by Terry A. Rondberg, DC

Every once in a while you speak at a chiropractic seminar and something magical happens. The consciousness of the room changes. It’s subtle at first but then the whole room is awash in love.

Here I am with Jeanne Ohm, head of the ICPA, flanked by Drs. Keven Pallis and Ed Plentz

I was speaking at the Revitalization Seminar put on by The New Renaissance (TNR) in Detroit last weekend, and the topic of my talk was the non-linear aspect or spiritual side of chiropractic.

Why do some DCs witness miracles in their offices and others don’t? Same college degree, same training … hugely different results.

I’ve spoken all over the world in front of many people. These DCs were different. They actually heard my message and responded by making a connection with me that I rarely see with any group. Doctor after doctor came up to me afterwards and commented about how I inspired them and “captured” the essence of chiropractic. I was humbled by this group of compassionate and high-achievement DCs.

Another thing that sets them apart is that they’re involved in a project called Love Has No Color, which helps Native American kids on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. It’s hard to believe, that third-world conditions exist right here in the US. But they do.

The World Chiropractic Alliance has formed an alliance with TNR to help LHNC wipe out the extreme poverty and hopelessness on the Reservation.

These doctors have it all: fascinating work, selfless service with a higher purpose, and a wonderful resonating vision – one vision uniting the profession. The group has a can-do attitude reflected in their motto, “If you want to get something done that nobody else can do, call a principled chiropractor.”

They’re taking action in the face of overwhelming odds. This reminds me of how chiropractic got started. These remarkable individuals are “walking their talk.”They’re taking action and doing something very big.

It’s nice to see people in chiropractic who still care and want to go above and beyond to help people in need.

And, the best thing is that they are not a closed group. Any of you can join them and start making a different on the Reservation, in your practice and in your life. To learn more, go to the Love Has No Color website.

Two years ago, UCLA researchers discovered that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation could be good for all of us since our brains naturally get smaller with age.

Now, there’s a follow-up study, which appears in the online edition of the journal NeuroImage,

suggesting that people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. Significantly, these effects are evident throughout the brain, not just in specific areas.

Eileen Luders, a visiting assistant professor at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues (study co-authors Kristi Clark, Katherine L. Narr and Arthur W. Toga) used a type of brain imaging known as diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI, a fairly new imaging mode that supplies insights into the brain’s structural connectivity. They found that the differences between meditators and controls are not limited to a particular core region of the brain. They involve large-scale networks that include the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes, and the anterior corpus callosum, as well as limbic structures and the brain stem.

“Our results suggest that long-term meditators have white-matter fibers that are either more numerous, more dense or more insulated throughout the brain,” Prof. Luders said. “We also found that the normal age-related decline of white-matter tissue is considerably reduced in active meditation practitioners.”

The study consisted of 27 active meditation practitioners (average age 52) and 27 control subjects, who were matched by age and sex. The meditation and the control groups each consisted of 11 men and 16 women whose meditation practice spanned 5 to 46 years. Self-reported meditation styles included Shamatha, Vipassana, and Zazen, styles that were practiced by about 55% of the meditators, either exclusively or in combination with other styles.

Results showed distinct structural connectivity in meditators throughout the entire brain’s pathways. The greatest differences between the two groups were observed within the corticospinal tract (a collection of axons that travel between the cerebral cortex of the brain and the spinal cord), the superior longitudinal fasciculus (long bi-directional bundles of neurons connecting the front and the back of the cerebrum), and the uncinate fasciculus (white matter that connects parts of the limbic system, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, with the frontal cortex).

“It is possible that actively meditating, especially over a long period of time, can induce changes on a micro-anatomical level,” said Luders, herself a meditator.

As a consequence, she said, the strength of fiber connections in meditators may increase and possibly lead to the macroscopic effects seen by DTI.

“Meditation, however, might not only cause changes in brain anatomy by inducing growth but also by preventing reduction,” Luders noted. “That is, if practiced regularly and over years, meditation may slow down aging-related brain atrophy, perhaps by positively affecting the immune system.”

But – there’s a “but.” While it’s tempting to assume the differences between the two groups constitute actual meditation-induced effects, nature versus nurture remains the unanswered question.

“It’s possible that meditators might have brains that are fundamentally different to begin with,” Luders said. “For example, a particular brain anatomy may have drawn an individual to meditation or helped maintain an ongoing practice – meaning that the enhanced fiber connectivity in meditators constitutes a predisposition towards meditation, rather than being the consequence of the practice.”

