The Chiropractor’s Philosophy for Health and Happiness in the New World

I can imagine that, for some of you, 2020 was a massive year. You lost some of your proud mane (and not just went grey), you have battle scars across your face (not just wrinkles) and you are sitting from exhaustion, looking towards the future, hopeful for the light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

If this is you…then this blog is for you. 

 

Today I will make a big statement! Please cheer wildly (even if we cannot all hear)! 

 

Herewith, some interesting stats, facts and thoughts to really set the current scene that will prime you to be ready for the magic. This magic appears at the end of the blog. So don’t just scroll through, rather read everything. It will make the magic more real and be emotionally driven! These emotions will help you set your actions in place and ultimately affect your year ahead. 

 

I will constantly ask you for your thoughts and opinions, so please add them frequently. The more interactive the better!

 

THE BIG STATEMENT – Your only investment is your health.

 

Similar to the Dalai Lama, I have met a patient who has huge wealth. In fact, he bought the “something” floor of the Burj Khalifa when it was still air and then sold it, while it was still air, for a ridiculous profit. However, in my office he said, “I have spent my health and family to get wealthy and now I do not know how I can spend my wealth to get them back!”

 

With this in mind please share your thoughts and comments - what are you investing most in? 

 

Before we dive in further let us make a few definitions clearer. 

Philosophy is the guiding principle or way in which you think

Health is a complete state of resilience and the ability to change with the changing environment. I feel this is very important when you consider how much Covid-19 has and is still changing the world.

 

Happiness is for the Ego -  that short term hedonistic feeling when you have fed your immediate reward systems, even if it is at someone else’s expense. 

Happyness is for humanity; that desire to serve someone else; the desire to improve yourself to be of benefit to someone else; that long-lasting feeling of satisfaction when you have achieved your innate goal. 

 

 

Let us set the scene by taking a look at the cost of health care from 1970.

As you can see, the costs are rising drastically. 

Especially when you consider how much is spent per person per year on health care. 

It is phenomenal when you consider how much is spent per person per year on health care. According to the OECD, twenty-three countries spend more than $3,000 on healthcare per capita, based on 2018 data, with the United States spending $10,586 per person/per year on healthcare!

 

I question what you would be able to do with “ R150 000” per year or “37 000 AED” per year?” (I reside in both Dubai and South Africa, hence the currencies). Let me change the question – what would you be able to do for your health and happyness with that amount? Please give me your thoughts and comments below.

 

That is R13 000 per month! I have patients that spend less than R1500 per month, in my office, for their Chiropractic care.

 

For 3000 AED, I have staff members where this amounts to their entire salary!

 

But we all know the simple rule - what happens in the US is generally where all countries will end up - unless we change our paths collectively. 

 

 

Next, as we go through the costs of diseases, I can imagine an investment guru looking at these figures and getting excited. Most of these conditions are actually preventable and if we could prevent them, we would not be flushing this money down the drain. Instead we could invest what would now saved by people, simply by changing their behaviours. Taking this further, by using the concept of Happyness with a Y, we could use that invested money to further serve the needs of the poor, starved, uneducated etc. What would you invest this money in, if you had that opportunity? 

 

 

Making this conversation specific to South Africa; the average household spends almost 14% of their income on food, beverages and tobacco and not even 1% on health! I can therefore understand why, according to the Indigo Wellness Index in 2019, South Africa was ranked as the unhealthiest country on earth - using 10 measures for ranking, which include: healthy life expectancy; blood pressure; blood glucose (diabetes risk); obesity; depression; happiness; alcohol use; tobacco use; inactivity (too little exercise) and government spending on healthcare.

 

According to https://www.cipla.co.za/health-wellness/the-cost-of-health-care-in-south-africa/ Private health care in South Africa is expensive and relatively inaccessible to the majority of South Africans. With medical scheme contributions by members increasing at an alarming rate and out-of-pocket expenses by members showing double digit growth, private health care affordability is set to remain a big challenge in the future.

 

With all this being said - please give me your thoughts and comments.  Are we winning the battle for health and happiness?

 

I do not wish to discuss much about Covid, especially with the conspiracy theories and the major differences in opinions and thoughts. However, because 2020 was such an interesting and challenging year, I thought it prudent to mention something! The below Writer’s article is well written and apt for where we are now. 

 

So as we wrap up the case, what does the / your future hold? 

 

-       Are we going to get a grip on the health and happiness of the world?                     

