Crack YOUR Code to Wellness & Heal Your Nervous System with Dr. David Yates

Ready for a soulful mix of science, story, and straight-up perspective shifts?

In this episode of the Thrive After 45™, I sit down with Dr. David Yates, a chiropractor who’s part of the rare 2% practicing upper cervical chiropractic care - a powerful, nerve-focused approach that can completely change how your body functions and heals.

But that’s just part of the story.

Dr. Yates didn’t start his career in medicine. 

He was a high school Spanish teacher, burnt out by a broken system, when a snowboarding accident cracked open a completely different path...

...one that would lead him to helping thousands of people find real, lasting relief. 

His story is full of unexpected pivots, divine timing, and a deep commitment to helping others heal - not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually too.

We talk about how your body actually communicates through your nervous system, how stress and trauma can throw that whole system out of alignment, and what it means to truly support your body’s innate ability to heal. 

He also shares about a surprising new technology called phototherapy that’s helping people activate their stem cells (without pills, potions, or prescriptions).

This conversation is a reminder that healing isn’t just about fixing what’s broken -it’s about reconnecting with who you really are. 

Dr. Yates brings both the heart and the science, and his journey will inspire you to get curious about your own.

Connect with Dr. Yates Here:

http://www.godhealthandrelationships.com/

drdave@godhealthandrelationships.com or text 425-802-0918

⭐️ Thank you so much for leaving us a review and sharing with a friend. I greatly appreciate your support! 

Thank you for spending time with me today on the Thrive After 45™ podcast! If this episode spoke to you, be sure to hit that follow button so you never miss one.

And if you loved it, I’d be so grateful if you left a review - it helps more amazing women like you find this show!

Your journey doesn’t stop here - let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with me at denisedrinkwalter.com, and follow @thethriveafter45podcast for daily insp, tips, and support.

Remember, midlife isn’t the end - it’s just the beginning of a new, exciting chapter! Keep thriving, keep shining, and I’ll see you next time!

