“WHAT IS IT I DO?”
BY: Sue Brown, D.C.

During my 10 years in practice, I’ve been asked many times, “What is it that you’re doing?”, “How does this work?” and other similar questions. And each time I’m asked I tell the person about Chiropractic philosophy and the innate
wisdom of the body, each time they hear my answers it never quite satisfies them. The intellectual understanding of Chiropractic seems so simple, so small, when compared to the experience of healing. We hear the words “the body has an innate ability to heal itself, to self-correct” and perhaps have had the experience of healing on a small scale, but many people have never truly felt the full power of the healing force of which the body is capable. Or they have taken the incredible “house” that we live in for granted and all the little miracles along the way go unnoticed. So when they lay down on the table and with only a few light contacts their breathing deepens or their body starts to move, or they cry or laugh, these experiences seem beyond belief. And surely I must be doing something more than adjusting them. “Sue must be moving energy or opening chakras or performing psychic surgery or using voodoo dolls or she has some tremendous healing gift.” Well, I’m here to tell you that although energy may change when getting adjusted, your body is doing the moving not me. And although the chakras may open and close and do somersaults when on the table I have no control over them. And although psychic surgery sounds very exciting it’s a bit messy for me. And although when I was ten my brother and I copied a “Gilligan’s Island” episode and made a voodoo doll, I haven’t ventured into that realm since. I am a Chiropractor plain and simple. And I may be pretty good at what I do but the true gift of healing is within each one of you. Chiropractic allows you to reconnect with that special gift. It allows you to reconnect with the wisdom that created you from a single cell; increases your temperature when overcoming infection; heals the bumps and bruises of life, both physical and emotional; retrieves memories of a birthday party or of a loved one lost; it inspires you to cry in pain and jump for joy.
Over the years the theories and models of why and how Chiropractic works may change but the philosophy and intention remains the same. Within the body there resides an innate wisdom. This wisdom coordinates, inspires, heals and motivates every action and reaction. It is perfect and ever-present. The nervous system is the main communication system of the body and this is vital for the transmission of that innate wisdom. The nervous system (NS) also being the memory and perception system of the body is constantly receiving and storing information from its internal and external environment. If at any point the NS is overloaded with input, the circuit will crash much like a computer system crashes when information is fed in too quickly. Unlike the computer, however, the body’s innate wisdom can adapt and change. It can self-correct. So instead of the entire system shutting down, the body will compensate, localizing the damage and creating what we call a subluxation (an interference pattern in the NS). This, then preserves the whole.
Now, one or two subluxations will most likely go unnoticed. As they start to accumulate, however, the effects become much greater and therefore the NS becomes progressively more rigid. The body’s ability to adapt, self-correct and recover from stress decreases. Our perception becomes distorted, the natural healing ability of the body diminishes and we slowly become more a being of the past than of the present now moment. The cumulative effect of this stored tension or stored energy in the system, I believe, is the source of all dis-ease. What’s amazing is that the body’s ability to adapt is so great that it will continue to function even when greatly compromised. And what’s more amazing is that the body’s ability to heal is so great that even given the slightest chance to improve, it will self-correct. Getting adjusted gives your system that chance. Just as the subluxations in your system accumulate bit-by-bit in your body, getting regularly adjusted gradually and progressively releases those subluxations. With each adjustment your system becomes better able to adapt, better able to heal and self-correct. It gets closer to living in the now moment.
Imagine if all your experiences could be perceived through a clear NS instead of being colored by the past. Imagine if your body was flexible enough to flow with every stress instead of hitting it head on. Getting adjusted takes you progressively toward the flexibility, the recoverability, the ease, the flow and the light of a child. I sometimes jokingly say to people “You’re getting younger everyday”. But I absolutely believe that it is true. Many people are constantly searching for that fountain of youth. Well, here it is. I fully intend to look and feel younger at 40 or 50 than I do now.

Come grow younger with me!
See you on the tables.