A Brief Connection from One Philosophy to Another
By Jeanne Ohm, DC
The Spring issue of Pathways to Family Wellness Magazine outlines an intriguing parenting movement described as the Continuum Concept. The Continuum Concept, born from observations of the Yekuana people living in the Amazon rain forest in Venezuela, follows the natural progression of what many of us have come to know as Attachment Parenting. The children of the Yekuana Indians are so remarkably calm and independent that Western culture has since tried to implement similar parenting strategies.
Interestingly enough, my husband and I raised our kids according to the Continuum Concept 35 years before I even read the book! Our desire to allow our children to express their innate potential and to provide them with a relationship of trust and respect came from our understanding of chiropractic philosophy.
In chiropractic, we hold to the premise that Life Expresses Intelligence. We recognize that the body does not respond in a random manner, it has an inborn intelligence that directs and controls all systems and functions. The nervous system is the conduit for the expression of this intelligence.
Understanding that, we asked this question: “If the presence of intelligence exists in the physical body, how is it applicable in viewing all levels of human expression: emotional, mental, social, spiritual?”
From this major premise—Life Expresses Intelligence, —we deduced our personal and parenting choices. With our growing understanding, trust, and respect for the intelligence of life, we evaluated our life options. We made parenting choices that didn’t even have defined terminology at the time: conscious conception, unattended birth, delayed cord clamping, and attachment parenting, with our practices of co-sleeping, baby wearing/carrying and extended breastfeeding.
Happily, we in chiropractic can say yes, these lifestyle choices made from that philosophical standpoint are now finally being verified and validated by open, unbiased proponents of science. Most important, all of these parenting practices foster healthy nervous-system development and function. They accomplish what we in chiropractic seek to enhance with our adjustment: greater nerve system function producing greater life expression.
Enjoy this issue of Pathways as we celebrate our 12th year of sharing the chiropractic family lifestyle.
Dr. Jeanne Ohm has practiced family wellness care since 1981 with her husband, Dr. Tom. They have six children who were all born at home and are living the chiropractic family wellness lifestyle.
Dr. Ohm is an instructor, author, and innovator. Her passion is: training DC’s with specific techniques for care in pregnancy, birth & infancy, forming national alliances for chiropractors with like-minded perinatal practitioners, empowering mothers to make informed choices, and offering pertinent patient educational materials.