“As soon as Dr. Mary touched his upper neck, he yawned and settled into this deep relaxed place. It was almost like a trance!”

I hear this regularly from those clients of mine who’ve followed my recommendation to take their animals to see my chiropractor, Dr. Mary Traverse, here in Austin.

And I know exactly what that dog was going through, because I have the same experience when I get on her table each week. I find myself, from the first touch, or “contact” as it’s called, shifting into a deep, relaxed state while being simultaneously aware of what’s going on around me.

Breathing Again

I inevitably also start breathing fully when I’m on that table, again within the first minute of a contact. And it’s then that I realize I hadn’t been taking full breaths for quite some time! Ahhhhh, that’s more like it! How had I been holding my breath for so long?

This is Network Chiropractic, a world apart from regular chiropractic, the conventional practice where the practitioner seeks to reduce subluxations, the slight to gross misalignments of the spine or other bones. If you’ve been to the regular chiropractors, you know there’s some focus on “cracking the back,” or “adjusting” things back into place.

Not so in Network Chiropractic, aka NSA, Network Spinal Analysis. This is to chiropractic what homeopathy is to drug therapy. Yes, we use drugs in homeopathy, by the strictest sense of the word. But our remedies are so extremely dilute, so subtle as to be energetic more than physical, and they have deep, wide reaching effects on the whole organism who receives a proper dose.

As you may have gleaned if you’ve been reading along for a while, homeopathy can shift deep things, even bizarre behaviors. It often has whole animal effects because of this subtlety, shifting the health of the properly treated individual in a broad sense, far greater than conventional drugs could ever achieve.

Stress: Out!

The light contacts made by a network practitioner allow the nervous system to free itself of stress. NSA has been researched by quantum physicists, as it actually sets up subtle, synchronous waves in the patient, and allows the stress to leave the system.

Did you know:

• Humans are wired to react to stress as if it’s life threatening?
• Fight or flight is our reaction to modern day stressors?
• We respond to modern stress as if it were a saber toothed tiger chasing us?

All true. And, sad truth be told, we are in a state of “armoring” most of the time, as a defense against the worldly stresses we encounter. Think impenetrable defenses, physically and emotionally. Like we’re the Humvees on the road of life.

Lizard vs. Michelangelo

The brain under stress operates from the brain stem, that reptilian part of our nervous system that gives us the capability to flee or do battle. It’s been measured: that’s where the blood flow, and the electrical activity is in our brains, MOST OF THE TIME.

When people receiving regular Network Care are measured, that pattern reverses, and the activity and blood flow are more in the cerebral cortex, the higher brain centers. It’s up here that we are able to discern, contemplate, create, and feel compassion.

Animals LOVE This

What prompts this week’s missive is my spending the weekend with Dr. Mary at a Clear Day, a chance for more treatments in a group setting. There were 14 of us in attendance, including a 7 mo old baby and a middle aged dog! Here’s Byron, wanting in on the action that his caregiver is getting:

Dr. Mary sees a good number of horses and dogs and cats in her practice, along with the humans. When the contacts are made, the horse often straightens out his spine, after being dipped or arched for years. This takes place within minutes, and is demonstrable in photos before and after the treatment. Animals move better, are freer in their gaits, and increase their performance when they get Network Care.

Dogs often yawn (horses, too) after a contact. This indicates a deep, relaxed state, and a horse often drops his head from the “over alert” posture to one of greater ease.

Are You Sympathetic? Hope Not.

We and our animals, in dealing with stress, often have our nervous systems in sympathetic mode, the fight or flight strategy. After regular Network Care, the parasympathetic mode takes over, which is all about “rest and digest.” And the two are mutually exclusive. You may have noticed that you don’t digest so well when you are nervous about something. The “stomach in knots” feeling is when you’re in the sympathetic, stress mode and your poor stomach is trying to get some food digested!

Get You Some!

I can’t say enough good about Dr. Mary’s work, for both the animals and for my own health. She’s taken a year long training and gained certification with the AVCA, which provides in depth training in animal chiropractic for both vets and chiropractors. And she’s one of a handful of Network Chiropractors who stays current on the ongoing developments in this field.

While some natural methods are not compatible with homeopathy (acupuncture, for example), Network Chiropractic is fully complementary, and I love it when my patients receive it along with their remedies.

It really feels like my world is full of greater possibilities since beginning this work myself a few years ago. Network practitioners talk about building new “strategies” in one’s nervous system to deal with the challenges that seem to always come our way. I can feel that greater adaptability growing inside as I continue to receive weekly treatments. And a great side effect: I stand straight on the earth, after years of poor posture that regular chiropractic could never correct.

If you’re in the Austin area, call her office and get yourself and your critters in to see her: 512-345-4300, or visit her website. If you live elsewhere, seek out an NSA practitioner from this site.

Ever tried Network Chiropractic? Had your animals adjusted? Tell us about it in the comments.