The Zone Technique: How the Body Heals When the Brain Is Rebalanced
By Dr. Peter Goldman, DC
For more than a century, chiropractic has been rooted in a simple yet profound idea: the body heals itself when communication between the brain and the body is restored. This principle, laid out by D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, remains as relevant today as it was in 1895. But as the profession has grown and diversified, so has the understanding of what this healing process truly means.
The Zone Technique is a remarkable healing system — a structured and highly effective method for truly restoring the brain–body connection and unlocking the body’s natural healing power. While many people think of chiropractic as a mechanical procedure to “move bones,” the Zone Technique shifts the focus to where true healing begins: the brain.
In this article, I will explain briefly how the Zone Technique works, why it produces such consistent results, and what kinds of improvements patients commonly experience. The idea is to help you understand that healing does not have to be complex. When the correct systems of the body are balanced, health can be achieved very quickly.
Where the Zone Technique Comes From
The roots of the Zone Technique go back to Dr. Thurman Fleet, who taught a system known as Zone Therapy beginning in the 1930s. Dr. Fleet was a deep thinker who studied D.D. Palmer’s original work and combined it with a broader understanding of metaphysics, the subconscious mind, and the brain–body connection.
In the early 1990s, I had the privilege of learning directly from several of Dr. Fleet’s top students. What I saw during those years had a big effect on what I teach today: how to achieve healing results that most people would call “miraculous” — not once in a while, but daily.
After a decade of practice, I refined and expanded those principles into what is now called the Zone Technique, which I have taught thousands of chiropractors around the world to use today.
The Six Zones of Human Health
According to the Zone Technique, every function in the body belongs to one of six zones:
1. Glandular System
2. Eliminative System
3. Nervous System
4. Digestive System
5. Muscular System
6. Circulatory System
Every symptom comes from an imbalance in one or more of these six zones. When the brain centers that control a zone are not functioning optimally, the signals sent from the brain to the cells of the body are faulty. When that happens, the organs and tissues in that zone cannot perform at 100%.
How a Zone Adjustment Works
During a Zone evaluation, the zone doctor gently checks points along the back of the head (the superior nuchal line). These points correspond to the six brain centers that regulate the 6 zones. Any tenderness or irritation at these points tells us which zone is out of balance.
From there, the adjustment is simple:
• The zone doctor stimulates specific spinal points that correspond to the zone in question. This sends a corrective signal to the brain center controlling the affected zone.
• The brain “resets” and begins sending the right messages again.
• The zone begins to heal.
• The body moves back toward balance — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
This process is precise, and the results often happen quickly. In many cases, symptoms that have lasted for months or years begin to shift within days or weeks.
What Patients Commonly Experience
While chiropractic is often associated with back and neck pain, Zone Technique care affects the entire body. Patients regularly report improvements in:
• digestion, appetite
• sleep, mood, energy
• hormonal balance and gland function
• immune strength and recovery
• muscular health, flexibility, and posture
• overall resilience and adaptation to stress
In my practice, and in the practices of thousands of Zone chiropractors worldwide, these transformations are not exceptions — they are common outcomes when the correct zones are balanced.
While I have literally thousands of healings I can tell you about that the many have called miraculous, here are just a few examples –
Example 1:
Many women have come to me for healing with endometriosis and scheduled for surgery. After 6-8 zone adjustments they healed 100%, had the surgery cancelled, and had bewildered gynecologists calling me at my office asking how in the world this was possible.
Example 2:
Several patients have come to me with severe digestive issues like IBS. After 8-10 zone adjustments their digestive systems were totally restored. As a matter of fact, one of these patients had their gastroenterologists call me trying to understand how this healing with possible. It turned out that that doctor also had digestive issues and became my patient so she could heal too.
Example 3:
I have had too many patients to count come to me for disc issues in their necks and or low backs that multiple chiropractors and MDs tried and failed with. After 5-10 zone adjustments, these were resolved too.
Of course everyone heals at their own rate, but these results are typical.
These types of cases are why the Zone Technique continues to grow so rapidly around the world.
Why the Zone Technique Works So Consistently
In Zone School, where I teach chiropractors all over the world how to be phenomenal healers, about 80% of what I teach are high level principles of healing, and 20% is the technical procedure. The mindset of the practitioner — and the understanding of how the body actually heals — is what creates consistent results.
Who Can Benefit?
My answer is always the same: “Anyone who is breathing and not bleeding.”
People come in with digestive problems, thyroid issues, chronic fatigue, postural tension, migraines, anxiety, circulatory issues, immune weakness, reproductive challenges, and much more.
In many instances, Zone Technique care helps them experience real, measurable changes, and ultimately perfect health that they haven’t found elsewhere.
Returning to Chiropractic’s Original Purpose
In an age where chiropractic is sometimes presented as stretching, mobility advice, posture coaching, or exercise training, the Zone Technique is a reminder of chiropractic’s original purpose: to restore life, energy, and health by balancing the brain and the body.
D.D. Palmer never intended chiropractic to be a neck and back pain fix alone. He intended it to be a method for awakening the body’s healing power. That is exactly what the Zone Technique continues to do today — physically, mentally, and spiritually.
A Final Message to Patients
The goal with this article is this: to reassure you that your body is capable of far more healing than you might have realized. When the proper zones are balanced, the body often begins to heal quickly.
Whether you are dealing with long-standing symptoms or simply want to improve your quality of life, I encourage you to explore what Zone Technique care can offer you.