Shine Chiropractic

04/02/2024

Today I pressed pause in my professional life as I closed the doors to Shine Chiropractic for the last time (in Malvern… hopefully not forever)

This pause is to shift focus to our growing family as many exciting transitions are occurring for us this year!
I am intending to share my journey this time around to provide tips/tricks from a holistic perspective.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the women who trusted me to care for you & your families at such an intimate part of your life. It was such an honor!

06/17/2023

🗣️ Please share!

I am coordinating the upcoming CFT Infant training taught by Kim Sherlock & Holly Steflik

We are looking for infants to participate in the training sessions.
• infants must be pre-crawling at the time of the training
• able to attend 1-4 one-hour sessions over the course of the training
• will receive no-cost CFT treatment by those attending the training, under the supervision of Kim & Holly

Craniosacral fascial therapy (CFT) is a very gentle, but effective therapy that helps to release tension in the body’s fascial system. Every infant can benefit from CFT, but particularly those that
~ experienced any birth trauma
~ malpositioned in utero
~ oral ties (lip or tongue), revised or not
~ torticollis, head preference
~ any feeding difficulties
~ general tightness

CFT was the one thing that really turned my breastfeeding journey with my son around. We saw changes after the first session and a dramatic improvement after the second.
Babies have tension too & CFT is a tremendous tool to help release it.

Parents: Please reach out to me via email or text if you are interested in having your child participate
Practitioners: if you have a babe you think could benefit from CFT, please share my info with their parents

I am happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also visit
www.gillespieapproach.com
www.craniosacralfascialtherapy.com

01/04/2023

I’m not crying… ♥️

Mama,

I can’t see past you right now, I’m so small and everything’s a little blurry.

All I see is you.

When you feel alone, like the walls are closing in, remember I’m here too. I know your world has changed and the days feel a little lonely. But they aren’t lonely for me.

You are my everything.

When you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re making it look easy to me. Even though we’re still getting to know each other, you know me better than anyone.

I trust you.

When you think some nights you’ll never sleep again, you will. We both will. But I’m scared right now. I promise I’m not manipulating you. I just need your smell and comfort. Do you feel that tug in your heart when we’re apart? I do too.

I miss you.

When you feel as if you’ve achieved nothing, please know, my cup has never been so full. 
The days that get away on you will be some of my best memories of us playing together on the ground.

I love you.

When you feel like you don’t know who you are anymore, when you turn away from the mirror. That face will be the one I look to when I achieve something, the one I search for in a crowd. The reason for my first smile.

You’re perfect to me.

When you feel like the weight of it all is heavy in your heart, please know I’ve never felt lighter. Can I lay here with you a little longer?

I won’t always need you like this.

But I need you right now.

When you feel as if you have nothing left to give, when I see your hands outstretched at me, pleading. When we’re both crying. I wish I could talk, but I can’t.

If I could I would tell you,

There’s a reason I chose you.

I can’t see past you right now mama,
because you are my world.
It will get bigger, soon enough.

But for now,
All I see is you..........................

Beautiful words I can’t get enough of by 📷:  ✨ 

12/22/2022

🙌🏼

When you feel like you've achieved nothing all day...

- https://www.instagram.com/4am_doodles/

☀️🌷 Our stunning Issue 48 is out now, full of inspiration, tips, advice and real-life experiences to guide you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and motherhood. You can pick up a copy from your local Countdown or selected stockists in NZ, from your local newsagent in Australia, or from WH Smith High Street stores, selected Waitrose & Partners and independent bookstores across the UK!! Plus, it’s available to purchase locally and internationally online: https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine/

12/02/2022

Baby wearing- one of our favorite ways to bond!

He feels safe enough to drift off to sleep. I can only imagine this reminds him of his time before his birth- wrapped up, warm & secure, hearing the sound of my heart beat.

It’s never too early to wear your little one (as long as it’s done in a safe manner).

is also a great way for dads to bond with their kiddos, help your little one regulate their nervous system, & counts towards
•
•

11/29/2022

This 👇🏼
You cannot spoil babies & babies are not manipulative. Babies were meant to be held & nurtured.
Dependence fosters independence.

"Did you know that human babies are the most vulnerable, contact dependent, slowest developing social mammal on the planet?

Compared to other mammals, the human brain is tiny at birth; a mere 25% of its ultimate adult size.

Animals born into hostile environments tend to have larger infant brains to help them survive. Zebras, for example, need to be able to run with the herd just hours after birth – their relatively mature brains help them run and respond when a lion appears.

