| The body works diligently to
maintain itself in the best possible health by adapting itself
to internal and external environmental changes. If the outside
temperature rises, the body takes steps to cool down. If it's
cold, the body works to maintain its warmth. Every significant
change in the external environment triggers an adaptive
reaction in the body.
The same is true with the internal environment. When a
virus or other foreign substance invades its system, the body
produces the chemicals – or causes the reactions – which are
required for that special circumstance. Often, knowing that it
needs to rid itself of an "invader," the body will elevate its
internal temperature or increase waste elimination. These are
normal actions which the body takes to adapt to changes and
maintain health.
Unfortunately, these actions are often looked upon and
treated as a disease. We force our body down to a "normal"
temperature, and consume bottles of medicine to prevent us
from evacuating the toxic wastes we need to get rid of.
By doing so, we work against the body's own instincts and make
it even more difficult to adapt as it should.
This is not to say, of course, that the body will
always be able to adapt totally to every change.
Subluxations can reduce the flow of Innate Energy to the body
and reduce its ability to adapt. Lack of proper nutrition,
exercise, and sleep set up barriers to efficient adaptation.
Pollution in the air ... chemical additives in food and water
... emotional stress ... and psychological factors also make
it difficult or impossible for us to adapt totally to every
environmental demand.
In addition, even a "perfect" body does not have infinite
abilities. All Innate Matter has certain inherent limitations.
It cannot overcome major structural defects, and it cannot
adapt immediately to all changes. If it is expending its
energy, for instance, fighting off an invading virus, it might
not be able to respond as readily to the increased demands of
physical exertion. There is nothing we can do to expand the
given limitations of the body, but there is much we can do to
eliminate the artificial barriers to health. |
On a societal level, we can work
towards improving the quality of the air and water. On a
personal level, we can improve our diet, increase our
exercise, get enough sleep, learn to avoid or reduce emotional
stress; and attend to psychological problems as they arise.
Naturally, since the correction of vertebral subluxations
require specialized training and skill, we need to include
regular visits to a chiropractor in this health-maintenance
regimen.
We should also take care not to interfere with the adaptive
actions of the body by treating "symptoms" which are really
normal bodily functions! This means avoiding the unnecessary
use of therapies and medications which force the body
to act – or stop acting – in a certain way.
While it's difficult to believe this when you're lying in
bed with a temperature of 101 degrees, you're actually lucky
to have symptoms! Sometimes, that's the only way you know that
something is wrong with your body. For instance, if you put
your hand on a hot stove and didn't feel pain, you could
damage that hand beyond repair.
The real problem, then, arises in the absence of
symptoms. Too often, interferences in our body's normal
functioning do NOT exhibit any warning signs. When a
subluxation, for instance, distorts the normal flow of Innate
Energy, there may be internal changes so subtle that no
outward signs are noticed. Slowly, quietly, however, that
distortion takes its toll on our body.
Often, when someone dies suddenly, friends say, "But he was
so healthy! He was never sick a day in his life!" Obviously,
he wasn't so healthy, and he probably had been "sick" quite a
bit. The problem was, he didn't exhibit any symptoms to alert
him to that fact. Without the symptoms, he assumed he was
healthy and allowed the interference to continue.
That is why all people – those who suffer frequent
or occasional symptoms AND those who are "always healthy" –
must take care to correct and prevent any interference to the
normal flow of life energy in the body. If we wait for
symptoms, it may be too
late. |