–The Network Chiropractic (NS?) vision is one of a world healing–
By Glenn Russo, D.C.
“What would the world be like if people were able to express their full potential? And what would families, communities, and the world be like if this were to happen? What would it be like for everyone to know, experience, and feel their connection to spiritual source? What would it be like to transcend rather than compete?” Dr. Donald Epstein, the founder and developer of Network Chiropractic, who is a 1977 graduate of New York Chiropractic College, asked these questions because he recognized within the chiropractic philosophy the seeds to achieve this dream but did not see the promise being fulfilled.
Many of the best chiropractors today suggest programs of diet, exercise, affirmations, and detailed treatment programs attempting to cure a condition or preventing the reoccurrence of that condition. Once the person’s ailment has resolved, many chiropractors then recommend “Maintenance care”. This model is also the one that Donald Epstein was schooled in. While maintaining active practices in both Brooklyn and Long Island through the course of his life as a chiropractor, he has been developing the vision of Network Chiropractic as a vehicle for growth and transformation in the world.
Network Chiropractic consciousness is one of healing rather than curing. Healing is seen as a process of unification and alignment of the body/mind/spirit. It has little to do with curing of symptoms or ailments, is a process rather than an event, and involves growth and development. As Donald describes, “Healing is not just to get the person better, but to get them to face themselves in the mirror. Illness is communication from your higher self. Until you understand that communication, there cannot be healing. Symptoms in this model are viewed as agents of change, alerting the educated mind that change is necessary. Any attempt by a practitioner to interfere with this process opposes the principles of healing. In the short term it may create comfort, but true healing has not occurred. Healing allows the individual’s true identity to express. It creates love and respect for life.”
The Network Chiropractic system contains no guidelines for how a person is to live. “Lives change from the inside, not by trying, but when the internal wisdom can express itself without interference in the nervous system. This is the missing link.” Donald emphasizes that self determination and personal choices are the basis of any healing process. “After all, the intelligence that creates this world knows how we need to exercise, what we need to eat, how we need to express our emotions, and how to heal ourselves.”
Our emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical aspects are inter-related and affect each other. From a Network Chiropractic consciousness, the social ills, the psychological disturbances, and our spiritual alienation cannot be separated from the physical state we experience today.
The adjustment process is like removing the petals from the artichoke and arriving at the heart. People may laugh, cry hysterically, and then laugh again. Some people move on the table reminiscent of a reptile. Others spontaneously assume yoga postures without any training. Many people reexperience past traumas such as a birth trauma, a drowning experience, or receiving electric shock therapy. Others reexperience the joy of childhood. As old memories are released, so is the illusion of separation. As the illusion dissolves, the connection with all living beings is restored.
The classification of the vertebral (spinal) subluxation is the key to the clinical practice of Network Chiropractic. A subluxation is a misalignment of the spinal bones and/or tension of the associated nervous tissue causing interference in the nervous system. Network Chiropractic is a network of techniques and methods employed throughout the chiropractic profession. What makes it unique is the sequence and the intent. It does not compete with the body, it flows with it. The adjustment first seeks to release the adverse tension in the brain and spinal cord with sustained gentle contacts. Then, the type of adjustment more commonly associated with Chiropractic, the structural thrust is more effectively applied when the vertebrae are ready to effortlessly release their structural locks. It is the sustained, gentle adjustment of the subluxation in a precise sequence that helps to release the trapped energy of blocked emotions and thought patterns that have fermented within our being. It’s like a scratched record no longer playing the same verse. The person is free to write the symphony of his or her choice. Rather than being limited to one or two instruments, they can choose from the full symphony orchestra whenever they need to.
The position and tension of the spinal system is like a radio tuner that determines the way we perceive our reality. It determines the way we adapt to, and how we recover from new stresses and challenges. Common responses of people in Network Chiropractic offices are: “I feel so different… I don’t get angry the way I used to… I find I have more patience… Things don’t bother me the way they used to. I used to worry so much, I couldn’t settle down and relax for a minute. … Yesterday I smelled a rose, it’d been so long. … I stopped fighting with my Dad. … I started meditating. … I did something yesterday I’ve really wanted to do for a long time… My heart is opened… I can finally trust myself… It doesn’t really matter what’s going on out there now… I’ve finally found me… I finally surrendered me… I’m home.”
“Who is Network for? People who wish to be clear enough to be themselves. Why? So they can surrender themselves. Why? So they can redefine themselves, heal, and evolve. Each of us in our healing state is a natural healer to others and to the planet. The Network Chiropractic vision is one of a world healing – … A spine at a time.”