Awareness & Transformation
Imagine walking into a spacious, light-filled room with hardwood floors that feels homey. Envision a welcoming space filled with beautiful, healthy plants, inviting through its use of color, light and design.
You have just visualized the office spaces of Dr. Debra Babcock and Dr. Jamie Nash, respectively. Yes – that’s right – you have just visualized doctor’s offices! If this sounds like a far cry from the traditional, utilitarian vibe present in most doctor’s spaces, it is.
Dr. Debra and Dr. Jamie are both chiropractors specializing in a form of chiropractic care called Network Spinal Analysis.
Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) is a specialized form of chiropractic care developed by Dr. Donald Epstein. Network chiropractors are trained in releasing restrictions in the spine that can cause pain and dysfunction. Network chiropractors differ from their more traditional counterparts in their emphasis on changing the symptoms of pain and discomfort into the healing energy of transformation.
Network chiropractors treat their patients from a Wellness Model of Health. Dr. Donald Epstein, the founder of NSA, explains the Wellness Model as follows: “Wellness is not about whether a person has disease. Wellness is about a person’s internal experience of their body, the ability to make constructive choices, and the ability to enjoy life and be well.”
NSA practitioners focus on helping their patients develop a new relationship with their body by helping them learn the language of their nervous system, particularly their spine. For instance, almost everyone can relate to the experience of being uptight; the shoulders creep up towards the ears, the neck stiffens, the jaw clenches and the breath becomes shallow. By applying a very soft touch to specific points along the spine (the base of the head, the neck and the low spine), the Network chiropractor helps their patients learn how to transform the body language of uptight into the body language of fluidity, melting and ease.
Moreover, as the NSA process deepens, the patient learns to recognize the early warning signs of distress as they occur in daily life. Then by movement and breath they are able to release the pattern of tension and strain before it magnifies into pain, dysfunction or injury. As a result, the symptoms actually become the mechanisms by which patterns of limitation are transformed.
Each NSA session is called an entrainment. This means that the patient is literally learning a new way of relating to their body, to their spirit and – ultimately – to their life. NSA looks at the context in which a person’s symptoms manifest. For instance, suppose you decided to seek NSA for help with a nagging, achy lower back. Your NSA doctor would be concerned with more than simply relieving your symptoms. Your NSA doctor would want to know the context in which this body issue has come about. For instance, do you sit at a desk all day and get very little exercise? Are there issues coming up for you which are only being able to get your attention by being nagging, little pains in the back? What is it about your life that needs to change?
NSA is not interested in taking you back to where you were before you noticed your symptoms. NSA is taking you forward into an expanded sense of self-awareness with a new repertoire of skills to help you with your life challenges.
There are currently three levels of Network care. Patients typically start at Level One. Some of the gains to be experienced at this level include deeper and easier breathing, more ease and flexibility in the spine, more awareness in how one holds tension, and the beginnings of a deeper connection with one’s body.
At Level Two, patients learn how to use the energy of their symptomatic discomfort to transform their more chronic neurological patterns into new, more beneficial strategies for health.
At Level Three, the sky is the limit. At this level, patients begin to develop strategies for accessing ever deepening wells of wisdom and awareness within themselves. They ‘entrain’ more fully through their hearts.
Anthony “Tony” Robbins, Peak Performance Coach and Bestselling Author of ‘Unlimited Power’ states the following: “Network Spinal Analysis and Somato Respiratory Integration, Donny Epsteins’s revolutionary methodologies, are amongst the most powerful sources of personal transformation I have ever experienced or seen. They produce embodied and empowered strategies that are both sustainable and enjoyable for enhanced human resourcefulness and wellness. I am stronger, more inspired, creative and healthy because of this work. It has personally and professionally helped me to maximize my ability to contribute to others.”
BY LINDA HARMON, Winter 2006
Dr. Debra Babcock practices NSA at Harmony Network Chiropractic and Yoga in Falmouth 508/495-1300. Dr. Jamie Nash practices in South Dennis at Network Chiropractic Care Massage & Other Therapies 508/394-9355. Both of these women are passionate advocates of wellness and dedicated practitioners of NSA. They are committed to helping their patients discover optimal health and wellbeing. Call for more information and to inquire about free, informational seminars.
For more information on Dr. Donald Epstein or the Wellness Model of Health, visit
www.associationfornetworkcare.com
