The Mighty Oak Tree

Scoliosis is complicated. How it manifests from person to person is different. The origin is often difficult to pin down. Past trauma to the body and how it interacts with the scoli introduces another level of body detective work that complicates an already complex diagnosis.

This takes a while to sort through with my clients. It’s frustrating. I know. I’m there with my own body too.

The emotional rollercoaster people with scoliosis are on can take a real toll on the body. It’s a long journey. I see it in my clients and experience it myself. I know.

I see a wonderful psychologist when I’m unable to make sense of my emotions and when they start physically manifesting themselves within my body. It’s real. At the end of one of the therapy sessions with my psychologist I asked her how to deal with a particular issue that felt like it was paralyzing me. She said, “You are a mighty oak tree. You stand firm.”

I meditated on being a “mighty oak tree” for a long time, and it gave me strength. I looked it up in the Bible, read about the horticulture of the oak, and then stumbled upon the following poem:

The Oak Tree
by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr

A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You’ll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn’t sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I’ve found, with thanks to you
I’m stronger than I ever knew

You are a mighty oak tree. So am I. We have endured so much. I know.

You may feel like your limbs have been broken, every leaf has been stripped, and you are swaying perilously to the point of toppling over for good. Let me help you stand firm, dig your roots deeper into the earth, and gain the strength you so desperately want.

I’ve spent the last year working with a team of web designers and the Spiral Spine staff who know me well to redesign spiralspine.com to better help you. No matter where you are on your scoliosis journey, no matter where you live, I have a place for you to easily receive the help you want. Help has come so the mighty oak tree can confidently stand firm for years and years to come.

Check out the new and improved SpiralSpine.com, and let me know what you think.