Subtle Body Research Articles

Chakras and Endocrine Glands

This paper is an exploration of preksha dhyana as a case study of modern yoga. Preksha is a system of yoga and meditation introduced by Acarya Mahaprajna of the Jain Svetambara Terapanth in the late twentieth century. I argue that preksha is an attempt to join the newly emerging transnational yoga market whereby yoga has become a practice oriented around the attainment of physical health and psychological well-being. I will evaluate the ways in which Mahaprajna appropriates scientific discourse and in so doing constructs a new and unique system of Jain modern yoga. In particular, I evaluate the appropriation of physical and meditative techniques from ancient yoga systems in addition to the explanation of yoga metaphysics by means of biomedical discourse. I will demonstrate how, in Mahaprajna’s preksha system, the metaphysical subtle body becomes somaticized. In other words, Mahaprajna uses the bio-medical understanding of physiology to locate and identify the functions of metaphysical subtle body parts and processes in the physiological body.

“The dying mother:” Historical citations of Mary Goffe’s seventeenth-century near-death apparition.

Traditionally, certain cases have been of particular importance to students of near-death phenomena. Such cases are more than mere examples or research data; they are resources that are generally used to defend particular theoretical ideas, such as the projection of the spirit or of some subtle body from the physical body around the time of death. One such case was that of Mary Goffe, a seventeenth-century apparition of a dying woman that Richard Baxter reported in his book "The Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits" (1691). This paper includes a reprint of the original case report and a discussion of how later writers used the case to defend the idea that something may leave the body during near-death states.

Body, Breath and Representation in Śaiva Tantrism

Abstract This paper examines the idea of the subtle body as described in chapter 7 of the Netra Tantra. It shows how the body is understood as a symbolic system for mapping the cosmos and human beings place within it and examines the relationship between symbolic system and lived body.

“Subtle” Psychosomatic Aspects of Tibetan Medicine

The theory and practice of traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) is based on an understanding of a tri-level psycho-physical system; this bi-directional connection between the psycho-somatic realms is mediated by a distinct, yet inseparable energetic system--the subtle body. TTM practitioners approach both diagnosis and treatment from an understanding of this subtle energetic system. In the Tibetan yogic tradition, control of this system via advanced yogic and meditative technologies is the path to realize extraordinary levels of health, happiness, and longevity. As a result, understanding this intricately linked philosophical, medical, and yogic system is critical for engaging in dialogue about longevity-enhancement within this tradition.

Synergistic Approach Of Applied Physiology & Yoga To Combat Lifestyle Diseases

The modern age is ‘the age of stress’ and stress related diseases, which pose a serious challenge to not only medical professionals but to the whole concerned diasporas. In spite of the leaps and bounds in medical sciences, we are surrounded by a very silent but dangerous foe, lifestyle diseases. In our own nation, the sad truth is now out India is headed to become the Diabetic capital of the world. The younger generation i.e. the under 40 age group are up to 10 times more prone to cardiovascular diseases as compared to the corresponding age group in the west. According to an alarming estimate, around the year 2025 A.D., about 91 young people would die per hour from heart related diseases! Diseases directly linked to modern lifestyle like Diabetes, coronary artery diseases, hypertension, obesity, eating disorders, mood disorders, mental illness, psychosomatic disorders, etc are a great threat to human life and constitute the major bulk of morbidity and mortality of the 21st century. Our diet has changed from high fiber, low fat to high fat, low fiber type processed food. Other potent negative factors are decreased physical activity, addiction to smoking, alcohol, drugs, etc. which further lead to obesity, insulin resistance and atherogenic dyslipidemia. This vicious cycle is further compounded by stress and consequent stress related diseases. Stress affects the body through Psycho-neuro-endo-immuno-cyto-axis. Initially during stress, the sympathetic nervous system is activated and via nervous and hormonal responses, the same copes with emergency. However, chronic stress has a very deleterious effect on the body and may enhance development of the lifestyle related diseases named above. Stress and its devastating sequel can be dealt with by reducing and later curing the lifestyle disorders by drastic dietary changes, mind-body therapies including meditation, stress relaxation techniques and yoga. The need of the moment is that Physiologists take a step forward and apply their knowledge of physiology of stress to show stressed masses the path to mental and physical salvation. Applied Physiology has already blended the ancient traditional Indian medicine modalities with modern medical science integrating Body, Breath and Mind well with natural herbs and the science of Ayurveda. The present study was conducted on 60 young and asymptomatic M.B.B.S. students to assess the effect of Shavasana on the recovery process from Cold Pressor Test (CPT) induced stress by recording blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate and rate pressure product i.e. all important cardiorespiratory parameters. All these parameters were recorded in three settings both before and after CPT. Ten minutes of Shavasana showed lowering of all basal parameters in comparison to supine posture which further lowered (p<.05) after long term (4 weeks) Shavasana training. Stress induced by CPT caused rise in all parameters in all three settings; this rise, however, was blunted after 10 minutes of Shavasana and even more after Shavasana training for 4 weeks (p<.05). Shavasana increases parasympathetic tone, gradually reducing the sympathetic drive as training is carried on. Thus continued Shavasana training induces modulation in sympathetic responses to stress enabling the individual to face stress more effectively. Thus, the need of the hour is a daily dose of a Holistic health capsule, ingredients of which are traditional lifestyle, Holistic diet & Yoga harmonizing our Pranic ability and mental energy flow by clearing any blockages in the subtle body leading to mental equilibrium and calmness.

