I have an idea...

[Frog42]

And I thought it was the first.

Looks like Howie's has already left the building!

[Howie]

Oh, I had to do cat chores, and....what was I saying now!

[SuzE-Q]

I guess the Machu Picchu trip generated further findings:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

Disabil Rehabil. 2015 Mar 19:1-7. [Epub ahead of print]

"How to conquer a mountain with multiple sclerosis". How a climbing expedition to Machu Picchu affects the way people with multiple sclerosis experience their body and identity: a phenomenological analysis.

Calsius J1, Courtois I, Feys P, Van Asch P, De Bie J, D'hooghe M.

BACKGROUND:
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently complain of chronic or fluctuating fatigue, sometimes accompanied by pain. From a phenomenological point of view, both fatigue and pain are seen as aspects of suffering which adversely affect the physical, psychological, social and even existential dimensions of the individual life.

OBJECTIVE:
The present study discusses changes in identity and body awareness in people with MS who completed a 5-d trekking to Machu Picchu in Peru in 2012, after having completed a physical training schedule for several months.

METHOD AND DESIGN:
All nine participants took part in a focus group organized after the trip. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to gain insight in their experiences and to refine pre-existing theoretical understanding of body awareness and identity.

RESULTS:
Our phenomenological analysis clarified how aspects of the participants' identity and body experience before, during and after the journey influenced major daily themes as "body", "lived body", "behaviour" and "relationship" and how this contributed to a meaningful experience. When participants describe how they started looking at their own identity more consciously after being watched through the others' eyes, this resulted in a joyful transcending of their bodily power and endurance. In general, our data suggest that the more extreme, positive lived body experiences during the expedition were necessary for optimizing daily "routine" functioning.

CONCLUSION:
Participating in Machu Picchu expedition appeared to have a deep and profound effect on body awareness and identity. Participants experienced their body once again as theirs, owning it and above all, allowing it to be a source of strength, joy and meaningfulness. While MS determined their lives prior to the journey, they now could look at MS as a part of what they are, without totally being absorbed in it. So being a patient with MS before, resulted in merely having MS after the climb. Implications for Rehabilitation Patients experience illness as a disruption of their previous life. A phenomenological approach deals with the lived experience and the concept of body awareness, the meaningful experience of living in the world through the body. This approach complements biomedical viewpoints as providing different. Suffering from a chronic and unpredictable disease like multiple sclerosis (MS) can disturb the implicit and harmonious relation between the body, the mind and the world, already at an early stage. Factors including physical training, professional guidance, social support, becoming a role model and completing a unique expedition outside of national and natural comfort borders may contribute to changes in body and identity experience

[Lazarus]

Oh boy, thanks for posting this. I am always trying to explain to doctors and friends why I struggle so hard to keep farming. They think I am nuts (and I probably am) but my experience on the farm does exactly the things this study discusses.

I think I will print the conclusions on a card and plaster it to my forehead whenever family starts telling me to stop! Stop farming, stop straining to work, stop ...stop...stop. This study tells me to. Start..start..start!

[stillstANNding]

It reminds me of Cherie going to India under less than ideal circumstances.

ANN

[agate]

I'm not sure what the difference between "body" and "lived body" is. How can a body be "lived"? I always thought of a body as either alive or dead but not "lived."

[SalpalSally]

Interesting point Joan.

[agate]

Since the authors are in Belgium, I'm pretty sure that the abstract is a translation, probably from French. I can't find the original but there may be a translation problem.

Quite often abstracts that were originally in another language come through with mistranslations.

[Howie]

Ahmmmmmmmmm...you must become one with both the body and the spirit, and then you can say you have lived....Ahmmmmmmmmm...........

[SalpalSally]

Thank you Oh great sponge!

[agate]

this resulted in a joyful transcending of their bodily power and endurance.

I think I transcended my bodily power and endurance quite a while ago, and I didn't even have to go to Machu Picchu or climb a mountain.

It probably helps to become one with the Universe.

--I'm sorry, SuzEQ. I shouldn't be making fun of this article you so helpfully posted. Sometimes you just have to laugh though. These researchers have the best intentions, I'm sure, and may even be onto something important.

[Frog42]

Both French and Dutch are spoken in Belgium. The original could be either.

[agate]

Both French and Dutch are spoken in Belgium. The original could be either.

Thanks for pointing that out, Vicky!

[Howie]

And anyone who reads and posts here knows I'm a little "off", and if I respond to a post being silly, it in no way means the post is silly. I do read everything anyone posts, and thank you for passing along the information.

Now....PLAY BALL!

[Frog42]

Howie's going to get that ball aimed at his head if he's not more careful!