Activate Your Practice Podcast
The Activate Your Practice Podcast is hosted by the Chairman & Founder of Activator Methods, Dr. Arlan Fuhr. This podcast will cover a variety of subjects. Dr. Fuhr will interview guests from different backgrounds and professions, as well as talk about his 50+ years in chiropractic care.
Activate Your Practice Podcast
Adjusted Reality: Seven Pillars for a Healthier, Longer, More Fulfilled You with Dr. Sherry McAllister
Feeling out of balance, rushed, and stuck in symptom-chasing? We sit down with Dr. Sherry McAllister to unpack Adjusted Reality—a practical, story-driven guide to living in alignment physically, mentally, and emotionally. Instead of treating chiropractic as a last stop for back pain, we explore it as a catalyst for performance, confidence, and long-term resilience. Sherry shares the seven pillars—investment, replenishment, nourishment, movement, adjustment, contentment, and revitalizement—and shows how they create a path from chaos to clarity.
You’ll hear how one young athlete avoided a spiral into depression by finding a doctor who would walk the full journey: clear education, research-backed steps, and care that honored the whole person. We also dig into the difference between disease care and health care, and why collaboration—not competition—gives patients the best outcomes. When communication bridges both systems, people don’t just recover; they regain momentum, purpose, and self-agency.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn to New York Fashion Week, where posture and alignment meet confidence and design. Health becomes the ultimate accessory, shaping how we move through rooms, handle stress, and tell our story without words. Along the way, Sherry offers a deceptively simple prompt for clinicians and patients alike: What do you want your health to help you do more of? Aligning care to that answer turns routines into a lifestyle and worry into courage.
Ready to rethink what care can do for you? Press play, share this with a friend who needs momentum, and if the message resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us which pillar you’ll build first.
Hi, I'm Dr. Arlen Ford, the chairman and founder of Activator Methods International. Today I'm very happy to have a guest that I've known for some time and watch her do a meteoric rise in the profession. Dr. Sherry McAllister is our guest today. And the reason we wanted to have her on is she just completed a book that took her two years to write called Adjusted Reality. And many of you know that Sherry is the president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. And so this was an offshoot, and she decided to do this, not realizing what it takes to write a book. Now, having written a couple of books, I know what she went through, and that's what we were discussing just before we went live. How much work it is, and when you quit, it's like you're almost lost. So welcome, Sherry. We're glad to have you on activate your practice.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely delighted to be with you.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. You know, I want to start uh and talk about the book. It's called Adjusted Reality. Tell me, why did you name it that?
SPEAKER_01:Well, here's the thing. Um right now the world is kind of chaotic. And um, when you look at adjusted reality, it's really about living in alignment. And if there's a word that chiropractic can really rally around, it's alignment. And it's about physically, mentally, and emotionally being in that place. It's also where I think most of us make choices that we want it to make a difference, whether it's being stronger, more balanced, or more resilient in a world where I think functionally we can all say it feels out of alignment. So it's now about the stress, the disconnection, the chronic health challenges that that rise. People are just hungry. They're hungry for practical ways to ground themselves. And I think from the collective wisdom of the people in this book, it's why adjusted reality is really not just a title. I think it's it's a way of life. How do we change the way we look at things so the things we look at can be better?
SPEAKER_00:Um, you talk about seven pillars. Tell me about that.
SPEAKER_01:I've been in this profession as the president for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress for nine years. And there's something really special about this profession, is that we do rally together when it's the right fight. And I think now more than ever, with our consumers really being sick and sad, we have an opioid epidemic, we had a pandemic, we have a health crisis of mental health. Um, this really going around for the last nine years, I talked to so many chiropractors that were saying the same thing. And I recognized that the media really didn't understand us. And so for us to get into those seven pillars, what is something that is a common thread that links us all together? It sounds almost impossible, but it was done because I talked to so many of them. Is what does it look like to live longer, healthier, more fulfilling? And the seven pillars are back to where the founder was in 130 years ago. It's about investment, replenishment, nourishment, movement, our beautiful word, adjustment, contentment, and then revitalizement. Those were the seven pillars that make us chiropractors.
