through the beaded curtain covering the doorway into the house.
Ben found it unsettling how much the Websters seemed to know about his personality, lifestyle and health. They had never asked any specific questions to elicit this information, yet he felt as though they knew him intimately. He watched Elizabeth disappear into the corridor attaching the house and the garage, then turned to Daniel.
“What causes these imbalances or blockages in the body’s bio-energetic systems like the sublaxations you mentioned earlier, Daniel?”
“They’re called ‘sub-lux-ations’, Ben,” explained Daniel. He placed the disk on the floor in front of him and reached for his glass of chlorophyll water. “They’re so terribly important, and yet almost no one aside from chiropractors has ever heard the term. It is one example of interference or blockage in the energy system of the body. Acupuncturists will talk about blockages of chi in the meridians, while others will refer to a lack of flow in your energy vortexes, called chakras, or a disruption in your aura. There are a variety of causes, and these disruptions can occur at any time throughout our lives. The earliest occurrence is right at the moment of birth. Even a so-called ‘normal’ birth can be traumatic. The head is twisted, traction is applied to the neck during the exit from the birth canal—these things are very traumatic, Ben. A newborn infant can experience vertebral subluxations, for example, in the cervical spine from its very earliest moments of life. This causes interference with the flow of energy, even though the symptoms may not appear for several years.”
“And that’s not all,” said Elizabeth, who had quietly returned to the garage and picked up the conversation where Daniel left off. “Consider the frenzied, stressful pace of life that most people lead these days. There are endless demands on their time, patience, and abilities. This constant state of physical, mental, and emotional stress takes its toll on the body. High stress results in over-stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. As Daniel mentioned earlier, this can affect things like blood pressure, pulse and digestion. This can begin a negative spiral effect on the body. As neuromuscular tension develops throughout the body, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol pulse through the blood and tissues. This alone has many negative effects. With all of this going in the body, the immune system may not function as well as it otherwise would and you may not have enough energy to do all your regular activities as your nutrient and energy stores become depleted.”
Daniel emerged from the front driver side wheel well to finish the explanation. “After many centuries of research it has become very clear that the structural integrity of the body, and specifically the pelvis-spine-cranium complex, plays a crucial role in maintaining muscular balance throughout the body, enabling it to communicate with itself, balancing tissues, muscles and organs, and opening the channels to wellness and healing.”
As Daniel moved to the other end of the vehicle and descended into the rear wheel well to inspect the brake assembly, Ben slid Max’s feet off the couch to the floor and sat down next to him. He had learned a lot from the Websters in just a couple of visits. Thinking it over, he realized that there seemed to be one underlying theme to their message so far: interference with the free flow of energy throughout the body appears to be at the root of almost every ailment, illness or disease that strikes humans. Remove that interference and experience good health and a long life. He looked forward to learning more from the Websters about how this could be achieved.
“Energy blockages are called silent killers, right Daniel?” asked Vic. His gaze was fixed on a prism hanging in front of the window next to the workbench. A dissected shaft of sunlight scattered coloured beams throughout the room.
“Exactly,” replied Daniel, reaching for a wrench on the workbench. “And many times with these energy blockages there are no associated symptoms for months, even years, but they are interfering nonetheless. The idea of keeping the energy system free from interference in order to achieve optimal health was recognized by many cultures many centuries ago and led to the establishment of various disciplines such as acupuncture and ayurveda. The chiropractic profession started over a hundred years ago and has grown tremendously in popularity. Millions of people now visit chiropractors around the world every day.”
Ben looked at Max as he began to snore. He nudged his friend, who resumed his normal breathing pattern. “I’ve never been to a chiropractor, an acupuncturist or a massage therapist, Daniel. I do know people who have gone to these types of professionals to get treated for for a variety of conditions, but I don’t how effective they were. I guess I’ve never had a reason to see these practitioners yet.”
“Ben, do you remember our discussion when we first met? I mentioned the difference between preventive maintenance and damage control.” He walked over to the workbench and opened the overhead cupboard.
“When you visit your doctor, as you did a couple of weeks ago, that was for damage control. You have problems with noticeable symptoms. Your doctor will help you to relieve those symptoms, usually with prescription drugs. That’s controlling the damage, but it doesn’t address the problem that’s causing those symptoms. After visiting many different practitioners over the years, just like what you’ll find at many of the wellness clinics today, we discovered that stimulating your body in a certain way alerts its innate intelligence. Remember in our first session we said that the body, with its innate intelligence, is a self-healing, self-regulating organism that always strives to maintain balance and equilibrium. Well, that is exactly the role of these practitioners, essentially providing the body with a window of opportunity to comprehensively reorganize itself through the natural activation of various neural reflexes and important regulatory systems. The end result is to restore your body’s structural integrity, and decode and reset your nervous system, which results in a deep level of relaxation, well being, and rejuvenation. The key here is to get ongoing care for preventive maintenance. It’s true that they can also treat people with traumatic injuries, and a variety of health problems, but that’s only a small part of their role.”
“So are you saying that I should probably visit one of these wellness centres for a check-up, even if I’m not sick?” asked Ben.
“Well, let me ask you this,” said Daniel as he prepared to replace the worn disc with a new one. “How do you know when to get an oil change—when your engine seizes?”
“I get it changed every five thousand kilometres,” answered Ben.
“Well, why would you wait until you develop a health problem with symptoms before taking corrective action? Why not go for check-ups and treatments regularly?. These practitioners are well qualified to detect and help correct any problems in the bio-energetic systems. It’s good for people of all ages, from newborns to centenarians. In fact, you have a greater chance of reaching 100 years of age if you keep your energy channels free of blockages. Since we have noticed the most positive changes when the structural balance of our pelvis and spine is maintained, I would suggest you start there, if you do decide to visit a wellness centre.”
“Do you get regular check-ups, Daniel?” Ben asked, realizing too late that the answer was obvious.
“Elizabeth and I have been getting regular treatments with non-traditional health practitioners for half a century now. For example, we get ongoing chiropractic adjustments twice a month and massages once a month. We’ve had help from acupuncturists, naturopaths and mental health coaches, to name just a few. Neither of us has ever been really sick. We lead a healthy lifestyle, which we are going to share with you over the next several months. But a key component of our lifestyle is getting help from practitioners who understand that good health is an ongoing process, an integration of the body-mind-emotional-spiritual complex as a whole, and that illnesses are symptoms of imbalance somewhere in the body.”
Max
