This weekend I attended a technique workshop related to Neurospinal Optimization. When I introduced myself to the group, I included that I had been to, “a thousand thousands of these workshops.”

While ‘a thousand’ is a bit of an exaggeration, I DO go to several of these seminars a year and plan on continuing to do so throughout the rest of my career.

Why do I do this? Is it because I am slow and have to repeat the same material over and over (I think some of the less experienced doctors there may have thought so)?

I attend the same seminars and workshops over and over again because technical mastery of the skills I use every day working with patients is very important to me. When something is important it not only makes sense to expand your knowledge around that topic but to also consistently practice and refine the fundamentals.

What made Michael Jordan great? He practiced more than anyone. The same can be said of the best in any sport or discipline.

So, one of the costs of Mastery is spending the time, energy and money to consistently pay attention to the fundamentals. I wanna be Michael Jordan, not the guy sitting on the bench.

There is another cost to Mastery and that is focus. I get flyers and emails offering the newest machine, fad and technique that will supposedly revolutionize health care on a daily basis. I’ve been in practice long enough to see these fads come and go, only to be replaced by the next one.

While it is important to be open to new ideas, a master can be running from one shiny new thing to the next. A master knows what their focus is and stays with it. When I am offered a course or fancy machine I ask myself if this is the best way to further my focus. If the answer is ‘No’ I move on. Do I miss out on some interesting and cool stuff at times? You bet. BUT it is worth it because I have furthered myself on the road to mastery.

I see the personal Neurospinal Optimization care I receive in the same way. Our nervous system is what senses our surroundings and then responds to those stimuli. Our muscles, organs and immune system. Knowing that, having an optimally functioning nervous system is VERY IMPORTANT to me. Because it is VERY IMPORTANT I am willing to put consistent attention on it.

You see, I know that to be healthy and to function well in life I must have a nervous system that is keenly aware, efficient and responsive. If I have a condition called a Neural Shift, not only am I more likely to develop pain and other unpleasant secondary conditions, but I just won’t be able to function at my best.

So, I spend hours in my car every week to drive to the closest doctor who can provide this care (can’t look after myself unfortunately), pay cash (no insurance) for my visits and have happily done so for 12 years. Why? Because it is important and I want the nervous system function of Michael Jordan, not the bench player.

Like anything of value, there is a cost to Mastery. There are also benefits that will literally transform your life and health. Decide what is important to you and pay attention to it. Master the fundamentals, focus and don’t be distracted by the shiny new thing.

The path of mastery is just that – a path. You can start anywhere and you can start today.

     I recently had a conversation with a white-haired weekend warrior who years ago had benefited from the care I provide. He was complaining of sore and stiff muscles around his shoulder blade that just weren’t going away this time. He asked if I thought I could help. I told him that we see conditions like his improve every single day because they are often SECONDARY to what is called a Neural Shift, which is what we focus on correcting in our office.

While this man trusts me, he seemed skeptical that Neurospinal Optimization(NSO) could help him. Why? Because he knows how gentle NSO care is and felt like he needed something more invasive or ‘harder’ to fix the problem.

This is a common belief amongst non-elite athletes and a misconception that not only gets in the way of them getting the care that can get them back on the field (or rink, court, golf-course) but creates a missed opportunity to perhaps increase their performance and health to a new level.

A few days after I spoke to this man, I was on the phone with a chiropractor colleague whose approach to care is very similar to mine. He mentioned that he had been providing care to a high-end athletic trainer who works with many professional athletes who fly significant distances to work with him. The trainer was so excited about what my colleague was doing  that he asked him to work with his athletes as part of his services. These athletes, who have access to the best-of-the-best doctors and therapists absolutely loved the work, understood the value, and knew they had found a unique edge.

Why did the athletes love NSO so much? Because it delivers so much more than temporary relief of pain, muscle spasm and other secondary conditions. In fact, some of the athletes refer to their care as their “steroids” due to the fact that it allows them to do things they could not otherwise accomplish (drug-free by the way).

So, how does Neurospinal Optimization, by focusing on the detection and correction of a Neural Shift affect athletic performance? Here are the top 5 ways:

     1. Increased Body Awareness. Somatic, or body awareness is essential to any athlete. A keen sense of where body parts are in space, how they are moving, and the ability to adapt in an instant is what makes great athletes great. A Neural Shift caused by trauma and stress decrease our awareness by design. Freeing the body of a Neural Shift can produce a powerful improvement in body awareness very quickly. I have had multiple weightlifting patients consistently make record lifts shortly after starting NSO care.

