Cycle of Life Chiropractic - Dr. Alexa Elniski

Cycle of Life Chiropractic - Dr. Alexa Elniski Guiding your body through grief & life’s initiations. Nervous system and body support for identity shifts. Birth, Newborn, & Grief Care
For life’s thresholds.

04/21/2026

Comment something you love about the person/people you have lost, and their name. ❤️‍🩹

I’ve been feeling lately like my Dad wants me to share more of his awesomeness, so I’ll go first:

👨🏻His name is Bruce. He loved Dad jokes, and used to say to my stepdaughter over face time: Hi, my name is Bruce. My favourite animal is a moose. My favourite bird is a goose. My favourite tree is a spruce.” He wouldn’t quit 😂

👨🏻From the time I was a teenager he told me on repeat: “One of the most important decisions you will make in your whole life is, who do I want to be the mother or father of my child?”.
The older I get the more I realize how right he is about that.

👨🏻He used to leave me long voice mails about nothing. Literally just narrating his drive home. It used to annoy me, now I miss it more than ever.

Saving more for part 2 ❤️

Now it’s your turn, tell me who you are missing and something about them 👇

Follow along for more grief support ♥️

04/20/2026

Yes, part of me feels guilty for daring to enjoy life while carrying grief this heavy.

But I don’t let that part run the show 100% if the time because it doesn’t actually help me or anyone I’ve lost to carry guilt.

Grief is love. Love is sharing understanding and joy and connection with others.
My dad isn’t physically here so it often feels like that love doesn’t have a place to land…

But in nature I feel that love more. Like he is closer.

When I take care of myself I feel better. Both for me and for what Dad would want.

It’s complicated and messy navigating grief, and you shouldn’t have to do it alone.

Comment “grief” and I’ll send you my free masterclass + grief meditation - you deserve to take good care of yourself ❤️‍🩹

04/16/2026

Comment “GRIEF” and I’ll send you my free masterclass son how to give grief an intentional container so your nervous system stays grounded through the storm.

Some nervous systems cry easily.
Some go numb quickly.
Some do both.

If you’re hypermobile 🙋‍♀️ your nervous system is wired for intense emotional access AND fast protective shutdown.

Many hypermobile women experience grief like this:

🤗 very open
🤗 very responsive
🤗 very relationally tuned

…until safety drops.

Then suddenly:

🫥containment
🫥numbness
🫥withdrawal

Here’s why:
Hypermobility is linked with differences in autonomic regulation and interoception (your brain’s awareness of what’s happening inside your body). That means emotions can feel stronger AND your system may protect itself faster when things become overwhelming or unsafe.

So if your grief sometimes looks like:

😭 Crying every 20 minutes for a while, then
🫥 feeling nothing for a while,

Your body is not “doing grief wrong”.

It’s pacing you.

Grief isn’t meant to flood your system without structure. It needs a container. A safe one.

Comment “GRIEF” and I’ll send you the grounding framework I teach patients for staying regulated while moving through loss. ❤️‍🩹

04/10/2026

Comment “grief” and I’ll send you my free grief container so it doesn’t take over your life ❤️‍🩹

1️⃣Time isn’t healing it - you’re getting better at living around it.

2️⃣ Feeling numb often happens right before physical symptoms start showing up.

3️⃣Grief is patient. You can’t sleep, drink, numb, or scroll your way out of it. It will wait.

4️⃣You’re not going insane. You’re not broken. Nothing is wrong with you. Our society rewards numbness and dissociation and doesn’t teach us how to grieve in a healthy way.

5️⃣Healing doesn’t mean forgetting or that you’ll stop missing them. It means you have made space for joy again.

❤️‍🩹 Grief can’t be rushed or swept under the rug. It needs attention and a safe container.

This is exactly what I teach in my masterclass: how to give it a small daily container to help that lingering grief find a place to land.

Then you can begin returning to your self and finding joy again.

Comment “grief” and I’ll send it your way. ♥️

04/08/2026

Boundaries start with yourself. Comment “grief” and I’ll send you the short practice that keeps me grounded when my inner griefstorm gets wild.

I lost my Dad last year which obliterated my tolerance for BS.

Psychologically, this makes a lot of sense.
Major grief reorganizes a person’s boundaries.

🛑 It doesn’t make people “colder.”
🔥 It makes them less willing to live misaligned lives! 🔥

When someone you love dies, your nervous system starts asking:
🤔 What ACTUALLY matters?
🧐 What am I pretending not to see?
🤨 Where am I spending my life energy?

Tolerance for old chronic patterns often drops FAST after that.

