Why my social experiment?

The Bible says, "You have not because you ask not. Ask and Ye shall receive." So whenever I have come to a point in my life where I really am in need of something, I just ask. I first voice it out loud to the universe, then in pray, then I begin to just ask people. Sometimes I tell them what I am up too and they ask me how they can support me. So I just flat out tell them how. They have a choice then. They can choose to say, "Good luck with that." or point me in a direction, or lastly pull out there wallet and be a blessing to me. No good deed goes unnoticed. Once I had a young missionary come to me and ask for monthly monetary support.
I gave him and his new wife over a few dollars a month for almost two years. I would have loved to have been able to do what he was doing but I couldn't. I want to be part of the solution to the problems that he was solving so by giving I was part of that solution after all. Any time someone enrolls you or me into their vision then the vision collectively grows. I personally felt a sense of accomplishment and pride when I would get letters from Matt every few months updating me on everything that was happening. One time another group was going to Africa and reached out to the community for support. I was compelled and move into action. I did not have any extra money at the time so I looked for other ways to create income. So I had this black powder rifle that I had built with my own two hands at a cost of $250.00. I sold it for $450.00 and gave it all for the trip. When the group got back they gave me an amazing hand made basket made by one of the villagers on the trip. Every time I see that basket I smile and remember that I made a difference in someone's life. The universal power of reaping and sowing in my life has been a powerful force. One seed of corn yields 2 to 4 full husks of kernels. So I am asking now. I have been on a personal mission to start and complete chiropractic school and become a primary care doctor that specializes in the treatment of musculoskeletal and neurological issues with a safer alternative to surgery. I have plenty of friends that are and have been a blessing in my life already. But I am asking for not one ore two people to be a blessing or a change in the world. I am asking for all of you to participate. I'm am asking for the power of many to do a little which in turns becomes something very big in the end. Now if I was really brave I would ask for my whole tuition to be paid. Honestly I am looking forward to paying off my loans. I earned this debt and especially may degree that I am working on. I want the satisfaction and accomplishment of completing all of this in excellence. So how do I enroll you into my vision? I have been adjusting people since I was in high school. Mostly of this adjusting was easy stuff. My mother had been working for in a factory for years and would tell me how and where to put my hands and how to push on her back to make it crack. I was adjusting and I had no clue. After receiving a neck injury in high school my mother took me to see Dr. DeWitt. He was an old adjuster who had trained at Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Ia. Dr. DeWitt adjusted me, and it hurt at first. I didn't have a clue like I due now about acute or recent injures and or chronic conditions and what to do. I will say this about Dr. Dewitt, he was honest. He told me that the adjustment may hurt. It did and I wasn't surprised. The main point is I got better. I asked lots of questions and received lots of answers. Then I would try these techniques being used on me on others. At first I was a little rough but with some practice I got better. To this day I have not had a person tell me I hurt them doing chiropractic on them. How is this possible that an untrained, unlicensed, and unskilled person could have these results? I only have one answer for that question, Intent. My intent has never been to hurt but only to heal. I have always thought that when I do this adjustment you are going to feel great. I have learned a lot in the last two years and I have 4 set of boards to pass to become a licensed chiropractic physician. For the last two years I have lived on rice, top ramen (only for the first year), lots of juice and fruit, nuts, quinoa, and very little meat. It is too expensive. When I came to school I had budgeted out all my expenses....except the board exams. There are little emergencies that I have to plan for just in case something happens so I can pay all my bills and still be able to eat. There have been some months where I have not paid all my bills and have even been negative in my bank account for more than a week. I have received food from a food bank once. I have had a few girlfriends give me their canned food that had been in their cupboards and bring me food. It gets hard around finals when I have no money for food and my brain need energy to stay sharp and study. I have met a great girl how has helped me out financially when I have really needed it. I pay her back when I can. Bottom line is I can only do so much and I only have so many hours in a day, and lastly I am not 24 years old. I am in great shape but I do not have the energy that I had in my 20's. So I am reaching out and asking for help. Seriously I am only asking for a $1.00. From 2000 face book friends. This money is only to be used for my exam fees which are $610 for part 2 and part 3, and $350 for Physical Therapy and the big on $1200 for part 4. The grand total of all these exams I have left is $2740.00 which non of my financial aid covers. So I put in long hours at my desk studying till 12:00 or 1:00 am only to wake up at 5:00 am start studying before school. I umpire as much as I can, but the summer is almost over and so are the little leagues. I cater when the opportunities come up. So i am not sitting on my butt doing nothing and expecting something. I just have short comings and gaps that I need help sometimes with. This is why I am reaching out to all those I know. If you have had a great experience with me or something I have done and have ever wondered how can I do something for Greg Shepard. This is how you can.

