What Is Chiropractic Anyway?

The best advice I ever received about writing was to say to myself, Tomorrow at 8AM I will be creative. This philosophy is a far cry from the one of waiting for inspiration in a sea of procrastination, and only then acting upon it instead of just initiating the creative process oneself. This being said, the following thoughts came to me at 11AM today whilst scrubbing the shower floor.

The dilemma I face as a Caucasian male, from a Western upbringing, moving in a typical Western society, is that there's not much East. As plain as that can be said. Point in case: For some ancient reason, speaking generally, Eastern mindsets don't need to be convinced of the innate powers their bodies draw on from moment to moment; of the energy that pulses through their fibres; of the vitalistic mysticism that makes us who we are. It just is. And that chiropractic works because of this vitalism - that we express more than the sum of our parts. Why Westerners need to be sold the idea of better living boggles my mind each and every day. Is it normal for people just to accept this is as good as it gets? I think I left that station a few years ago.

East meets West at the isthmus of Functional Philosophy. There are certain things you feel, experience and act on, without having an intimate understanding of the details. In a world where people demand facts, figures and statistics, each decision is still made based on how one feels. Sometimes these feelings are not just cerebral but manifest physiologically. Name a few? Stage fright, butterflies, a lump in the throat or a weight on your chest.

Plexus is the Latin word for network. Used anatomically for describing a network of interconnecting structures. In this case, nerve clusters. In the style of true Western reduction, we're taught... two: The brachial plexus and lumbar plexus. One for the arms and one for the legs. Makes sense. We're just arms and legs attached to a spine anyway. What more could there possibly be? Um, let Dr. Gray introduce you to the cervical plexus, pharyngeal plexus, bronchial plexus, cardiac plexus, oesophogeal plexus, coronary plexus, gastric plexus, celiac plexus, aortic plexus, inferior mesenteric plexus, hypogastric plexus...

Meridians are said to be the pathways of positive and negative energy, which carries some of the communication between the various parts of the human being. When energy flows freely through the meridians, the body is balanced and healthy. If the energy becomes blocked, stagnated or weakened, it can result in physical, mental or emotional ill health. But in no way am I saying nerve plexuses equal meridians. I'm purely offering another depth to dig to in the musculoskeletal paradigm us Westerners have come to embrace so dearly, bless us. Information exchange is so much more than blinking action potentials along strings of nerves. The somatic feelings we experience could be nodal points where confluences of neuropeptides, hormones, sound, vibration, light and electrical activity all converge to a pre-decision precipice before you buy or sell, quit your job or decide to get married. Lawdy, I sound like Tony Robbins. I should don the head microphone and Hi-Five you all. It's even postulated there are cilia (tiny hair-like structures) in the cavities of our brains, called ventricles, that move in wave-like motions capturing photons of light, processing it as information in a mode similar to fibre optics. This means speed, dude. A quantum viewpoint that makes a lot more sense when considering how fast our bodies compute every minute action. Seriously, think about how fast things have to work inside of you to achieve the things you do without even realising.

Today is a day you can start to appreciate how densely intricate you are. So much more than bones on an x ray. Appreciate how little we know, for the universe within is as great as the universe without. Every feeling, and hence decision, is not a product of your mind, but a product of your mindbody. Everything needs to be in harmony.