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It wasn’t until I stood up and turned around that I realized exactly how crazy things had become. That was when I realized that there were three police cars behind me, with a fourth one pulling up. Meadow Street — normally a quiet, residential street in a small rural town in sleepy northwest Connecticut — had been turned into a 3-ring circus. There were now so many so many police cars that the road was closed to traffic, and two cops were standing in the middle of the road, discussing the difficult, dangerous situation they were facing.

That situation would be me. A slightly pudgy, middle-aged chiropractic doctor riding a three-wheeled bicycle. You see, I apparently was guilty of having the unmitigated gall to ride my bicycle on a public street, in broad daylight. Which, as I cruised through the center of town, offended the delicate sensibilities of a Connecticut State Police lieutenant, and sent him off into what eventually looked like a steroid-fueled rage. And I was apparently so frightening to the good lieutenant that he mustered all of the available manpower to make sure I didn’t litter or something while he was giving me a ticket.

***************

It all started shortly after I turned onto Meadow St. I had not even ridden a full block when I saw, in my rear view mirror, the police car’s lights go on. I pulled over. Lt. Chowderhead got out and walked up to me.

“Let me see your driver’s license!” he growls.

I demurred. The only reason I had gone riding in the first place was ride a quick seven miles to see if the new rack I had installed was rattling. I carried no tools, no wallet, no nothing.

I did, however, have a wrist band with my name and address on it. Called a Road ID, it is useful in the event that first responders come upon your unconscious form somewhere along the side of the road and need to notify your next of kin. My daughters had given it to me for Father’s Day several years ago, little knowing that it would eventually save me from likely arrest at the hands of a cop with what looked like anger management issues.

So I held up my wrist and showed him my Road ID, and told him what is was. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Lt. Chowderhead, because he demanded to see some identification a few more times while stalking around my bike before settling for what I actually had, which was the wrist band I had showed him before all the haranguing began.

The preliminaries over, the interrogation began. Now he starts demanding that I agree with him that I needed to have a flag.

Let me step back for a minute, and put his concerns, as wrongheaded as they were, into some context. As I said before, I was riding a three-wheeled bicycle; it is best described as a performance trike, and is different from either the thing with pedals you first learned to ride on, or the Grandma Trike that you see on the sidewalks of Florida. My trike is somewhat low-slung and aerodynamically efficient. Going downhill, it is capable of speeds that would make Lance Armstrong giggle like a schoolboy, but it suffers from a bit of a weight penalty in the opposite direction.

Though it is low to the ground, I have ridden this trike for several thousand miles without ever having a close call because someone couldn’t see me. After all, the trike and I together occupy about the same amount of space as a small refrigerator, and if you can’t see a refrigerator on the road in front of you…well, there might be some other issues going on.

That said, to a lot of drivers, it looks like something that you might have trouble seeing. People have yelled out their car windows at me, shouting “I can’t see you,” which is a bit perplexing, because they obviously see me well enough to yell at me. I even had one driver going the opposite way on Route 202, as I’m winching my way up the hill into town, stop his car in the middle of the road, get out, and start screaming “I CAN’T SEE YOU!!” multiple times. And, of course, there is always the twice-monthly “let’s chuck something at the weird bicycle” exercise. All of which leads me to believe that I am relatively easily seen.

So, at any rate, this cop with his bolts getting more unscrewed by the second couldn’t be blamed too much for thinking I needed a flag, as that his how most people who have no education in cycling safety think. Inasmuch as I am one of only about 3,000 certified cycling safety instructors in the country, I have a somewhat different perspective. Regardless of your opinion, not having a flag on your bicycle is not illegal, but I figured trying to educate a cop in the middle of a traffic stop, especially a cop whose wheels appear to be coming off, is probably a Bad Thing.

Nonetheless, Lt. Chowderhead’s approach left a little something to be desired. Using the same Intimidating Cop voice, he starts in on me. “Why don’t you have a flag on this?” he demanded. “Don’t you think this thing needs a flag?”

“Uh, no officer, I don’t.”

At this point, he starts circling the trike, looking at it like it was a dog that just crapped on his front lawn. He asks me a few more times if I thought it needed a flag. I keep telling him, no, it doesn’t need a flag. Finally, he points to my rear wheel. “Look at that,” he snaps, his voice rising in anger. “Isn’t that to mount a flag??”

