Body Language; non verbal communication

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have been interested in non verbal communication for a long time. Recently, intrigued by Tim Roths character in “Lie to Me”, I even did an assignment based on the subject for an Open University Project.

The non verbal communication we throw out as our body language is important to my work and gives me great insights into what goes on in the minds of patients, that they dont necessarily want to tell me, whilst respecting their rights not to want to say, what they are actually thinking and feeling. The thing about body language and non verbal communication is that it is universal. Regardless of culture, or social practice, a smile means your are probably happy, a grimace means you are probably disgusted by something, and if suddenly you raise your eyebrows, odds are you are surprised about something.

Most of us who have a sense of empathy read someone, without knowing we are actually picking up on body language signals. Those of us who can, experience empathy and modify our own body language cues to meet those of the person with whom we wish to exhibit congruency. Its part of building trust.

Trust is the single thing which allows relationships, no matter what kind that may be, to thrive. Ofcourse trust itself is a big subject, and probably best left for another time, as for today my intention is to draw you to the subject of microexpressions within body language and in particular the smile.

In an ideal world smiles and its toothy format of laughter is associated on the whole with happiness, but it also associates with pleasure or enjoyment, such as that displayed during sexual encounters, where it is accompanied by another form of joy, described as excitement. So its possible to understand that a smile can mean a great many things and can give an impression of what someone feels. Ofcourse there are different forms of smile. As stated in the article link above a Duchenne smile involves more than one muscle in the face and is seen as a true smile. A smile involving only specific muscles is know as a non Duchenne smile and is not real. Often this masks other thoughts, but is displayed to fool on lookers into thinking that the person they are looking at is ok with whats going on around them.

I am sure all of us at some time in our lives have experienced these false smiles from somebody that we thought we were ok with, someone who we trusted and confided in, only to realise afterwards that we were fooled. I admit I have been. But the next time we see that smile, after discovering we have been fooled, we ask ourselves, “what is that person really thinking?”. So what is in a smile?

We know a smile can lift spirits, that it has more in way of positive emotion associated with it and often if we see others smile the feeling of happiness grows in us, we seem to tap in to the more uplifting aspects of our non conscious mind.

I wonder what the world would be like if we learned to smile through adversity. Would there still be conflict? What if we smiled through our pain and ill health, would we be able to overcome our own suffering. Of all the microexpressions in terms of body language a smile can throw us off guard. We see the corners of someones mouth turn up and the eyes seem to accompany that gesture its hard not to see ourselves mirroring it. Can you imagine a sour face in a room full of smiles? In Yoga, sometimes during practice, we are encouraged to smile. We learn to establish a sense of joy, at the accomplishment of the practice and we can take that positive feeling allowing it to fills us so we carry it through the day, in the hope that it draws more positivity towards us. When we are in pain, we often feel there is nothing much to smile about. At www.touchofhealing.co.uk, a smile is probably the one body language gesture we hope to promote, so “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.” ~Phyllis Diller

Thankyou for reading

Shehnaz

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Ways of ensuring health of the back

September 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Five Ways to be free of Back Pain.

Back pain is an affliction that many people suffer at some time or other during the space of a lifetime. Often the problem is constant and chronic, for others back pain can be triggered by stress and emotional trauma. People resign themselves to the idea that they may just have to live with their back pain. That does not have to be the case.

If you have suffered back pain, you know how debilitating it can be, wouldn’t you do anything to ensure you never have to go through it again? If you are suffering wouldnt you like to know how you can free yourself of back pain permanently?

Here are 5 easy ways to ensure you don’t develop back pain:

A healthy mind promotes a healthy back
The power of positive thinking, has been promoted in any number of self help literature, whether they be sourced from modern neuro linguistic programming information or from spiritual origins. You basically are, what you think. Think healthy thoughts and it stands to reason you will maintain health in the body and this will include health of the structures of the back, which, if permitted would lead to back pain.

Good Nutrition
A well balanced diet, which incorporated a wealth of the daily recommended vitamins and minerals is essential for the functioning of body. The muscles, tendon, ligaments and structures of the back are no exception. The cells of the entire body need good levels of nourishment, circulation etc to ensure optimum functioning is ensured.

Core Strength

The strength of the core is essential, for so many reasons. Abdominal structures support the spine. A rock solid core will provide protection to any weakness in the back.

YogaA twisted and bendy spine stays younger for longer. The more range of movement achieved by the spine, as part of yoga practice, the more supple it stays and the less restricted it becomes. Separting the actions of each vertebrae from the one next to it and utilizing the small stabilizing and rotational structures, ensures healthier movement which is usually associated with that of a younger person.

Touch Therapies
Craniosacral therapy is a therapy which has its origins in osteopathy, beginning its journey with Dr William Sutherland and later with Dr John Upledger who founded the Upledger institute. This gentle hands on therapy manipulate the bones of the skull and the spine and impacts upon the connective tissue inside this bony framework which encloses the brain and spinal cord. via this indirect contact it is possible to help manitain health of the nerve tissue and ease restrictions which can impact upon muscles, tendons and ligaments, to prevent problems of restriction or inflammation.

