Potential

My deceased older brother would be thirty today. It’s a fact hard to believe when he left this world at the age of eighteen; an age that I used to think of as old but which now I have far surpassed. On this bitter-sweet day there is one word staining my thoughts ... POTENTIAL. Potential is a latent excellence or ability that may not yet be developed. Ryan had a ton of it, and yet he will never get the opportunity to express it or let it be felt by others here on earth. As sad as it is to think about, I also believe it to be a constant reminder that we can do better. Strive for more. Fight for more. Love, more.

As proof of many of loved ones lost at a young age, we never know when it’s going to be our time to go. What we can do is make sure that we take the steps to actually LIVE our lives and not just exist. For those who truly live are on the pursuit of fulfilling their dreams and accomplishing their goals while never resisting the opportunity to better thy self. To go through life in pure existence would be to settle and miss the chance to make a positive impact on those in your surroundings. If life can be short, is it not better to live tall?

We must transmute the potential energy inside of us into a kinetic, flowing representation of life. We must pursue our ideals, connect to our potential, and live the life we’ve always wanted. If the concept of fear may be what is holding us back, how relevant is fear when we are dead and gone?  

I hope this serves some purpose to those who stumble upon it. Don’t give up. We all cycle thru our ups and downs but the importance is in how hard we come back fighting. Be defiant in failure in order to triumph in success.

R.I.P Ryan, Love Brett

              

Swollen Feet

I'm  kicking for life so hard that my feet are swollen. My eyes are welled up, passion built tears waiting to explode. My stomach turns, can I stand another letdown? My head hurts, increased cranial pressure due to constant information overload. I’m shaking, lack of sleep and a wondering mind makes the nerves jumble. My muscles are sore and tired, but I can’t stop, “be the example you want for your patients.” I must make time to meditate. If I free my mind, the rest will follow. Thank you EnVogue.

Welcome inside my head and body. Life as a 3^rd quarter chiropractic student has been quite the ride. There have been moments of depression/excitement, failure/success, and confusion/discovery. I’ve been up, down, and all over the board. A mess at times but relentless always. My spark for the profession keeps me always wanting to know more, which is great in one sense, but dangerous in another. Maybe it’s more efficient to set your scope of practice right out the gates and stay focused on one way to do things... but that’s not me. I question. I need to FEEL the truth. I want the knowledge to resonate so strong that it speaks not just to me, but through me. So, I keep fighting. Failure is not an option.

 Just what am I doing?

-Currently enrolled  in 28 units of class.

-Attend the following clubs: Profession Applied Kinesiology (finishing the 100 hour PAK certification program next weekend), Neurology, Integrated Health Care, Toastmasters, and drop-ins on a few others when I can.

-Participate in Band of Brothers, a philosophy group that meets on Tuesday nights to hear principled chiropractors via teleseminars.

-Started my own “club”, Adjusting Ninjas… Mission: Become a subluxation assassin.  Via Adjusting Ninjas, I also started to interview some killer kiro’s on what makes for that magical adjustment.

http://youtu.be/py2zlbc0q1A

http://youtu.be/FcdbtTN1uZM 

-Read as much philosophy as I can get my hands on and attend as many adjusting seminars as I can afford.

-Train chiropractic, always. Workout, 5+ times a week.

-Formulated EPIC workout Sunday. Every Sunday I design a workout that I wouldn’t think I could complete and then break my previous ‘boundaries” with every successful finish.

-Planning and trying to raise money for a Spinal Mission to El Salvador this summer.

-Doing my best to keep in contact with all those I know and love.

So, what am I thinking?

…. For that, expect a follow up :)

In Love and Chiropracrtic, Future Dr. J

The Biggest Present is Being Present

In the right here and now, where are you? Are you here? Or are you just like everyone else and in 200 places at once, thinking about the past, the future, and MAYBE the present. “What am I gonna have for dinner, shit I need to work out, Oooh look a Starbucks!!” Our minds are a beautiful thing… when used properly. Otherwise they take us away from the most beautiful part of life, the moments where you are in the moment.

When you think about the greatest time(s) in your life, you will notice that they were all at times where 100% of your focus was in what you were doing AT THAT MOMENT. For example, maybe it was your greatest sports performance. Was anything else on your mind besides what you were doing at that second, that play, that tackle, that hit, that shot? Or maybe it was the vacation you took to who-gives-a-shit-where. Was it really the place, or was it the place that quieted the millions of thoughts usually racing thru your mind like Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder. Damn, maybe even it was the best sex you ever had. Did anything else matter besides you and the person you were making sweet sweet love to? Doubt it.

