Activator Part 2: How Do You Know Where to Click that “Clicky” Thing?

“How do you know where to click that ‘clicky’ thing?”

This is another common question I get asked.

Basically, I’m asking your body, really your nervous system, questions.

Don’t get weirded out, but the nervous system can understand the questions I ask and answer them clearly for you. (This is often why when you tell me something hurts and I don’t adjust it, it is because your body gave me a different answer, and I am going to trust that answer and adjust accordingly. The pain and the problem often lie apart from each other.)

And to get the best answers from your nervous system, it is important to be in the proper position on the table.

The proper position is face down, knees slightly bent, and feet hanging free off the end of the table. This position allows me the ability to simulate gravity, and your reaction to it, by flexing the ankles and putting pressure on the bottom of your feet. Any distortions or dysfunctions will become apparent. The nervous system is so sensitive that the weight of a dime can and will cause a reaction. I barely need to touch you to cause a reaction.

So how do I ask the body, the nervous system, some questions?

I ask you to put your hand in the small of your back, or above your head or look to the left etc, and your nervous system will respond by creating a disturbance in your leg length if there is a problem. Stay with me. Your leg length will change based on the amount of tension at that spinal segment. 

For instance, when you put your hand in the small of your back, I am asking the fifth lumbar vertebrae how he (or she) is doing. Putting your hand above your head gives me information about your 12th thoracic vertebrae. When you turn your head to the left, I’m talking to your second cervical vertebrae.

Get it? I go through and see which vertebrae are working well and which are not. And the ones that are not functioning properly get clicked on. It’s that simple. To be honest, I need very little verbal cues from you to get the job done.

I just keep working until two things are accomplished:

One is for the leg length to even out. Although most people present in our office with some level of leg length inequality, it rarely has to do with the legs actually being different lengths. They are just out of balance. And being out of balance is what causes the rest of the body to respond by compensating and recruiting muscles to work differently than they were designed to do. Over time, these imbalances become hardwired into your nervous system and require time and energy to rewire. 

So, getting your leg length to balance out is one of my prime objectives.

The second parameter that I am watching as I ask your nervous system questions, is what is the overall tone of the body? Does the pelvis move smoothly or is it ratchety and jerky? The nervous system readily gives this information through the pelvis when I bend your legs to 90 degrees. The tension in the nervous system decreases noticeably during an activator adjustment performed correctly.

The true beauty of the activator method is not really the “clicky” thing. The beauty is in the analysis of the spine using bodily reflexes as the guide. It really is a remarkable technique.

I hope this helps.

If you have any more questions we are here. Congratulations on being a part of true functional wellness that only the activator can deliver.

Cheers,
Dr. Swaim

Image by PaintedFeet01 from Pixabay