‘Some People Drink as the Body Should Feel a Little Ease’

Despite development studies’ core concern with vulnerable bodies, the discipline has been somewhat sluggish in embracing the expansive and fruitful literature around embodiment. One aspect of this terrain is ‘body management’; a topic often discussed in contexts of Western consumerism where the body is perceived as a malleable entity subject to transformation. This article discusses a group of manual labourers in India who are not reflexively reconstituting themselves through post-modern playfulness, but whose fleshy bodies are nevertheless of pivotal importance in their labour-intensive livelihoods. It is this understanding of bodies as primary assets in the lives of the working poor that begs a deeper understanding of how bodies are managed within realms that ostensibly appear to harm the embodied condition of labourers. This article explores subtle and embedded body management strategies, and also asks if there are limits to the notion of a self-directed project of benevolent body management.

Subtle Bodies, Wrathful Deities and Men in Buddhist Tantric Traditions

Combining fearsome images, ‘magical’ rites of subjugation and challenging portrayals of sexuality, wrathful deities appear to epitomize all that makes tantric Buddhism distant from early Buddhism’s traditional orientations. On one level, this distance can be attributed to processes of incorporation of ‘demonic’ elements from other indigenous religious traditions. Drawing from the theoretical perspectives of Durkheim and Mauss, however, I will argue that it is precisely this motif of ‘incorporation’ that not only gives wrathful deities their distinctive potency, but also positions them at the centre of the ambivalence that is tantric Buddhism. While the tantric Siddha, in common with Mauss’s magician, incorporates bodily leavings and peripheral rites, he also, I suggest, absorbs and negotiates potentially poisonous emotional states such as terror and anger through the medium of the subtle body, thereby forming a model of masculinity that is both a defining force within tantric Buddhism and suggestive of further investigation within anthropological studies of male cultures more broadly.

Lessons in leadership from a man's best friend

PurposeThis article examines a team and leadership‐development course based on the parallels between a shepherd and his or her dog and a manager and his or her employees.Design/methodology/approachDraws on information provided in an interview with a farmer and international sheepdog triallist who runs the course, and details the experiences of course participants.FindingsDescribes how groups from small or large companies attempt to assess different dogs correctly in order to gain maximum potential – just as they may do with their staff or team members at the office. Tasks are given individually and as a team. Eventually, it becomes clear how a pack works as a team – regardless of differences – for the optimum performance of the task in hand.Practical implicationsDraws on the idea that humans, like dogs, are pack animals, and that dogs pick up on subtle body language but can also sense what people are feeling.Originality/valueChallenges the corporate‐training idea of games with winners and losers.

