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Uniting the Eagle and the Condor : A Dance of Body, Mind, and Spirit
Zegarra-Parodi, R. [33]
Baroni, F. [16]
D'Alessandro, G.
Conte, J. [4]
Mehl-Madrona, L. [2]
Haxton, J. [6]
Lunghi, C. [41]

Journal: The AAO Journal Date: 2026/06, 36(2):Pages: 13–18. doi: Subito , type of study: article


Keywords:

article [2584]
body-mind-spirit [4]
dance [13]
films [1]

Abstract:

The osteopathic medical profession has a unique opportunity to refine its role as an integrative system of medicine by embracing epistemological flexibility to better incorporate patients' bodily experiences, including pain, into effective, person-centered care. Body representations in health and disease encompass both materialistic and non-materialistic worldviews, with the latter often challenged by current evidence, yet remaining central to certain osteopathic manipulative approaches. The clinical application of the Body-Mind-Spirit tenet in osteopathic care encourages osteopathic physicians to move beyond a purely biomedical paradigm rooted in linear cause-and-effect relationships. The integration of these non-materialistic perspectives on body representation has the potential to expand osteopathic physicians' understanding of patients' health, pain, and healing processes. However, this process remains complex for clinicians whose training may not include exposure to or comfort with diverse individual experiential frameworks and socioculturally established knowledge systems within clinical practice and research. This integration can appear particularly sensitive within the American context, where osteopathy developed alongside the lasting influence of the Flexner Report, which established Western/Eurocentric biomedicine as the prevailing standard and marginalized more holistic and natural approaches to health. In this regard, medical anthropology, which studies how cultural and social factors shape views of the body, illness, and healing strategies, provides a framework for better understanding diverse worldviews in healthcare. Our film was developed to promote a deeper understanding of the Body-Mind-Spirit paradigm of health, informed by well-documented Native American experiential and cultural healing frameworks that have incorporated this principle for millennia. This project was designed to acknowledge and respect these traditions while demonstrating how movement (Body), cultural narratives, artistic expression (Mind), and traditional wisdom (Spirit) can intersect to support a more integrated vision of health and well-being without reinforcing a hierarchy of knowledge. The performance of Hugo Marchand, an Étoile dancer at the Paris Opéra Ballet, serves not only as a powerful artistic expression but also as a metaphor for integrating these dimensions in patient-centered care, resonating with the Indigenous prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor. The use of contemporary dance to highlight diverse body representations in osteopathic care is an innovative approach intended to evoke emotional and intellectual responses. This outlines that these ideas are not solely abstract concepts but are grounded in lived bodily experiences that Western/Eurocentric epistemologies have not fully addressed. To provide further context, the film was accompanied by written material addressing the historical, epistemological, scientific, and clinical aspects of the topic. Together, these components aim to initiate thoughtful discussions among professionals and encourage reflection on how multiple epistemologies may contribute to navigating the inherent complexity of clinical care.

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