Like Water for Chiropractic
Borrowing a page from Laura Esquivel’s kitchen to explore how love, story, and nervous system coherence change the way we heal.
I’ve been revisiting an old favorite lately — Like Water for Chocolate. I first saw it back in the 90s during my weird art‑house film phase, tucked into a seat at the Cinematheque in Coral Gables, Florida, completely pulled into its strange mix of love, longing, and magic. Now there’s a new, bigger‑budget HBO adaptation, and while it’s glossier, it still carries that same haunting sense that feelings don’t just stay inside us — they move through everything we touch.
In Like Water for Chocolate, Tita pours her emotions into the food she prepares. When she cooks with love, joy, or sorrow, everyone who eats her meals feels those emotions deeply. Her kitchen becomes a mirror of her heart — a place where energy transforms into experience.
As a chiropractor, I’ve come to realize that the same truth applies at the adjusting table. Every adjustment carries intention. If we see a person as broken, needing to be “fixed,” that vibration shapes how our hands connect and how our nervous system communicates with theirs. But if we see them as whole, complete, and capable of healing, that belief is infused into our touch, our tone, and the rhythm of care.
Dr. Thurman Fleet once said that the concept of health itself allows healing to begin. When we hold that concept, we align our own nervous system to a higher frequency — one that communicates possibility instead of limitation. Our thoughts, words, and even posture signal to the patient that they are already equipped to heal. We aren’t imposing health upon them; we’re simply remembering it together.
That’s why talking about pain, dysfunction, or what’s wrong can sometimes pull both practitioner and patient deeper into that vibration of lack. Pain has its message, yes, but it isn’t the whole story. Our words either reinforce the pattern of dis‑ease or invite coherence to return.
Just as Tita’s food became a vessel of emotion, each adjustment can become a vessel of consciousness. When I adjust, I imagine my intention rippling through the fascia and nervous system, reminding the body of what it knows to be true — that it is designed for connection, balance, and vitality. Healing, then, isn’t something that happens to someone. It’s something that happens through us, when we allow presence, clarity, and love to flow unobstructed.
Before you rush to fix what hurts today, pause and notice: what frequency are you bringing into your own body — and into the bodies you touch?
Live Long and Prosper 🖖 ,
-Dan