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Thrive After 45, the podcast where we redefine what's possible in midlife. I'm Denise, drink Walter, your midlife renewal coach Here to help you embrace your power, purpose, and potential. This is your space to let go of guilt. Navigate transitions rediscover joy and thrive for you by you because of you. It's an honor and a privilege to welcome Dr. David Yates, a chiropractor with 18 years of experience. A focus on one of the most powerful and often misunderstood areas of alternative medicine, upper cervical specific chiropractic care practice by only about 2% of chiropractors. This nerve centered approach targets the upper neck and nervous system, the foundation of true wellness. Dr. Yates is passionate about educating others, reminding us that chiropractors aren't pain doctors, they're nerve doctors. Through his writing and development of his consulting business, he's expanding his impact and helping people understand how freeing the nervous system from interference can change lives. Let's dive in and welcome Yates. Thank you, Denise. Great to have you. It's great. It's great. Great to be here. If you see my daughter like walking in the background, it's because she just woke up and she's getting ready to go have lunch with her dad. So hope that isn't distracting in the background. We are so flexible here. It isn't even funny. That's fabulous. I is. I love flexibility. Flexibility is very important. In many ways, right? Yeah. I, I provide it for my patients every time I adjust'em better flexibility. Very good. Very good. Can you start by sharing what started you into specializing in the upper cervical chiropractic care? Because it's not very common. And why did this become your calling, do you think? Uh, I love the question. I, I was in a snowboarding accident back in 1996, um, which led me to go to a chiropractor for the first time. Okay. Um, the interesting thing about that is all of my older sisters had worked for one of the best chiropractors in my town growing up. Um, but I never went, you know, I never knew anything about chiropractic until, um, this snowboarding accident, at which time I was taken care of by a wonderful chiropractor in North Hollywood, California, from Australia. I. Um, loved, you know, the interaction that we had, I felt great after the, the care. Um, but at the time I was, uh, teaching, uh, I was teaching in the Burbank Unified School District and, uh, didn't have any plans to be a chiropractor. Hmm. Um, but when, when I decided to kind of expand. Beyond teaching. You know, I got kind of frustrated with just the state of public education, which is way worse now. I'm, I'm glad I got out when I did back in 2000. Oh my gosh. And, you know, um, I just feel like I was led by God into this profession. Um, because, because of that good experience and because of things not working out as a, uh, high school Spanish teacher mm-hmm. Um, it, it really led me to, and I got married. Um, I got married in 2000. Um, my, my wife got pregnant soon after that and, and here, so it was a very like transitional area. Mm-hmm. Or time I should say, in my life. Mm-hmm. That led to me. Looking into what is it that David really wants to do that, that he's gonna see himself doing for the rest of his life. And so I did some research on chiropractic and what it takes to become a chiropractor. And I'm like, I can do that. You know, it doesn't look too difficult. Um, and in my research, uh, the first website that I went to when I, when I researched this was, uh, NUAs. Uh, website, which is the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. Um, and I'm like, wow, I didn't even know there was a specialty like this. Mm-hmm. In chiropractic, you know, I didn't know anything about the specialty that I do now. But you know, as God would have it, um, that was the first website that I looked at and I was looking at the research that they had done and the results that they were getting. And I'm like, that's what I wanna do. I wanna be a specialist. I don't wanna be a general chiropractor. I wanna help people with chronic disease. Okay. And these guys are getting the results that I want to get. Mm-hmm. And so, mm-hmm. Before I even started my doctorate, I knew that I wanted to specialize in the upper neck and the first day of my doctorate program, I, I met the, um, he was the, um. The director, the club president of the, the Blair Upper Cervical Club at the college where I went. Okay. Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles. And interesting enough, I was, I became president of that club the last three years of my doctorate. The club was just, we would meet at lunch mm-hmm. On one day a week there on campus, uh, as we were all getting our doctorates in chiropractic. Mm-hmm. And we would learn about the tech, the technique, which is the technique that I specialize in, Blair, upper, upper cervical. And so I was teaching this technique to doctorate students. The last three years. And so, um, and I love to teach. That's, that's my first love. And so, right. I was doing that while I was getting my doctorate in chiropractic, and that's what I do now. Um, I do it at Invista Medical in, uh, Bakersfield, California. It's a, a fully integrated, one of the most prestigious integrated health clinics in all of California. Um, and I've been with them only since August, so less than a year. I. Okay. Okay. So isn't it incredible how your teaching career didn't, there were parts of it that aligned, but I love that you are going and developing your consulting business because again, that's around the teaching aspect and you were showing, you were already doing that. Back when you were being trained at the same time. That's so incredible. So you're finding everything, everything's coming together and that's what we want, right? When