Still, she said, “Meditation appears to be a powerful mental exercise with the potential to change the physical structure of the brain at large. Collecting evidence that active, frequent and regular meditation practices cause alterations of white-matter fiber tracts that are profound and sustainable may become relevant for patient populations suffering from axonal demyelination and white-matter atrophy.”

Luders said, however, that more research is needed before taking meditation into clinical trial studies.

SOURCES: “Enhanced brain connectivity in long-term meditation practitioners,” NeuroImage Volume 57, Issue 4, 15 August 2011. ABSTRACT

“Is meditation the push-up for the brain?” University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

On August 22nd, 2011, Dr. Terry Rondberg, President of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) interviewed co-owners of The New Renaissance, Dr. Kevin Pallis & Dr. Ed Plentz about their mission to revitalize the chiropractic profession. They discussed their partnership with the WCA, their humanitarian  project “Love Has No Color,” and their upcoming Revitalization Seminar in Detroit on November 5th.

Watch now!

Having a supervised play area for children can prevent accidents

It was one of the rarest accidents ever recorded in a chiropractic practice and one of the saddest as well. An 18-month-old boy apparently crawled under an electric powered therapy table at a chiropractic office in Shoreview, Minn., last month.

Investigators guess that he somehow hit a button on the foot pedal, which lowered the 315-pound table onto him. His mother was strapped onto the table at the time and didn’t see him until the table descended.

Despite frantic attempts by the staff members of the office to raise the table off the boy, the mechanism wouldn’t work. They even tried lifting it off him by hand, but to no avail.

Finally, after several failed attempts, the motor engaged and the table lifted. But it was too late – the child died of traumatic head injuries shortly after arriving at the local hospital.

The table was a Triton DTS TRT-600 traction system with no known reported problems prior to this accident.

The table’s user guide warns that the system “should be kept out of the reach of children” and states that doctors should “not allow any unsupervised patient access to the traction table.” A danger section also warns to “not allow any person, object or device to be under the table while the table is in operation.”

The case is a tragic reminder that dangers exist whenever there are heavy, powerful pieces of equipment like this. We must be constantly vigilant, especially where children are involved. When parents are undergoing treatment, they cannot properly supervise their children, so that task falls to the office staff.

Having a separate  “kid’s play area” – with proper supervision under the watchful eye of a staff member – is one way to ensure no child is put at risk in your office.

The child’s family has set up a memorial fund at www.newtonfamilyfund.com for anyone who wishes to make a donation.

Guest Post – by Dr. Robert Wiegand

(NOTE: Dr. Robert ‘Rick’ Wiegand teaches the “Access: Enhanced Awareness Workshop.” For more information about enhancing awareness/perception, visit: Access Workshop.)

Dr. Rick Wiegand

Myth #1: Only a limited percentage of ‘gifted’ individuals can develop exceptional perceptual abilities.

FACT: The human nervous system is astonishingly sensitive. The average person’s innate sensitivity, e.g., their neural receptor thresholds, extends far beyond their conscious ‘range of perception.’ The simple truth is that your neural system continually detects much more stimuli than you are AWARE of. Consequently, most individuals are ‘gifted’ with the genetic potential to develop exceptional perceptual skills.

Myth #2: Your perception is limited to the ‘standard’ 5 sense responses.

FACT: Your conscious ‘range of perception’ is indeed limited/determined by your awareness of various responses your neural system produces when it detects a stimulus. However, your neural system produces a wide assortment of responses – beyond ‘standard’ 5 sense responses – when it detects diverse types of stimuli.

For example, your neural system produces specific autonomic and central nervous system responses when it detects extremely subtle stimuli. Practitioners who cultivate awareness of these specific responses are able to enhance/extend their range of perception. As a result, they can perceive important types of subtle stimuli, such as extremely weak changes in a patient’s physiology, which cannot be experienced/perceived through the ‘standard’ 5 sense responses.

Myth #3: It takes a lot of time and effort to cultivate exceptional perceptual skills.

FACT: Your clinical perceptual skills can be significantly enhanced in a weekend.

In the past, relatively little was known about how the human neural system processes extremely subtle stimuli. Consequently, developing subtle perception skills was a ‘hit or miss’ proposition that could consume considerable time and effort – with no guarantee of success.

Neurophysiological research has recently identified key components that are involved in processing subtle stimuli. Subsequently, new protocols have been developed that can reliably assist you to quickly develop exceptional perceptual skills. Enhanced perceptual abilities give you ‘access’ to a greater range of awareness/information/insights as you work with your patients. This, in turn, can significantly increase your effectiveness and certainty – as well as your enjoyment – in practice.