Atlas: noun. Anatomy. The first cervical vertebra, which supports the head. Firstly, the human head contains the brain, which weighs about 3 pounds. Then there is the skull, the eyes, the teeth, the facial muscles, and the skin. Wikipedia reports the head weighs between 5 and 11 pounds. Another source puts the head weight between 9 and 17 pounds! Secondly, our head, whether light or heavy, sits atop the atlas, the first vertebra of our spine, named after the Atlas of Greek mythology because it supports the globe of the head. The atlas itself weighs about two ounces. To imagine the scale, think of a bowling ball sitting on a quarter cup of water! All of our nerves exiting the base of the skull pass through the atlas, making it the most important part of our spine. An atlas adjustment is an alignment to the first bone in your neck. Atlas, also known as C1, is the 1st cervical vertebra that sits right at the base of the skull. Our doctors practice NUCCA, a special form of upper cervical care that is gentle, precise, and effective. It is a conservative adjustment approach that does not require popping, cracking, or twisting of your spine. A misalignment of a vertebra causing disturbance and interference to the nervous system is called a subluxation. Most of the time, your body adapts to a subluxation without consequence. When it can’t adapt, a subluxation negatively affects your health, body function, and overall wellness. Therefore, a NUCCA atlas adjustment restores normal neurological communication between your brain and body, optimizing your health.