Here are 3 things I would like my community to know about chiropractic:

1. Chiropractic care helps strengthen the immune system.
2. Chiropractors study about using food and supplements for healing.
3. Chiropractors can treat children to help with colic, digestive issues, torticollis, and ear infections.
   

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My favorite book is Dr. Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy. This is totally nerdy!! I really enjoyed studying anatomy in school, which is another reason I become a chiropractor. Dr. Netter’s illustrations are beautiful and this book holds sentimental value because of all the time I spent studying with it while I was in chiropractic college.
 
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My most significant life lesson has been learning self-confidence. You cannot listen to the doubtful voice in your head or in your life. Set a goal, make a plan, and go after it. Finishing chiropractic school and starting my own practice has pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable. You always have a little more to give than you think. I compare this to finishing one more rep in a really tough workout. You can always do ONE more. I try to apply this principle to all aspects of my life. Believe in your ability to give a little more than you think you are capable of. You will surprise yourself. Keep fighting!
 
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My ideal patient is someone who is open to embracing the power of their body to get well. For me, this is based around 3 pillars of wellness: chiropractic care, whole food nutrition, and daily movement. These pillars not only promote pain relief, but they promote living a full and healthy life in mind and body. All 3 of these pillars are intertwined. Each one is dependent upon the strength of the other to build a strong foundation in wellness. My ideal patient makes small, yet consistent, changes to move toward wellness. Wellness is a dynamic state that we are either moving toward or away from with each choice that we make. Taking each decision one at a time allows us to better manage our health and move toward a better state of wellness.

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The most common condition I see in my practice is stress. Stress can manifest in the body in many different ways. Stress can lead to injury, delayed healing, digestive issues, illness, poor posture and headaches to name a few. This is why ensuring all aspects of my patients’ lives are congruent with achieving wellness is so important. It is way more than “my back hurts.” When the body is constantly under stress it lives in the sympathetic nervous system, or flight or fight mode. This state depletes the body of its resources it should be using to heal an injury or strengthen the immune system. Chiropractic adjustments and developing positive habits to combat stressors facilitates the body’s shift to the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the rest and digest mode. Removing interference from the nervous system via spinal adjustments allows the brain to effectively communicate with every cell, organ and tissue in the body.  This state frees up resources to allow the body to heal and repair from the inside out.  
 
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The hip hinge movement pattern applies to compound lower body movements performed in the gym such as squats, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. However, this movement also applies to something as simple as sitting in a chair. Practicing proper movement in all aspects of life, not just in the gym, is important to prevent injury and keep the body strong. The habits you practice every day are the ones your body remembers.
 
The goal of the mobility workshop was to begin to develop proper breathing patterns and the hip hinging movement. This may seem like it has nothing to do with mobility, but stability is an often overlooked aspect of mobility. Using the breath to control core and pelvic position during movement creates stability in the body. When the body senses it is stable, it also becomes more mobile. This is because then the body feels stable, it also feels safe. The feeling of safety says to the brain and nervous system that it is ok to let a muscle release tension and move into a greater range of motion. Lack of stability tells the body to increase muscle tone to protect itself. Most of our drills focused on breathing while bracing the abdomen and maintaining pelvic alignment while moving through a series of hip hinging drills. These allow you to create stability within your own body to allow for more mobility and successful functional movement.

DRILLS:
Belly Breathing
Lying on your back in a 90/90 position with feet in a squat stance and toes pointing toward the ceiling. Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Fully inhale through your nose filling the belly with air and making your spine as long as possible. The chest should not rise until you pull the final bit of air into your lungs. Exhale audibly through the mouth, like blowing up a balloon, bringing the ribs down and tightening the lower abdominals. This should be practiced every day! It takes time to break old patterns, especially breathing patterns since we breathe all day, every day. Belly breathing trains the core to reflexively stabilize the spine and pelvis which makes movement under bracing solid and efficient.
 
Hip Lift
This is an extension of the above 90/90 position belly breathing. Following the same pattern of inhaling and exhaling, hold the exhale and tuck you pelvis under like a tiger pulling his tail through his legs. Next, feel as though you are pulling your heels to the floor engaging the hamstrings so much that your hips lift 2 inches off the floor. Once at the top of the position practice breathing without losing your braced position. This drills allows you to train your breathing pattern while maintaining a braced abdominal position.
 

