I’m always looking at the world through a Chiropractic lens. I have its philosophy to thank for my “Chiropractic-tinted glasses.”
One might say I have a false sense of perspective or restricted thought process because of this. On the contrary. Because the philosophy of Chiropractic is based on things natural it allows for a broad sense of perspective and openness to world views.
I remember when I was in college, our philosophy instructor would challenge us to try and “philosophically” stump him. The challenge was to try and think of a topic that he couldn’t relate to Chiropractic in some way, shape or form. Needless to say, our juvenile philosophical constructs didn’t stump him.
The teachable moment did serve as a great experience. I try my best to implement his philosophical challenge every day in and out of my office. I won’t lie, some topics are easier to relate to Chiropractic than others.
One topic that relates very closely to Chiropractic is gardening. I enjoy spending the warm Ohio months working in my garden. During the cold months, I’ll try to read up on different gardening tips and ideas to better my yield for next year’s plantings. Whether I am outside among my tomatoes or inside taking notes on “how to grow the biggest cucumbers,” my thoughts will often trail into the realm of Chiropractic.
One book, in particular, is a great read whether or not you are into gardening or Chiropractic. The book is called The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. Many will cite Masanobu Fukuoka as one of the “founding fathers” of the alternative food movement. Before words such as “organic,” “raw” and “natural” became apart of our everyday vocabulary, they were used in everyday action by Fukuoka.
Masanobu had a great philosophy to his farming (which is nothing but large scale gardening) because his thought process went beyond just planting seeds in the ground and watching them grow. Quoting:
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
This wonderful quote can be put through the Chiropractic lens. Changing a few words, we can say:
“The ultimate goal of Chiropractic is not the adjustment of vertebral subluxations, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
So what are the similarities between gardening and Chiropractic?
A garden is a well-ordered and semi-contained ecosystem. Gardens are designed to provide the greatest amount of yield and production for the space they inhabit.
The same could be said about the human body. The human body is a well-order and semi-contained ecosystem. We don’t take up much space individually, but we have great potential for yield and production.
If a garden is to be successful, it needs the right tools. The greatest tool used in a garden to help cultivate the land and maintain production is not a spade, trowel or rake. The greatest tool used in a garden is the Gardener.
A garden can’t garden itself. It needs a Gardener. The Gardener monitors and controls the garden, adapting it to best fit the land. The Gardener properly directs the other tools to be used in the garden.
If our body is to be successful, it needs the right tools as well. For us, the greatest tool used by the human body is the Nerve System. The Nerve System helps maintain the integrity of the body and cultivates health. It does this by constantly monitoring and controlling the body’s functions. The Nerve System properly directs all the other systems of the body so they are used in the right manner.
If a garden is left to its own devices without a Gardener, over time, disorder will soon manifest. This is called the law of entropy. The organized nature of the garden will lose its integrity.
For example, in my back neighbor’s yard, you can tell there used to be a garden. If you squint your eyes and turn your head just right, you can still see the remnants of a garden outline. Weeds, sticks, tall grass and tree roots have taken over. I am not trying to be mean to my neighbor with this observation, but you can tell the Gardener is no longer present in the garden.
If the body is left without a working Nerve System, disorder will quickly emerge as well. The standard in determining if a person is alive or dead rests on the indication of Nerve System activity. Without getting graphic, once the Nerve System stops working completely, different stages of postmortem decay set in.
Now, let’s back up a little from the previous example of the Gardener completely leaving the garden alone. Let’s say the Gardener is present in the garden but is only working in the garden at 95% of their potential. Physical, chemical and emotional disruptions in the Gardener’s life start to cause him or her to slip away from maintaining the garden.
A small hole in the surrounding fence is left unpatched. A tiny invasive weed starts to creep up the side of the tomato trellis. A little leak in the rain barrel goes unfixed.
Presently, things are still thriving pretty well in the garden. But over time, things get worse if left unchecked. The Gardener continues to slack. The disruptions start to pile on and on. Now he or she is now only working at 75% of their potential. Compound interest can work against you.
The hole in the fence is now big enough for squirrels and chipmunks to sneak in and they start to nibble on the broccoli. That once tiny weed has now overtaken a part of the trellis and starts to siphon some of the tomato’s nutrients away. Since the rain barrel is only filled-up halfway because of the leak, the water has to be rationed with no rain in the forecast. The health of the garden falters.
Now, let’s go back to the Nerve System. For example, let’s say a collection of physical, chemical and emotional disruptions cause the Nerve System to only work at 95% of its potential. In the human body, these disruptions can manifest as a vertebral subluxation. The Nerve System starts to slip bit by bit in how it maintains the health of the body.
A small tingling in your hand comes and goes. You start to get tiny headaches once and a while after your morning walk. A little confusion sets in from time to time when you read.
At the present moment, the body is still functioning fairly well. But over time, the vertebral subluxation goes unchecked and things get worse. Disruptions start to pile on and on. Eventually, the body breaks down to the point where it is only working at 75% potential.
The tingling in your hand turns into complete numbness down the whole arm. You can’t pick up your son or daughter without extreme pain. The headaches turn into full-blown migraines that attack you without warning. They leave you completely debilitated for hours. What was once slight confusion is now an all-day brain fog. Mistakes in your thoughts abound constantly. The health of the body falters.
Just how the Gardener cultivates the land, your Nerve System cultivates your body. If your Nerve System isn’t working at its best version, you can’t function at your best version. To keep the garden of your life well, you need a well-ordered Nerve System.
A vertebral subluxation disrupts the expression of that order. Chiropractic can help keep your Nerve System in order by correcting vertebral subluxations. Without disruptions, not only can you flourish, you can thrive.
- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP
Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.