Rehab vs. Training the Arm

Alan Jaeger a personal friend, Cal State Northridge Alumni, and professional throwing trainer has put a new article worth reading. I have known many players that trained with Alan and achieved amazing results. I believe that his information has personally allowed me to keep throwing into my 40's without injuring my arm. He has many videos and even a book on throwing and they are all worth their weight in gold.

http://baseballnews.com/throwing-programs-of-elite-pitchers

What Does It Take to Be the Best?

To be the best your ways of BEING have to align with what you are trying to accomplish. For example, for me growing up I wanted to be a few things. A doctor, A professional motor cross rider, a police officer, a marine, and a professional baseball player. As I grew older I started talking more and more about being a professional baseball player then anything else. I one point I gave up riding motor cross because I feared I would injure myself and not be able to play baseball. So my ways of being started to change to conform to what I was really wanting. I like to party too, but when the partying and drinking began to affect my baseball performance then I had to cut that out too. Again partying and drinking were not in alignment of what I was wanting so I changed my way of being. I even used performance enhancers to elevate my game. Some people say, "You did whatever you had to to make it happen." It it the same with chiropractic school. The closer I get to the prize the more I see myself modify my behavior. I am on a three week break now and all I can think about is how I am going to pay my daughters medical expenses, where can I find extra work, and how many hours a day do I need to study to prepare for my next round of board exams. Everyday I do not put in the time of my craft I feel like I am going backwards. I am not wired for mediocrity. I find it hard to sleep at night just getting by in school with C's. Nobody is going to know what I received for a grade in school accept me. They will just see that I have a doctorate in chiropractic. People will just trust that I know what I am doing. Only thing is I know that I am just getting by and it bothers me. I question my knowledge of the situations. If I only know 70% of the material how can I be 100% sure I know what is going on? Maybe I am to hard on myself? Maybe I ask too much of myself? I remember training as a player and what that required. It required can't see hours. Can't see hours are hours that people can't see you working. Before people wake up and while they are sleeping at night, I was honing my craft. I remember some nights hitting with Eric Cole of the Houston Astros at 11:30 pm. I have worn out so many pairs of batting gloves I should have bought stock in Franklin, Easton, and Rawlings. That is what it takes. Champion Sports has a moto that I align with. "It takes a little more to be a Champion." They are right. There are guys with unbelievable natural talent. If they do not continue to grow, experience, change, adjust, and get better, then in a short period of time they become average players. The raw player or average player that continues to do repetitions and develop their skills will so pass the natural player that does nothing. I find myself lying in bed at night saying how am I going to get the reps I need to become a professional at chiropractic? The back and neck are not an Iron Mike with the ability to just spit out fastball after fastball. How am I going to get patient reps? How will I be able to diagnose injuries and subluxations correctly if I only have 250 treatment hours to graduate? It seems impossible to me sometimes. Then someone says, "That is why they call it a practice." I get to practice on unknowing participants. I am going to take some 60 year old woman's neck in my hands and give it just the right amount of thrust to move the bones in a way that gives her relief without giving her a stroke. Sound scary to you? It used to be scary for me. Today, two years later I know that my intention is to put life back into the body. I only with to restore things not destroy them. I love chiropractic because it has many similarities to baseball. Both are performance and result driven. Both require daily practice to improve. Continuing education is a requirement for both. My body has to be able to perform at a high level for both. Proper practice leads to better performance. I have heard people say perfect practice equals perfect performance and there is truth in this. What is really required is the discipline to be committed to what I say I want and the actions I do. I can say I want to be a chiropractor, but if I just go to school and do the minimums and then find other things to occupy my time and I really committed to what I said I wanted? Am I really doing a little more? Am I really doing what it takes to become a champion for chiropractic? If the results are not in alignment with the goal then there is only one piece of the equation to change and that would be the action. I am committed to changing the results and the action. What are you committed to doing?

Online Academy has been SHUT DOWN.

I have recently shut down the online academy because of the financial strain that is associated with keeping a business open while being in chiropractic school. So I have chosen to shut it down for the time being. I will keep this site open and have another site that I am working that will encompass baseball and chiropractics. I love baseball and will always be part of the game, just more on the clinical side instead of as an instructor. Thank you for all your support over the years. Greg Shepard

NOS Swing Trainer by Speed Chains

This is a great product. I own one and take it with my where ever I go. The small balls are easy to carry in a small bag or even a plastic bag.

