Smart Athlete Podcast Ep. 8 - Rebekah Aldridge - BIO GEOMETRIC INTEGRATION - Part 1 of 3

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There's times where you go out for a run and you feel like your body has failed you. And I went to a stage where I just hated my body because I felt like it was almost like betraying me. And you just have to get to a point and of course, the people, God put people in my path that were able to mentor me and encouraged me and provide light that I couldn't see on my own. And just come to know that the body does things to help you to save you from yourself, almost. This episode of the Smart Athlete podcast is brought to you by Solpri, Skincare for Athletes. Whether you're in the gym, on the mats on the road or in the pool, we protect your skin so you're more comfortable in your own body. To learn more, go to Solpri.com. JESSE: On today's episode of the sport athletes podcast, my guest is a former collegiate runner for division one school. She was on track to be a Registered Dietitian and made a large jump and is now a Doctor of Chiropractic medicine. Welcome to the show today, Rebekah Aldridge. REBEKAH: Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be on it. JESSE: So, we were kind of talking a little bit before the show the that you ran in college, obviously, like I just said, and had been off for a little while. Can you share a little bit about your experience as a collegiate runner and kind of what went on that led to this break? REBEKAH: Oh, yeah. I mean, I love running like I still love running, super passionate about it. Being a collegiate runner. I think I overdid it a little bit, stressed the body a lot. I mean, I ran what I was told and then I did extra on the side, like a lot of swimming and biking on top of the running, which put a lot of stress on the body. I never got like physically injured but at the beginning of senior year, the end of June -- No, beginning of senior year, my performance just started decreasing. It just became really, really hard to run. And we thought it was like mano or something. But then I got my blood tested and it was thyroid issues. And then soon after that, I got shingles. So, shingles is like chicken pox, but times 10. JESSE: Yeah, chicken pox for adults. REBEKAH: Yeah. And it was like all on my face and like on the roof of my mouth. And that just like really fatigued my body. So, I think I redshirted -- I redshirted indoor track to or at least cut it short, I'm not sure. And then outdoor track. So, that just kind of halted things and it never got any easier to run after a while. And so I was on the track to be dietitian and then during that time, I -- Of course, whenever your health falls apart like that you're a bit distraught and especially, being a runner, like runners -- I mean, you have to love what you do to run so many miles. But it was my tragedy and I met-- Medical doctors couldn't really explain like, of course, you want to know why, like why is this happening? And a chiropractor explained it to me in a way that really made sense. Talking about the nervous system and how all the nerves in your spine, they go to different organs. I mean, right now, it's like the more I learned, the more I'm like, wow, it's so complex, like the body's amazing. But that was like, wow, he gave me hope. And I just clung to that hope that my body could heal, and he just kept on reinforcing that your body can heal. And I mean, granted, it took a while. But with that, I discovered a love for Chiropractic and I decided to go to chiropractic school. And I continued my healing journey through chiropractic school, ran into some functional medicine, and that helped a lot to address the nutritional deficiencies. And then I ran into what I have taken and sort of ran with, it's called a bio geometric integration. And it's a sort of, it's a way of viewing the body. And they explained things in a way that made an incredible sense. And it looks at the body and how the body can store past traumas, whether it be physical, chemical, or emotional, and how all of those three things, both the physical component, the chemical, and the emotional can cause disease in essence. And that by releasing those and figuring out what those are, can help encourage healing. And so that was one of the things that after discovering that in chiropractic school, I sort of ran with it, and it's provided a lot of insight and, and hope and healing. JESSE: So, we got a lot to unpack there. You have a pretty long story. REBEKAH: Yeah. Sorry, ?? 