By: Sue Brown, D.C.
To understand BGI, it is necessary to first have an understanding of
chiropractic. Not the mainstream view of chiropractors as “back doctors,”
but the original intention of chiropractic, that being, “to release
interference to the expression of the innate intelligence of the body.”
There is an organizing intelligence in the body that coordinates our heartbeat,
breathing, digestion and chemical balance without conscious thought. It
allows us to walk, talk, think and listen without knowing the complex
interactions that must take place for those things to occur. All actions
and reactions and all healing occur as a result of the expression of this
intelligence. The only reason we experience dis-ease in our lives, whether
it expresses as a physical symptom, a chemical dependency or an emotional/mental
pattern is that there is an interference in the expression of this intelligence.
This interference is what the chiropractic profession calls a subluxation.
And the chiropractic adjustment is intended to release the subluxation,
thus releasing the interference to the expression of the innate intelligence
of the body.
Traditionally in chiropractic, the subluxation is viewed strictly in terms
of a compression or stretching on the nerve system or more specifically,
the spinal cord and nerve roots attached to the cord (thus the association
with the spine). BGI not only recognizes this aspect but also expands
the idea further to encompass contemporary knowledge of our bodies and
the world we live in.
And now on to BGI. With the discovery of quantum physics, came a new vision
of the world we live in. There was a shift away from “solid reality”
to one in which energy and matter were interchangeable. There was a realization
that the things that we consider to be solid matter are actually made
up of energy, and this energy is experienced as a vibration of a certain
frequency or tone. This discovery paved the way for many of the technological
advancements that have been made and also changed the way many researchers
viewed the body. Scientists began to see the body not only as a physical
structure but also as an energetic system, something ancient healing arts
have recognized for centuries. In BGI, this view of the energetic quality
of the body is integrated into the idea of subluxation. The subluxation
is not only viewed in terms of the neurological component but also the
energetic component.
In life, each moment we are bombarded with input. This input comes in
many forms ranging from all we see, hear, smell, taste and touch to accidents,
arguments, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. As varied as all these experiences
or stressors are, the one consistent aspect is that they are all energetic
in nature. Our senses perceive the energy of the experience and then our
system interprets it and changes it from frequencies and tones to words
we understand, objects we recognize and impacts we feel.
My understanding is that if the experiences we have are integrated, that
is, the intelligence of the body recognizes and processes the information
contained in the experience, then we can utilize them to grow, learn,
heal and evolve. If we do not integrate the experience, then the body
“hangs onto” the stress which causes dis-ease and discomfort.
If we translate this into energetic terms, it goes something like this.
Our senses perceive a particular energy, with a particular frequency or
tone. The tone of the energy determines the information carried by the
experience. The information processing systems of the body then interpret
the tones and initiate the appropriate response and the energy of the
experience is utilized in the body. This energy utilization and tone interpretation
suggests that there is an integration of this energy and tone (information)
into the system. To integrate is to make whole or unify by bringing together
parts. So when an experience is integrated, essentially what
So what if the experience (tone) doesn’t integrate? If the system can’t integrate the experience then, instead of the new tone becoming part of the integrated whole, it is stored in the body. The system perceives it as a foreign, dissonant tone. It’s like the experience of someone yelling and screaming at you and you don’t know why. You can’t integrate the experience because it is too big and beyond comprehension. Therefore long after it is over you keep playing it repeatedly. The more you think about it, the more uncomfortable you get. And years later you see this person who verbally assaulted you and you get agitated, nervous and defensive. These unintegrated tones create dis-ease in the body and the dissonance of the tone distorts the body’s natural geometric structure and alignment. This is the subluxation, an unintegrated energetic experience which distorts the music (and geometry) and interferes with our innate expression. This is what causes tight muscles, misaligned vertebrae and the tension on the nerve system. There is the bad news! The good news is that it’s all just stored energy which gives us a second chance. The subluxation contains the information of the experience. If the body didn’t store the experience in the form of a subluxation, then the possible learning contained in each experience would be lost. All those overwhelming experiences would wreak havoc and then be lost forever with no possibility to learn, grow and evolve. In storing the unintegrated experiences, the body keeps the potential of every experience. In BGI, the chiropractic adjustment releases that potential energy giving the system a second chance to integrate the energy and information of the original experience, thus providing the opportunity to grow, learn, evolve and heal.
The BGI approach first and foremost, utilizes this understanding of the subluxation. Other aspects also make it unique. One is the idea of integration. We discussed integration previously in terms of the creation of the subluxation and the evolution of living things. The aspect, which is important in adjusting, is the concept of integration to assess whether the system is ready to receive the adjustment and also whether the system fully integrates the adjustment given. If the body is not ready to receive the information and potential that will be released by the adjustment or if the system is ready but does not fully integrate the potential released then it will simply lock back in, be stored again and the subluxation will return. BGI addresses this concern and uses assessment tools which allow the practitioner to determine if the system is ready to be adjusted and if the adjustment and thus potential energy will be fully integrated.
BGI also recognizes that the potential energy in the body is best accessed where it is being primarily stored. Essentially there are three categories of “stored places”—the muscles, the soft connective tissue (ligaments, tendons, and the tissue around the organs called mesentery) and the hard connective tissue (bones). This is important because a different adjustive force is required for each. The force of the adjustment for releasing potential in the muscles and soft tissue is rather light while the force of the adjustment to release potential in the bony system is more dynamic and is the type typically associated with chiropractic. Both are powerful adjustments but are best utilized with the appropriate category.
Finally BGI recognizes that there is an innate geometry in the body. This geometry is a reflection of the innate music that we are. By identifying, understanding and utilizing the geometry, the chiropractor can better assess and release the subluxation. The geometry allows us to glimpse the entire effect of the subluxation thus making it possible to release it as an integrated whole. It also allows us to prioritize the incredible number of subluxation patterns so that the timing of each release is optimum.
Through BGI we can understand both the physical and energetic aspects of the cause of dis-ease, realize the potential of each experience and assess the most effective, efficient and integrative way to release the potential stored within each one of us.