SPEAKER_00:Many people think of chiropractic as kind of a back pain doctor. Is that accurate?
SPEAKER_01:Well, unfortunately, I have to say, what people think is not always the way. And it's not really accurate. I would I would put it like this it's part of the story. It's there is a story that goes through adjusted reality where it's the literal and figurative journey on a mountain, a mountain um ascent. And what happens with back pain is we lose the big picture. And that big picture is really how our alignment influences our life. And that can range from a variety of different things. But as chiropractors, I think we need to move into a realm of understanding that pain is one of them. But we also have to be proactive in being able to showcase that preventative care is key and that optimization, especially if you're an athlete or you're someone who wants to be at the top level of game, whether that's being a CEO or an Olympic javelin thrower, we cannot negate chiropractic to pain because it's so much more.
SPEAKER_00:You've woven stories about research practical tools together. Can you share one story that really captures it?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And in that, when we go into the book, because reflecting on the book really is reflecting on a patient's journey. Where are they and where did they come from? How did they get to where they are right now? And oftentimes a chiropractor they see a patient for the first time and they reflect on what brought you in to make this choice. And in the book, there is the patient that is a football player and a young athlete. And through that athletic endeavor of being a being on the football field and then having a significant injury, he reflected deeply on what it meant for him to get the right treatment at the right time. Because it could have put him in a world of depression. Instead, he found the doctor who was willing to walk with him on the journey to recovery. And it was a whole being care provider, aka it was a chiropractor. And that was really the challenge was to bring forth the depth of understanding that a patient comes in fear, false evidence that appears real, um, ignorance. Is this gonna help me? And then the last piece is trust. And that's one beautiful word that today's healthcare providers are starting to get hit with. And that is trust. And the beauty of chiropractic is so many patients, they not only like their chiropractor, they love their chiropractor because they educate them so well that they know what the adverse event will be if we choose this treatment. And that that's where I think um adjusted reality and the stories come with the research. And if you separate the two, it can't be a textbook and it can't be a novel. It has to be a journey. And together, it builds trust for the patient.
SPEAKER_00:What is one small action that a chiropractor can start today?
SPEAKER_01:Well, this is a really important question because it reflects on you, the chiropractor. What do you want your health to help you do more of? Because as a chiropractor, when you ask that question, it opens the door to whole being care. It's way beyond symptoms. And then it connects what you want to do in your practice, adjustments, movement strategies, nutrition to that vision. And you know, there's a very beautiful saying, ask and you shall receive. If you ask yourself, what do you want more of as a chiropractor? Because you need to be a patient first to be a doctor. You can't mix the two together. Oftentimes we think, oh, well, we are a doctor, we can be our own best doctor. No, it doesn't work like that. It's like, it's like you're you're trying to get dark, but you have a light in the room. You can't have both. One is going to win, and it's obviously the light in a dark room. So if you're a patient, be a patient. If you're a doctor, be a doctor. And then start asking yourself as a doctor of chiropractic, becoming a patient, what do you want more? Because people like brings like. And when they see what you have, they want more. I want to be like them. Look at the energy that Dr. Four has. And all of a sudden, the world becomes a better place because we're giving what we want back. And that's the next part is ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find. And you will find the options that you desire when you open your mind and your heart.
SPEAKER_00:What's the end product that you want when they finish adjusted reality?
SPEAKER_01:I would like to say, as they get through the book, they have a gift of self-agency that they bring themselves to a place where they feel they are in 100% ability to make the choices that are right for them. We're all walking around like fingerprints. We're all very different. We eat different food, we sleep different hours, we do different things in our lives. And when you finish adjusted reality, I would like to nail it down to a famous quote that one of my mentors shared with me. And that is a quote from Henry David Thoreau. And it's it's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. And I want you, when you put the book down, you see a bigger, better, bolder, braver future for you. And you want that for someone else. So you share the book with someone else so they can have a vision of a beautiful future.