ASEA: Research from prestigious lab says, "This stuff really changes the biology of the body."

This is a great discovery. Double blinded cross over studies are a good thing. They test 2 groups 2 times giving them either the placebo first and then the experimental agent or the agent first then the placebo. Either way they collect data from both groups on both treatments. Some things to keep in mind. How look do the effects of ASEA stay in the body? If group A had ASEA and then was later given the Placebo, would there be any residual affects in the system and how much would this impact the results. Would the group that got the placebo first benefit from the week of training before they were given ASEA? With research you have to not only look at the variables of the research but also a bigger picture. What things could really make the results invalid?

Hitting Coach turns Chiropractor

This is just another update on what has been happening for the last five months.  Five months ago I started Chiropractic School at Palmer Chiropractic College West in San Jose, Ca.  I love it here. School is hard.  I wouldn't expect to be any other way.  Gross Anatomy I & II, Neuroanatomy  and Neuroscience, Spinal anatomy and and and, oh boy I have taken one year of college in almost 6 months.  It is a lot of information and it the classes move very quickly.  It is medical school.  Same structures, same anatomy, pathologies, diagnosis, everything that a medical doctor would learn.  The only difference is I do not have to learn the pharmacology or the serious biochemistry that goes into the medical side of drug and interactions.  I will not be learning surgery, or how to deliver a baby either. But in Oregon it would be okay for me to do that.  Health wise I feel like I have been better.  I rarely eat out anymore. I consume nuts and vegetables with lots of fruit.  Oh and let's not forget the top ramen. A fine source of nutrition.  I have started a juice fast and am updating people on my http://chiro-student.blogspot.com.  It is going well.  I'm still alive after 3 days and I feel great.  I'm very tired lately so I know my body is healing and detoxing.  Baseball is good.  I'm playing in a league out of Oakland and it is probably some of the best ball I have seen at this level.  I am a little hurt now.  I have sprained my Sacro-Iliac joint.  It's not a fun injury.  I continue to pitch but my hitting has suffered.  The day after I throw I can hardly walk.

About what I have learned.  I have learned that most people are walking around with some misalignment and should get checked out and receive regular adjustments.  If you decided to go to a chiropractor when you are in pain then it is too late.  Now you are going to have to go on a regular plan of chiropractics that can cost more.  Here is a concept. Think of Preventative Health Care instead of after sick care.  By getting regular adjustments you can avoid some of health major pit falls.  I have even seen a studied that was done and it showed that people with high blood pressure that received upper cervical adjustments show a significant drop in their high blood pressure.  Medical doctors doing the study were amazed.  They didn't believe that an adjustment worked better than drugs with not harmful side effects.
I have personally noticed when I was receiving regular adjustments for Dr Ormand that my overall health was better.  I did not get any sinus infections that year.  I usually get one every year around allergy season.  My baseball performance increased.  I was able to throw more batting practice without pain or stiffness than ever before.  My range of motion was the best it had ever been and I just moved better.  Professional teams are jumping on board with chiropractics.  Dr. Prusso, who works in our student clinic is the Oakland Raiders chiropractor, Terry Schroeder, the men Olympic Water Polo coach is a chiropractor and has had one with his team as the team physician for three Olympics now.  The San Francisco Forty-Niners have a team chiro.  Joe Montana and Jerry Rice are huge supporters of chiropractics.  So what do these athletes know that the general public doesn't?  They know in order for their bodies to perform at the highest levels the main structure of the spine and all it's important nerves need to be all working and in line.  Go go see a chiropractor today.  Avoid painful surgeries and medications with harmful side effects down the road.  I don't claim that chiropractics is the end all.  No chiropractic adjustment has ever cured cancer or stopped a heart attack.  Either has any drug or medical procedure.  Wellness is a choice.  It is a series of choices over a life time that start to add up.  What you are today a because of a series of choices you made in the past.  So if you want to change your future then change the choice you are making today.  I recommend better food choices, a little exercise, some quality connecting time with yourself, your significant other, your children, and even your maker.  Slow down a little and take off your shoes and walk in the grass.  Breathe deeper and smell some fresh air....if you city has any.  Buy a good water filter and cut back on the soft drinks, energy drinks, triple shot of espresso.  Most of all educate yourself.  In the end your health is YOUR sole responsibility.