But, mother nature always has a survival strategy. So, what is the survival strategy for human babies? Easy. Mum and Dad. Without their parents, they couldn’t survive and so much of their behaviour is designed to keep us close most, if not all the time.

So, we need to give babies enormous amounts of love, touch and attention to allow them to thrive, not just survive, both day and night. And we should feel good about it - it’s what we’re instinctively driven to do. Despite what our society may say it’s biologically impossible to spoil a baby with love.

The first 3 years of life represent the most rapid period of brain development in our children’s lifetime. In the first 1000 days of life, a staggering 1M neural connections are made each second. These connections determine what kind of brain your baby grows. A brain that is balanced, stable, and resilient to stress. Or a brain that is unbalanced, over reactive and struggles to cope with stress.

While genetics provides a blueprint for brain development, it’s a child’s environment and their experiences that carry out the construction, forming the essential wiring of the brain. Repeated use of particular pathways strengthens individual connections.

Neural connections in the brain are vital in developing emotional regulation abilities. This is why it’s critical that we provide our children with experiences that contribute to healthy brain development.

So hug your baby, pick them up, hold them, nurture them, be with them.”

words 💛
artwork: 💜

11/28/2022

I have spoken this phrase many times to women navigating breastfeeding difficulties.

Yet, when it came to my journey, why did I not believe it? I thought feeding my son exclusively from my body was going to be easy. Wrong. It has been the most challenging part of motherhood thus far.

I have wrestled with all the feels- guilt, shame, frustration, sadness- how could my body create a human being, but not feed it adequately?
I have since surrendered, put ego and expectations aside, asked for help from multiple providers & am navigating our path one day at a time.

If this is you, please find solace in knowing it is okay to have difficulties. It does not make you any less of a mother. It does not decrease your worth.

Do not go at this alone. It takes a village. Truly.

If your goal is to continue breastfeeding, seek out help from practitioners that having special training in this realm. Depending on the root cause of the issue, ideas of providers may be:
IBCLCs
Chiropractor
Physical Therapist
Occupational Therapist
Craniofascial Therapist (CFT)
Craniosacral Therapist (CSF)
Acupuncturist
Homeopath
Naturopath
Herbologist

I see you mama. Please know you are the perfect mom for your little one.

•
•

11/18/2022

I believe our children choose us or are chosen specifically for us & help to teach us valuable lessons.
My first lesson- surrender
Surrender all expectations for self, for the day.
Let go of how I think things should be & enjoy the beauty of what is.
Things will not go as planned, things will not be perfect, but they will be perfectly imperfect & they will be magical.

what has your little one taught you?

11/11/2022

Its a BOY! I can’t believe it has been 6 weeks of loving on our Teddy.
Theodore was born on 9/28 at Lifecycle. Our care there was absolutely exceptional & I’ll be sharing our birth story soon.
For now, we’ve been enjoying getting to know each other, our contact naps & walks in our wrap.

12/28/2021

As Omicron is set to affect virtually everyone across the globe, regardless of vaccination status, receipt of booster, or prior infection - the FEAR that has driven personal and policy decisions over the past 2 years must STOP. And that begins with acknowledging the accumulating evidence that while Omicron is clearly more transmissible & able to evade vaccines, booster, natural immunity & monoclonal antibodies - it is NOT more serious.

As we see increases in child Omicron cases - the RATE of hospitalizations & death remain stable compared with prior strains. For children:
✨Hospitalization rates are still 0.8%
✨Death rates are still 0.01% (every death is one too many, but we need to know the numbers to make sound public health policy)
✨MIS-C remains rare
✨These numbers hold true for Omicron, Delta, Beta, Alpha, etc…
(https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/ -national-surveillance)

Data out of South Africa show that Omicron has LOWER hospitalization rates than Delta & Beta. Hospitalization rates were noted as follows:
✨Omicron: 38 per 1000
✨Delta 101 per 1000
✨Beta: 131 per 1000
(https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/14/world/africa/omicron-south-africa-study.html

A global meta-analysis of 77 studies found that 40-54% of people with SARS-CoV-2 infection are ASYMPTOMATIC. Which may be good or bad news depending on how you look at it. But however you look at it - if you get infected with SARS-CoV-2, there’s a 50/50 chance that you will have NO symptoms.
(https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2787098)

I am not in any way minimizing the gravity of how serious COVID can be for some. But 2 years into the pandemic, we need to move out of the uncertainty of 2020 & the fear of 2021, and step into 2022 with a calm plan.

And that starts with acknowledging that getting INFECTED is NOT the same as being sick.

Having a positive test should not invoke panic, fear, guilt or shame. Don’t be cavalier. But don’t feel helpless.

