You Don’t Need To Be “Fixed”

Very often you will hear us compare the function of the amazing human body to a machine: your skeleton is the frame, your circulation is the plumbing, the nerves the electrical system, etc... It’s always been an easy comparison to make when explaining to a client what’s going wrong with their body.

But there is a flaw to this comparison that can get kind of psychological. When something goes wrong with a machine, we will say that it’s broken, and that it needs to be fixed. Your car tires wear down, they must be replaced. Your kitchen faucet starts dripping, it’s time to get out the tools and look like you know what you’re doing. If you don’t get the thing fixed, then the problem will remain forever.

Our bodies are different, though. They actually adapt to the strains gradually placed on them by becoming more resilient and robust. Imagine if the more you drove your car, the thicker your tire tread got, the stronger the engine. Your two wheel drive becomes a 4WD. How much would you pay for a vehicle like that? Well, you already own one!

But there is a catch: you have to treat your vehicle properly, and that’s where most of us run into problems.

Just like sunlight and water are essential to grow a garden, it can be destroyed by overwatering or getting burnt in excess sunlight. There must be proper balance. In that same way our bodies can be overworked or taxed to the point of injury. Overusing one area while underusing others creates imbalances that lead to aches and pains, and eventual breakdowns if left unaddressed.

When those breakdowns occur it can be easy to fall into the thought that whatever is broken is broken for good. There are people who sustained a back injury years ago who now have identified as someone who has a “bad back”. This mindset is counterproductive to the fact that your resilient body can recover from almost anything when given the right environment and guidance. Change the behavior that is creating the imbalance, and balance can be restored. Does that mean surgical intervention is never needed? Of course not. All tissue has its limits, but the point here is if you haven’t reached those limits, it’s not too late to reverse course and correct the problem, let your body heal the right way.

There is a science and an art form to properly guiding your body into becoming the resilient machine it was designed to be. Our job is to catch these little problems before they become bigger ones. We want to let your amazing machine be more like a garden, responding to the right amount of stress and nutrients by growing better and stronger. Instead of being afraid to use your body for fear of it “wearing out”, we want to change that mindset into one that makes you want to use it, and keep using it for as long as you can.

That’s what we’re all about at Forge.

If you have been dealing with a problem that has been making you feel like a broken down machine, give us a call and see if we can help guide you toward a more resilient recovery.

Be the Garden. 🪴