I look. Omigod, he’s pointing to the trailer hitch. If I try to explain to him that what he’s pointing to is actually a trailer hitch to hook up my bicycle utility trailer to my three-wheeled bicycle, and that if someone did try to stick a flagpole in it, the wind shear would snap it off in two seconds, this guy’s one remaining gasket is going to blow. So I just shake my head and say, somewhat wistfully, “No, it’s not officer.”

He tries a few more times to get me to admit that I need a flag, and then gives up and takes a new tack.

“On a bicycle, you’re supposed to follow the rules of the road,” he says.

Yup, no kidding, I teach that to the students in my Road 101 class. I just nod.

“You were riding on the wrong side of the road,” he says.

“No I wasn’t,” I say.

“Yes,” he says, “you were.”

“No I wasn’t.”

It’s important to note here that, even though he was practically yelling at me, I kept my responses very calm and even-keeled.

A couple more rounds of that, and he takes another step back.

“You’re supposed to ride on the right side,” he says. “You weren’t.”

Ah, now I know what happened, though it took a good 10 minutes of lunacy before I got there. Lt. Chowderhead here was upset because I wasn’t hugging the gutter, like a “good” cyclist should.

Except that is wrong. A good cyclist rides as far to the right as is safe, and no further. Surprisingly to many motorists, the safest place for a cyclist is near the middle of the travel lane. That is where cyclists are seen best by other road users; it prevents cyclists from getting smacked by a suddenly-opened door of a car parked along the side of the street; it prevents motorists from overtaking the cyclist and then making a surprise right turn, effectively forcing the cyclist into the side of their vehicle; and it gets motorists to pass cyclists more safely. Cyclists who ride the gutter are more likely to get hit by an automobile than cyclists using their road space appropriately.

This is what virtually every cycling expert has concluded, and this is what I and other cycling instructors teach.

It is also perfectly legal cycling behavior, though all motorists, most police officers and even many cyclists are unaware of that fact. Lt. Chowderhead is clearly among the unwashed in this regard, and that, it seems, is the root of the problem. He didn’t like me occupying road space that in his mind was reserved for automobiles, and in all likelihood, he didn’t know the law well enough know he was wrong. Once again, though, I’m not dumb enough to try to educate a guy with anger management issues and a gun.

On the other hand, I’m certainly not about to agree with him.So we once again enter into this little dance, with him making false statements about my cycling, and me politely disagreeing, as the veins in his neck start to bulge out.

At that point, he turns on his heel and stalks back to the squad car to check out my bona fides. I wait for a while, just relaxing, until I realize things have been going on for quite a while. That’s when I stand up, turn around, and realize that the circus has begun, and I’m about to become a YouTube video. Three squad cars, number 4 pulling up, a posse of cops wandering around like it was a free donut festival, and me. It looks like I’m about to go down. Hard.

I grab the cellphone and call my wife the attorney. “Uh, honey,” I say, “I think you need to get down here. Like, now. Like, right now.”

A few minutes later, I see her car come down the corner. She pulls in behind one of the cop cars (you couldn’t get past them at this point), gets out and walks up to the Lieutenant.

“What’s the problem officer,” she says.

The lieutenant turns on her like she’s fresh meat in the shark tank.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” he screams into her face. Attorney Carr doesn’t even blink; she’s been to a few parties before.

“I’m counsel for Dr. Jenkins. What’s the problem here, officer?”

“YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN THE STREET,” he screams. “IF YOU DON’T LEAVE IMMEDIATELY, I’M ARRESTING YOU.”

After calmly pointing out to Lt. Chowderhead that, perhaps, it is perfectly legal for a citizen to be in a public place, the good attorney realizes that in all likelihood rationality is not this guy’s strong suit at the moment, and leaves to get a camera.

It’s at that point that I allow myself a grin, because it’s clear to me and everyone else that Things Haven’t Gone According To Plan. Police cars start to silently glide off, because nobody wants to be involved in this swampy mess. And after a couple of minutes it’s just me, the lieutenant, and the dash cam on the squad car, as he hands me my ticket for “Unsafe Operation of a Vehicle.” The fine is $92.

I smile for the camera, tell the Lieutenant to have a sparkling day, and get back on my trike. I ride down the road in my lane, as far right as is safe, but no further. Which is to say, near the middle of the lane.

