All About Spinal Flow
What is Spinal Flow?
The Spinal Flow Technique is a modality that focuses on releasing the blockages in the spinal column. The goal of this is to allow the nervous system to communicate with the spinal column so that it can start healing itself.
Spinal Flow is a modality that was created by chiropractor Dr. Carli Axford after over twenty years of studying, research, and clinical observation in her practice. She spent her early chiropractic career working at Texas Back Institute, working and studying in India and Bali, and understanding many modalities that recognize the body’s ability to heal itself in order to treat pain, illness, and dis-ease.
Throughout this study and practice, Spinal Flow® Technique was born. It is a combination of a philosophy, a science, and an intuitive, hands-on approach that prompts our spine and nervous system to release stress and help heal itself.
The Nervous System and Spine
We often think of our brain and spinal cord as being two separate items in the body. In actuality, they are one unit which includes the brain, spinal cord, and all of the nerves that supply blood flow and messages to all of the organs and tissues in the body. So when you hear about this “body-mind-connection,” there is an actual connection between the body and the mind with the brain and spinal column.
When life happens and we are exposed to chemical toxins, emotional experiences, or physical injuries, our bodies and minds can work through those exposures OR they can get stuck in our bodies, along the spinal column.
When we have blockages or “kinks” in the messaging system, it leads to pain and dis-ease.
This is the same idea as if you had a lot of stress at work, and you feel it in your neck. That emotional experience (unreleased) leads to physical discomfort. While this is a simple explanation, it is a feeling that most people can relate to. But it can also serve on a larger scale. When the body is not clearing out its physical, emotional, and chemical stressors, it can lead to dysfunction in the balance of the body.
Releasing Stress in the Spine
By releasing stress stored in the spine, a Spinal Flow Practitioner helps restore the flow of healing Life Force Energy through every vertebrae in the spine and to every cell in the body.
The Spinal Flow Technique is a complete modality which allows you to:
- Interpret the messages of the body which show as pain, dis-ease, and other symptoms
- Identify where stress is stored in the spine
- Release spinal blockages
- Restore the flow of Life Force Energy
- Awaken the Spinal Flow
- Allow the body’s innate intelligence to heal pain, illness and dis-ease.
The Concept of Life Force Energy
There is an innate intelligence inside every human body to grow, repair and heal itself. Just as our gut digests our food, our hair grows and our heart beats naturally, our bodies know how to harness this innate intelligence – referred to as Life Force Energy – to heal and grow.
The spine and nervous system is the pathway through which Life Force Energy flows. Unreleased stress creates a blockage in the spine which prevents the flow of Life Force Energy.
In other cultures, Life Force Energy is referred to as qi, chi, or prana. In scientific terms, it is cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). This is the fluid that surrounds and cushions the brain and travels down and up the spinal cord and into the sacrum, playing a crucial role in their function. It turns over 3-4 times a day, making 450-600 mL of CSF daily.
CSF actually comes from amniotic fluid during embryological development. Throughout our lives, it provides essential survival and growth factors to both the embryonic and adult brain. It also provides a fluid niche for neural stem cells for survival, proliferation, and differentiation. This means that there are messages that travel to the brain through the cerebral spinal fluid. While the actual proteins may change throughout the lifespan, the fact that its the CSF that carries those messages does not change.
Some of the roles of the CSF include:
- transport nutrients and hormones to the central nervous system
- regulates circadian rhythm
- regulates appetite
- provides guiding cues for cell migration
- instructs stem cells to grow or differentiate
- ionic balance
- eliminates waste
- supports and protects the central nervous system
- buoyancy and shock absorber for brain
Another fascinating tidbit about CSF is that because it it mostly water, it can absorb, store, and transmit energy, similar to how flower essences and the water crystal studies of Masaru Emoto work. Because the CSF is stored in the ventricles of the brain (which also connect to many critical areas of the brain), it has a vital messenger capacity with receptors (photoreceptors with light, chemoreceptors with growth factors and hormones, and mechanoreceptors with movement and vibrations).
