Outer Beauty Starts with Inner Connection
by Dr. Donald Epstein
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Our loss of inner connection, and therefore outer grace and beauty, seems associated with the way we experience our world. When an event occurs that our brain determines is not safe for us to fully experience, the energy and information of the event is translated into vibration and tension, which is then stored in the body. It is not unlike the after-image of a flashbulb. Our body then walls off the offending energy and tension over time with muscular spasm, spinal distortion, reduced breathing into the area, and reduced movement. We tense more easily, and our physiology remains set on "defense". In defense, we tighten. Our blood pressure tends to rise, we feel less emotion, and we live in reaction to the stress of the moment.

Nerves that attach through the spinal cord into the brain connect every cell of the body, and tension in this main cable network creates tension in the body tissues. The brain continues to perceive life defensively, and produces stress chemicals that inhibit the ability to pay attention to the incomplete "energy" or "unfinished business". We react to environmental challenges as threats. Novel or new ideas are stressful, we have difficulty making change, and we fear things that are different. We are in survival mode in many areas of our life.

This is not only unhealthy, but is far from attractive to others around us. We have lost our connection to ourselves, our higher power, our inner resources, love, and sense of true beauty. Much of what many disciplines seek to correct through manipulation, massage, and therapy is often a symptom of this process. Until it is safe to experience that energy again, and our bodies develop the strategy to do this and digest the information from the trauma, we cannot really feel whole or well. The state of safety is one which promotes internal awareness and internal "growth".

Through gentle contacts along the neck and lower spine (where the spinal cord attaches inside the vertebral column), called network adjustments or entrainments, greater body awareness is achieved. The body moves away from defense and towards growth, we are attentive to our inner cues, energy, and respiration, and we are no longer focused on the outer circumstance of the moment to dictate our health.

Our spinal tension patterns, alignment, and posture reflect our movement between defense and growth. We experience a greater sense of grace, gratitude, connection, inner power, and love, all previously inaccessible to a brain that is functioning in defense. In time, this energetic, physical, emotional, and spiritual state becomes more familiar and sustainable. When a person can express her authenticity and self-confidence, she radiates beauty, strength, power, love, and hope. Most of us remain in defense mode throughout our lives, and the higher, more evolved brain does not have the opportunity to develop its unique properties and learn new strategies for experiencing and responding to life.

When at peace, the internal growth programs can be switched "on,"
because the body does not need to protect itself from injury. It can then assess if our reactions, adaptations, and symptoms are appropriate or not. We can feel more profoundly and use subtle information within to make healthier choices. We can be more compassionate towards others and ourselves. We can activate internal software for experiencing life, changing our course, and for healing. Our brain can pay attention to the body's tension patterns, its spinal alignment, its posture, and its current state.

In order to fix something, we must first be able to find it. As our brain is better able to inventory the body, it can better orchestrate healing. This naturally occurs as Network Spinal Analysis care progresses. The individual not only becomes aware of spinal tension patterns, vertebral motion, and respiration, but also the energetic motion through the body.

Outer beauty begins with inner connection. The body you wear today was fashioned from the internal memories of your interactions with the world. NSA has the potential to give you new strategies for experiencing life, heightened inner connection, and new levels of wellness. Now that is beautiful!

Dr. Donald Epstein is the founder and developer of Network Spinal Analysis and Somato Respiratory Integration. He is the author of Healing Myths, Healing Magic, 12 Stages of Healing and the Boomerang Principle.

Network Spinal Analysis