Retreating to nature : rethinking 'therapeutic landscapes'

There is a long history of removing oneself from ‘society’ in order to recuperate or repair. This paper considers a yoga and massage retreat in Southern Spain, and what opportunities this retreat experience might offer for recuperation and the creation of healthy bodies. The paper positions ‘nature’ as an active participant, and as ‘enrolled’ in the experiences of the retreat as a ‘therapeutic landscape’, and questions how and what particular aspects of yoga practice (in intimate relation with place) give rise to therapeutic experiences

Blue space as caring space – water and the cultivation of care in social and environmental practice

This paper studies three sites or ‘landscapes of care’ in Leeds, Bristol and London where water and associated built and natural environments are used to co-construct and facilitate forms of social and environmental care. Our research narrates the ways in which blue spaces are cultivated for the production of particular forms of caring bodies and sensibilities. Interpreting care as both a doing (caring for) and emotion (caring about), we draw attention to the diverse practices and distributed nature of care in these environments. Our paper has three main insights. First, we draw attention to the role of water as both a material and site of care. Second, we identify a range of more-than-human benefits associated with blue spaces and how these emerge via collaborative, non-linear and reciprocal forms of care. Third, we argue that by understanding how care works in everyday social practice, new forms of ecological care and pro-environmental ways of living with the world can emerge

Promoting Recovery from Substance Misuse through Engagement with Community Assets: Asset Based Community Engagement

© The Author(s) 2019. Evidence shows that engagement with community resources can aid the process of recovery from substance misuse, yet systematic approaches to mapping resources and building bridges to these for recovery populations are limited. If done successfully, engagement with resources that are pro-social and afford access to meaningful activities not only provides a platform for personal development, but also has the ability to trigger a social contagion of positive behaviour and improve connectedness within communities. The current paper uses Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) as the basis for an enhanced version called Asset Based Community Engagement (ABCE). The work of ABCD has been pivotal in encouraging citizen-led, strengths-based approaches to community development, yet scientific support for it remains limited. While this approach has gained much traction, it has been subject to criticism for being too optimistic and unsystematic. In response to this, the new framework, ABCE, offers a more structured approach to mapping community resources. It does however advance previous work by acknowledging the need to identify current levels of community engagement and barriers to engagement, in order to support empowerment, maximise personal capital and address barriers to engagement. Identifying barriers to engagement should not draw ABCE away from its strengths-based focus but instead, provide a platform for person-centred, holistic support to be provided to those in recovery. To support the new framework, a workbook has been developed, offering a practical output that is intended to be used by the individual in recovery alongside a member of staff within a professional service supporting the individual

Pampering, Well-Being And Women’s Bodies In The Therapeutic Spaces Of The Spa

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Social and Cultural Geography, 2013, Vol. 14 Issue 1 pp. 41-58 © 2012 copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/ DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2012.734846This paper develops and extends recent work in geography on therapeutic landscapes and the body in an examination of pampering practices in the contemporary spa. Drawing on feminist research on health, gender identity and the body, the paper explores the importance of escape, relaxation and other strategies to combat stress on the well-being practices and routines of women. Using original data collected from interviews in two spas in the South West of England, the paper argues that a visit to the spa is increasingly being seen as an important part of women’s wider health and bodily maintenance providing a space for relaxation and withdrawal from responsibilities of the home and workplace. The pampering treatments reinforce the therapeutic benefits of the spa creating a sense of luxury and a focus on the self. The paper locates these arguments within the twin theoretical concerns of the ‘care of the self’ and disciplining the body, suggesting that any attempts to understand the practices and therapies for maintaining bodily well-being must incorporate a recognition of their simultaneous role in regulating the size and shape of women’s bodies

New energy geographies : a case study of yoga, meditation and healthfulness

Beginning with a routine day in the life of a practitioner of yoga and meditation and emphasising the importance of nurturing, maintaining and preventing the dissipation of diverse ‘energies’, this paper explores the possibilities for geographical health studies which take seriously ‘new energy geographies’. It is explained how this account is derived from in-depth fieldwork tracing how practitioners of yoga and meditation find times and spaces for these practices, often in the face of busy urban lifestyles. Attention is paid to the ‘energy talk’ featuring heavily in how practitioners describe the benefits that they perceive themselves to derive from these practices, and to claims made about ‘energies’ generated during the time-spaces of these practices which seemingly flow, usually with positive effects, into other domains of their lives. The paper then discusses the implications of this energy talk in the context of: (a) critically reviewing conventional approaches to studying ‘energy geographies’; (b) identifying an alertness to the likes of ‘affective energies’ surfacing in recent theoretically-attuned works of human geography (and cognate disciplines); and (c) exploring differing understandings of energy/energies extant in geographical studies of health and in step with the empirical research materials presented about yoga, meditation and healthfulness. While orientated towards explicitly geographical inquiries, the paper is intended as a statement of interest to the wider medical humanities