The Subtle Body Ecstasy of Daoist Inner Alchemy

In Daoist mysticism, the body plays a much more central role than in comparative Western models. This is especially clear in the tradition of Daoism called inner alchemy, which arose in the Song dynasty and has remained dominant both among monastic and lay practitioners to the present day. In this model, the internal energies of the person are gradually and systematically refined from grosser, easily felt vibrations and secretions to pure qi, the original cosmic energy as present in the individual, and from there to spirit, the divine power that pervades the universe. Adepts transform who they are as persons to become one with the Dao, but they do not do it merely through mental reorientation. Their entire physical structure changes as the powers of the cosmos manifest in them and the Dao takes over their being. Mystical experience in this context is thus very much an embodied event.

Queering gender: anima/animus and the paradigm of emergence

An exploration into the world of the queer others of gender and sexuality moves us beyond the binary opposition of male/masculinity and female/femininity in our understanding of gender and expands the meaning of gender and sexuality for all humans. A revision of Jungian gender theory that embraces all genders and sexualities is needed not only to inform our clinical work but also to allow us to bring Jungian thought to contemporary gender theory and to cultural struggles such as gay marriage. The cognitive and developmental neurosciences are increasingly focused on the importance of body biology and embodied experience to the emergence of mind. In my exploration of gender I ask how gender comes to be experienced in a developing body and how those embodied gender feelings elaborate into a conscious category in the mind, a gender position. My understanding of emergent mind theory suggests that one's sense of gender, like other aspects of the mind, emerges very early in development from a self-organizing process involving an individual's particular body biology, the brain, and cultural environment. Gendered feeling, from this perspective, would be an emergent aspect of mind and not an archetypal inheritance, and the experiencing body would be key to gender emergence. A revised Jungian gender theory would transcend some of the limitations of Jung's anima/animus (A/A) gender thinking allowing us to contribute to contemporary gender theory in the spirit of another Jung; the Jung of the symbolic, the mythic, and the subtle body. This is the Jung who invites us to the medial place of the soul, bridging the realm of the physical body and the realm of the spirit.

Subtle transformations

This article is an examination of an ancient but widespread model of the body known as the subtle body. Subtle body is a term used to describe a model of embodied subjectivity in which matter and consciousness are not understood as ontologically distinct but as varieties of ‘energy’ resonating at different densities. The subtle body model figures the self as multiple, extensive and radically intersubjective. We argue that this model has much to offer cultural studies but that in order for it to be considered, cultural studies will have to overcome its traditional scepticism, if not outright hostility, to spiritual/religious thought. The article grounds its argument in a study of some alternative health practices, arguing that they represent a popular body practice hitherto neglected by cultural studies.

Health hazards and electromagnetic fields.

Biological rhythms, physical wellbeing and mental states are dependent on our electrical brainwave system interacting with the extremely weak electromagnetic fields generated by the Earth's telluric and Cosmic radiations. In a single generation, since the evolution of humankind over millions of years, we are exposed to a wide range of powerful, artificially generated electromagnetic radiation which adversely affects the subtle balance in nature's energy fields and has become the source of so-called 'diseases of civilization'. This also includes electromagnetic sensitivity. Generally, there is a lack of awareness and understanding of the impact electromagnetic fields can have upon health and wellbeing.Our ancestors were acutely aware that certain locations, were perceived to have a positive energy field which was beneficial to health and vitality. Over time, these areas are now referred to as sacred sites for spiritual ceremony and as healing centres. In contrast, there are other geographical locations that can have a negative effect upon health and these are known as geopathic stress zones. It is believed that such zones can interfere with the brain's normal function that inhibits the release of melatonin and other endocrine secretions needed to replenish the immune system. Geopathic stress can affect animals and plant life as well as human beings and significantly contributes to sick building syndrome (SBS). Whilst there is an increasing body of opinion amongst eminent researchers and scientists who are addressing these issues, the establishment professions are slow to change. However, very gradually, modern allopathic medicine and attitudes are beginning to recognise the extraordinary wisdom and efficacy of ancient traditions such as acupuncture, light, colour and other therapies based on the understanding and treatment of the interaction of a person's electromagnetic subtle body and the immediate environment. These and many other 'complementary' therapies may soon become mainstream medical practice. In the meantime, we can help ourselves by learning how to detect the hazards and daily practise prudent avoidance.