SPEAKER_00:You know, you asked the question here, why is it especially important today in today's healthcare climate? Well, observing today with RFK and his group, how they're changing healthcare radically, I think uh this book is probably timed at the right time perfectly.
SPEAKER_01:I hope you're right. I I think with, you know, there are no coincidences in life. I think it becomes a moment of reflection that energy is translated into the um building the new. And, you know, it's it's becoming a constant battle where there in my mind, there is the the framework is breaking, it's cracking um the disease care model. It's cracking. People don't want that. What they really want is not a disease care system, they actually want something that is focused on health, proactive. So if you broke these two systems down, one a healthcare system, and another a disease care system, they could fundamentally work in parallel in a beautiful harmony, which builds vitality for the patient because they'll know where their need to go when they need to get there. So if I'm sick and I am dying of cancer, I want to be in the disease care model that helps me find a solution that is in that disease care. But I also want to reflect the collateral, which is the healthcare system. How can I be, do, and have better so I can optimize my state? But if I'm still in the sick care system, they still can work together. They just need to communicate. And actually, the number one thing is collaborate. Communicate, collaborate, so that the ultimate we can celebrate a patient's success.
SPEAKER_00:So is that the role that you see the readers playing? Is share the message?
SPEAKER_01:Share the message. The the part about self-expression, where you look at yourself through the eyes of where you are in this novel. Some of us are they're at, we're at the waterfall. There's a spot in the book that's called the waterfall. And some of us really do slip at the waterfall. And it's kind of a joke. We'll call this place the waterfall, because when you make that fall, when you fall from a place of ascent to descent, you become challenged by what do I need to do to get back to where I was? And I think a lot of us have to really analyze our life because 90% of the solution is really to identify the problem. And the problem is oftentimes we don't see how disease care interacts with health care. And we begin to worry or become anxiety-ridden because we don't think we're going to get back to where we were. And I believe one thing very strongly is that success is equal to courage and confidence, and worry weakens you. So if you can have a healthcare provider who is who is literally lifting you up out of the darkness and into the light, and I mean that in a very um figurative statement is have someone who will walk the journey with you, then it becomes brighter and and you become the best you because you can see hope. Because you can't have hope if you can't cope, and you can't cope if you don't have hope. So you have to interjectively have those people around you that you love and adore that will lift you up and not let you sit in a fallen state.
SPEAKER_00:If a listener buys adjusted reality today, what's the biggest gift they'll be giving themselves?
SPEAKER_01:The gift of understanding where they sit and the choices that they make. If you begin to align your decisions with the life that you want, you have harmony. And harmony breeds contentment. They're not the same. Harmony is a frequency that all comes together, but contentment is a level higher up. And in the book, there's a spot where you get to reflect. Um, we take it from lightning and thunder. So if you want to, for example, have a career, it's a reflection of thunder. It's a it's an energy that comes together that's bold. Having a career is is is a bold move and it brings you to a nine to five kind of attitude. It's it's not passionately inspiring you, but you have a career. It's you're you're doing all you can. I like to think of a lifestyle, which is where chiropractic is. Chiropractic is not a job, it's a lifestyle. And that's the lightning. It's the it's the culmination of living, breathing, and doing for yourself what you'd want for others. So when you look at that last chapter that is called revitalizement, it's really looking at how are you finding contentment? Have you thought of potentially even becoming a chiropractor? Because, you know, Dr. Arlen, you have lived your life in this profession as I have. I've never had a day where I look back and wished I wasn't a chiropractor. I feel so blessed because I hear so many people so discouraged and so disenchanted in the job choices that they have. But then I say, I don't have a job, I have a lifestyle. And the choices I make impact me every day. And that is why chiropractic is such an important piece because it's about whole being care. So a reader walks away with an understanding of what does it really mean to supercharge your whole being? And that I think is the greatest gift you can have.