House of Light

The human spine is often referred to as a column. Ideally, its appearance from back to front will form a straight line. From an architectural and orthopedic perspective, this linear appearance represents an efficient and balanced relationship to gravity, allowing the head to be stabilized over the foundation of the spine, which is the center of the sacrum.

Viewed from the side, however, the spine has curves. These curves are initially formed in early life as babies learn to crawl and then stand upright. The young spine is maximally responsive to new patterns as it navigates weight-bearing movement in a gravitational world. In mature spines, chiropractic x-ray analysis can measure the angles between the skull and the upper neck and the lower spine with the pelvis. These angles characterize adaptive capacity and structural integrity in the axial skeleton.

All of that being said, I would like to clarify that the spine is not actually a column. I recently climbed the Cape May lighthouse at the southern tip of New Jersey. I carried Violet 194 of the 199 cast iron stairs to the top, spiraling up and down through a pillar of red brick. A lighthouse is a column. It is eminently stable. It is designed to stand tall - indefinitely - and to only stand tall. By contrast, how would you tie a shoe if the 24 movable segments of your spine were organized as a rod? How would a high jumper arc over the bar or a gymnast do a cartwheel? How would a columnar spine handle any amount of horizontal force (e.g. tackles, car accidents)? How supportive is a column when it is parallel to the ground?

Unlike a column, the spine suspends and is suspended. There are complex relationships of connective tissue and curvature. Its shape reflects its function, which is to provide the dynamic support that creates the frame in which all of the other organs can live. The spine can and must be stable yet flexible, straight yet curved, operating as one yet comprised of many.

A paradox is something that invites us out of our usual way of thinking. Just as climbing to the top of a lighthouse offers a new perspective, considering the spine as a paradox can perhaps shine a light on one of the most central aspects of our being.

Reflection

Both water and the spine have the capacity to mirror. The tone and tension of the spine reflects the tone and tension of how someone is living their life. A tense spine reveals bound energy, which is often the precursor to dis-ease. Like flowing water sustains the earth, a spine that is free to move - to transmit information and energy that organizes and heals - can nourish the body.

The fascial covering of the brain is called the meninges. The outer layer is called the tough mother (dura mater). The meninges protect, contain, and guide fluid within and around the brain. The places where the dura folds are called reflections. These areas create anatomic regions, “separating” the right and left hemispheres and the cerebrum from the cerebellum. I say “separating” because everything in the body is connected and any division we recognize is one imposed by the mind, not one that exists in the continuity of the living body.

The dura covers the brain and the spinal cord, creating a sleeve around tail of the brain as it exits the skull. The dura anchors into the tailbone (coccyx). When we talk about tension in the spine, we are talking about tension in the dural sleeve. This tension can be seen, palpated, and measured in chiropractic analysis. The tension on the spinal cord is transmitted to the dura. The muscles, joints, and posture of the spinal system reflect this deeper tension on the tissues of the central nervous system.

Adverse tension in the spine alters nerve signal and blood flow. Our ability to express health, maintain balance, and adapt to challenge requires clear and effective communication between the brain and the body. Chiropractic looks to identify where communication is being impeded and adjust the local conditions so that information, energy, and ease can flow into and through the body.

Yoga and Chiropractic

I often connect yoga with chiropractic as examples of disciplines that are often narrowly understood. Is yoga a form of exercise? Yes. Is it therapeutic? Yes. Do you need special clothing to practice it? Not really. But, here’s the thing - the purpose of yoga is not physical fitness. You can use asana as an exercise, but that is not its sole or primary function.

Similarly, the purpose of chiropractic is not relief of neck and back pain. It is certainly effective in addressing these and other musculoskeletal issues, but this is not and never has been its sole or primary function.

Like yoga, there is a science, philosophy, and art that informs the practice of chiropractic. Simply, the energy of life that sustains and coordinates health and harmony in the body transits the nervous system. When there is interference with the conversation between the brain and any part of the body, we experience dis-ease/dis-order. Chiropractic identifies where and how this interference is affecting the nervous system (often in the spine), and offers a specific signal in the form of an adjustment to help reestablish equilibrium.

This perspective means chiropractic is not a treatment for a condition any more than yoga is a marketing vehicle for stretchy pants. When we acknowledge that freedom, clarity, sanity, coherence - the expression and experience of intelligence in matter - is the objective, we can see that the therapeutic aspects are a natural and downstream effect from starting closer to the Source.