************

Of course I pled not guilty, and I’m waiting for the court date to be set. But I cannot help to wonder, what if this happened to someone else, without the resources I have? As a younger man, I wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to not get in a fight with the cop. With this Lt. Powderkeg, that would have been a trip to the station and then probably a trip to the dentist to replace the missing teeth. If I were not a certified cycling instructor, I might not have been as confident in my knowledge of proper cycling practice or legality. And if I didn’t happen to be married to a trial attorney who is frequently compared favorably to a mongoose, my goose might have been cooked.

The fact of the matter is, all of these pieces fell in my favor. But all you have to do is hang out on a cycling forum or read the news, and you will see how frequently police mishandle their interactions with cyclists. Stories like mine, and far worse, abound.

At the same time, the driver who mows down a cyclist gets a free pass by police and the courts alike. A quick Google News search will disclose hundreds of cases where motorists murdered cyclists, and received nothing more than a ticket. All too often, no charges are filed at all. The driver gets a pass, and the family of the cyclist gets a grave.

A standard joke among cyclists is, “If you want to kill someone and get away with it, just put them on a bicycle first.” It is sadly all too true.

There are those who argue that more bike paths, more bike lanes, and more laws protecting cyclists are the answer. I disagree. The answer to safer cycling is better education combined with appropriate enforcement of the existing laws.

And it was no surprise to me, that as I was being handed the ticket, I could count no fewer than 4 cars on that block parked illegally and remaining entirely unmolested.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

In a previous post, I mentioned the Golden Age of Cycling, which occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. And from the most current numbers, it looks as if we might be poised for a second Golden Age.

Rutgers University professor John Purcher has crunched the most recently available cycling data, and his numbers are pointing to a renaissance in cycling. Here are the highlights:

• Bike commuters doubled between 1990 and 2009.
• Transportation cycling (going to work, shopping, running errands) is outpacing sport cycling (fast guys in lycra). 54% of all cycling trips in 2009 were for transportation, an increase of 11% in 8 years.
• Cycling fatalities fell 21% between 1998 and 2008 (Remember my post about cycling safety?)

(Source: “Bicycling Renaissance in North America?,” Pucher, J., et al., 2011, Transportation Research A, Vol. 45)

What does this mean to you? Well, if you are thinking about jumping into cycling — particularly transporation cycling — it means that you are beginning to see a variety of bicycles and gear designed for this purpose. When first lived car-free, as a dazzling young urbanite in Boston, there was no such thing as a “commuter bike.” I had to make do with a faux-racing bike with its drop handlebars and uncomfortable-but-speedy design.  Now there are dozens of brands that make commuters, from Jamis to this fine selection, including a very classy Pashley.

It also means that your safety, which is already pretty good, will get even better. Because multiple studies have shown that the more cyclists there are on the road, the safer it is for all cyclists (there is also some evidence that suggests that more cyclists make the roads safer for motorists as well).

For me, cycling makes a wonderful transition from work to home. Instead of remaining compressed and tense behind the wheel of my automobile, my ride home is now filled with sunsets, stars, the smells of the seasons and the gentle hiss of my tires on the road.

And that is what makes my daily commute a daily pleasure.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

This is the most common reason I hear from people who otherwise might take my advice, dust off their bikes, and go for a spin.

While it might seem dangerous — being on the road next to the 2,000-lb behemoths that can crush us like a bug on tile — in fact, the opposite is true. Cycling is *so* safe that the average cyclist actually lives several years longer than a non-cyclist.

Let me repeat that, with flair: Cycling is so safe that the average cyclist lives several years longer than a non-cyclist.

Sure, lots of cyclists (in this country, at least) wear those silly foam hats, and talk about all of their close calls with motorists, potholes and dogs, but these should be viewed for what they are — campfire goosebump stories. The fact that the cyclist in question is around to tell the story should give you a clue that perhaps, just perhaps, the danger value has been cranked up a notch or two.

So let’s look at some cold, hard (and rather pleasant) facts about cycling:

• According to several studies, cyclists live longer than non-cyclists; in one study, the cycling lifespan advantage was almost 10 years.
• Motorists are *far* more likely than cyclists to suffer from serious head injuries.
• Cycling is safer than: Fishing, horseback riding, swimming, athletic training, football and tennis.
• Cycling is safer than riding in an automobile.

