Finding True Self through your Body: A Different Kind of Chiropractic
As you know, Alchemus Prime is all about leadership and wellness through our science-based model, which focuses on the true self. Our true self methodology combines behavior change tools with meditation techniques, and insights from biomimicry and design thinking. Recently, we featured Dane Lee Morton through our video series, Mornings with Marilyn. Dane’s work is called Emotional Wellness and Emotional Wisdom; it relates to how we can use tactics to use our emotions in constructive ways.
Building on our practice of featuring holistic practitioners, today we are highlighting Dr. Sam Zoranovich, with whom I had the pleasure of having tea a few weeks ago. I decided to interview Dr. Sam, as I like to call him, because after fifteen minutes of chatting, we were finishing each other’s sentences. We clearly have a lot in common, including the same goals: liberating each client to be their true self and to enjoy the wellness that comes with that freedom.
Check out the interview below and our banter in Mornings with Marilyn.
Marilyn: What is chiropractic and what are its roots?
Dr. Sam: Chiropractic is a uniquely American healing modality, founded in 1895 by DD Palmer (Palmer himself might have said that he “discovered the principles” of chiropractic, rather than “founding” the discipline). DD thought he’d discovered a cure for deafness at first, as the janitor in his building, who had lost his hearing some years prior after falling off a ladder, regained his hearing after receiving an adjustment. After inviting deaf folk from all over the country to come see him, very few of them regained their hearing as well, but a number of them reported other chronic conditions clearing up, from digestive disorders to vertigo to chronic pain.
Today, chiropractic is an incredibly diverse profession. Every chiropractor you ask will likely answer this question differently. For me, ultimately chiropractic is the science that analyzes the way the body distorts in response to stress and injury, the philosophy of vitalism that says that your body knows how to heal, and will do so if nervous system communication is clear, and the art of delivering the right touch, with the right force, at the right place and time, to let the body’s innate wisdom restore health and balance.
Put more simply though, I use chiropractic to get people out of self-protection and defensiveness, back to feeling like themselves again, with more room in their bodies for joy, pleasure, and life.
Marilyn: I love it! I really resonate with the approach that the body’s ability to heal itself is powerful, which is a premise of Reiki too, which I practice. From speaking with you, I can tell there’s something different about your practice or training. What is it?
Dr. Sam: My training started early, before I was a chiropractor, when I was fortunate to stumble upon craniosacral therapy (an outgrowth if osteopathy), which posits that form and function of the body are interlinked, that changing the structure of the body changes the way it functions, and that doing so further changes the way the body and world (and whole life) get experienced.
After that, I received a very good, if fairly standard chiropractic education at Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, CA. LCCW is one of the few philosophically grounded Chiropractic colleges left in the country, in that it teaches not a pain- and symptom-based approach to health care, but a wellness- and life-based approach: the body knows how to heal itself, we just have to understand enough to get obstruction out of the way.
After school I spent 2 years studying and practicing a specialized technique called Network Spinal Analysis, and now I fold all of those very light-touch approaches in with my more stereotypical quick crack adjusting.
Marilyn: Again, we really resonate with a wellness approach, that’s integrated across different methods. Tell me, who should come to you for treatment?
People who are suffering from anxiety, chronic stress and its related symptoms, and people who are ready to take their well being and self-care to a whole new level should all come to see me. People who’ve had bad experiences with chiropractors should come see me. People who want their bodies to be more open to joy and pleasure, and less constrained by their trauma and injuries should definitely come see me.
Marilyn: Where are you based and what are your fees?
Dr. Sam: I have been working in the Mission district of San Francisco for 6.5 years, and my office is located at 12 Fair Ave, where Valencia runs into Mission as Mission goes uphill toward Bernal.
My intake is $150. Adjustment visits are $79. I have packages to save folk money if they need extensive care.
Marilyn: Wonderful! How might interested folk contact you?
Dr. Sam: Emailing drz@doctorsamz.com, checking out my website at doctorsamz.com, or just texting 415-735-1778 and scheduling an initial exam.
Marilyn: What else would you like our audience to know about you and your practice?
I love to serve LGBTQ patients and communities. I have a lot of experience with scoliosis and with patients with spinal surgeries in their history.
Marilyn: So, what’s next for you?
Dr. Sam: I’m doing more public speaking, teaching people about how to reduce chronic stress and heal chronic injuries, and talking to HR managers about how to reduce absenteeism and sick days in the workplace and save their companies money on their insurance utilization by promoting use of chiropractic among their employees.
I’m teaching classes on stress-reduction practices that don’t just chill you out while you’re in the class, but actually lower your baseline stress level over time. I’m teaching these classes in my office and in my patient’s offices, and am always happy to come out and talk with people who are curious about how to practice really effective self care on a time budget.
Marilyn: Wow, so much in common! I also work on how to improve productivity, and teach classes on wellness and leadership using behavior change and meditation techniques. Thanks for talking with us Dr. Sam, and sharing with us your important approach to wellness.
There you have it: a wonderfully holistic and powerful practice. If you are in San Francisco or close to it and fit his criteria, check out Dr. Sam and boost your path to wellness! If you like what you’re reading or have recommendations for other practitioners we could feature, contact me.
Dr. Sam Zoranovich runs a holistic chiropractic practice in San Francisco.