Seneca, Pantanjali, and The Philosophy of Chiropractic
When the Roman philosopher Seneca counselled Lucilius “to cultivate an asset that the passing of time itself improves,” he was not talking about a wine cellar. He was talking about employing the practical philosophy of Stoicism to steady the mind, to see things as they are, and to be deliberate in thought and action.
In a very different culture but in a very similar way, the author Patanjali of the canonical Yoga Sutras described Kriya yoga, known as the yoga of action. Kriya yoga is the practice of moving with a purpose or goal (kriya) to cultivate a calmness of mind (yoga). The active practice of moving through the yoga postures (asana) and the intentional integration of breath (pranayama) promote heat (tapas), which serves to purify the body. The meditative practice of self-inquiry (svadhyaya) encourages us to ask who and what we are and how we relate to others. The third element of kriya yoga is a quality of action (isvarapranidhana), to focus on how and how well we are acting in the moment instead of being wrapped up in the expectation of an outcome.
In yoga, avidya refers to the root obstacles that prevent us from seeing things as they really are. In many respects, this is the main challenge we all face all of the time. This is the illusion and the veil that is projected by the conditioned mind to reinforce a sense of separateness within our own selves, with one another, and with Nature. The beauty and the value of the disciplines like Stoicism and Kriya yoga is that they clearly identify the obstacle and also provide actionable steps for liberation from unconscious conditioning.
In the original chiropractic philosophy, we understand that avidya - the obstacles that prevent us from seeing things as they are - can manifest in the body as clinical expressions of dis-ease. We have traditionally referred to these expressions of dis-ease in the body as subluxations, which in the philosophical sense can be understood as “a reduction in the expression of light.”
Operating from the premise that life is the expression of intelligence through matter, we see that when there is an impediment to how this energy and intelligence is coordinated in the body, it affects how a person can move, sense, feel, and heal. When a person is disconnected from their body and themselves for long enough, they become ill. When people are disconnected from each other because they’re disconnected from their bodies and themselves, the culture becomes ill.
The beauty and the value of chiropractic, when drawing from this philosophical heritage and refined through the science and art of clinical practice, is to provide an adjustment with one goal - to entice the Innate Intelligence that resides in each of us to shine a little brighter. Just as we cannot be in growth and defense at the same time, the derivatives of Fear that currently saturate our culture cannot last when the veil of avidya is lifted.
Seneca and Patanjali were talking about the same thing. The practice of moving deliberately to cultivate a calmness of mind is an asset that the passing of time itself will improve. The disciplines of Stoicism, Kriya yoga, and philosophically-based chiropractic serve to promote and advance this practice.
How to Shape the Mind
“Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions.” – Marcus Aurelius
The habits, behaviors, and strategies that people develop only start to take root with repetition. If you eat salad once a month in order to “get your greens,” it will be better than not eating it all, but realistically it doesn’t reflect a healthy diet. The body will respond to what you ask it to do most often. The fitness of gymnasts and athletes reflects this as does the conditioning of people who spend much of their time at a desk or on a couch. There is an observable and predictable relationship between habit and health.
As Marcus Aurelius reminds us, this relationship is also at work with our attention. There is little that we can do to control external circumstances and the onslaught of the stresses of life. Yet the extent to which those external stresses color our spirit is determined by how much we allow them to do so.
The recent passing of the solar eclipse presents an opportunity for massive reorganization on all levels. It is a time to choose and to begin to consciously shape what we are calling into life. This happens when we accept the responsibility of being accountable to what we frequently hold in thought and what kind of energy we bring to the field.
I’ve found it helpful to ask: What are you frequently holding in thought? Is it serving to uplift you? Does it support those around you? Is it congruent with what you want your life to look like?
The Problem with Maintenance
In the alternative health field, many people choose to continue care even after there has been resolution of the problem for which they initially sought treatment. In the absence of pain or a clinical condition, continuing care that is “not deemed medically necessary” is called maintenance care. The implication is that the person has achieved a state of health that is better than when they began and they desire to stay there.
This is a reasonable position and one that is understandably desirable. There is also a problem with this perspective.
The problem of maintenance is that the objective is to plateau. The very nature of the language and the intent of maintenance is to keep someone where they are. Even if the current state is better than the old state, if the goal is stasis, this is inherently limiting in both perspective and in practice.
The experience of life and how we are able to navigate through storm and still is not done by picking a place and staying there. Life happens in the balance of stability and instability. There is comfort in stability, but also a massive impediment to growth.
A richer alternative to maintenance would be, as the Stoic philosopher Epictetus counselled, to “make the mind adaptable to any circumstances.” The adaptability of the mind is a direct reflection of the integrity and the tone of the nervous system. It stands to reason (and is evidenced in practice) that an approach to health, wellness, and well-being that promotes neural integrity will not lead to maintaining a static plateau, but a way to embody strategies that advance the human condition.