Not because you became harsher…

…because your time suddenly feels real. 🤯

This is why many relationships don’t survive grief; patience drops and so does tolerance for chronic relational strain.

Old patterns that used to stay swept under the rug are now in the spotlight.

Grief changes your identity…and even though it’s wildly uncomfortable IT IS NOT A BAD THING.

It’s an opportunity to step into your highest expression. ☀️

If you’re grieving and want help navigating this new territory, comment “grief” and I’ll send you my short masterclass on giving grief a container so you stay grounded and aligned with your best life.

Start setting boundaries to protect yourself loves. 🩵

04/06/2026

This time last year I would have told you how grateful I felt to still have both my parents in my 30s.
I truly did not take that for granted.

And I had no idea my Dad was anywhere near death.

One day he was planning to pick up a ham for Easter dinner after work.

The next day he was in the hospital fighting for his life.

He never got that Easter ham.

I used to be a woman with a strong paternal safety net.

My Dad always told me if life ever got hard, I could come home.
That his door was always open to me.
That if I truly needed something, he would do what he could to help me.

Losing him didn’t just change my life.

It changed me.

A piece of me died with him.

At first, that realization was almost unbearable.

Because you aren’t only grieving the person you lost.

You’re grieving the version of yourself who existed when they were still here.

I had to grieve the version of me who had two parents…and then step into a new identity against my will:

One with more responsibility.
One carrying more weight.
One who can cry at anytime if someone says the right (or wrong) thing.

Becoming aware of that was the first step.

Accepting it was the next.

And accepting it didn’t mean I was okay with it.

It just meant saying: “this is here. I will live with it.”

And somehow…this new version of me is still me.

Grief brought me closer to my family.
It opened new friendships.
It deepened existing ones.
It swept away relationships no longer meant for me.
It’s shaped new purpose.
It’s changed how I walk through the world.

👏 Grief 👏 is 👏 an 👏 initiation!

If grief is making you feel like you’re going insane right now…that’s often what initiation feels like at the beginning.

The first step is creating a gentle container where your grief has space to breathe.

Comment “grief” and I’ll walk you through that next step. 🩵

You don’t have to do this alone. 🤍 🌊

04/05/2026

1. 🦴 Joint pain (especially if you have hypermobility / autoimmune condition)

Grief increases cortisol. Studies show elevated glucocorticoids can reduce collagen production - affecting ligament stability, fascial tension, circulation through connective tissues, and joint comfort.

That can mean:
🤕 more cracking
🤕 more instability
🤕 more muscle fatigue
🤕 more pain with normal activity

🟢What helps:
Move gently.
Keep your body warm.
Lower workout expectations.
Let grief move when it’s safe - don’t squash it down.

Unprocessed stress keeps cortisol elevated longer.

2. ⌛️ Feeling like you suddenly aged faster.

Grief is an initiation and you will gain wisdom, whether you’re ready or not.

Reduced collagen production means you might notice more fine lines and wrinkles.

Collagen also supports joints, healing speed, posture, skin elasticity, and energy efficiency in movement.

During prolonged stress states, people often notice:
🤕 slower healing
🤕 more soreness
🤕 postural collapse
🤕 skin changes
🤕 fatigue after activity

🟢What helps:
Slow movement
Let grief move instead of pushing it down

And remember; aging is a privilege denied to many.
Wrinkles are earned tattoos ♥️

3. 👅 Taste changes + appetite changes

A bitter, sour, metallic taste in your mouth after loss is common.

Food may taste different.
Hunger may disappear - or increase.

🟢What helps:
Radical self-kindness with nutrition.

Even if that means:
“Girl dinner”
Simple meals
Comfort foods

Nourishment matters more than perfection right now.

4. 😴 Bone-deep fatigue

Your brain is processing massive change. Everything takes more energy right now.

Reduced collagen means muscles are working harder to stabilize your body.

🟢What helps:
Plan extra rest
Cancel plans if needed

This isn’t weakness. It’s repair work.

5. 🧠 Brain fog

Grief brain is real.

You’re not stupid or broken.
Your brain is rewiring.

A nervous system in survival mode prioritizes what’s in front of you. Not memory storage or planning.

🟢What helps:
Write things down
Use reminders
Lower expectations.

Comment “grief” and I’ll send you the intentional grief container that supported me when my self care stopped working.

04/05/2026

When things feel to heavy, the coast helps.

The first time I met the Oregon coast was with my Dad. He laughed with me on the shore, taking videos while I ran into the water like a kid who had discovered magic for the first time.