Techniques of Selective Cannulation and Sphincterotomy

Selective access into the desired duct followed by incision of the sphincter, i. e. sphincterotomy, forms the cornerstone of any endoscopic intervention within the pancreaticobiliary system. The apprehensive beginner's performance and hesitance is aggravated by ignorance of ampullary anatomy and he considers selective cannulation to be the greatest hurdle. An understanding of ampullary morphology and its variations is vital in achieving selective cannulation. Technological advances have assisted in the form of development of better accessories, progressing from "immovable" catheters to movable cannulae and to single-, double-, and even triple-lumen sphincterotomes. Orientation along the long axis of the bile duct ensures access and avoids inadvertent and hazardous manipulation of the pancreatitic duct. Using guide wires, especially the 'angulated-tip' glide wire improves cannulation successs rates considerably. Precut accessotomy complements wire-guided selective cannulation, and can be used analogously to a controlled surgical incision to facilitate cannulation of the desired system after deroofing the papilla layer by layer. Published data have validated its role, demonstrating high efficacy and minimal complications when it is properly performed. Biliary sphincterotomy, using the right mode of blended current in the 11-12 o'clock direction and with the tip of the sphincterotome wire, provides a clean and bloodless splitting open of the sphincter of Oddi. Pancreatic precut, over-the-stent papillotomy and sphincterotomy over a guide wire have all been proven to be safe and effective measures, in large groups of patients. In special situations, such as where there are impacted stones or ampullary lesions, needle-knife infundibulotomy achieves reliable access. Techniques such as saline infiltration into the papilla and subtle body movements to re-position the scope enable biliary cannulation in difficult situations. Alterations in anatomy, for instance post Billroth II gastrectomy, no longer discourage the endoscopist from attempting intervention. Application of knowledge of reverse anatomy, specially designed instruments, and adherence to the proper technique improves success in these patients. Our experience of 9000 sphincterotomies over the past 12 years with minimal morbidity stands proof to the principles and techniques highlighted in this monograph. We recommend these to all aspiring endoscopists, with the assurance of improved technical success when they are implemented.

Body composition in asymptomatic HIV-infected men: cross-sectional and prospective assessment

Data on body composition changes in HIV infected patients is sparse and controversial. The aim of this study was to assess body composition in asymptomatic HIV-infected men with normal body weight in comparison to healthy HIV-negative control men and to investigate possible body composition changes in HIV-positive patients over a 2-year observation period. One hundred eight asymptomatic seropositive men, aged 19-62 years, and 20 healthy sex, age and weight - matched controls were recruited for the cross-sectional part of the study. Fifty-eight of the HIV+ patients were followed up for 2 years. Body weight, BMI, Bone Mineral Content (BMC), body Fat mass (Fat), % Fat, body Lean mass (Lean) and % Lean was recorded for each subject at the beginning and at the end of the follow-up period. The same analysis was repeated separately for arms, trunk and legs. HIV+ men had increased fat mass and reduced lean mass compared to controls (%Fat in HIV+ 24.3, %Fat in controls 19.2, p=0.012; %Lean in HIV+ 72.1, %Lean in controls 77.0, p=0.014). Lean mass was lower in extremities while fat mass was higher in the trunk region in HIV+ in comparison to controls, irrespective of antiretroviral therapy. Longitudinally, patients with higher baseline %Fat (>24.2, median) presented 20% decrease in fat mass while patients with lower baseline %Fat (< or =24.2) showed a smaller, non-significant decrease in fat mass accompanied by a significant decrease (2.52%) in lean mass. Fat loss occurred in all subjects predominantly in the extremities (16.5-36.45% loss), with relative preservation of trunk fat. It is concluded that otherwise asymptomatic HIV+ men exhibit subtle body composition changes involving reduced lean mass and increased central fat mass. The pattern of weight loss over time depends on baseline fat store: patients with adequate fat stores lose predominantly fat while patients with lower baseline fat stores lose both fat and lean mass. In the entire cohort, there is a tendency towards central adiposity, with the majority of fat being lost from the extremities, a picture resembling metabolic x syndrome.