Let’s compare lifetime risks. Your risk of dying from:

• Heart disease              1 in 5
• Automobile accident    1 in 84
• Pedestrian accident     1 in 626
• Bicycle accident           1 in 4,919

The simple fact is this: Cycling is a very safe activity. It is safer than every other form of transportation except flying, and orders of magnitude safer than riding in a car.

The problem with cycling safety is one of perception, not reality, so fear not, hop on your freedom machine and roll down the road.

Don’t forget to wave at the folks in the gas station. I always do.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

In today’s installment of Bicycle Month posts, I am going to ever-so-briefly mutate from being a physician and bon vivant to (very) amateur historian.

You know that road out in front of your house? The (probably) paved road that takes you and your resource-hogging, squirrel-killing automobile to work, to school, and to the grocery store?

Well, you can thank this country’s cyclists for that road.

You see, back during the turn of the century, cycling was an enormously popular activity. By the 1880s, the “safety bicycle” design, essentially the same shape as the modern bicycle, had replaced the dangerous penny-farthing, and John Dunlop had invented the air-filled tire. These two advances converted the bicycle from a silly toy for the young, adventurous and rich, to a useful transportation and recreational device for the masses. The use of the bicycle exploded among the middle class, and what is now known as the Golden Age of Cycling began.

(I cannot go further without noting that the bicycle was an enabler of the nascent feminist and suffrage movement in the U.S. In fact, Susan B. Anthony called the modern bicycle the “freedom machine.” But we’ll get back to that later this month).

As the American populace became truly mobile for the first time, they found the conditions of our dirt roads somewhat less than adequate for their speedy new machines. And, as Americans tend to do, they banded together to advocate for improved cycling conditions. The most prominent face of this social force was the League of American Wheelmen (which continues to be the largest voice for cyclists today as the updated League of American Bicyclists). The League successfully lobbied both local, state and federal government to engage in a massive upgrade of the nation’s rutted roads.

Thus, the paving of American roads began long before the mass-produced automobile was even a gleam in Henry Ford’s eye. The paved road that you drive on today exists because the cyclists of the early 20th century demanded the infrastructure needed for middle-class mobility.

Next time you get angry at some bicycle who is blocking “your” road, remember this. It was originally his road. And in law, custom and practice, the cyclist has the same rights to use the road as you do.

In fact, instead of honking at him, you should thank him, for making your passage possible.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Welcome to National Bike Month! To celebrate this most worthy steed and its versatility, economy and pure fun as a transportation device, I will, each day in the month of May, post a useful tip or fun fact about biking.

Here’s today’s tip: We all know that bike riding saves money and improves health. But all too often, we find it difficult to find a way to work cycling into our daily routine.

So try doing this. Pull out a map of where you live. draw a one mile diameter circle with your house at the center. Then, just one day per week, use your bike to run any errand that falls within that circle.

For me, that circle will include the grocery market, post office, library and several stores where I regularly purchase goods. You’ll be surprised at the number of places that will fall within your circle. Try it and see!

If you follow this program while we have comfortable cycling weather — just one day per week for 4 months — you will have saved about $60 simply by leaving your car in the driveway for those trips.

If you want to, you can use that $60 to take yourself out to dinner. Your waistline can certainly afford it, because you will have burned an extra 2,000 kcal.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Patients have frequently come to me saying that previous doctors have told them that their illness is “all in my head.”

My response has always been, “Absolutely!”

Virtually all diseases — from allergies to cancer to heart disease — have a mental or emotional component. The only diseases which are free of this association are those which are directly traceable to inherited genetic malfunction. One of the core principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that all disorders manifest themselves both physically and emotionally, and the doctor who diagnoses or treats only the physical manifestations of an illness is failing his patient. The distinction between mind and body is a false one. They are merely different faces of the deeply intertwined functions of life.

Western medicine is slowly catching up to this 3,000-year-old concept, as a growing body of research demonstrates that what influences the emotions influences physical health. The most recent article to joint this corpus is this study, which shows that among primates, immune system functioning is closely tied to social rank. Female macaque monkeys lower on the social scale had lower-functioning immune systems; but most importantly, when the monkey moved up or down the social hierarchy, their immune system followed.