     2. Increased Flexibility and Range of Movement. A Neural Shift is like having too much current running through the wires of your home. Those wires (nerves) connect to every part of your body, including the muscles. Neural Shifts produce tight, inflexible muscles and restrict the range of motion necessary for high performers. When the Neural Shift is addressed with NSO care the athlete becomes more flexible not only through the large muscles, but actually is able to increase their range of motion in the small muscles that precisely move each joint. This range and precision could be the difference between victory and defeat.

3. Increase Efficiency of Movement. The best athletes are the most efficient athletes. A study featured on the cover of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, compared functional MRIs of subjects performing a simple movement before and after care. The result was that after care the parts of the brain involved became much more specific and precise, indicating much greater efficiency.

This study also indicated that the brain was more efficient post entrainment, which has phenomenal implications for both sports and other areas of life.

4. Injury Prevention. Nothing can impede athletic progress more than injuries. Obviously, if you are more aware of your body, more flexible, have a greater ROM and more efficient with your movements a great number of potential injuries will be prevented.

5. Faster Healing and Recovery.  A Neural Shift indicates the body is locked in a fight or flight, or defensive state. In this state all of our resources are directed towards survival – even if we aren’t in danger. This means fewer resources are available for healing, repair, recovery and growth. NSO allows the body to move from survival to ease and healing. I have personally recovered from injuries in literally a tenth of the time predicted by orthopaedic surgeons. A few years ago I tore my hamstring playing baseball. The surgeon prescribed intensive physiotherapy and no running for 10 weeks. With no treatment I was running full speed in 5 days!

There are many ways to have aches, pains, injuries and muscle spasms temporarily relieved. Top athletes know that this is nowhere near enough to ensure top performance in their disciplines. Neurospinal Optimization provides an opportunity to not only get past challenges, but take you to the next level.

While I had planned to move on to a different topic, I had an interesting conversation last week that prompted this article. I think that looking at this example of weight-loss may aid in helping many people shift their focus when it comes to their health and therefore avoid being doomed in that area.

I was speaking to a friend (who is extremely fit) at the gym who was telling me about their sister. The sister has been over-weight and unhealthy her whole life and had really struggled with weight-loss. My friend was very happy to report that her sister had begun a group program (which I am not criticizing here) focused on weight loss and had made more progress than she had in a long time. The program included exercise and coaching on diet – both great things for your health.

After acknowledging her success and asking a few more questions, I said to my friend, “The thing is that if a person is solely focused on weight-loss…they are completely doomed (only I used a harsher word than doomed).” My friend’s jaw dropped and I could tell that she thought I was a bit crazy!

Here is the thing. If the sole focus is weight-loss (and I am not saying that it is in this program), what is the best possible outcome for this person? That’s right, to lose the targeted amount of weight. Total success would be reaching the target weight. Most people won’t get there but the ultra-successful and most dedicated likely will.

What now? What happens after all of that weight that had been a cause of suffering in her life is gone? Now she has to focus her efforts in keeping it off! The elephant is still in the room and now she won’t even have the motivation of the pain of being fat to keep her in line. Even though she is now thin, she will still be controlled by the weight that she does not want to put back on. This is suffering and this is a lifetime of doom – unless she can learn to shift her focus.

I completely acknowledge the power and value of starting the journey using weight-loss as a motivator to get you started. However, if this focus does not change quickly, it results in the yo-yo doom we see so many people struggle with.

What if the focus instead shifted to having amazing and sustainable energy and vitality? That focus could certainly include weight-loss, but would provide so much more. How about to age gracefully so I can lift weights with my grandchildren? Do you see how weight-loss creates a prison, where a shift in focus creates freedom?

I see the same dilemma in health care. People focus on being pain or symptom free. First of all, some pain is a necessary part of life and being completely pain free for any length of time is impossible so you are failure before you even start!

Also, pain and symptoms are always SECONDARY to something else (like being overweight is secondary to something else) and focusing on what is secondary won’t help you address what is PRIMARY. Fighting pain leads you to a lifetime of fighting pain. It will never end. DOOM.

Instead, why not focus on creating great health, performing and functioning well and expressing life to the fullest. Will you have less pain if you do that? Very likely and when symptoms do inevitably show up, you won’t care so much.

In our office, we focus on Neurospinal Optimization. As the spine and nervous system are optimized a whole host of secondary conditions improve or disappear – often some conditions that the patient did not even tell me about.

I encourage you to implement this way of thinking and living to any and every important part of your life. Parenting, relationships, finances, career, etc. Life is too short to live in our own self imposed prisons and it is a lot more fun to be free.

If you would like to learn more about how we help people in a fun and comfortable setting, you are welcome to attend one of our Introductory Presentations on select Monday and Tuesday evenings. Phone the office for details.

While we are on the topic of weight loss, check out this interesting article and pictures comparing the average man’s body in different countries around the world by clicking HERE.