Health, Gravity And Upper Cervical

adapted from: Health and Gravity

by Dr. Michael D. Thomas, NUCCA doctor

Years ago I had found a quote from Roger Sperry, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology in 1981.  Sperry noted that 90% of the brain’s energy is used in relating the physical body to gravity.  Only 10% has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing.  -Did you have any idea it was such a big percentage?

This means that when we are out of upper cervical alignment and our posture has become disordered, we are using valuable energy to just hold ourselves upright that ideally goes into thinking, metabolism and immune function.

How many of us feel fuzzy headed, or brain fog when we are out of adjustment?

Does your digestion change?

How about sleep patterns?

Most of us already know about the multitude of aches and pains that can be associated with being out of upper cervical alignment.  What you may not realize though, are the real problems that will eventually accumulate when we must chronically use our precious energy to adapt to being out of line.  Upper cervical misalignment can be a progressive and degenerative problem.

Fortunately, many of you also realize the incredible change that can take place when the upper cervical misalignment is corrected.  So many folks who come in for care have told me over the years about the incredible turn around that occurred when they got corrected and made the commitment to stay in alignment.  There are many who tell me they would not be walking if not for upper cervical care.

I find that upper cervical care is truly primary health care.  What I mean by this is that removing nervous system interference at the upper cervical area (top of the neck) is a critical step in the improvement of health.  Many of my patients have been able to wean themselves off not just pain medications, but many other medications that they’d had to take on a long term basis because of the troubling symptoms that may have developed due to long term upper cervical misalignment.  They just didn’t have the debilitating problems anymore.  They could begin to refocus back on their life.  And, the money they were spending on these suppressive drugs could be better spent in other areas of their life!

Some folks use the upper cervical correction like they do the emergency  room.  They only come in when they are in terrible trouble and want a quick and miraculous ‘fix’.  The upper cervical correction can often give them this ‘fix’ but the effects of living out of alignment for weeks and months takes it toll.  The upper cervical misalignment is a problem even more so the longer that it is there.  Once you are out of alignment, problems will slowly or not so slowly, begin to pile up.  Arthritis could be one part of the many attempts by your body to adapt to being twisted and unlevel.  Poor posture is another possibility and tends to wear down the joints and create inflammation and pain.

The upper cervical correction is our Health’s best friend.  Getting checked periodically through out the year is a wonderful and cost effective way to stay healthy and allow your inner wisdom the chance to work to its fullest.

More Energy for Healing?

How to Get More Energy for Healing, Digestion, and Thinking

by Dr. Brandon Harshe

“Better than 90% of the brain’s output is directed towards maintaining your body in its gravitational field.  Therefore, the less energy one spends on one’s posture, the more energy is available for healing, digestion and thinking.”  -Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel Prize winner for brain research

The first cervical vertebra, Atlas or C1, is the most freely movable vertebra in the spine, and the one most likely to cause irritation or tension to the spinal cord. It pivots around the second cervical vertebra, Axis or C2, connected only by ligaments and tendons, but no disc as in the rest of the spine. This is what allows the majority of spinal rotation to occur, but at the price of instability. In most cases, you will not feel the problem in your upper cervical spine.

When the head and neck misalign, you won’t feel it in most cases, but it will have a number of negative effects on the body. Because it is causing irritation and/or tension near the brain stem, vital organ function can be negatively impacted. Conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, and digestive problems can arise. Because of a high number of sensory nerves in the upper neck called mechanoreceptors, head/neck misalignment can manifest itself in various conditions such as neck pain or stiffness, or tension headaches. You could even experience other conditions like migraines or vertigo as a result of having head/neck misalignment.  Or you may have no obvious symptoms at all.  (see editor's note below)

Head/neck misalignment can also cause an overall body imbalance that can result in overall spinal compensation. This will be characterized by spinal curvature, contracted or tight muscles on one side of the spine, postural imbalances such as a tilted head, high shoulder, and high hip, and an imbalance in leg lengths. Over time this could lead to forms of degeneration like bone spurs and fusion of the vertebrae, as well as back and shoulder pain, and even herniated discs.

So restoring proper position to the Atlas and Axis vertebrae have more of an effect on your overall well being than you have ever imagined. If you haven’t had your nervous system and upper neck checked, it’s time you did.

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Upper Cervical Care And Being All We Can

(Editor's Note: I thought, although a bit late, this was a great reminder and is also my wish for all of you this New Year. Thanks for reading and sharing the message of Upper Cervical Care.)

On Being All We Can

by Dr. Frank Bowling

I’ve always been amazed at how much we seem to be able to abuse ourselves and get away with it. Within very broad limits, we can pretty much eat, drink, think and do whatever we want, and still bounce back relatively quickly. Over time, of course, poor decisions do ultimately take their toll, but that damage is generally so gradual and imperceptible that, although we know better in our hearts, we can usually push that inconvenient truth out of our minds.

I was lying awake in bed last night, thinking about this problem, and it suddenly became so clear that I had to get up this morning and write it down. I realized that the difficulty in our daily decisions, and in our broader life choices, is entirely a matter of perspective. The reality is that we behave like our own worst enemies because we don’t stay focused on who and what we really are.

If we could hold within our conscious awareness, every second of every day, a pure vision of our divine essence, a clear picture of what that inner perfection would look and feel like if carefully tended and nurtured, the decisions of each moment would be crystal clear. The negative connotations and the inherent difficulty in words like sacrifice and discipline would be softened, and the struggle to do and be better would slowly fade to insignificance in the bright light of inspiration.

Think about it. When we want something really badly, so badly that we can’t get it out of our minds, the achievement of that objective seems relatively effortless, at least compared to other life tasks that we might find less desirable. We almost have no choice but to pursue it. We hold the image of what we want so clearly in our minds, and the passion to attain it is so strong, we seem to somehow “find a way where there is no way.”

I now realize that the same principle applies, not only to what we do and have, but to what we are, and more importantly, to what we are becoming. We have only to clarify and hold onto a vision of ourselves at our very core, and of how much different and better life would be for us and for everyone we touch if we were to grow, even slightly, toward a fuller expression of that.

Ultimately, it comes down to an understanding, and a constant mindfulness, of the importance of every choice made in every moment, and the interconnectedness of those moments in the ultimate composition of the miracle that is us. Everything we put or allow into our bodies, minds and hearts, everything we do to and with them, affects everything else. However quick or small, each decision, each choice plays a part.

I’d like to eat better. I’d like to exercise more. I’d like to study harder. I’d like to do a better job as husband, father, employer, doctor. Like most everyone else, I do focus on these things, better than some people, and not as well as others. But what I’m now suddenly realizing (I’m a little slow sometimes) is that what I really want is not the things on that list at all, but the things they will allow me to become.

I want to be lean and strong. I want to feel good. I want energy. I want long life. I want to be quick as a wink and sharp as a tack. I want to be wise. I want to learn, and always keep on learning. I want to do good and help people. I want to uplift, inspire, empower, and lead. I want to be at peace within my own heart, and to radiate that peace to the world.

I know that on the inside, in that place of perfection we all share, each of us is already all of those things, and every other good thing we can (and cannot) imagine. That together we may find it, hold it fast before our eyes, and let it guide our every step, is my fervent wish (for you).