If you look at all of the research on illness and social environment, I don’t believe it would be too much of a stretch to conclude that  changing one’s friendships and social organizations can have a dramatic effect on health. But it goes beyond the old bromide “those who lie down with dogs are going to get fleas.” In other words, it is not simply exposure to noxious organisms and toxins that will determine our health, but the entire social milieu in which we exist which determines our health.

So what does this mean to you and your health?

Take a look around you. Who are your friends? Is your social circle based on mutual respect? As is the case for many men, their peers and friends are also often their competitors in their games of pleasure, but winning and losing can be grounds for either contempt or camaraderie. Women similarly compete, sometimes in sports, but more traditionally through more subjective measurements than game scores or race times, and sometimes through surrogates such as their children. “Winning” and “losing” in this environment is amorphous at best.

Examine the formal social structures to which you belong. Is your church, synagogue or temple one in which the beauty of the person is celebrated? Or is personal esteem torn down in obeisance to a vengeful, demanding cosmos? Similarly, how respected do you feel by the other members of your book club, health club, or guild?

If, in any of these realms, you do not feel respected, it may be time to change venues. The respect others have for you not only influences your own self-esteem, but may be part of the cause of health problems you have been having.

To change your health, maybe you first need to change your friends.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Encouraged by a recent conversation with a patient, I purchased a new translation of the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, or Neijing Suwen. The Neijing is the fundamental text of Chinese acupuncture, written in the second century BCE, and continues to have relevance in its exposition of the guiding principles of Chinese medicine. Interestingly, much of its analysis is also congruent with a more modern understanding of physiology.

As I re-read this classic, I was once again struck by the importance that the Neijing places on both environment and mental health as a component of disease.  Western medicine is only today beginning to catch up to where Chinese medicine was over 2,000 years ago. The idea that the healthy individual adjusts his habits to suit the season contradicts our modern way of life, where we use technology to create an environmental bubble in which we believe we can live without having to change ourselves, even while our surroundings go from freezing to sweltering and from desert to swamp.

It is a false belief, of course, as our technological bubble has as many holes as a piece of swiss cheese; and furthermore, evolution has not adapted us for a static, pasteurized environment. We need our cold and hot, our wet and dry, even our bacteria, in order to be healthy. Indeed, the Chines doctors of the Han period were probably the first environmentalists of humanity.

Living in harmony with one’s environment is stressed as an important health measure throughout the Neijing. Environment and season dictates the healthy person’s sleep schedule, type of work and foods to be eaten. And so it is with the season we now entering:

“The three months of the spring season bring about the revitalization of all things in nature. It is the time of birth….During this season it is advisable to retire early. Arise early also and go walking in order to absorb the fresh, invigorating energy. Since this is the season in which the universal energy begins anew and rejuvenates, one should attempt to correspond to it directly by being open and unsuppressed, both physically and emotionally.”

These words were written over 2,000 years ago, but are no less true today. Research published this month has found that our very genes work in synchronicity to the seasons, and this is the very same effect that the Neijing refers to as “universal qi.” With the seasons of the earth encoded in our DNA, genes are turned on and off in accordance with the time of year. Not only are our wake/sleep cycles altered, but our bodies are attuned to the type of nourishment that we should be receiving at that time of year, and genes are turned on or off accordingly. The authors of this study conclude that a “loss of rhythmicity or a change of phase may alter the physiological array or rhythms…leading to metabolic derangement and disease, i.e., chronopathology.”

Diseases currently linked to chronopathology include cardiovascular disease, depression, pancreatitis, ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders.

So how does the Neijing suggest that we respond to the changes wrought by spring?

“On the physical level,” it suggests, “it is good to exercise more frequently and wear loose-fitting clothing. This is the time to do stretching exercises to loosen up the tendons and muscles. Emotionally, it is good to develop equanimity.”

Nutritionally, the book recommends reducing our intake of sour flavors, and increase sweet and pungent flavors. Good spring foods include onions, leeks, leaf mustard, Chinese yam, wheat, dates, cilantro, mushrooms, spinach and bamboo shoots.

This is good advice for any time of year, frankly, but it particularly makes sense in the spring, as we transit from our cramped and immobile winter selves to our more active summer selves.