6:32> JESSE: Yeah. So, I kind of want to go back a little bit to college. And I guess if you're like me and I think most runners at that level, and probably you especially since you're overachieving, how do you deal with the kind of identity shift, like I think about -- There's an entrepreneur that talks about how runners run because that's our identity. Like it's not a matter of discipline, like it's what we do. So, when you're unable to do that anymore, or at least for the time being, do you remember how you dealt with that or what you kind of went through? REBEKAH: Yeah. So, it's tough because you want to cling to it. And there's times where you go out for a run and you feel like your body has failed you. And I went to a stage where I just hated my body because I felt like it was almost like betraying me. And you just have to get to a point and of course, the people, God put people in my path that were able to mentor me and encouraged me and provide light that I couldn't see on my own. And just come to know that the body does things to help you to save you from yourself, almost. So, even if it seems tragic, or it's holding you back, it's really doing something to help you, to protect you from yourself a lot of times, and that's what it was doing for me. I mean, I think if I would have kept running, I would have just ran and ran and ran and something else would have happened. And also, it forced me to draw close to God, and kind of seek Him for comfort whenever. Because a lot of times running serves as a strategy to run away from issues or almost your own thoughts. And so instead of running away, I started focusing more on God, and really developed my connection with Him and spirituality, I guess. So, I mean, it is hard, but get through it. JESSE: Yeah. See if I can remember. So, you're talking about the body is kind of like its own line of defense against you. I'm always kind of interested in the mind body connection. And this kind of interplay between what we're doing physically and in the mind and what you may even call the spirit, there's kind of intermingling there. So, I kind of talked about this, in another interview I did earlier this week with a gentleman named Chris Douglas. He went through a race and it was a triathlon, he pushed himself so hard that he passed out and had there not been aid available to him, like he could have ended up dying. So, there's always a struggle, which you're very familiar with about the body telling you to stop when you're running, or when you talk to people that are new to running, they're like trying to figure out how to deal with that voice in their head that says, stop. And then you and I both know how to kind of negotiate that and work hard. So, I'm kind of curious if you have an opinion on, you know, having been on the other side, where your body's just put the brakes on you, regardless of what you wanted. Do you think there's a good way to find a balance between pushing the line and not falling over the line? Do you know what I mean? REBEKAH: Yeah. Yes, I do. Yeah. So, that really, it takes a lot of practice and being okay with what your body says. Because there I mean, we are mind, body, and spirit like we are. There's three components to us, you have your mind, your body, and your spirit. And your mind, there's different thoughts. So, that's an interesting question that you brought up. So, there's thoughts that are almost limiting and thoughts that are lies. And it's really hard to identify those lies unless you know the truth that you can focus on. And you practice, I mean, we practice this in running too. And then there's your body that you listen to your body, but your thoughts will improve into your body as well. So, finding that balance, it takes a lot of practice and a willingness to listen to what your body is saying and to what your thoughts are saying. And taking time to match those. Does that make sense at all? JESSE: Yeah, I think I'm with you. I think the struggle for me, and probably hopefully, for other people is like how do you deal with discerning what voice to listen to? You know what I mean? When you have these competing ideas, you have the ego that says, you know, I want to go faster, and the very literal physical response of lactic acid build up, and then that corresponding voice, it says no, we don't need to go quite that fast. And there's this there's competition and then all the other things that are at play. People that maybe have -- I have this theory about, which you kind of touched on a little bit like this theory about people that have trauma or something that they're running away from, often end up in running because it's a way to cope. So, it's like you have all these competing voices and to me, I guess I'm after like, if you have any insight or thoughts on, is there a way to discern that? Is there any way to kind of feel out what the clarity like what the true thought is within your mind, at least in your own experience? REBEKAH: Okay. So, to figure out the clarity in your own mind, all right. For me, that that involves prayer because that is the truth. Whenever it comes from God, that is the truth, and that will override the thoughts. And sort of knowing the obsessive type behavior, and if you feel horrible about yourself for not doing something, then it's probably something that you need to disconnect from innocence. So, if you beat yourself up for missing a run, that's not a good thing, that means that you're overdoing it. But during a race or workout, I mean, that's really tough because you want to keep pushing. And, of course, if you're running with other team members, then you're going to be competitive. And I think that's really good and I guess, there isn't really a clear answer because it's different for everyone. So, it's more of a trial and error, I suppose. Go to Part 2 Go to Part 3