Feb 17, 2026
Getting to the Root
Nervous system regulation is a hot topic nowadays. Since the turn of the century, most “health influencers” have devoted most of their air time to nutrition as the primary source of health and healing. I’m sure most of you have seen the iconic quote “Let food be thy medicine” plastered on the majority of crunchy social media accounts. But more recently, many influencers have turned their attention to the central nervous system.
While a lot of accounts discuss ways to modulate the nervous system through breathing exercises, light environment, and other points (which are great considerations), I am shocked that the vast majority of them leave out the most critical part to nervous system regulation: stimulation from the spinal cord and brainstem. Without normal communication from the spinal cord and brainstem, the upper areas of the brain are left guessing as to what to respond to, like a cohort of cops that have too much static on their radios. So today, we are bringing clarity on what it looks like to have a truly regulated nervous system, and in order for me to do that, we must discuss the primary culprit.
Subluxation–this is what chiropractors should be adjusting when you lay down on the table. What is a subluxation? It is a loss of nervous system integrity that creates a miscommunication between the brain and the body at the level of the brainstem, spinal cord, and nerve roots. I like to think of it as an electrical circuit that blows a fuse at the circuit breaker. When an area of the body becomes overloaded or overstressed, it reflexively causes a blown fuse at the breaker box which is, of course, the spine. When that happens, the nervous system goes through five distinct layers of dysregulation:
Nerves don’t sense the way that they should in a healthy body.
Nerves don’t fire to organs the way that they should in a healthy body.
Nerves send stress signals to different parts of the body.
Nerves use a lot more energy than they otherwise would in a healthy body.
Organs don’t function well under the guidance of dysfunctional nerves.
Not that nutrition doesn’t matter, or doesn’t have an effect on the life you lead. Not that detoxification can’t change some health measures. Not that exercise and breath work can’t change you for the better. But deeper than nutrition and deeper than detoxification, subluxation plays a central role in the disease manifestation process.
Subluxations are not a singular object, but are a dysfunctional pattern wired into the nervous system. It takes repetition to see that pattern change. This is why The Premier Life takes a different approach and monitors change over time. These patterns change through neuroplasticity, which relate to an analogy that I like to keep simple: Clearing the trail and using the trail. Imagine that you are creating a new trail in the wilderness. First, you would need to cut excess branches and plants out of the way. Maybe even move some rocks. Then, you would need to continue to walk the path. Eventually, that path will be really easy to use to get to a destination. This is how neuroplasticity works. Getting adjusted essentially “clears the trail” while living a healthy lifestyle “uses the trail.”
The thing about nature is that it is constantly changing. Every season we have rain, snow, mud, and a host of other things that get in the way of building a trail. This is why it is important to keep the trail clear so that its use doesn’t fade. Getting adjusted keeps the body functioning out of clarity so that it can respond and adapt appropriately, building positive neuroplasticity and resilience along the way.
So before you start turning blue doing breathwork or stacking five different biohacks, start with the most basic layer which is the central nervous system–specifically the brainstem and spinal cord. Change these subluxation patterns and see how your health begins to change. Every single person should at least understand how their body was designed to heal and that it starts here, at The Premier Life.
Blessings,
Dr. Nate