The need to keep oneself physically and mentally in harmony with our environment is why I have many of my patients return at each solstice or equinox. These astronomical events, representing the change from one season to the next, are good markers for us to take stock in our health and adjust what needs to be adjusted. Sometimes the adjustment is needed in the spine, sometimes in the diet, and sometimes in the acupuncture meridians. But it just makes sense to prepare yourself ahead of time for the challenges — and joys — of the upcoming season. Once again, the Neijing offers us wisdom on this:

“Treating an illness after it has begun is like suppressing revolt after it has broken out. If someone digs a well when thirsty, or forges weapons after becoming engaged in battle, one cannot help but ask: Are these actions not too late?”

It is always my goal to be the doctor who treats the illness before it appears.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Self-appointed “skeptics” frequently point to practices such as mine, claiming that I’m engaging in nothing but voodoo witchcraft, preying on those so ill and so without hope that they will grasp at any straw proffered them, ante up any outrageous fee desired, and dearly pay for the false hope which I and my colleagues allegedly peddle.

My patients, of course, know the reality is far different. They know me as a hard-headed pragmatist, whose foremost rule is “Find it, fix it, and get out of the way.” They know me as a doctor who will rather unflinchingly — though I hope not unkindly — point out how they have contributed to their own ill health, while also finding ways they can repair the damage. And they know that my fees are modest; I am unlikely to bathe in gold coin anytime soon from the revenues of my practice.

What they don’t know, unless they ask, is that each discipline that I practice, whether it is chiropractic, acupuncture, or herbal/nutritional therapy, is supported by a wealth of scientific research that supports every modality that I use.

When I have used acupuncture to treat children with Tourette’s syndrome — usually successfully, I might add — I can point to not just one, but several studies that support and guide my intervention.

When I blend a custom herbal formula for a patient suffering from a cold or urinary tract infection, I am relying on studies which show me that the herbs in question are more effective than anything in the MD’s formidable arsenal. Though of course, the FDA would have the fantods were I to be so foolish as to make the claim that herbs can actually kill the bacteria causing the infection, even though studies exist demonstrating that very fact. So I won’t make the claim that herbs can help cure the common cold, even though substantial research exists supporting that statement.

And when I explain to an acupuncture patient that Qi is a life-force running through their body, and that the flow of this Qi can be altered by placing needles at certain points along that flow, I know that I am using a time-tested analogy for a phenomena that we are only beginning to touch upon in Western science. It is likely that this Qi is actually a form of intercellular communication, and that acupuncture alters the nature of that communication. When you begin to change the body’s command and control systems, your results are going to be powerful and intersystemic, which is why both acupuncture and chiropractic have such profound effects on people. Chiropractic adjusting, through its influence on neural communication, and acupuncture, through its alteration of intercellular ionic flow, are both acting on a meta level, thus their widespread effects.

With all of that said; with all of my adherence to the logical discrimination of disease and therapeutics, and my hard-headed emphasis on results, I cannot ignore the power of my patient’s spirits, nor their immeasurable will to survive, improve, and in some cases achieve a level of health they never thought possible. Where does this will come from, and how does it manifest its results? Most importantly from my perspective, how can I help my patient harness that power?

Multiple studies have shown that intercessory prayer have little effect on disease outcome. Nonetheless, it is often through their religion or spiritual beliefs that people harness that powerful exercise of volition which dramatically alters the course of their disease.

Despite increasingly frequent forays into this domain, the realm of the spirit remains largely opaque to the otherwise piercing lenses of science. There is some evidence that  our brains are hardwired, as it were, to engage in spiritual practice; to “believe” in unquantifiable, unmeasurable forces which help to direct our lives. And those familiar with the work of Carl Jung and subsequently Joseph Campbell will recognize the hero myth as the unifying essence of almost all religions. Neurological research has shown how the regular practice of meditation, independent of the specific religious tradition of the meditator, can create long-term alterations in our brains. Nonetheless, these scattered breadcrumbs only beg the question of how these beliefs unlock such potent personal power that the course of a disease can be radically altered.

This is a question worthy of consideration, particularly today, when much of Christianity celebrates the birth of its central figure. And as I drove home from a family gathering last night, I could not ignore the beauty and tranquility exuded by the churches I passed, all decked out for their celebrations and lit with candles for their midnight services. There is a compelling power there, not just in Christianity, but in any religion as it expresses the majesty of its office in our affairs. From the miraculous birth of Jesus to the transcendental satori of Gautama Shakyamuni to the revelations of the cave-dwelling Muhammad, there is a common thread from which has emerged some of the most beautiful expressions of art, literature and music of which humans are capable.

