‘If you not looking after your nervous system, you are dying’

What a statement but i write this article from a place of love and pure 100% experience in this and what i share with you might be harsh and very blunt at times but it’s honesty all the way.

I am Natalie Robertson, a South African trained Chiropractor, Advanced ABC practitioner- having specialised in postural correction and Director of Spirohealth clinic, Putney. I have been on a regular schedule of spinal alignments for the last 13 years of my life…until my first born child Brooke on the 1st July 2017. Please read a little more about the pregnancy and ABC here. The birth was a complicated process and i had a massive obstetric haemorrhage, where i nearly lost my life. Recovering from this ordeal was obviously my focus along with taking the best care of little Brooke. I didn’t get to my usual 2 per week alignments (this varies from chiro to chiro but i was committed to changing my posture and working through some old injuries) Most parents reading this will understand your child comes first now, but the more i put my own wellbeing second…the less energy, vitality and patience i have for my family. In fact as i share below; i literally felt my body shutting down… i wasn’t thriving anymore i was ‘dying’.

I left the UK for sunny beaches of South Africa, where i exercised everyday, ate very well and took all my supplements. But i started to feel very low in energy. I found myself getting very dizzy standing up from a chair, i couldn’t sleep at night and i sure as hell didn’t want to get up in the morning. Not easy when you have a 6 month old on your hands. Or for many of you get up for your work day.

10 years ago i had my last migraine- i mean full-blown aura, sensitivity to light, nausea, vomiting, a hot searing one sided headache that responds to no medications and lasts for 2 days. I had 4 of these in 6 weeks. I was popping pills left, right and centre. They were back with a vengeance. Being out of action on Christmas Eve and Christmas day after not seeing your family for 2 years because of your poor health just doesn’t cut it for me!!!

I found recovery after exercise slow and i was weak. I became out of breath much faster than before. Walking uphill or stairs was a huge ask for my body nevermind pushing a pram. I felt light headed at the best of times and found it really difficult to lift my arms above my head- not nice when you want to play with your daughter and throw her up in the air. Most nights i wanted to crawl into bed at 7pm sometimes getting me to the point of tears with emotions all over the show too. My eyes were always red. My digestion was off after being amazing for so long. My appetite was low and i could not tolerate any alcohol- not easy over the festive season and you are sharing very good bottles of wine over dinner. My sex drive was non existent putting strain on my relationship. You must know this was a very foreign place for me, in fact it was quite scary- and i felt like was 36 going on 85 years old. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

I wanted to share this with you because i was in a lovely warm climate, getting good nutrition, exercise and love and yet my body was breaking down. WHY?

Can you take the truth about your health?

First up, know this, your nervous system controls everything in your body- your immune system, your hormones, your appetite, your metabolism, your energy levels, your digestion, your muscular system, your sex drive, your fertility, your emotions/moods your focus, your healing power.

Secondly, your nervous system is protected by your skull and your spine. We have to look after our spine to keep our nervous system working well to maintain our health and wellbeing. Ask yourself why some people live to 100 and others only to 78, amongst other things, they would have a better posture= spine shape. Look at my grandmother who is fit as a fiddle, she has a sharp mind too, and 89 years old. She gets out for her walks, sits in a good chair for no longer than an hour at a time before she moves around, wears good shoes and has a very firm bed- all the things we encourage people to do to protect their spines.

Not being aligned and carrying a baby for 9 months, nursing a baby for the last 6 months (bending over, changing, bathing and picking her up) was a very different way of life for me and my body. You can bet the plane trips, beds and pillows that were no good for me for over 2 months added to this. My spine had changed shape, i noticed i had a bump at the back of my head and i was definitely more hunched over now.

In conclusion, my life was a miserable life and i felt like i was losing myself in the process, until i got myself back on track with my alignments. The most amazing thing was this ‘haze’ lifted- i could see with so much more clarity again. I am still a work in progress as it will take time to get my structure into a stronger position again. BUT yes, it is possible to feel GREAT again and all these things i have mentioned above are all the things you can change by looking after your spine. Please get to your nearest chiropractor and if you are anywhere close to Putney, bring your whole family into Spirohealth, my team and i would love to meet and help you in any way we can.

Triuth about your health
My awesome foursome in December 2017