Inside Out

Do you find it amazing that right now, without even thinking about it, your heart is beating, your lungs are breathing, your food is digesting, your liver is filtering your blood, your temperature and blood pressure are being regulated, and you are making brand new skin cells, kidney cells and muscle cells from the food you ate just a few hours ago? I do.

In fact, after 30 years of studying the human body, I am more amazed than ever at the intricate detail with which we are designed. We have an innate/inborn intelligence that runs the show without us even thinking about it!

I have heard this innate intelligence called many things. Some call it Mother Nature. Some call it Chi. Some call it Prana. I have heard it called the life force or the vital force, and chiropractors call it innate intelligence.

For the purposes of simplicity, I’ll just call it LIFE. Regardless of what you call it, we need to recognize that there is an intelligence that runs our body whose power exceeds our understanding.

Right now this LIFE is controlling and coordinating everything! Your heart will beat around 100,000 times today. You will breathe 15 breaths per minute. Your body temperature will stay around 37 degrees Celsius, and your blood pH level will maintain at 7.4. You will make 200 billion new red blood cells and 400 billion new platelets today. You will make brand new kidney cells, heart cells, stomach cells and toenails from the foods you ate yesterday! Amazing!

To that end, I believe that a true heath care service must be directed at helping the patient put that inner intelligence to work so that they can heal from the inside out.

When first introduced to this idea, it seems that most everyone agrees with this principle. It seems self-explanatory. It resonates with them. In fact, it seems naturally obvious.

However, it is the application of this principle that most people have difficulty accomplishing.

Let’s simplify it by looking at a plant.

It seems that everyone can see perfection in a plant. I want you to think about a simple plant that sits on your windowsill.

When I speak to groups around the world about health, I often ask this question: “When you observe a plant that is wilting, what questions automatically come to your mind?”

The answers are always the same:

“Is it getting enough water?”
“Is it getting enough sunlight?”
“Is it protected from environmental stress – abnormal temperatures or wind?”
“Is the soil healthy?”

Are those what came to mind for you too?
Do those questions make sense to you?
I bet they do!

We all automatically see the perfection in the plant. We automatically know that a plant has the innate ability to bounce back, and that healthy is its normal state. That plants are, in fact, designed to be healthy.

The LIFE in the plant is always perfect if the fundamental needs of the plant are met.

If a plant has wilting leaves, we don’t automatically look for some abstract diagnostic name or label that has nothing to do with the main underlying cause. We don’t look at a wilting plant and try to figure out if it’s “wilty leaf-itis,” or some other name that merely just describes the symptom.

No! Our thought process goes directly to the fundamental needs, because of our belief that tells us that the plant already has the ability to be perfect.

We innately know that LIFE loves LIFE.

This understanding of health can actually be applied to all living things. LIFE always strives towards health and balance. But, LIFE also has fundamental underlying requirements. If these are not met, the consequences are enormous. If these are met, LIFE gets to flourish.

The solution to help a wilting plant is so obvious to people. You simply address whichever of the fundamental needs are not being met. You add water, change the soil, or alter the amount of sunlight or temperature accordingly. Simple!

Let me repeat: you address whichever of the fundamental needs are not being met!

But, and this is a huge BUT; why don’t we see ourselves in the same way? Our society tends to complicate this principle when it comes to human health.

Why, when a person is not healthy, do we ask questions such as:

“What is it?”
“What do we call it?”
“How do I get rid of it?”

Many years ago healthcare stopped being about addressing fundamental needs. We started to address the symptoms instead of the underlying cause. We started to do ‘patch work’ when it came to health. This type of thinking about health has led us on a slippery slope.

So, how do you apply it to your life and your body?

Well, it starts by remembering that the human body has four fundamental requirements for survival.

These are 1. water, 2. air, 3. food, and 4. LIFE. Without any one of these, the human body cannot survive.

They say that you can live several weeks without food, days without water, minutes without air, and just milliseconds without LIFE. In medical analysis, LIFE is measured by brainwave activity.

They even have names for them, 3 of which I am sure you are familiar with, and one that I need to introduce you to.

A lack of water is called dehydration.
A lack of air is called suffocation.
A lack of nutrition is called malnutrition.
A lack of LIFE is called subluxation.