Embodiment and Community

To understand how bodily practices such as folk dance encourage or create community, we must examine the processes that underlie the formation of community feeling and participation. The process of learning movements or positions and the process of learning associated feelings both necessarily take place within a and cultural context, that is, a community. They also depend on specific bodily techniques that are utilized by worship or dance practices-these in turn rely on certain qualities of the Further, like worship, dance makes use of what John Blacking refers to as somatic states (1977b:10). Folk dance can also be understood as a shared text. Dance does not need to be programmatic, like hula dance or indigenous dances that reenact myth, to be experienced as shared text, nor does it need to communicate definable ideas. Rather, the body's knowledge is valuable in itself and pertinent to relations with others. It is not necessary for the intellect, the rational mind, to this knowledge for it to be considered a text. The first issue in writing about bodily practice is to see that we need to start our investigation at the most fundamental level. If we are going to examine the relationship between individual bodies and community, then we must examine what we mean by body. In contemporary American culture, the is understood to be a material, medicalized organism-a biochemical mechanism. Even consciousness is regarded as merely neural firings and does not exist separately from those processes. Bodies are considered to be independent and to be under the direction of the intentions and willpower of some kind of self-this is itself a contradiction to the medical view. Bodies are also generally considered to be local, bounded entities. Other definitions and meanings of include the Christian idea of the mystical of Christ, and concepts of a subtle body, an astral body, and so on. Recent experiments with healing prayer have lead to the idea of nonlocalized wisdom of the body.2 Medical anthropology suggests concepts of social and political as well as the personal (Scheper-Hughes and Lock, 1987), and current anthropological conversation questions the bounded quality of bodily experience. To begin to speak of the need for a new definition of the body, even a holistic one that acknowledges the necessary condition of our experience of ourselves in the world as embodied, is still to be steeped in a dichotomous culture. Our need to define the as having its own qualities of intelligence and agency is predicated on the fact that we cannot help but think in terms of body and mind if not body and soul, the being merely of a lower or animal nature. Our culture marginalizes the The Buddhist concept of body-mind (we cannot even transmit it without having to use these two terms) is perhaps closer to the working definition we need in order to understand how bodily practice both engenders and is informed by feeling and cultural ideals. In this essay, I am interested particularly in how learning and participating in traditional group dance activities leads to an increased sense of community or experience of spiritual participation. Specific qualities of somatic experience are critical for my discussion, the primary one being the intelligence of the and emotions. The body's intelligence is not based on reason but on direct knowledge of the world. Its immediacy can be seen in the speed with which athletes react to situations or the astounding feats of acrobats. We can observe it in ourselves as well, in quickly hitting the brake in a car-much too fast to be a reasoned response-or riding a bike after many years without one. The latter experience is so ubiquitous that it has become a maxim for memory of this type: you never forget how. Body knowledge differs from the intellectual kind in several ways. …

Fat Transplantation to the Buttocks and Legs for Aesthetic Enhancement or Correction of Deformities: Long-Term Results of Large Volumes of Fat Transplant

A comprehensive review of the history of free fat transplantation reveals that since 1893 when Neuber used small pearls of fat taken from the arm to fill out depressed facial scars after trauma and underlying bone loss, free fat graft has been used with success in facial surgery, brain and nervous system surgery, various orthopedic uses, general surgery, craniofacial surgery, and cosmetic surgery. To present the author's hypothesis that a fat graft in cosmetic surgery responds like other kinds of tissue grafts. This article was written as a result of the author's search for a way to avoid the most common complications of doing a buttock or leg augmentation with silicone prostheses and to find a better surgical procedure that is simpler, complementary with liposuction, and better able to deal with subtle body irregularities that do not justify a large and complicated procedure. Over a period of 6.5 years, a total of 1350 liposculptures were performed. Eight hundred and seventy-nine patients had buttock augmentation. One patient had facial hemiatrophy and her face was treated twice with fat grafts. Four hundred and seventy patients had fat grafted onto their ankles and their legs for cosmetic reasons. One patient with polio sequelae and one male patient with agenesia of the gemellus muscles over his left leg were treated. The patients selected were not obese, but had moderate to severe lipodystrophy. The patients ranged in age from 18 to 65 years. The results of the buttock augmentations showed that there was a 0.5-1.0 cm reduction at 2 months. This persisted until the sixth month and until years later. These findings were seen in patients that had 3-5 kg less body weight after surgery than before or had 3-5 L of fat removed from their bodies. Patients who underwent ankle or leg augmentation experienced a 0.5 cm loss in diameter over the treated areas after the 1.5-month postoperative period. No more volume was lost after that. The areas kept the same parameters until the sixth month and also into later follow-ups. The few complications that our patients experienced appeared between days 2 and 15. The complications of 6.5 years occurred in 14 patients (1.037%). One case of erysipelas appeared on the 10th postoperative day. This patient reported that she was riding a bicycle and had a scratch over the left ankle, producing an infection with edema, erythema, and pain. Twelve patients got skin vesicles because of contact with micropore over the skin of the ankles. We treated those patients with local antibiotics, obtaining healing of the skin in about 5 days, with dryness and absence of the vesicles. No damage to the graft was observed. The hypothesis that applied fat grafts are real grafts was demonstrated. Not only are the grafts real, they are able to live and persist with the patients, growing if the patient gained weight over the gluteus area, and not losing circumference when reducing weight.

