad choices we make. To put it simply, we are what we put in our pie hole. And, boy, do I love pie! Before mom’s hands got too painful from arthritis and nerve damage, she made the best homemade pies from scratch. Her pumpkin, peach, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, blueberry and lemon meringue pies were my favorites. Mom also made an apple pie called Shanghai that was almost coma-induced sweet. I suspect the minimalistic recipe was from the Depression era passed on to mom from my Grandma Wyatt.
Mom has some longevity in her family tree and she also has premature death. Her father died at 53, leaving my grandmother a widow with young children to raise alone. If it had not been for Social Security, Mom’s family would have been out on the streets. Hand-ups are not always hand-outs. Some people don’t have spoons, let alone silver ones.
We are born with certain traits but that doesn’t mean we are hog tied to them. Mom is one of those who gets a little miffed when exercise is canceled to host Trivial Pursuit. I blame my mom for a lot things; being a go-getter is one. We are like Energizer Bunnies until we crash. When I was consistently hitting 12,000-15,000 steps a day and topped 24,000 steps one day, I retired my Fitbit.
While listening to me lament about people willing to poison their bodies and minds instead of simply changing their diets, Brittany quoted 1 Corinthians which states, “We are to always glorify God in body and spirit because our bodies are members of Christ.” “Our bodies are our God given temples of the Holy Spirit.” Living with a healthy mind, body and spirit is equally important to me as believing in the Holy Trinity.
It’s unfortunate, but the more Larry and I isolate the better we both feel. Larry and I got lost for awhile trying to take care of everyone around us. It’s a wonderful feeling God has us in the palm of His hand again.
Rita Zorn is a wife, mother, grandmother and lifetime Monroe County resident. She can be reached at 7.noniez@gmail.com.