💥Knowledge is Power💥

Stay tuned for more tools to stay calm & confident in 2022.

xo Elisa Song, MD💕

10/07/2021

I LOVE my littles 💕
Karen is right, chiropractic is a safe option for many complaints in both the perinatal and newborn phases. One of my greatest joys is caring for a mother during her pregnancy & then helping her little adjust to life outside the womb.

I love to spread the word about chiropractic care in pregnancy for comfort and creating space and balance to help babies better navigate the pelvis.

Chiropractic care is also beneficial for babies for many issues including:

-Latch
-Torticollis
-Digestive Issues
-Sleep Issues

It is gentle and effective. This baby is lying on her mama as she receives treatment to help with torticollis.

One of my favorite chiropractors is Dr. Kayla of in Malvern. She also sees patients at in Wayne and .well.fit in Bucks County.

Check out to find a pregnancy or pediatric chiropractor near you.

10/05/2021

3 years in the making...
3 years of postdoctoral classes, testing, research paper publication, & more testing.

Over 360 lecture/technique hours dedicated to pregnancy, birth, infancy, toddler, preschool, and adolescent periods. Many more hours spent gaining competency in evaluating, diagnosing, assessing, and treating these special populations.

Yes, many chiropractors treat children and pregnant women. However, few understand that babies ARE NOT "mini-adults" or that a pregnant woman IS NOT the same as her pre-pregnant self.

That's where I come in. I am here to adequately serve these populations within the community, filling the gap between life's transitions.

09/30/2021

📣 Beginning NEXT Wednesday, October 6th, I will begin seeing prenatal, postpartum, and pediatric patients in my husband's office which is located within .well.fit in Fallsington/Levittown.

I am so excited for this opportunity to provide an affordable care option to lower Buck's families!

This also means collaborating with new providers in the perinatal, birthing, postpartum, family realm 🙌🏼
Who are your favorite:
Doulas
OB/midwives
Birthing class instructors
Pelvic floor PTs/OTs
Lactation consultants
Mental Health providers
Fitness instructors
Pediatric dentists
Pediatric PTs/OTs
.. Comment below or please DM me!

You can schedule for this location online at shinechiropa.janeapp.com -just be sure to select the Buck's county location ☺️

09/30/2021

Our bodies are designed to handle small loads of chemical stressors (toxins). However, when products are used every day, sometimes multiple times a day, this can have accumulating effects, putting undo stress on our body.

Bioaccumulation can wreak havoc on multiple systems of the body, from our endocrine system, nervous system, & integumentary system.

That's why it is so important to read labels- ditching and switching the products you use most frequently, eating as much organic and whole foods as possible, and limiting alcohol, sugars, and drugs.

More on this another time...

What are some products you use everyday that you may need to switch out?

09/29/2021

Macro traumas - motor vehicle accidents, sporting injuries, broken bones, etc.

Micro traumas - poor posture, repetitive postures, repetitive movements
e.g always turning and leaning down to pick up an item in the same direction every day and never changing your pattern
& athletes such as baseball pitchers who use the same motion each time they throw

Both micro & macro traumas cause an imbalance in muscles, a dysfunction of the spine, and miscommunication of the nervous system.

Neither have to cause pain to be present.

Both can be and should be assessed by your chiropractor.

09/27/2021

Our thoughts can influence our nervous system, creating an imbalance in our sympathetic vs. parasympathetic tone.

What emotion(s) do most of your thoughts hold?

Emotional stress and negative thoughts which increase our sympathetic nervous system can compound to create stress that is felt in the body, presenting as pain. When you are in this heightened state you may feel more anxious, depressed, have a weakened immune system, and experience discomforts in your body.

When you are in a joyous state, your parasympathetics rise, making you feel more calm and at ease.

Adjustments of the spine help to restore balance to your nervous system. The sacrum and cranium alignment influence the parasympathetic nervous system whereas the sympathetics are influence by the thoracic spine.

Has your chiro addressed your emotional stress? How do you manage and gain control of your emotions?

09/24/2021

The 'Three T's' of Chiropractic &
the three main ways we experience stress:
emotional, physical, & chemical
aka
thoughts, traumas, & toxins.

We all experience stress at different times and for different reasons. When left unchecked and untreated, these factors can take a toll on our body, health, and immune system, showing up as a myriad of symptoms.

Most chiropractors take the time to understand why your bodily symptoms are presenting as they are. Is this a result of an injury? Is there an emotional stress component? Is your system overwhelmed and overloaded with chemical stress...

Where is most of your stress coming from? For most it is a combination of all three.

For optimal health we need to recognize our stressors & learn how to healthfully deal with them to create balance in our lives.