that's what our, that is, that's what our audience wants. So that's what I find, you know, the women that I support and that, um, our program is about is to help people see what you can do for you, by you because of you. And, and there's no, um, there's no limit. There's absolutely no limit. Anything is possible, and just even opening ourselves up too, and sometimes we hit transitions where we have a major accident and our life changes and everything falls apart, but really it's making room for you to discover. More of what's possible. So your avenue was in younger and your accident caused the new door to open up. And I hear this a lot. I don't know if you, when you're working on patients, whether you have that kind of connection with your patients, and that's the type of thing that HA has happened in any of your experiences with patients, that they've had a calamity of some kind that they come to see you for and. It's opening up new doors of possibilities as a result of even conversation with you. Do you find that or Absolutely no. Yeah. Uh, every, every week, um, I, I have new patients that I start seeing that, um, they've never even been to a chiropractor, right? So I have the opportunity to introduce them. To this fabulous modality and the specialty within chiropractic, because like you mentioned, only 2% of chiropractors worldwide do this specialty. And the history even goes further back than the snowboarding accident that I had. Mm-hmm. Um, when I was 19. I served a mission for my church in Costa Rica, and this was the foundational experience that led me to where I'm going now into my consulting business because that experience in a third world country, I. Of just being in the service of others without being compensated for two years straight, 12 hours a day, seven days a week was Absolutely, and, and I'm sure a lot of your listeners have had experiences like that in their lives where that defines what they end up being and doing later on in their life. Right, right. And, and when those opportunities exist, if it's a challenging opportunity, one you don't choose to participate in, sometimes when you're in the middle of it, it becomes daunting and overwhelming and you get lost in it all. But what David and I are talking about today is. Is an opportunity for you to be able to do some reflection. Why is, why is this in front of me right now? What's the learning? I talk about getting curious, get curious as to why these things are presenting themselves to you in the way they are. You know, we, I don't know if you've heard this, I'm sure you've heard this saying before. You know, things happen in threes, right? So, oh, that's my three for today. I'm done. Forget it, right? That's right. If that's happening, it's like, well, wait a minute. I need to look at what I'm doing to experience these, all these things that are negative. Perhaps I need to look at things differently. What's the good that's happening out of all those things that are happening that, oh, that's three I don't want anymore. You know? Well, I'll tell you, Denise, if, if I didn't have that mindset, I wouldn't be sitting here talking you, talking to you today. Um, I have been through some things that. I wouldn't wor wish on my worst enemy, and I, and I don't even have enemies. Um, right. But right. It, the power of three in our lives, I mean, you know, God, health and relationships. The, the Godhead is made up of three. Um, the number three is very, very powerful. And, um, if I didn't have that mindset of what can I learn? From this experience that I didn't choose, and I've had a plethora of them in my short, you know, 56 years of life on this planet. Mm-hmm. Um, we could talk for hours and hours about the experiences that I've had that hasn't, that I haven't chosen, but that I've learned from, and I wanna share that knowledge with others. And that's, that's why where I'm going with this consulting business. Perfect. And, and I find in today's day and age, there's two ways to go. You can become the woe is me, or you can rise above and go, now wait a minute. How do I want to live my life right now? Because we only have this moment. Right. That's correct. You know if you're tomorrow, tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Exactly. Exactly. So when you lay your head down on the pillow tonight, how are you going to do that in a way that makes you feel like, uh, and if you didn't knock it out of the park for yourself today, there's always tomorrow, but make sure you take advantage.'cause we don't know. When our last breath is gonna be great. Well, and that, that's the most, I, I ha I would have to say that's the most important attribute that I've developed over the last 20 years has been patience. Mm-hmm. And, and also not, um, you know, I have very high expectations of myself. Mm-hmm. Others, but I'm being constantly let down. By, you know, my family and people I know, and colleagues and and whatnot. And, and that can destroy you, Denise, if you let it, you can't, you can't let those letdowns And that, that's really what I've learned is, is that, um, every night when I put, when, like I said, when I lay my head down mm-hmm. On the pillow, I'm like, you know, I did the best that I could today. Right. And, and I did. And that's, and that's all that's required. You know, everything else, you know, I don't have control over what other people do, right. Or say. Um, and, and having that attitude is, is, is paramount. And having and, and having the perspective and the patience. Um, with human beings because we're all imperfect. We all make mistakes. We're all going through this journey together, and we have to be patient with each other and empathetic with each other. Right. And I would add to that in, in my perspective, I would add it even needs to. Um, boomerang back even stronger to yourself. Patience