OR

-       Are we going to stay in the reactive mechanism of “Health Care”?

 

If you had to rate yourself out of 10, where 10 is your tops - for your holistic level of health and happiness - and 1 is when you are at death’s door, where are you now?

 

If you could imagine being at your full level of health and happiness, what Quality of Life would you have? When we discuss quality of life, we are talking about the ability to do what we want, when we want, without pains, aches and suffering?

 

 

For me, my quality of life is:

 

1)    Interacting with my son and doing whatever crazy activity or adventure he desires. 

2)    To be able to do crazy movements with my body – the desire to do handstands and muscle up, are my current goals. 

3)    Being able to travel and explore God’s beautiful world with my wife.

4)    The desire to be able to be a Chiropractor until at least my 100th birthday .

5)    To be around to interact with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

What is it to you?

 

Now it is time for the magic - this is where you get to make your changes. Before we do, take note that there is only one certainty in the world - and that is death! It cures everything! For everything else you have to learn how to manage and you are either pro-actively managing or re-actively managing. The choice is yours. In physiological terms, we call this either adaptation or compensation. Adaptation is getting stronger and more resilient and becoming better fitted to the environment. Compensation is the opposite and results in declining multi-system issues, challenges, disorders and diagnosis!

 

Do you feel that Adaptation is important during this time? We will either adapt or compensate to the viruses, bacteria, vaccinations and challenges faced personally and in business, as well as the constant use of masks and sanitizations. 

 

So how do I achieve adaptability, you may ask?

 

1)    Have the awareness that something has to change and most importantly, that you have to change. What are you aware of, just one thing in your life as you are now, that needs to change? 

 

 My answer is I sit too much, because of my change in work environment. 

 

2)    Change your thoughts and act upon your ideas. 

Based on what needs to change, what will be the one thing that you commit to, starting tomorrow? You have to make it a tangible action step?

 

My answer is I walk for at least 30 min every morning and at least 1 hour every day on the weekend. 

 

3)    Acknowledge the change based on your actions and then refocus for the next one. Set yourself a time frame and review how effective your change has been. Normally, 6 to 12 weeks is a recognized physiological time frame. 

 

Please take note of the following rules:

 

-       Be realistic, understand your excuses and weaknesses. 

-       Find your values and motivations, what makes you tick…have your reasons.

-        It is very important to spend time on this…go to https://drdemartini.com/values/

-       Contemplate and then journalize, so that you fully understand!

 

Set rituals and routines that will help you succeed, but they must change your internal state.

 

Most people do not succeed in rituals and routines because their old habit is stronger than their new habit. I do not have time to get into this but you cannot break a habit neurologically. Neurologically, a behavioural pattern is wired in for life. 

 

What you can do is wire in a new and more powerful habit that your brain will choose at any given time. 

 

To do this the rules of Habit forming are:

1)    Repetition

2)    Correct repetition

3)    Time and value

4)    5:2

5)    80% rule

6)    And daily mechanisms of assessment and biofeedback. 

 

Now with the lengthy theory out of the way and done and complete, comes the practical application!

 

In the application of this magic you will either sink or fly, because swimming is mediocre!

 

For this you have to understand stress in the body. Whether you think you feel stress or not, your body is constantly acting in response and reacting to your environment. Your sensory system constantly facilitates or inhibits how your brain controls the function of your body. 

This is the true brain-body connection. You need to know how your body is affecting the brain’s control of your body’s functions!

 

Further to this, we do not actually live in reality.  We live in our own perception (mostly a skewed perception) of reality and this is why our emotions affect physiology. Unfortunately reactive physiology causes changes of the posture, spine and neurological conductivity to all parts of the body. This puts you into one of a few categories on how you perceive your environment and how you respond to it (most likely without you even knowing!). 

 

The “Biochart” is an indication of what issues may occur if your perception directs the body to respond in a certain way to its environment over an extended period.  Where are you?  Where would you like to be?

 

Earlier in this article I made mention of your internal state.  This is your internal state and your daily actions must create the needed change, over time, in order for full adaptability to be in place. 

A quick word and simple analogy about Chiropractic is Cntr-Alt-Reset - to reset the software (Brain) such that you can keep regulating and adapting the hardware (Body). There is a lot of science behind this but that will be for another talk. However, I believe Chiropractic should be part of your new normal.  Chiropractic works – give it a go! 

Live without Pain; Aspire to More