Fat Transplantation to the Buttocks and Legs for Aesthetic Enhancement or Correction of Deformities: Long-Term Results of Large Volumes of Fat Transplant

Background. A comprehensive review of the history of free fat transplantation reveals that since 1893 when Neuber used small pearls of fat taken from the arm to fill out depressed facial scars after trauma and underlying bone loss, free fat graft has been used with success in facial surgery, brain and nervous system surgery, various orthopedic uses, general surgery, craniofacial surgery, and cosmetic surgery. Objective. To present the author's hypothesis that a fat graft in cosmetic surgery responds like other kinds of tissue grafts. This article was written as a result of the author's search for a way to avoid the most common complications of doing a buttock or leg augmentation with silicone prostheses and to find a better surgical porcedure that is simpler, complementary with liposuction, and better able to deal with subtle body irregularities that do not justify a large and complicated procedure. Methods. Over a period of 6.5 years, a total of 1350 liposculptures were performed. Eight hundred and seventy-nine patients had buttock augmentation. One patient had facial hemiatrophy and her face was treated twice with fat grafts. Four hundred and seventy patients had fat grafted onto their ankles and their legs for cosmetic reasons. One patient with polio sequelae and one male patient with agenesia of the gemellus muscles over his left leg were treated. The patients selected were not obese, but had moderate to severe lipodystrophy. The patients ranged in age from 18 to 65 years. Results. The results of the buttock augmentations showed that there was a 0.5–1.0 cm reduction at 2 months. This persisted until the sixth month and until years later. These findings were seen in patients that had 3–5 kg less body weight after surgery than before or had 3–5 L of fat removed from their bodies. Patients who underwent ankle or leg augmentation experienced a 0.5 cm loss in diameter over the treated areas after the 1.5-month postoperative period. No more volume was lost after that. The areas kept the same parameters until the sixth month and also into later follow-ups. The few complications that our patients experienced appeared between days 2 and 15. The complications of 6.5 years occurred in 14 patients (1.037%). One case of erysipelas appeared on the 10th postoperative day. This patient reported that she was riding a bicycle and had a scratch over the left ankle, producing an infection with edema, erythema, and pain. Twelve patients got skin vesicles because of contact with micropore over the skin of the ankles. We treated those patients with local antibiotics, obtaining healing of the skin in about 5 days, with dryness and absence of the vesicles. No damage to the graft was observed. Conclusion. The hypothesis that applied fat grafts are real grafts was demonstrated. Not only are the grafts real, they are able to live and persist with the patients, growing if the patient gained weight over the gluteus area, and not losing circumference when reducing weight.

