Along the walls of the room, which was palpably humid with the energy of emotional outpour, other participants observed in almost meditative concentration as they waited their turn. But those who appeared most odd were the leaders of the group - barefoot health practitioners pantomiming different weaving motions over the backs of their otherwise normal-looking patients.

Welcome to the Transformational Gate weekend retreat, a flagship event for a new approach to healing called Network Spinal Analysis (NSA). The system involves gentle touches to the spine that ultimately "teach" the brain new ways of coping with life's stresses while promoting feelings of wellness. NSA incorporates new models of the nervous system with classic chiropractic principles, and was originally touted as a sort of "chiropractic 2.0." However, the practice is about much more than back pain. The technique, which is taught, organized, and regulated by the founder's company, Innate Intelligence, Inc., is changing thousands of people's lives in an unconventional way, and raising eyebrows at research institutes around the world.

"The basic objective of network care is to allow individuals to feel comfortable with and experience their bodies," says Dr. Donald Epstein, founder and developer of NSA. "However, network care has varying goals as one progresses over time. That alone is unique; most traditional healing methods are used to try to fix a problem; it is over when the problem is gone. Network, on the other hand, is based on the patient's personal development; the objectives evolve over time as an individual's capacity for wellness develops. Research shows that even after three years, there is no ceiling to the benefits it can provide."

AT ITS most basic level, NSA is used to help the nervous system develop new ways of dealing with stress, discharge tension stored in the spine and nerves, and improve the connection between mind and body. Patients can work through traumas and emotional issues by learning to release pent-up emotional energies automatically, without confronting the issues directly, as they would have to do in psychological treatments.

But NSA also advocates personal growth, as it encourages patients to make healthier lifestyle choices as they develop a greater understanding of their own needs.

"The ultimate outcome of care is to experience love for yourself and others," Epstein continues. "Love is the process of self- acceptance, the ability to experience the self and others without armor. When the breath moves through the body unrestricted, when you harmonize your breath and rhythms with others, there is agreement, harmony."

Epstein's choice of wording may smack of hippie or New Age philosophy, but the patients under his care are surprisingly mainstream. Most of the participants in the weekend retreat are in their late 20s to mid-30s, clean- cut, and judging by the price of the event, comfortably employed. Some have even brought their children. Few of the people who traveled long distances to attend the healing convention look like there is anything wrong with them.

NSA is slowly making inroads in Israel. There are currently two practitioners in the country, both based in Jerusalem, and a third is currently studying in Rishon Lezion. In total, an estimated 300 people are under care here, joining more than 30,000 worldwide.

Dr. Moshe Newman, who has an office in the center of the capital, has been practicing NSA for 15 years, including nine in Israel.

"The part of this work for which I feel the most gratitude is how it helps people transform their lives," he says. "Whether or not they see changes in their physical symptoms, most patients know that something profound is happening to them."

You wouldn't expect such benefits from watching a treatment, or "entrainment," as it is called. In Newman's office, up to three patients at a time lie face down on chiropractic tables, as he moves between them. Newman monitors each patient's progress by measuring objective parameters in the spine and legs, and observes the two unique "healing waves" developed by the care. One is a breathing wave that releases tension throughout the spine and body and relaxes a person, and the other is called a somatopsychic (or body-mind) wave, which is associated with the movement of the spine.

Next, he scans the back and neck for "safe" points from which he can access the nervous system, and administers light touches that feel like little more than friendly taps. However, patients report experiencing profound physiological effects shortly afterwards.

"I was really not sure anything was happening the first time I visited Dr. Newman for my stomach problems," says Eric (not his real name), who has been in Newman's care for six months. "But when I left the office, I felt things shifting inside my stomach. My kishkes were learning to release after holding in tremendous tension my entire life. After a few months, my body discharged the remainder of the inflammation, and since then, my stomach has been 100 percent."

Eric notes that his high level of stress has also dropped, and that he is better able to deal with tensions when they arise.

WHAT ABOUT the drama of the transformational gate? Newman explains that the effects of NSA, which uses many principles from the growing science of wave theory, can be amplified or mitigated by other energies in the environment. That's why most NSA practitioners prefer to see several patients simultaneously.

This "healing interdependence" is yet another reason Epstein and his followers believe they are onto something big. The final component of the group's mission statement is an idyllic vision: "to support the evolving visions and models of a healthier, more trusting, creative, enlivened, vital, and loving humanity."