Since then, there hasn’t been a single anxiety wave, loss, or heartbreak I haven’t brought back here.

Easter last year was when I learned my Dad was dying.

And ever since then, my body keeps bringing me back to the coast.

There’s something about standing at the edge of something this big and powerful that makes grief feel more possible to hold.

I root my feet into the sand.
I give the waves what I can’t carry.
I feel so small…but part of something enormous and alive.

I feel Dad closer here.

As someone who grew up on the prairies, I never take for granted that I live close enough to come back whenever I need to.

🌀 The ocean creates life. It takes life. It reminds me I’m standing inside the cycle of both. 🌊

Where is the place that helps you feel small and held at the same time?

04/04/2026

Thought I could always text my Dad if things got tight.

Turns out that plan had an expiration date. 💀

04/03/2026

Grief can make you feel older, tighter, more unstable, irritable, numb, and alone than you used to be.

Because your nervous system is protecting you!!

There isn’t one “right” way to grieve.

Your brain only lets you process as much as it believes you can safely handle at a time.

Some dissociation is normal and necessary.

But there IS something beneficial from facing it head on:

When grief has space to move through your body early on, recovery often happens faster and more gently.

When my Dad was dying, I ran toward him.

I showed up.
I played music.
I sat with him.
I tried to make his last moments feel as loved as he deserved.

Throughout his dying process and for weeks after, I gave my grief a small container every morning, just a few minutes.

It improved my mood.
Helped me function.
Softened my anger.
Kept resentment from building in my body.
And made me feel more connected to Dad.

Eventually I started moving grief in small daily moments instead. I stared at:

Tree tops 🌲
Clouds ☁️
Sunsets 🌅
Memories of Dad ❤️

There was another path I could have taken:
Staying busy.
Staying distracted.
Staying numb.
Leaning into addictions.

But unprocessed grief often shows up physically as:

Tight muscles.
Joint pain.
Weight changes.
Faster wrinkles.
More gray hairs.
Exhaustion.
Disconnect from those you love.

👏 Grief 👏 is 👏 patient!

Giving it intentional space early, as soon as it’s safe, helps your body move from survival mode ➡️ grounded and connected sooner.
And back to normal aging.

Comment “grief” and I’ll send you the simple body-based practice I use to help move grief through my nervous system instead of storing it there. 💙

04/01/2026

After losing my Dad, my best friend, and two cats within months of each other…

I didn’t feel like myself anymore.

Not emotionally.

Not visually.

Not physically.

My hypermobile joints hurt and crack more.
My energy to workout was dwindling.
My posture changes.
And honestly? I felt like I aged 10 years in 2.

Turns out there is real science behind this.

Research shows elevated stress hormones (like cortisol and other glucocorticoids) can reduce collagen production by changing how fibroblasts behave in the body.

Less collagen support means:
🔴connective tissue weakens
🔴skin looks like it ages faster
🔴joints feel looser
🔴hypermobility (and chronic disease) symptoms increase
🔴 recovery takes longer.

Grief affects our biology.

Your nervous system is trying to protect you after loss - but if stress stays high for too long, your body pays the price.

The good news? You are not powerless here.

Cortisol is not the enemy, it’s what helps us survive dangerous moments.

It’s all about balance.

If we avoid grief instead of facing it and moving through it, the stress response stays stuck “on”.

Grounding yourself and giving yourself intentional space to grieve helps restore balance to your nervous system and hormones - and protects your connective tissue over time.

After everything I lost last year, I was forced to practice what I preach to my patients:

✨ If I can FEEL it, I can HEAL it. ✨ ❤️‍🩹

Aging is inevitable…but also a privilege.
My wrinkles are earned tattoos, babe.

But I AM committed to living fully in this body, and that means facing grief head-on instead of letting it build up and slowly hurt and age me.

Comment “grief” and I’ll send you my masterclass where I take you through exactly what helped me process compound loss in a way that supported my nervous system and body. 🌊

03/29/2026

Mr. Windy and Cedar Bear are such intuitive energetic healers and protectors. 💜 💜

The grief of losing my Dad and soul sis and two cats last year was the heaviest grief I’ve ever had to carry.

It’s made me so grateful to live with these zen healers. 💕

Cats purr vibrates at healing frequencies that improve chronic pain and emotional stress.

Cats can see into the ultraviolet spectrum - meaning they can see energies and spirits that are invisible to us.

Cats have boundaries and only share love and their healing powers when they feel the time is right.

Follow for more holistic healing tips around navigating grief 🐱 🐈 ❤️‍🩹

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Eugene, OR
97405

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