Soooo, “Yo Brett, what’s it take to be in the moment?” Truth be told, there are several ways to get there and just like anything it takes some practice.  I just read a book by Steve Hagan called Meditation Now or Never. It was an awesome read that really drove home what it takes to be here in the NOW. This does not mean you need to meditate but it could be a tool to help you get there. My main recommendation is to just pay attention to what’s actually happening. If you’re outside, what does the air smell like? What’s the sensation on your skin?  What all can you hear? What the feeling underneath your feet? PAY ATTENTION.

And…. Of course my tie in to Chiro :)… The best adjustments come from a place where you connect with your patients and nothing else is on your mind. It’s just you and them, relaxed, and then Crack!! Pure Bliss.

Luckily, the Chiro’s of Alive Chiropractic, Dr. Jennifer Wilheim and Kara Waltz showed me the magic of the adjustment a couple weeks ago. Now my approach is forever changed.

In Love and in the NOW, Future Dr. J

I got the Flava for the Fever

Ordinarily, popular medicine would tell you the fever is  a "warning sign" to infection and that you need to administer meds to cut the fever. The truth is that we NEED that FEVER. The increase in heat draws more white blood cells out of the blood vessels and into lymph tissue, which is exactly where they need to be to fight off incoming pathogens.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il59S3HT6jI
In "layman's terms", the Fever is a machine gun for killing Nazi's (incoming pathogens). The bullets are white blood cells. If you take the fever away then you're firing with a pistol. They both kill Nazi's but you get a lot more bang for your buck with a machine gun. I don't know about you but I think I'd rather be firing a machine gun. Them Nazi's are shifty bastards....

On another note, four days ago I did get sick and I decided to put my philosophy to the test. Day one started with some head pressure and congestion. Day two I began to feel feverish...(Remember, WE WANT THIS!!). Day three I was feeling the worst but later in the day I got a killer adjustment by my boy John Hatch. Day four (today) I woke up in a complete body sweat and was wrapped up like a cocoon in my blankets. Again, this is a good thing. I had sweated out whatever I needed to get rid of and I am now feeling near 100%!! I even went on a 5 mile run (ballin!! I know).

I'll have you know that it had been 6 months since I've been sick. This is quite the accomplishment given my schedule. In addition to the 31 units of class I'm in this quarter, I had also been working out and training for a fight 3 hours a day. Prior to chiro school I would have got sick every other week. I thought it was just part of the game. I thought that if you put your body under that much stress it's just bound to get sick. However, I know better now. I know that a properly functioning nervous system will increase your immune system and in order to have a healthy nervous system there needs to be proper transmission of nerve impulse. Interference by means of subluxation (a vertebrae that has shifted out of place) will disrupt this nerve impulse leading to incoordination an dys-ease. So... Go get adjusted duhhh.

In summary...
*After 3 days of sickness I am back to health with NO meds.
*The power that made the body will heal the body.
*Fever is a natural defense mechanism against incoming pathogens.
*Machine guns good, pistols not so good :)
---(Please note a continuous fever lasting more than a few days does require more medical attention)---

In Killing Nazi's, future Dr. J

The beginning

Chiropractic got it's start with DD Palmer... and so will my blog. Daniel David Palmer delivered the first chiropractic specific adjustment on September 18th, 1895. The patient, Harvey Lillard, was NOT suffering from low back pain. Lillard was a DEAF man who had lost his hearing after hearing a "pop" in his back. DD  delivered an adjustment to Lillard's back at an attempt to correct the vertebrae that had been previously moved out of place (what we chiro's call a subluxation).  Sure enough, a few days later Lillard reported that his hearing had increased for the first time in 17 years.. At first, DD thought he had found the cure to deafness. However, as chiropractic developed it was discovered that the chiropractic adjustment had an effect on the ENTIRE nervous system.

-A quote from DD, "I had a case of heart trouble which was not improving. I examined the spine and found a displaced vertebra pressing against the nerves which innervate the heart. I adjusted the vertebra and gave immediate relief — nothing "accidental" or "crude" about this. Then I began to reason if two diseases, so dissimilar as deafness and heart trouble, came from impingement, a pressure on nerves, were not other disease due to a similar cause? Thus the science (knowledge) and art (adjusting) of Chiropractic were formed at that time."

Our nervous system has an affect on ALL body functions. The 31 pairs of spinal nerves act as a connection between brain and body. A subluxation can alter function and disrupt the nerve signal which can cause a cascade of detrimental effects to our health. In order to be able to perform and live life to it's full potential you MUST have a healthy nervous system. Let your local chiropractor check it for you. If needed, the adjustment will put you on the road to wellness.


Give yourself a fighting chance, Future Dr. J  :)