Network Chiropractic is a natural, holistic approach to health and well-being. It is a system which integrates various Chiropractic techniques and specific combinations of light touch, and its application is unique to each individual. When a gentle sustained contact is held at the appropriate location on the spine and at the appropriate time, persistent muscle patterns begin to release. The muscle spasms subside, releasing their hold on the spine and gentle adjustments are welcomed by the body as a non-traumatizing low force is applied.

We relate to our environment by what is known as the stress response. Our nervous system senses changes and responds by adapting the body to the situation at hand. Clearly, the role of the nervous system is to perceive energy demands in the now moment and to best adapt the organism to its ever changing environment. In this way, we can see that physical, chemical and emotional stresses are necessary for growth and development. Who you are is directly related to how you perceive stress and respond to it.

However, the nervous system is limited as to how much stress it can process at one time. When these limits are exceeded, the overwhelming stress spills over into the structural system where it may be stored and dealt with at a more appropriate time. This illustrates how, for example, posture is affected by memory and emotion which is locked into the musclature. These stresses may accumulate in the nervous system as "undigested events" which form blockages to the flow of energy. A prolonged blockage may lead to pain, discomfort and dis-ease. Most of us have such blockages, created through the misuse and disuse of our bodies as well as through numerous physical and emotional traumas we experience in our lives. While we are young, we do not notice most of these blockages. But, as we age, the aches and pains of our lives begin to surface.

Many of us have learned to avoid hurt and pain by constructing a protective armor that blocks out emotions. While this armor enables us to avoid emotional hurt, it also make us unable to feel and diminishes our capacity to grow. There is often a mechanical or emotional discharge associated with releasing old patterns. Therefore, it is not uncommon in the process of healing for the person to re-experience physical or emotional symptoms as these stored events are processed and released. Anything unresolved will usually re-occur until healing occurs. Symptoms are not a problem of an individual part of you; rather they are an outcry of a disturbed process of integration...a means of letting you know that the nervous system is having difficulty becoming more flexible in its response. Therapy and drugs, by their very nature, most often block life energy and its ability to heal the cause of the discomfort. As the nervous system clears, it becomes more flexible and adaptable...we can more readily grow. The Chiropractor seeks the cause of the dis-ease, not to give it a name or mask its symptoms. Symptoms are signals that the body uses to let you know that something is wrong. If ignored or masked, the pathological pattern will progress. That does not necessarily mean that the pain will worsen. It may move to another part of the body or affect other systems.

The Network Chiropractic approach takes into account the fact that we are all unique. Each person has their own life experiences and will perceive and respond to their respective stresses in a unique way. Ideally, the Chiropractic model differs from the medical model in that it is not judgmental or intimidating. It is based on trust and mutual respect for individuality. The Chiropractor seeks to release the innate healing power of the body so that it flows freely through the nervous system. Freeing the indidual from internal interference leads to an increased ability to perceive, adapt and recover from stress. The Chiropractic approach to wellness considers that people do not get sick when an illness "strikes." They get the illness because they already are sick. Since illness does not make a person sick, diagnosis and treatment of illness will not make a person well... "wellness cannot be added to the body in liquid, powder, injection or pill. It comes from within." Remember, you are a person, not an ailment. Healing has little to do with curing symptoms or ailments. It involves learning from past experiences, releasing the trapped energy and memories of past events, and living in new experiences.

I want to impress upon you that Chiropractic is not manipulation, but a specific adjustment which helps to restore the flow of energy so that we can function at an optimal level. Regular care maintains our nervous systems in a state of ease and flexibility so that we can be more of who we really are...living in the now moment...processing daily stresses as they occur.