Interiorized Fire Rituals in India and in Tibet

The term interiorization of ritual bears a multitude of meanings. It may pertain to a mental performance of the ritual; to the replacement of the ritual with a continuous process of life, such as breathing or eating; to a particular way of life, such as renunciation; to an actual performance with an inner interpretation; to the replacement of the external ritual with an internal one, and so forth (following Bodewitz). This paper analyzes different forms of the interiorized ritual par excellence-the fire ritual-as it has existed in Tibetan culture, against the background of Indian precedents. Among the practices discussed here are inner heat (tapas and gtum-mo), breathing (prāna) and the subtle body (rtsa-lung), sexual yoga, food yoga, mental fire offerings and the fire offering of enlightened wisdom. The paper concludes with an examination of the interrelationships of the various interiorized fire offerings as they are seen in Tibetan writings. Since most major Tibetan practices are presented in this context in terms of the fire ritual, this examination elucidates the relative status of these practices from a theoretical point of view. It also sheds light on how diverse and autonomous practices come to be synthesized into a unified path to enlightenment.

The three bodies in psychotherapy

One of the sources of the diversity within psychotherapy is the conceptualization of the body. There are three main ways in which the body is seen. These correspond to three levels within the Wilber (1996) structural model. At level 1 the body is seen as something quite separate from the mind. We can treat the mind independently and leave the body to other specialists, such as medical doctors. If we do deal with the body, it is only in an external and behavioural way. At level 2 the body is seen as integrated with the mind, and the client is encouraged to see it this way too. One of the aims is bodymind unity. The body is continually referred to, and may be touched or asked to go through certain motions as part of the therapy. At level 3 the body is seen as the site for symbolic representations of divine archetypes, and reference is made to the subtle body. Both mind and body are seen as part of something greater, the soul. All three of these approaches are to be found within psychotherapy. It is argued that, unless these divisions are taken seriously, psychotherapy will remain confused. It is already confusing to others. By removing this particular form of confusion, it will be easier for psychotherapists to know what they are doing, and the scope and limits of their own particular orientation. Of these three versions of the body, the third is probably the least well known, but is growing the fastest. More lengthy attention is therefore paid to that.

The impact of mild Leydig cell dysfunction following cytotoxic chemotherapy on bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition.

Overt testosterone deficiency is associated with a reduction in BMD and alteration in body composition. However, there are few data concerning the impact of mild hypogonadism on these parameters. We have identified a cohort of 36 men aged < 55 years with mild Leydig cell impairment, defined by a raised LH level (LH >/= 8 IU/l) in the presence of a testosterone level in the lower half of the normal range or frankly subnormal (< 20 nmol/l), following treatment with procarbazine-containing chemotherapy regimens or high-dose chemotherapy for haematological malignancy. These men underwent measurements of BMD (measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), single energy X-ray absorptiometry (SXA) and quantitative CT (QCT)), body composition (DXA), markers of bone turnover, serum lipids and serum IGF-1. To allow for changes that may be directly attributable to the underlying disease or its treatment, results were compared with those obtained in 14 men who had received the same chemotherapy for the same diseases but had normal LH and testosterone levels (controls). When data from all 50 men were considered together there were significant reductions in BMD of the lumbar spine both by DXA (Z = - 0.34, P = 0.01) and QCT (Z = - 1.5, P < 0. 0001), at the femoral neck (Z = - 0.52, P < 0.0001) and distal forearm (Z = - 0.21, P = 0.05). Mean femoral neck BMD was significantly lower in patients compared with controls (Z = - 0.68 vs. Z = - 0.11, P = 0.05) and there was a nonsignificant trend towards lower lumbar spine BMD measured by QCT (Z = - 1.64 vs. Z = - 1.10; P = 0.09). In addition, serum testosterone level and testosterone:LH ratio significantly correlated with femoral neck BMD (r = 0.28, P = 0.05 and r = 0.37, P = 0.008, respectively). There were no significant differences in lean body mass, fat mass and percentage fat between the patients and controls. There was, however, a difference in the distribution of body fat with a propensity for the patients to accrue truncal fat, and the serum testosterone level significantly inversely correlated with percentage of truncal fat (r = - 0.29, P = 0.04). There were no significant differences in lipid levels, IGF-1 levels or markers of bone turnover between the patients and controls. These data suggest that mild Leydig cell impairment may have significant effects on bone mineral density and may result in subtle body composition changes, although in men who have received cytotoxic chemotherapy, other factors also contribute to the observed osteopenia. Testosterone replacement may be beneficial in some of these men and this requires further evaluation.