To that I would add religion’s ability to give us the power to manifest our ideal selves in the physical realm as well as the sphere of ideas. While I cannot explain it, I would be a fool to ignore it, though it is clearly not in my scope to harness it. That is more truly the realm of the priest, the roshi, the imam. As a doctor, I must remain ecumenical to best serve my patients.

To me, this day marks both a beginning and an end. It is the end of the work year for me, and over the next week of “vacation,” I lay the foundations for beginning the new year. I am looking forward to the changes I hope to bring about, both personally and in my practice. And I know that this question, the role of spirituality in health, will be one which will invite me back to ponder its challenges throughout this year. I am looking forward to the conversation about to ensue.

And I am also, as always, incredibly thankful to my patients who continue to be my most influential teachers. Thank all of you for your trust in me, and thank you for permitting me to join you down the short segment of your path that we are traveling together. I hope my guidance has not led you astray, but assisted you to become more of who you want to be.

And to all of the readers of my blog, thank you for your attention and your feedback. You encourage me to continue these public musings and consider new topics and new approaches.

Happy Holidays to all! I look forward to seeing you in 2012.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Drugs are not the best answer for depression and anxiety.

Paralysis. Suicide. Fatigue. Heart Attack. Birth Defects. Liver Disease. Weight Gain.

Is This Any Way To Treat Depression and Anxiety?

These are just some of the side effects of antidepressants. At the same time, research has shown that these drugs are not much better than placebo at treating depression and anxiety.

Please join me on Nov. 9 for an exploration of the dangers of medical treatment for depression and anxiety, and a look at alternative management strategies.

At this seminar, you will learn:

• What are the long-term effects of using drugs for mood disorders?
• What really causes depression and anxiety?
• Can acupuncture help people with depression?
• Which herbs are most effective for people with depression? Can herbs really reduce anxiety?
• What is the research behind alternative management strategies?

If you or someone you know suffers from anxiety or depression, call today to reserve your seat.

Wednesday,  Nov. 9, 2011
Litchfield Community Center
7 p.m.

Call 860-567-5727 and ask for Teresa, or email to depression@averyjenkins.com

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.

Page A13 of today’s New York Times has an article about St. John’s College, a rather unique Great Books program. The thrust of the article is to illustrate how St. John’s professors — referred to as “tutors” — are expected to teach every discipline, regardless of their own specialty. As an example, the article features Dr. Sarah Benson, an art historian, who is currently teaching mathematics — via Euclid.

The Times article says “students who attend St. John’s…know that their college experience will be like no other. There are no majors; every student takes the same 16 yearlong courses, which generally feature about 15 students discussing Sophocles or Homer.”

I mention this article for two reasons. My daughter is a freshman at St. Johns College, and is finding the experience to be uniquely mind-expanding.

I can already hear the changes in her thinking; for example, in a recent telephone discussion about how her younger sister’s classmates feel that American imperialism is in all cases justified, daughter #1 bursts out indignantly: “But what about Virtue? Don’t they even consider that?”

In my mind, I laughed, then applauded.

The second reason is that this article brought back memories of my own undergraduate education, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University (of Oxford, Ohio, thankyouverymuch). Cloistered on its own campus (the former Western College for Women, at which my mother was an assistant dean), the School of Interdisciplinary Studies taught us in much the same way that St. John’s College trains my daughter today. Frequent, small discussion classes, only barely run by the professors, punctuated by more formal seminars, at which the academics of the College presented insights from their own disciplines, viewed through interdisciplinary lenses.

There was one class, however, which became for me an intellectual satori. I spent a semester studying the relationship between Picasso’s Cubism and Einstein’s theory of relativity.

It was team taught by a physicist and an art historian, and we all learned together, studying the works of Picasso and Georges Braque, and reading Einstein’s original works. And somewhere, through the heat of that challenge, I emerged a changed man. Somehow, my lenses had shifted, and I never looked at the world in the same way again.

The School of Interdisciplinary Studies is long gone, replaced by a sub-department within a department, but I am glad to see that schools such as St. Johns College continue to educate men and women who will be capable of gazing out onto the landscape of culture and ideas and see things to which others are blind.

Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.