The referenced quote is credited to ninteeth-century English art critic, John Ruskin. It also appeared as an epigram on the walls of the Palmer School and College of Chiropractic.
It serves as a foundational thot in all we do as practitioners of animal chiropractic, and the Animal Chiropractic Academy.
Adjusting animals brings such joy to our lives. Connecting with an animal is entirely different than connecting with a person. Perhaps it isn’t so different, and we just need to apply some principles of building rapport with people, as we do with animals.
For me, it was Dr. Jay Komarek who set me on a path of learning to connect and communicate with animals. I have since learned from others, such as, horse trainer, Mark Rashid; horse communicator, Sharon Wilsie; horse bodyworker, Jim Masterson; and the brilliant Temple Grandin.
When working with animals, we must go to great lengths to get in the “right space.” That includes head space, heart space, body space – soul space.
We must get calm, focused, parasympathetic. We need to relax….. breathe.
When I pull onto a clients property, I make sure I’m driving extremely slow, breathing deep and shallow, and I’m typically singing or humming an old cowboy song, Night Herder’s Song. It’s a slow, melodic, lullaby, that the cowboy, on night watch, would hum or sing to keep the cattle calm. It has become my tradition to sing or hum this tune to the horses I’m evaluating and adjusting. It focuses me, and I believe has a positive effect on them.
Dr. Jay teaches us to breathe into our animal patient’s nostrils. He teaches us to explore the tone of our animal patient from front to back, top to bottom, with a procedure he calls, “the curious passing of hands.” There is so much information to share, and to glean, and it comes through several of our senses.
“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”
Chiropractic is so much more than the manipulation of stuck joints to relieve pain or inflammation. it’s about connection. It’s about re-connection. It’s a philosophy, art, and science worthy of falling in love with, and worthy of dedicating the rest of one’s life to mastering the skills.
If you are a chiropractor, or veterinarian, called to provide chiropractic care to animals. I hope you will join us on this journey of love, skill, mastery and masterpiece.
If we can answer any questions you might have about the practice of Animal Chiropractic, please reach out.
