Greenwood Chiropractic - The Importance of Intention

The Importance of Intention in Proper Adjusting

If you've ever shot a basketball, hit a baseball, shot a bow and arrow or any other similar activity requiring direction and focus then you know exactly what I mean when I say "the power of intention."

There's been a lot made of the power of intention lately in some New Age writing, but I'm not really talking about some kind of mystical or metaphysical notion that merely thinking about something makes it happen. If you're standing at the free throw line and you don't have a high level of intention about where the ball needs to go, your chances of making a basket are small. When I was a teen I went to a basketball camp with the great NBA champion and form Laker, Kareem Jabbar. Kareem didn't just aim for the basket, he aimed for a very tiny specific spot at the back edge of the rim.

The more specific your intention the greater the accuracy. Intention unites all the senses and all the neuromotor activities into a singular effort. Without a clear and powerful intention the arrow will land in the bushes.

If the chiropractor is not focused and clear about the intention of their adjustment then the patient may feel like they've been "adjusted" (the spinal joints still make the familiar popping noise), but the adjustment has mererly "bounced off the backboard" so to speak. Receiving a true chiropractic adjustment is not merely a manipulation of the spine. It is the re-opening of neuro-sensory, neuro-motor, neuro-vascular and neuro-visceral pathways that restore the flow of mental impulses between the brain and the body. The founder of chiropractic, Dr. Palmer said that these mental impulses conveyed what he called Innate Intelligence to the body. Innate Intelligence is what provides the body its ability to respond appropriately to the threat of any illness, injury or disease. Vertebral Subluxation interferes with the flow of Innate Intelligence to the cells of the body.

For over three decades as a martial artist I've trained and taught the power of intention. I've never been able to move anything with just my thoughts - I really don't think it works that way. But when the proper action is informed by clear intention the effect is powerful.

I have been adjusted by many chiropractors and it pains me to say that most are practicing spinal manipulation with seemingly very little sense of precision. This kind of willy-nilly spinal manipulation treatment can actually leave the nervous system in greater disorder and potentially make the patient's health worse. Even well meaning friends family members who say, "Oh, I can crack your back" are most likely creating more disorder in the nervous system and degrading the proper function of the spine even further.

Whether you're a surgeon performing a delicate operation, an athlete focusing on their event or a chiropractor performing a spinal Adjustment, the results hinge to no small degree on state of mind and power of intention.

Dr. Philip Greenwood, D.C.
Murrieta, California