I can’t believe it’s complete! Together with my co-author Justin Chase, I’ve given birth to my first book! Crazy I know. Writing a book wasn’t even on my radar until Justin approached me with the idea after being personally amazed by the results of his first 6 months getting adjusted at Crossroads. I’ve seen few practice members as excited and thirsty for chiropractic knowledge as Justin. So here for my blog today is one of the early chapters from our book, Adjust Your Life: A Guide to Chiropractic.
For more information about the book, check it out on Facebook or you can order your copy on Amazon. As a special gift to practice members, this month you can receive a FREE copy of the book. Just stop by the front desk and tell us how chiropractic has given you a solid foundation for health!
CHAPTER III. THE MAKING OF A CHIROPRACTOR
Those I didn’t realize it at the time, Chiropractic chose me when I was very young. As a child, I made monthly visits to an old-time New England chiropractor with my parents. Initially I would just tag along and watch in amusement as my parents each mounted a noisy table, were pushed on in some sort of pattern, and then arose with joyful smiles and improved gaits.
One afternoon the doctor asked my mother’s permission to check my spine; he knew I had been suffering from ear infections for years, and that the recent installation of surgical tubes hadn’t resolved them. I was apprehensive about my first spinal alignment, but it wasn’t long before having my turn on the table became the routine. I remember leaving his office feeling a sense of relaxation, while somehow feeling more energetic and alive at the same time. I liked it, even though I couldn’t articulate why.
I didn’t notice that I wasn’t getting sick as often as I used to, nor did I notice that my usual earaches were no longer a bother. Sometimes it’s harder to notice what is not happening. When things get better, we often forget that there was ever a problem. Many years later, as a young adult, I finally connected the dots: my chronic ear infections became less frequent once I began getting adjusted.
With this newly realized connection, I decided that I wanted to help people like my parents alleviate their back pain naturally, and help kids like myself resolve their ear aches and ear infections. When I arrived at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa at age twenty, I was surprised to find that most other students had their own Chiropractic story of some variation.
There were quite a few former athletes who had recovered from injuries with the help of a chiropractor, and a handful of other young students felt Chiropractic care had helped them overcome childhood illnesses like my own. There were also those who were arriving for their second career in life; men and women in their thirties, forties and even fifties, willing to leave their comfortable lives, relocate their families to Iowa, endure thousands of hours of schooling and take huge educational debt, all in order to “give back” to a profession for helping restore their own health.
However, the most interesting group of students to me was the second- and third-generation chiropractors-to-be. They had lived differently than the rest of us, and had a unique way of looking at life. I spent many nights discussing, inquiring and listening to the wisdom that had been handed down to these special students from their parents and grandparents. Looking back, most us appear to have been called to chiropractic, with a greater purpose. We didn’t chose it, it chose us.
I had entered Chiropractic College thinking I would learn to help people solve their aches, pains, and chronic problems. But in actuality I left with a much broader understanding. I spent four thousand hours at University learning the intricate details of cellular function at the biochemical level, about organ physiology, microbiology and human pathologies.
By the end of my education, I understood that health comes from within. It comes from taking good care of your body, by giving it all of what it needs and none of what it doesn’t. The biggest “a-ha!” moment: realizing that each of us has a wisdom in our body. It is an inner intelligence that knows how to digest an apple and turn it into new cells, an inborn intelligence that knows how fast to make our heart beat, and how to heal our skin to close a paper cut. We have a wisdom that acts to preserve our body in all circumstances, and if we would recognize it, and honor it, we would all be better off.
Though my perspective changed as I learned more about the intricacies and capabilities of the human body, not every chiropractor leaves graduation a changed person. Many continue to see the Chiropractic adjustment as a modality, as pain reliever for low back and neck pain. The philosophical differences have created a wide divide within the profession. While each licensed chiropractor you may meet has a degree in Chiropractic, the vast majority will differ greatly in practice.
Chiropractic is a science, art, and a philosophy. Just as no two artists will create identical paintings and no two philosophers will see life through quite the same lens, every chiropractor will approach their art in their own unique style. As you come to a better understanding of the science of Chiropractic, you will be able to choose your practitioner wisely. You will begin to understand what you need, and will be able to find a practitioner who supports that.
Structure dictates function, in life as well as in your body. Without proper structure, there can’t be optimal function. This is the gem within Chiropractic – chiropractors create the best possible alignment of the bones that protect your brain and nervous system, allowing your master system to orchestrate and animate your body toward reaching its fullest potential.