in yourself. Absolutely love for yourself. Guidance, absolutely for yourself. All those pieces. And that's what our show is about, giving back for you by you because of you. And when we do that. My experience has been that what I refer to as my sphere of influence and what I talk to my clients about is our sphere of influence changes with us just giving back to ourselves in ways we don't normally do because we're always worried about everybody else. Right. Well, if you don't, if you don't take care of yourself and you don't love yourself, you can't fully do that to other mm-hmm. With other people. Mm-hmm. It starts with you and, and I've, I've learned this, um, through the teachings of God, through the scriptures, through studying the life of Christ. Who is the, the example, the the ultimate example of love giving his life for all of us. There's no greater example of love than that, right? And everybody has their way of finding what is their way. So that is correct. That is correct. Right? So some people refer to God, some people refer to angels, some people refer to source. Whatever your experience, whatever your desire, there is no one way. It's what works for you in terms of how are you going to be the best you for you possible and. Knowing that you are not doing it for everybody else, but you also take priority in your everyday life. Um, so something I will, well, and that's, that's one of, that's one of the greatest manifestations and examples of love that we have from God is that that was his plan for all of us on this planet was to have what I like to call free agency. We, we have the freedom to choose. Ex and what you just said, what's gonna be the direction for us that that was the first gift that God gave to us after he created us, was our free agency. Our freedom to choose what we're gonna do in this life. Right. Right. Um, I, I'm interested to hear a little more around the idea of freeing the nervous system. What do you mean by that? What, what does that mean? How does that happen? So the nervous system, like our body is dynamic. Okay. There is constant communication. 24 7 unbelievable amounts of data that's being transferred from our brain to our body and back to our brain via the central and peripheral nervous system throughout our lives. Okay? And, um, it, it really is the foundation. Function. I mean, our bodies would not function without this system constantly working. What happens is that this system is protected by our spine, okay? Okay? Mm-hmm. By our vertebra 24 vertebra. Um, and if you look at the, the anatomy of the actual nervous system, the top of the neck houses, what's called our brainstem. Okay. Our brainstem is the first thing that developed after conception. Okay. Mm-hmm. And it, it controls and regulates everything in our body, our cardiovascular system, you know, from there developed, uh, our heart and our heartbeat, you know, so life begins and ends with our brainstem. Okay. Okay. I like to use the analogy a couple analogies. You know, back in the day when, when hang, when, when hangings were popular, that was the quickest way to kill somebody. Why? Because it immediately destroyed their brainstem. If you look at the anatomy, the dens of C two would be crushed, basically, and crush the brainstem, and that's what would kill them instantly. Right? Another very vivid example of this when it comes to health is Christopher Reeves. When Christopher Reve Oh, right. Had his, his, uh, equestrian accident. He fractured C two. Okay. And, you know, we all, we all remember him being. Uh, you know, quadriplegic from that accident. But what really stands out to me is that he had breathing issues. He had, um, cardiovascular issues, he had digestive issues, and that's because his brainstem was so irre reputably damaged in that accident, and that that's what led to his early death. I mean, there are quadriplegics that live for years and years and years, but because of the position of his accident that led to his demise. Okay. Yeah. And, and that, and that's why I specialize in the upper neck because first of all, it's one of the most unstable areas of the spine. Um, so if you're gonna be a chiropractor and you're gonna, you know, correct misalignment. Vertebra if you're not fun, if you're not focused on the upper neck, you're really doing your patient a disservice because that's where the majority of subluxations or misalignments, um, are in the spine and they do more harm because of the brainstem. And so by me focusing on that area and very gently and specifically, uh, adjusting in that area. I've seen results with every chronic disease that you could imagine. Could you gimme an example of one of the chronic diseases? Well, multiple sclerosis is one. Okay. Um, fibromyalgia is another popular one where, you know, doc, you go to a doctor and you have fibromyalgia and they're like, well, I don't, I don't know what to do. You know? Um, because medical doctors don't treat cause they treat symptoms. They can prescribe medications for any symptom out there, but. You have to look at what's causing that symptom that that's abnormal. You know, you don't have that symptom because of a lack of that medication. There's an underlining cause and I found that the underlining cause in most cases, not all, because it's not a silver bullet, I'm not gonna say that of course, that this is a cure all. But, um, for most chronic diseases. It starts in the upper neck and your body has an incredible ability to heal itself. It can heal itself of anything. Mm-hmm. Okay. There are plenty, thousands and thousands of documented cases of this in medical journals and throughout the world. Um. And, and it just, I, I focus on that area because yeah, there's other aspects of mental health, you know? Right. Emotional health, spiritual health. Mm-hmm. But what can I do physically as