ADIO for the Body

Above - Down - Inside - Out.

I was in college, studiying Intercultural Communications when I began dating my husband and he was studing to become a Chiropractor. I did not know much about chiropractic then, but I can truly say chiropractic has changed my life in many ways. Perhaps the least expected but no less profound was this little acronym A.D.I.O- “Above - Down, Inside - Out” stated as a guiding principal for Chiropractic by it’s founder DD Palmer in the beginning of the 1900’s.

So first let me start with how this principal works in the human body. Chiropractic is based on the truth that the living human body has an innate intelligence that organizes and coordinates all healing and function of the body. From the moment we were created, our bodies were designed to regulate and heal from the inside-out. In fact, our innate intelligence was designed to be a masterful conductor of the ensemble of cells, tissues, muscles and organs that make up our life.

When the body is functioning properly, the nervous system takes messages from the brain to the body and the body to the brain coordinating all the functioning. Above – Down. Since those delicate nerve fibers are protected by the bones of the spine, Chiropractic places its focus on the relationship between the nerves and the spine. If the spine is in alignment, then all of the messages from the brain can get out to the trillions of cells in the body and allow for maximum healing and function (LIFE). The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system that then reaches out to the rest of the body giving us the capacity to act and interact in the world. Inside – Out.

So, the brain is the conductor ABOVE the body that regulates the flow of electrical impulses DOWN through the central nervous system then INSIDE all the various nerves to finally flow out to bring functioning to tissues. With OUT, we also think of the flow of energy that not only moves into the tissues causing them to function, but also the way those functions impact the world outside of us through even our most simple actions.

Every beat of the heart. Every breath drawn. Every step, every smile and every cut that heals are all beautiful demonstrations of the ADIO principal at work in the body. Life at its optimal functioning.

But unfortunately that is only half the story, because we all know the body doesn’t function at 100% a 100% of the time.

So, chiropractic teaches that since the central nervous system is key to the coordination for whole body functioning, the spine is of paramount importance.  Therefore, if one or more of the bones of the spine are out of alignment and are producing nerve interference, what Chiropractors refer to as Vertebral Subluxation, then the body loses its ability for maximum healing and function. In summary, the body’s ability to express LIFE to the fullest is reduced by a communication interference along the path from ABOVE -DOWN, INSIDE – OUT.