Myofascial Release treatment or Spinal therapy work directly on both bony and muscular alignment. Often instant releif of pain is achieved by gentle, specific and measured work using such techniques.

There are a number of associated articles on back pain which you can find at www.touchofhealing.co.uk. A few examples are listed below.

Nature of pain and Fascia
Lumbago and Back Pain
Osteoporosis and back pain

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Meditation

September 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

Last night I finished teaching a yoga class with the customary relaxation at the end of it. Once the class finshed and my students left, a couple approached me and began telling me about a buddhist centre they visited the previous day. They told me about having attended a meditation session. I gather they weren’t too impressed and asked me if I would consider running sessions directly after the yoga class as a continuation.

I had been asked the same thing by other students on a previous occasion. Meditation is actually very hard to master. It takes dedication and perserverance, in order to achieve even 60 seconds of focus on the breath or emptying of the mind. Many years ago a patient talked to me about yoga and meditation, fearing its capacity of emptying the mind, only to let evil in…Obviously the reverse is truer. The purpose of meditation is to allow the body to connect to its calming mechanisms. It slows down thought, in a reflective manner and aids our emotions in contemplation prior to reaction. This way our lives are less chaotic and we introduce ourselves to measure and balance of emotion and reaction. This is all possible because when we learn to declutter our minds of the confusion and shopping lists, we let in our higher-selves. The part of us that aspires to things which our ego finds difficult to let go of. The process of meditation helps us to find paths towards the more positive aspects of humanness and feeds our compassion and humanity, taking us away from the negative aspects such as anger, fear, jealousy, guilt and greed.

The philosophies of the Veda and indeed of Buddhism tells us that all to often we attach ourselves to things, people, circumstances and memories where these negative emotions, such as anger, fear leave us fixed, stagnating and never moving forward in life. Meditation is a means by which we bypass these baser and futile, non flowing aspects of our being towards something more positive and fullfilling. At www.touchofhealing.co.uk, next week there will be an article available on different kinds of meditation and it maybe something you would like to consider if your life feels like it could do with moving from chaos to calm.

Thankyou for reading

Shehnaz

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Achilles Heel

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For a number of months I have been working with a lady suffering with an almost immobile achilles tendon. When I first started seeing her she could not flex her toes upwards and this was effecting her calf and translating imbalances up the leg, into her pelvis. She had been having some osteopathic work for pelvic alignment but it was doing nothing for the achilles. She had had an operation on her ankle where two large screws to hold bone together had been utilised and a mass of external scar tissue indicated a similar degree of deeper scar tissue.

She rides horses and couldnt place her left foot into her stirrup correctly and so she ended up sitting in the saddle with one knee elevated compared to the other. This impacted upon the way she rode. She wasn’t sure anything could be done.

When I first saw her I noticed her almost hop on one foot, whilst walking. She couldnt put her left heel down on the floor, so I am fairly certain that would not help her long term. Slowly but surely, we corrected a great deal of the lack of mobility in the achilles, softening the scar tissue and creating much more flexibility. She is currently on maintenance treatment to prevent deterioration, but in between she stretches her calves and has noticed improvements in her riding and her walking. Additionally, whenever she drove long distance she would be laid up with pain for a number of days, and that does not happen anymore.

A great deal of Myofascial Release treatment, predominantly to muscles, ligaments and tendons in the foot and throughout the whole leg, appears to have made the difference. Currently, alongside the maintenance we are focusing on keeping the area stretched and flexible through appropriate exercises. She is riding better and is therefore progressing further with the technical requirements that makes on her.

If you would like to get more information about the effects of touch for therapeutic benefit and the nature and behaviour of fascia/ connective tissue, then please click onto the highlighted items and it will give you more information.

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Stenosis in the spine.

July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Stenosis of the spine can occur in all parts of the spine but is most frequent in the lower back. The symptoms are of pain, numbness or weakness in the legs, calves and buttocks. These pain symptoms are often worsened by walking and can be alleviated by sitting, bending forward or simply lying down. Where the stenosis occurs in the neck area, equivalent symptoms appear in the shoulders and arms, but may result in misalignment of the gait and issues with balance. The individual may also experience degrees of clumsiness with the hands.

The medical profession claims to successfully treat, via surgery 90% of stenosis cases. The procedure is referred to as decompressive laminectomy. This is essentially removal of a section of bone from the back of the vertebra. The purpose is to create space for the spinal cord to move more freely in the spinal canal. Any open back surgery can come with potential problems, so non surgical methods are sometimes used for several months before arriving at the final decision of performing surgery.

NSAID or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to help reduce swelling and pain. Analgesics are also prescribed to aid in pain relief. Epidural steroids are often administered, to reduce swelling and therefore pain. Often a patient is recommended rest and restricted activity, depending on the degree of nerve involvement, but stretching and strengthening exercises have proven to be of benefit in re-establishing mobility and helping spinal cord fluidity

It appears that the natural process of thickening of bone tissue (osteoposorosis) is one of the major reasons for the development of the condition, but it is exacerbated by the subsequent swelling. