A Review Of Important Flow Patterns In The Body
Our friends over at Merriam-Webster Dictionary define "flow" as movement “in a continuous and smooth way.” It is no wonder, then, that health practitioners commonly use this term when talking about health, something we certainly desire to be “continuous and smooth”. The average person knows enough basic anatomy to feel comfortable listening to a description of the cardiovascular system and how blood is pumped from the heart, through the arteries, to the tissues, from the tissues, into veins, and back to the heart. With just a little bit of coaching they could probably even tell you how the blood carries nutrients, removes waste, and delivers oxygen to the cells of the body. If you were to limit the FLOW of blood to an area of the body you would decrease its ability to function in a “continuous and smooth” way. Reduce or stop the flow of blood for long enough and you would deprive tissues of vital ingredients essential to their survival.
Blood is just one of many essential components that must flow uninhibited through our bodies in order to sustain health. The nervous system is the master controller of ALL bodily functions. The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves which extend to every area of your body. The nervous system controls and regulates every conscious and unconscious process in the body and just like the blood that flows through our arteries and veins, the nervous system depends upon unrestricted flow of information from brain to body and back to the brain. When operating unencumbered, the nervous system is capable of meticulously balancing the chemical reactions in our body, directing the operation of our organs, dilating and constricting blood vessels, directing healing processes, integrating sensory information from the rest of the body, and so much more!
Just like the flow of a blood vessel, the flow of information along the nervous system can be interfered with, causing impaired function and even damage to tissues if the interference is sustained for a long enough period of time. The most common way in which the nervous system is subjected to interference is through the misalignment of spinal vertebrae which applies forces to the nerves reaching out into the body. These misalignments can be present for years or decades before the effects of decreased nervous system function are felt by the individual. Imagine a spinal misalignment causing a slight decrease in the function of one part of the liver. Over the course of several years, the ability of that portion of the liver to process toxins is inhibited as a result of this interference and eventually, the body develops a toxicity leading to poor health. If left uncorrected, this imbalance within the body can lead to premature aging, damage to other organs, and a general feeling of fatigue/sickness.
Check back next week for more about FLOW and how it keeps us healthy!