PVC Pipe Hip Hinge 
Beginning with the same braced position as above, lean forward into a hip hinge while maintaining 3 points of contact on the PVC pipe: back of head, mid-back, and sacrum (tailbone). Finding a braced position with the pelvis in neutral allows more room for the hamstrings in the hip hinge motion. The pelvis should be held in a neutral position by the core, however when the core is not engaged, due to poor posture or lack of awareness, the pelvis tips forward. This sends a signal to the brain to keep tension on the hamstrings in an effort to pull the pelvis back to a neutral position and compensate for lack of stability in the core. Using the core to stabilize the pelvis as it is intended, allows the hamstrings to release tension and provides increased range of motion in the hip hinge.  
 
This drill is also a check for neck position. The stability of the neck and low back are related. Therefore, when the neck is in a stable position the low back will also be in a stable position. Keep the eyes moving in an arc in front of you and the chin tucked back enough to give you a slight double chin. Where the eyes move, the body follows. This will allow the neck to stay locked in and help with the braced low back position. 

Box/Wall Hip Hinge
This drill is a progression of the hip lift on the floor. Standing with your calves touching a box begin with a breath and brace sequence to set the pelvis and core. Perform a hip hinge by pulling with the hamstrings against the box. The arms may reach in front for counter balance. The hip hinge is an active posterior chain movement. This drill provides a cue to make it easier to feel hamstring engagement during the hip hinge. Since the hamstrings do not have to do the work of the core to keep the pelvis in neutral they may now fire properly to perform the hip hinge movement pattern. Remove the box once you have mastered this drill. Stand with your heels 6-12 inches from the wall and perform the same sequence touching the glutes to the wall for each repetition keeping a braced core and active hamstrings.

Practice makes permanent, so practice well and practice often!

I consistently work to replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk. I do this through repetition of a mantra and daily meditation. I have my mantra posted on my bathroom mirror so I see it every morning when I wake up. I repeat this mantra throughout the day when I have a negative thought, especially in stressful situations when I can feel myself closing down. I also perform daily breathing and meditation exercises. This started out being a difficult task but has become much easier. I have allowed myself to be in the moment and embrace the time I have to celebrate me. I believe positive internal coaching is essential for success. Positive self-talk has allowed me to free up space in my mind and to stay confident and in the moment. This allows me to be more productive and achieve the goals I know I am capable of.
 
Here are a few guided meditation resources for you:
http://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-meditation-guided-practices/
https://chelhamilton.com/podcast/
 
I would like to know what you do to better yourself every day, so comment below. Don’t forget to like and share this video. Thanks for watching! See you guys tomorrow.

I gather my information from many different formats. I stay current with literature by subscribing to a few chiropractic and medical journals and enjoy reading publications by Dr. Craig Liebenson and Dr. Stuart McGill who both focus on rehabilitation. I also enjoy learning from my peers by reading their websites/blogs or listening to their podcasts. Some of my favorites lately are listed below:
 
Primal Docs: Great resource for whole food nutrition and hormone balance. Blogs written by practitioners of multiple disciplines offers many perspectives.
http://primaldocs.com/
 
Stupid Easy Paleo: Steph Gaudreau tells it like it is writing easy and delicious whole food paleo recipes.
http://stupideasypaleo.com/
 
Harder to Kill Radio: Steph Gaudreau’s latest project is a podcast featuring one new health and wellness related guest per week. I have found many additional resources from her guests since starting to listen to this podcast.
http://stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast/
 
Meditation Minis: Certified hypnotherapist, Chel Hamilton, leads you through a simple 5-10 minute mediation. I love that this is a guided mediation, it makes it so much easier for me. Perfect for beginners just starting to practice mediation/mindfulness.
https://chelhamilton.com/podcast/
 
If you’d like to share some of your favorite resources with me please leave them in a comment below.  Don’t forget to like and share this video. Thanks for watching and I will see you guys tomorrow!

I attended Los Angeles Chiropractic College in Whittier, California. I chose this school because the curriculum presented has a strong hold in evidence based medicine. It is important to me to understand the science behind what I do and to stay up with current literature findings. I was fortunate to have an excellent mentor outside of school, who also attended LACC, to help strengthen my chiropractic philosophy. I believe both sides can be combined to make one well-rounded clinician. There is only so much didactic learning that can occur before you need to let the energy in your hands take over. I strive to continue to balance art and science in my chiropractic practice. 
 
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My recommendation for managing pain between chiropractic visits is to stay as active as possible without causing extreme pain. Neurologically, movement overrides pain. Movement also helps with circulation and managing inflammation. Some inflammation is essential for the healing process; however, excessive inflammation causes delayed healing. Being sedentary while recovering from an injury may seem inviting but it can cause more problems. Light activity helps speed recovery and keep you out of pain. Of course the kind of activity that is best will vary depending on the injury, so be sure to discuss this with me or your treating doctor.
 
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