Every so often someone says something to me that penetrates deeply into my soul. One such case happened in the latter part of 2008.

I had been searching for a new chiropractor, someone I could trust, who knew their stuff inside-out and who was professional. After some time, research and high praises from friends/acquaintances I found exactly the person I was hoping for. I found Dr. Guo; he is a chiropractor & acupuncturist with a strong belief in Chinese medicine – he was perfect for me.

During one session while he was placing his acupuncture needles in the exact spots for my particular issues we chatted. Something about holding tension due to trust, past emotional & physical pain & trauma, etc. he said two final words to me before leaving the room; “stand tall”. He left me there for the usual 25 minutes with soothing music, heat lamps and the acupuncture needles towering but gently resting just below my skin.

Stand Tall. My mind was filled with thoughts of stand tall. My posture? My emotions? My attitude? Stand tall. There are so many ways I can stand tall; there are so many areas I need to stand tall in. I closed my eyes, I rested for the full 25 minutes with his gentle words replaying in my mind…stand tall.

Upon leaving his office that day I went through the next two weeks repeatedly hearing his voice telling me to stand tall. I stood tall, I kept my posture in check, I kept my self-confidence in higher esteem, I was reminded in nearly every situation to stand tall. Emotionally and physically, I stood tall.

Two weeks later I returned to Dr. Guo’s office for my next treatment session. He went about his work while he asked how I was doing. I told him that just two simple words that he spoke to me last time hit me strongly in a positive way. I told him that I took his words “stand tall” in two ways, physically and emotionally, and that they made a positive impact on me and how I saw myself; he responded, “I meant them in two ways”.

Since then, those words have stayed with me. His advice was powerful. He often said things that I thought of as profound, but those two words were the most powerful for me at that time. I will forever remember and be thankful for Dr. Guo and his deep-rooted wisdom.

Let me state that the only reason I no longer see Dr. Guo is because I moved an hour and a half away from his office which I was traveling to for about 6 months after moving but it got to be too much and so I found a local chiropractic office.