Design principles in housing for people with complex physical and cognitive disability: towards an integrated framework for practice

To develop a research-based environmental framework to guide the design and construction of suitable residential dwellings for individuals with complex disability. An environmental approach to housing design and development recognises that there are physical, psychological and social components relating to housing design, dwelling location and the neighbourhood context, and that these elements interact to affect the physical, psychological, and social wellness of individuals. Following theoretical review and synthesis, a comprehensive set of design features that are conducive to residents’ wellness and quality of life are described. It is clear that housing design and development for people with complex disability ought to consider the physical, social, natural, symbolic, and care environment in relation to housing design, dwelling location, and the neighbourhood context for improved housing outcomes. An integrated housing design and development framework is presented. It is hoped this practical matrix/evaluative tool will inform future inclusive housing design and development decisions in Australia and internationally. The application of this framework is especially relevant to political climates striving to achieve design innovation to increase housing choice for people with complex disability

Exploring Aboriginal People\u27s connection to country to strengthen human-nature theoretical perspectives

Purpose Aboriginal people across Australia have diverse practices, beliefs and knowledges based on thousands of generations of managing and protecting their lands (Country). The intimate relationship Aboriginal people have with their Country is explored in this chapter because such knowledge is important for building insight into the relationship between social and ecological systems. Often in research Aboriginal views have been marginalised from discussions focused on their lands to the detriment of ecosystems and human health. This chapter aims to understand if such marginalisation is evident in Western human–nature relationship discourses.Approach This chapter provides a critical literature review which examines whether Aboriginal people’s diverse understanding of their ecosystems have been incorporated into human–nature theories using the biophilia hypothesis as a starting point. Other concepts explored include solastalgia, topophilia and place.Findings Critiques of these terminologies in the context of Aboriginal people’s connection to Country are limited but such incorporation is viewed in the chapter as a possible mechanism for better understanding human’s connection to nature. The review identified that Aboriginal people’s relationship to Country seems to be underrepresented in the human–nature theory literature.Value This chapter emphasises that the integration of Aboriginal perspectives into research, ecological management and policy can provide better insight into the interrelationships between social and ecological systems

Using spatial analysis to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the cardiovascular drug-prescribing pattern in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Geographic Information Systems (GIS) combined with spatial analytical methods could be helpful in examining patterns of drug use. Little attention has been paid to geographic variation of cardiovascular prescription use in Taiwan. The main objective was to use local spatial association statistics to test whether or not the cardiovascular medication-prescribing pattern is homogenous across 352 townships in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The statistical methods used were the global measures of Moran's <it>I </it>and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). While Moran's <it>I </it>provides information on the overall spatial distribution of the data, LISA provides information on types of spatial association at the local level. LISA statistics can also be used to identify influential locations in spatial association analysis. The major classes of prescription cardiovascular drugs were taken from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), which has a coverage rate of over 97%. The dosage of each prescription was converted into defined daily doses to measure the consumption of each class of drugs. Data were analyzed with ArcGIS and GeoDa at the township level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The LISA statistics showed an unusual use of cardiovascular medications in the southern townships with high local variation. Patterns of drug use also showed more low-low spatial clusters (cold spots) than high-high spatial clusters (hot spots), and those low-low associations were clustered in the rural areas.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The cardiovascular drug prescribing patterns were heterogeneous across Taiwan. In particular, a clear pattern of north-south disparity exists. Such spatial clustering helps prioritize the target areas that require better education concerning drug use.</p

Postcolonial healing landscapes and mental health in a remote Indigenous community in subarctic Ontario, Canada

The concept of therapeutic landscape is concerned with a holistic, socio-ecological model of health, but most studies have attempted to explore land-health links from a Western perspective. On an Indigenous reserve in Northern Ontario, part of the Canadian subarctic, we explore the importance of spaces and places in creating postcolonial therapeutic landscapes to treat the wounds inflicted by colonialism. The aim of this research is to gain insight from views and experiences of First Nations residents living on reservations that are undergoing a process of regaining traditional spiritual beliefs and teachings to construct therapeutic spaces to face mental health problems caused by legal opioid analgesic abuse. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with Cree and Ojibwe participants to understand how they are reconnecting with earth, spirituality and traditional animist beliefs on their way to recovery. We find that practices such as taking part in ceremonies and ritual spaces, and seeking knowledge and advice from Elders assist with personal healing and enable Indigenous people to be physically and mentally healthy. Our research findings provide important insights into the relationship between space, healing and culture as determinants of health and well-being and document some key factors that contribute to substance abuse recovery.This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science (Spain) [I + D+i SEJ2005-09344/SOCI]; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) [I + D+i CURA/NORTHERN]