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you know, you can buy this book on all kinds of places, and I even wrote them down Walmart, Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble. But here's what I want you to pay attention to. You can get a 10-book bundle, and this is all you have to do is copy this down. It's F and then the number four, CP, which is chiropractic progress, but just f forc.org slash adjusted reality. And when you check, just say 10 book bundle, it's$149, and you check reality 10. That's when you leave the, I guess it would be the the where you do the checkout, but reality 10 is what you use. Now I want to go one last thing here, Sherry. Um chiropractic has talked to itself for many years, and we think we're really doing a big thing because we're having seminars among ourselves. But Sherry's gone the next step and gone into the big world, and she has been in the foundation process, went forward at the New York Fashion Week. And it's an event traditionally focused on style and culture. And here we have a chiropractor. And so tell me about this. It was in the big time in New York, that's where it is. What's what's the building that it's in?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. Well, New York Fashion Week is quite an event. It it the fashion industry is a billion-dollar industry and it runs at the speed of light and it changes and it it reformats. But the the part about why we went was Fashion Week really is about confidence and expression and how we present ourselves to the world. And one piece that chiropractors own is posture. Posture and alignment are inseparable from those things. So being on the ground, what we did was we reminded people that health is the ultimate accessory and chiropractic makes confidence possible from the inside out. And I just loved being there because when you get in the everyday man and woman's conversations, they see you differently. And we're talking to them and being in their world where it really defines how does chiropractic fit into my life and we show them.
SPEAKER_00:Now, what was the key message you wanted attendees and viewers to walk away with?
SPEAKER_01:The chiropractic is not an alternative. If there's one thing that just makes my head pop off, is that we're not an alternative to what a patient needs. We're actually essential. And I noted earlier is you have two systems working not synergistically right now. You have a sick care system, the disease, and you have the the health care system. I want them to walk away, knowing that if you care about how you look, how you feel, and how you move, chiropractic care belongs in their life. And from a runway model to a designer, these are the conversations we need to have. Be your best, choose well, and be in alignment with both your lifestyle choices and your physical alignment.
SPEAKER_00:You mentioned something about designers to me and how the designers were the ones that really looked at this. Tell the audience how the designers love this or why they did.
SPEAKER_01:They do because one thing about a posture on a model is the designers reflecting on how their clothing lays on the model. And a model without confidence doesn't showcase the creative art that they put into that clothing. And they take it very serious. So they get very excited knowing that if a model has confidence, then they're going to be in balance. And being in balance, ultimately, as we as chiropractors know, that means alignment. They can walk with confidence, they can have structure and function working together, and their clothes look beautiful because how you wear your clothes is typically how well you can be able to do the ramp work. And I will tell you, I don't know how some of these women walk in six-inch heels, and I don't know how they can, you know, strut with these feathers that are six feet tall. But I will tell you this that you can tell right away if a model is uncomfortable and it is obvious and it brings down the value of the designer's clothing. And that ultimately impacts their bottom line, which is which is they want to get picked up and be in different fashion shows as well. So everything works together in harmony when someone has balance, confidence, and alignment.
SPEAKER_00:My wife Judy, who is the CEO of Activator, just went out and bought 10 books because she's giving them to our doctors that are involved in Activator because she wants them to read about this. But I'm going to say this again it's f the number fourcp.org slash adjusted reality. And the 10 book bundle is$149. So you can give it to your friends and relatives if you check reality 10 when you check out of the out of the bookstore or whatever you're in. Sherry, uh, I'm really happy. Uh Sherry McAllister, I've seen her grow over the last 10 years into a media giant, into somebody that is uh can handle herself in fashion square. And so I want to thank you so much for being on activate your practice.
SPEAKER_01:Absolute delight. Thank you, Dr. Arlan.
