D.C. student, President of the Jewish Club

“Faith in God, Healing and Chiropractic”

Daniel Janashvili grew up in Queens, New York, raised in a large Orthodox Jewish community that reflected his family’s value systems. Later, his family moved to Long Island, which also has a large supportive network of Jewish families. Needless to say, Janashvili’s faith identity has factored heavily into how he lives his life, especially as Orthodox Judaism requires more visible observance requirements than other sects, such as devout commitment to rest on the Sabbath day.

Janashvili’s desire to serve people in his chosen profession initially led him to enroll in a pre-med program. Like many young adults with a penchant for biological sciences and an interest in health care, he only really knew of the traditional medical system as a way to work in health care.

“I kind of fell off from that because I noticed certain ways that the medical system was running wasn’t really in line with my personal philosophy of health, which also stems from my religious understanding of what, you know, God intends for the human body and how we should treat it and respect it,” Janashvilli said.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic threw his plans off course even more, forcing him to reevaluate his options and goals. Chiropractic was the warm blinking light that kept floating in the periphery of his consciousness. Taking a deep dive into what Chiropractic involved, it was much more in line with what Janashvilli envisioned, especially the vitalistic approach that was more in line with his personal health philosophy. This refers to the body as a self-healing organism that chiropractors and other practitioners ideally serve to simply remove interferences impeding that natural healing.

“When I found Life University, it was like ‘Oh, this is my people. This is where I wanna go.’ My passion for it has only grown the more I’ve learned, especially about the philosophy and how much that actually is in line with my studies in Judaic philosophy as well.”

In order to bridge his faith more with his chiropractic education, Janashvilli recently founded the Jewish Club on campus. It is brand new for this 2024 Fall Quarter, unveiling at the recent L.I.F.E. Event club day and attracting a little over a dozen people for its first meeting, eager to create a welcoming and safe space for the Jewish community at Life U to get together and build fellowship and camaraderie. It is especially poignant to have a group of like-minded people of the Jewish faith during a time of heightened political strife in Israel that has unfortunately created antisemitic atmospheres on some university campuses. Fortunately, Janashvilli reports that he has seen and received nothing but support from the university community, which is encouraging and sustaining when that cannot always be said for the larger Atlanta community.

“One thing I do want to comment about is how appreciative I am of the school’s understanding and being flexible when it comes to my religious considerations,” Janashvili said.

There are particular holy days, such as Shabbat and periodic holidays, that can conflict with schoolwork or class time, as his faith does not allow work of any kind during those time. Since his first quarter, he has been in touch with Dean Lavender and working with his professors to accommodate for those needs. It has been a smooth process, where professors make sure he can access missed material or take a test on an alternative day to make the schedule work. It’s been invaluable that his professors support him to not only allow him to observe these holy days, but to make sure he is still able to receive and keep up with the material.

Janashvili has become something of an unintended natural ally for fellow Jewish students to reach out to, because as an Orthodox Jew, he stands out for his faith somewhat simply due to some of the everyday expressions of the faith he emulates. A crisp white dress shirt and black dress pants are a common uniform of sorts indicative of his Orthodox Jewish identity, so that choice alone is a signal to others that he is someone that can help them connect to the Jewish community at Life U. So, the club in many ways is simply a formalized configuration of Janashvili’s natural desire and willingness to help others in his faith community feel accepted and understood at the University.

Balancing his faith with his school and later work life is a major consideration that Janashvilli is committed to learning how to manage in a holistic and healthy way. He noted that many continuing education programs and seminars are often held on Saturdays, which proves problematic for keeping Shabbat. One memorable time, he attended a seminar hosted by Dr. Jay Holder, the Developer of the TRT technique. Dr. Holder is also an observant Orthodox Jew, and he invited Janashvilli to join in Shabbat with him and his son at the hotel. So that was a fun experience to commune and learn with someone of a similar background that has found ways to succeed and remain dedicated to their faith.

Janashvili is currently in Quarter 4 of the program and eager to see what else lies in store. He has some sage advice for new and prospective students of the Doctor of Chiropractic program to help them prepare for the challenges ahead.

“I’d say just one thing I’ve noticed a lot is that people in first quarter didn’t realize that this is a doctorate level program, and the required effort is going to be there. And you have to recognize that this is not an easy go-through-the-motions program if you want to do well from what I’ve seen,” Janashvili said.

“Hit the ground running. Don’t fall behind. Find your group. Find your people.”

He quotes Dr. Shannon Good in her personal development class when she stated, “You’re the product of the five people you spend the most time with.”

He urges newer students to find like-minded people who will push you to excel in coursework, not merely pass. Here at Life U, we aim to unlock your full potential so you can succeed and share the message of Chiropractic with the world.