July 2026 • Week 1 — The 33 Principles of Chiropractic
Where Chiropractic Begins
Most of what you see in a chiropractic office is hands-on: the exam, the adjustment, the advice on movement and posture. Underneath all of it is a way of thinking about the body that is almost a hundred years old — and it shapes how I approach your care every visit.
This month, I want to pull back the curtain a little. Over four issues, we will walk through the 33 Principles of Chiropractic, in plain language, a few at a time.
What the 33 Principles Are
The 33 Principles were written down by Dr. Ralph Stephenson in 1927, in a book called The Chiropractic Textbook. They are the core ideas that chiropractic is built on — a step-by-step way of explaining how the body organizes itself, keeps itself running, and stays healthy.
Some of the original wording is formal and a bit old-fashioned. My goal here is not to quote a textbook at you. It is to translate each principle into something useful — an idea you can actually carry with you.
Why This Matters to You
The principles build on one another, in order, each one leading to the next. Together they explain something that has been the theme of everything I write: health is about function, not just the absence of pain. When you understand the thinking, the care makes a lot more sense — why I focus on how your body is working, not only on what hurts.
We will take them in order. Here are the first eight — the foundation the rest are built on.
Principles 1 through 8: The Foundation
1. The Major Premise
There is an organizing intelligence running through everything in nature — including your body. It is the reason a cut heals and a heartbeat keeps time without you managing it.
2. The Meaning of Life
Life is that intelligence expressing itself through a physical body.
3. The Union of Intelligence and Matter
You are alive when that intelligence and your physical body stay connected and work together.
4. The Triune of Life
Life needs three things working as one: intelligence (the plan), force (the signal that carries it out), and matter (the body itself).
5. The Perfection of the Triune
For life to work fully, all three have to be at full strength. If the signal cannot get through, it does not matter how healthy the rest of the body is.
6. The Principle of Time
Nothing in the body happens instantly. Healing, growth, and change all take time — which is why consistency matters more than any single visit.
7. The Amount of Intelligence in Matter
Your body always has exactly the intelligence it needs to run itself — no more, no less than the job requires.
8. The Function of Intelligence
The job of that intelligence is to create force — the signals that tell every part of the body what to do.
The Thread to Follow
If there is one idea to take from this first set, it is Principle 1: your body is not a random collection of parts. There is an order running through it, and health is what happens when that order can do its job without interference. Everything I do as a chiropractor comes back to protecting that.
You do not need to know a single principle to benefit from care — but understanding the thinking behind it tends to make the whole thing click. If anything here raises a question, bring it up at your next visit. I am always glad to talk through it. Call us or book online below.
Next Week
Week 2 picks up at Principle 9 and follows the thread into force and matter — how the body's signals actually do their work, and what it means when something gets in their way.
Ryan Chiropractic Wellness
Improving Function. Restoring Balance. Supporting Long-Term Health.
📍 Georgetown & Taunton, Massachusetts
📞 (978) 352-4200