The 5 Essential Functions of the Autonomic Nervous System

Everything in our body is controlled by our nervous system. The brain stem is the area of our nervous system that controls all of our vital organ functions; things like our heartbeat, breathing, and immunity to name a few. In fact, brain stem function is what we call the autonomic nervous system, or ANS.

How does the ANS know how many times our heart should beat a minute? Or how many breaths of air we need? How is it that the ANS knows to still function while we are sleeping?

It comes down to something called the body’s innate intelligence. Think of it like an automated computer program. This program was in place within the sperm that fertilized the egg. This program developed that egg into the fetus, then the babies that mothers birth. This program is what made your body grow from baby to toddler to adolescent to teenager to adult. Along the way, this program caused your bones to solidify and your body to mature. In fact, your innate intelligence is in control of every structure and every function within your body.

To better understand your body’s innate intelligence, there are five fundamental properties it uses to keep us functioning:

1. Survival – Our innate intelligence will do what is must to keep us alive. The fight or flight response is the perfect example. When we come across a threat like a bear, our eyes dilate to take in more of our surroundings. Blood rushes oxygen to our muscles so they are primed to react quickly. Our heart beats faster to send more blood to those muscles. Adrenaline surges through our body to give us that extra boost to attack or flee.

2. Adaptation – Our bodies have to adapt to their surroundings. Our immune system is the perfect example. When a foreign substance enters our body, the immune system develops antibodies to fight it off in the future.

3. Reproduction – There’s a reason one sperm out of two billion will make it to the egg and fertilize it, creating a new life. Our innate intelligence sets it all up to work this way, and it has been very effective since the beginning of humankind.

4. Replication – Every 27 days, our skin cells clone themselves and die off. In fact, over the course of a three year period, just about every cell in our body clones itself and dies off. In essence, we have a completely different body than we did 10 years ago.

5. Healing – When you cut yourself, what is it that heals the wound? When you break a bone, how does it heal back together? Sure the bandage will cover up the wound, and the cast will set the bone, but when it comes to healing those things, our innate intelligence has a very intricate, very effective way of repairing anything in our body when no interference is present.

So what does your body’s innate intelligence have to do with chiropractic?

When you have a vertebral subluxation in your spine, and it is causing pressure or tension to the nerves exiting the spinal column, communication from the nervous system to the rest of the body will be lessened, or even blocked completely in some instances.

When this is the case, your innate intelligence doesn’t have the ability to express the full range of its five properties to every part of your body. Examples may be high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, menstrual problems, degenerating bones and organs, or slow healing.

Having a subluxation-free, aligned spine is the goal, but the far reaching effects of this extend way beyond spinal structure itself. It will allow your innate intelligence to function at 100%, giving you the opportunity for optimal health.

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