Subluxation is a chiropractic term describing interference to the normal flow of LIFE in the body.

When I examine a patient, I want to know one simple thing: is there any way that I can help this person’s body work closer to the way it was designed to in the first place. I’m not trying to find out how to make them just feel better; we need to get them to HEAL better.

I look at the requirements of the body, and find out which of the fundamental needs are not being met. As a health educator, I often address the first three, suggesting plenty of water, plenty of exercise, and proper nutrition. Of course anyone making a change in one of these three areas will have some health benefits. Most often, people can do this all on their own.

My job as a chiropractor is the last one. Assessing for any interference in the flow of LIFE in the body.

You have this amazing brain that comes with its own built-in helmet; the skull. Why do you suppose that God would protect the entire brain in bone? Because, this is where LIFE flows from in the body. If your brain dies, the rest of you will die. There isn’t anything within the realm of the human experience that doesn’t involve the brain. So, it is logical to encase the entire brain in a protective layer of bone.

LIFE flows from the brain to the body, and vice versa, through the spinal cord, and 33 pairs of nerves. This operates exactly like an internal internet system, where the brain sends messages out the nerves to all the different parts. You may have learned this in school – but some of us are farther away from school age than others!

Like the brain, the spinal cord is critically important, which is why you were designed with a series of special bones stacked on top of one another with a continuous hole down the middle where the spinal cord sits. These spinal bones, called vertebrae, are there to protect that very delicate spinal cord.

In a normal circumstance, the LIFE flows between the brain and body via the spinal cord and nerves at all times. Normal communication results in the creation of health. If there is an interference to this connection, our body begins a predictable breakdown pattern.

If you have pressure on the nerves disturbing the flow of LIFE for an extended period of time, the body will make the transition from DIS-EASE to full on DISEASE.

Here is a simple illustration. I want you to grab and squeeze your left index finger with your right hand. Notice that there is an instant change in the color of the tip of your finger. Now, I want you to hold this for five minutes.

Can you imagine that after 5 minutes this may begin to be uncomfortable? The tip of your finger would turn dark red, maybe even purple in that time period. Welcome to the state of DIS-EASE. The finger isn’t working perfectly, but it’s definitely still bearable and is not damaged long term.

Now, hold it for 3 more months. Well maybe you shouldn’t try that at home. In fact, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! 🙂

But, can you imagine that after 3 months of blockage, that there would be even more damage? The fingernail would turn dark purple, then black, and eventually fall off. It would become more susceptible to disease, and the symptoms of this process would likely increase. Welcome to the state of DISEASE.

The only difference between a lack of EASE (dis-ease) and complete DISEASE is TIME! It’s actually the same problem, but has become chronic. We want to free people from ever experiencing the effects of chronic subluxation.

Since many people don’t take care of themselves until it hurts, many of them show up in our office in a health crisis thinking that the problem has just begun. Not true! They bend over to pick up a shoe and their lower back “goes out.” They believe that one event caused the damage.

You must understand that the simple process of just bending over is not enough to break down a grown man’s back; but rather is the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

It’s that one extra stress that the body simply couldn’t handle, because it has ALREADY been in a state of DIS-EASE for a period of time. For us to get and stay healthy, it is critical to deal with body imbalances BEFORE they enter the disease state.

This makes sense to people; they just don’t know how to do it!

A specific chiropractic adjustment is designed to remove any subluxation in the spine; to remove all interference to the flow of LIFE. Regular chiropractic adjustments will keep you free of interference throughout your lifetime.

Find a chiropractor that resonates with you. There are chiropractors with all kinds of techniques, approaches and strategies.
And, no single doctor is perfect for everyone. We know this.
Just find one that resonates with you and your beliefs about health. Then hire them to help take care of you and your family’s health. You’ll be glad you did.

To help you find a chiropractor, in the comments below I will put a link to a google search of all chiropractic clinics in our area.

Don’t forget that you are amazing.
You are designed with perfection.
You are designed to enjoy health in abundance.
You are designed to enjoy LIFE!
Get out there and do it!

I hope you have a wonderful day.
Dr. Wendy Coburn
One Village Chiropractic

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