Welcome, New Patients!

Welcome, new “patients”, to my chiropractic practice!

May I thank you for your interest in my chiropractic practice of BioGeometric Integration? If this isyour first inquiry into our form of care, I believe that you will find sufficient insights into our intent and purpose in providing such a style of health care. I congratulate you for your decision, and I offer our best wishes to you for your continued growth and healing. Please take your time as you read this material. Please note: I ask that you acquire a reasonably clear understanding of my purpose as your chiropractor prior to initiating care. If your have questions, then feel free to ask me. I originally welcome you to our practice using the term “patient”, and most folks (not all) view themselves as such when they initially seek our services. In actuality, only a small segment of our culture seeks a healthful vitalistic approach to Life and its processes (this view is not part of an American's typical upbringing). Much of our society seeks some sort of care only after a personal level of crisis is attained, and it is unable to tolerate either the intensity of the dysfunction or the amount of inconvenience that is created in its daily agenda. Many "patients" indicate that they have little awareness why they are experiencing what they are experiencing. Unless secondary to an obvious injury, most symptoms just seemed to appear, don't "go away", and gradually intensify. Rarely do individuals acknowledge any responsibility for lack of their wellbeing and frequently appear to be victimized by their symptoms and conditions. Some individuals, when asked, respond that they would not be in our office, if they presently had no physical symptomatic "incentive" to do so. Our culture is daily bombarded by advertising campaigns promoting over-the-counter and doctor-prescribed drugs as fixes for the most common maladies experienced by men and woman (and now also for our children -- how sad ). Patients seeking care often feel powerless and turn to doctors and other care givers that are happy to take on professional roles that dictate that they assume responsibility for controlling and "fixing" patients' conditions and symptoms. Too often, physicians that request patient involvement in these situations find that these patients terminate care and seek assistance, elsewhere. Or, if symptoms do not "go away" at a rate determined by the patient, frequently, he will seek a cure from another therapist. Our culture maintains a high level of disease and illness, when compared to other industrially developed countries -- due primarily to poor life choices, which affect the general population's level of health, and choosing to primarily treat symptoms and conditions, rather than taking the responsibility of eliminating the causes of disease and illness. Within our New Patient category, I have provided for you a few links, the "basics", that may interest you. It is my wish that you and I know each other's desires and goals. The chiropractic care that I provide is based upon important vitalistic principles that exist as part of Life's ongoing processes:  We, as living, vital, human organisms, can keep ourselves healthy, if there are no barriers to full expression of all our vital functions. Our bodies have the innate/inherent/inborn abilities to heal themselves from within.  The Life force (or Innate Intelligence) emanates throughout our bodies through our nervous systems. Our nervous systems, in a sense, are the conduit of this Life force. Without proper health and function of the central and peripheral nervous systems, there are not proper health and function in our body systems. BioGeometric Integration care assists our bodies, through its feedback mechanisms to the nervous system, to monitor and regulate each and every function within our living processes.  This vitalistic model distinguishes chiropractic art, science, and philosophy from the conventional medical model. Unlike in allopathy and western medicine (the unfortunate American Standard for "healthcare"), chiropractors (in principle) do not directly treat disease, but rather chiropractic care facilitates your body's own restorative powers. The vital force is a vital essence recognized by chiropractors and osteopaths. It is called Chi/Qi in Chinese medicine, Prana in Ayurveda, and the Vital Force in Homeopathy. Without this spark of intelligence, the organism dies, regardless of all curative techniques or treatments.  In accepting the expansive nature of these principles, I offer BioGeometric Integration as wellness care and not as acute crisis care. When wellness is sought, one is best to search inward to one's self for reasons of imbalance or dis-ease and not to outside of one's body . Our nervous systems create each symptom in perfect reaction, acting in pre-programmed responses to inputs from outside of our bodies and from within our bodies. When the nervous system is misinformed due to energetic corruption or overloaded beyond one's capacity, dis-ease (without judgment) is produced, leading to symptoms and signs of disease. In accepting the significance of these truths, I do not offer BioGeometric Integration care for purposes of treating or fixing signs and symptoms. I will be the first to admit that these points of concern, for most entering patients, do resolve, however, they resolve due to the healing process from within and not due to a consciousness of attaining a fix or cure from without. Folks, who choose to enter a BGI chiropractic practice, most frequently develop a sense of empowerment (a feeling of inner strength), while they also learn and recognize the importance of needed changes that lead to personal growth and outcomes of ease. These individuals accept modifications of their perceptions of themselves and of their environment so that the term "patient" becomes inadequate, and, unbeknownst to them, by their choices, they become "practice members". Many folks develop a greater awareness of choices in life and their participation in creating their level of dis-ease. They gradually recognize that their healing potentials incrementally expand as their nervous systems become "clearer" in their expressions, and other personal developments are initiated. Overall, there is a development of a shared characteristic -- a commitment to themselves and their lives. Do these notions seem to be in your best interests?? For our bodies to "learn" to recognize and release mechanical spinal cord tensions -- which ultimately create dis-ease in many forms, our nervous systems must obviously (or not so obviously) require some form of input (which we will call "adjustments") to which they will initiate changes and corrections. Over the years, I have tried to come up with analogies to assist our new and established practice members in understanding a protocol by which care is given. Frequently, I attempt to associate BGI chiropractic care with each person's life experience. Essentially, the BGI entrainment adjustments are a form of body "language", requiring consistency and repetition in receiving them. Any skills that we have attempted to learn (be they left-brain, scholastic/academic lessons, athletic performance, Tai Chi/Qigong, meditation, and exercise programs -- to name a few examples) require repeated exposures and practice periods for developing any degree of expertise. Would you agree?? As your body acquires greater skill in recognizing/learning this new language, more and more neurological and spinal functionality is produced and groomed. BioGeometric Integration care is not intended for a quick fix of symptoms or conditions - it looks to our bodies in their totalities. (Please ask yourself, what are your true desires!!) If you find that these ideas are a bit over-whelming, then I acknowledge that possibility. It is my wish that your understanding of these principles leads you to desire our care as a facilitator of your own personal change. If you are unwilling or unable to commit to the time for your body to awaken into a new state of healing consciousness, and your desire is simply for symptom relief, then I honor that choice, also. I personally take great pride in the care that I have to offer in my practice, and I do not take my skills or the outcomes of my efforts lightly. I choose not to offer care on a trial basis for a couple of visits -- to "see how it works" or to "give it a shot". I stand committed to you and to the wonderful healing work that I offer. If you have further questions or concerns, then please contact our office: Joseph Clifford, D.C. 404 East Broad Street Cookeville, TN 39501 (931) 528-7374

The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." ~~Mark Twain

May I pause and offer to you a thought that the fact that you were born is proof enough that you are incredibly special and are an extension of our boundless Universe and its Intelligence? At no time in the history of human-kind has there ever been someone exactly like you! In ancient times, Purpose was called Dharma. One’s dharma encompassed an individual’s passions and gifts, and helped to uplift others. By finding one’s dharma the mind becomes clearer, the heart stronger, and the body is more energized. Try to discover your purpose and then take step-by-step actions that help guide you along your Path. No longer settle for being a rudderless boat lost at sea. Allow the great winds of dharma to fill your sails and live a life of extraordinary purpose!!!

(I thank Travis Eliot, an excellent yoga instructor, for these phenomenal concepts of one’s Purpose and individuality. (www.traviseliot.com)

B.G.I. Innate Intelligence

Tensegrity is a natural process of Life processes.

Without seeming redundant, I provide you with this link to the Purpose of Chiropractic: A Statement of Clinical Objective, which is a form that we use in our office.

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