a doctor to improve the function of this person? It's in the upper neck there. If you're not working in that area, you're doing your patient a disservice. Thank you for that. Very thorough. I like that and I appreciate the examples. That really helps. Um, could you tell us about Phototherapy technology just before we wrap up? For sure. You know, this is a technology I knew nothing about, um, up until January of last year. Mm-hmm. 2024. I was introduced to it by. Um, somebody I didn't even know on LinkedIn. Um, and it was a perfect timing for me to be introduced to this technology because I've all, I've never been a products guy. You know, there's a lot of chiropractors out there that push supplements and different products in their clinic, and it's great because they're great supplements. Um, I, you know, I was involved with a company years ago, um, that had a wonderful nutraceutical that I just loved, but. This. The reason that phototherapy resonated so much with me is that it's not a supplement. It's not a potion. It's not like a pill. It's not something that you take into your body. What it is, is it's a little round patch that you put on your skin and what that patch does. Is that it redirects the infrared light that your body admits constantly back into your skin and your nervous system elevating or diminishing certain chemicals in the body, um, that help you function at a higher level. So as, as far as products go. This, this incredible, uh, patch and we ha and, and the, the manufacturer life wave is a manufacturer of the, of these patches. They've been around since, uh, two, 2004. Okay? So this is a company that's been developing. These phototherapy patches, um, over years and we have like 10, 11, or 12 different patches, but that all do different things based on the manipulation of the infrared light that our body admits because we know that life has different wavelengths, you know, and things like that. And, and that's what impressed me so much about the, the founder of this company is that he's found a way to manipulate. The certain wavelength of infrared light that our body admits to activate dormant stem cells in the body. Okay. And so, you know, this intrigued me because I know as a doctor that, you know, we're, we're all aging, we're all getting closer to dying, but how can we slow down that process? Well, this is a great way to, to do it because after the age of 40, we, you know, our, our, our stem cells go inactive. And after the age of 60, we practically had no, no active stem cells in our body at all. But, but that's how, that's how we grow. We were born with this millions and millions of stem cells, and that's how our body develops over time. And so this technology is really fascinating to me because what it does is it, it helps. Rejuvenate actual cells and tissues in the body apart from what the nervous system is doing function-wise. Structurally, this helps restructure, uh, uh, cells and tissues in the body, and I knew nothing about it. Um, you know, prior to January last year, right? Right. Thank you for that. I've never heard of it before. So thank you for, for giving that thorough review. I appreciate it. Is there anything that you would like to share with our audience, midlife women on how to, um, give back to themselves for you, by you because of you through the avenue of the work that you do with regards to your chiropractic care and your overall wellbeing? You know, I, I, I've talked a lot about, uh, the benefits of my chiropractic care. I've talked a little bit about the benefits of phototherapy. Um, really, uh, something that, that everyone can do. Okay? And that is, I. Improve your relationship with whoever your God is. Mm-hmm. You know, if that's, if that's nature, if that's, you know, Buddha Absolutely. If that's something else, absolutely. Improve your relationship with your higher source of, of wellbeing. Okay. Because I. You know, I have my particular beliefs and everybody does, and I respect everybody's belief. But that would be the greatest, um, bit of advice that I could give to women 45 and older, um, that are dealing with. Life and everything that life throws at us, you know, I can, I can help balance your body physically, you know, with, with what I do pro, but your mind is very, is so important, you know? Mm-hmm. And what I've done to basically nurture my mind and my emotions is getting to know my creator. Who I consider my creator. Mm-hmm. Getting, you know, pattern patterning my life after his and trying to be like him has made all the difference in the world because, you know, I have, I know people that I. Constantly have, um, health issues despite chiropractic care, despite, you know, phototherapy. Right? And what helps them more than anything is their relationship with their creator or their higher source of, uh, inspiration. Perfect. Perfect. Get grounded. Become who you truly are through a variety of ways of finding out what works best for you to feel good inside your body with your heart, your mind, your soul. And thank you, Dr. Yates for spending your time with us today. It was quite a little challenge for us to get ourselves together, but eventually we did it and we said before we came live, everyone, we were like, we did it. It's happening today and, and challenges, you know, make us better people, make us stronger. Um, and help improve our knowledge, um, how to do things better and how to, to better be in tune with ourselves. For sure. Exactly. Thank you so much for your time today. Make sure that you follow, um, our podcast, thrive After 45. Give us reviews, share any insights that came through for you today in our show notes, and check the show notes because that's where you can find out more about. Dr. David Yates, have a wonderful day, everybody, and take care of yourselves for you. Bye, you because of you. Bye.