There are actually amazing scientific studies being conducted right now on the innate healing potential of CSF. If you are looking for further understanding of this concept of cerebral spinal fluid, Dr. Mauro Zappaterra has great teachings on this topic.
The Seven Gateways of the Spine
You may have heard of the 7 chakras, which are energy centers throughout the body that correspond to different emotions, areas of the body, and organs.
Similar to the chakras, there are 7 gateways to the spine, and while there is an energetic component (after all, everything is made of energy), the 7 gateways are much more physically-minded, as they divide the spine and vertebra into different regions.
Within the Spinal Flow Technique, we can see how how the Gateways became blocked due to stress, resulting in pain, illness, or dis-ease in related parts of the body. We can also identify which Gateways are blocked. This empowers us to understand the real cause of our symptoms.
You can use the chart to identify the spinal anatomy associated with each Gateway and the corresponding nerve supply.
The Purpose and Importance of an Assessment
Before I see anyone (even my family members) as a client for a treatment sessions, we will complete a thorough assessment phase. This includes the following:
- Intake form (completed prior to the assessment session)
- Review and discussion of the form and goals for treatment
- Physical assessment, including posture analysis, spinal gateway check, and identifying spinal blocks
- Report of findings, including a shared discussion about your goals, the speed in which you might experience permanent shifts, and a suggestion on treatment plan
If your initial session also includes a treatment session, we will begin our first Spinal Flow healing session, where you will lay on the table (face down and fully clothed). I will place my hands on a series of access points along the spine as a way to melt the blockages and enhance the flow.
What Happens in a Spinal Flow Treatment Session?
In a session, you will lay on the table, fully clothed and face down. I will use a gentle touch on specific access points, signaling the vagus nerve’s relaxation and reset function. These are gentle reminders to your body where to send messages, thus helping to work out the kinks and blockages.
You will stay awake the whole time, as it is important to be alert to the healing that is happening.
Slowly, but eventually, your body remembers the best pathway to take, and it works out the kinks so that it can heal. You may notice a breathing change, you might feel your body shift or even have energy “jumps,” or you may experience a spinal wave, which is the flow of cerebral spinal fluid.
You should expect to feel relaxed during this session, but exactly how your body will show that it is healing is something we will just have to see.
Some people, while they are in a session, will experience a spinal wave. When all gateways are in harmony and free from spinal blockages, there is a beautiful spinal wave or breathing wave that flows through every single gateway of the spine. This is where your life force and energy travel up and down the spine for healing to happen. This is our true nature. Some may not experience a full wave, but their breathing changes, or they may experience new sensations along the spinal column.
What is an Access Point?
An access point is located along the spine. These are “happy” and “comfortable” spots connected to the nervous system and brain.
Within the nervous system, the fight or flight response is an animalistic, but natural, response to stress. Unfortunately, the body can’t differentiate between paying a stressful bill and a real trauma or existential threat. And our modern lives are full of stressful situations. The nervous system needs to be “told” through the access points that it can let go. Your nervous system recognizes where the signals are interrupted (blockages) and gets to work taking the pressure off, spreading more movement, breath, and ease throughout your body.
So I find areas which are in good health, make contact with those, the brain goes “aaaaah, that feels good,” and relaxes into a parasympathetic state. This allows a rush of good chemicals through the spinal column. Now, since the body feels safe enough to start releasing the layers of stored stressors one by one, healing happens naturally from there. Remember, the release of these stored stressors is the releasing of spinal blockages, which can be physical, chemical, or emotional in nature.
Getting Started on Your Healing Journey
The first step will be to set up an assessment session, which may or may not include a treatment session as well. You can do this by calling our main line at Indigo (804-445-5417) or booking a session directly via our online booking tool at IndigoRVA.com.
While you are welcome to schedule a Discovery Call to talk specifics about your case, I cannot give you a complete recommendation unless you complete a full assessment.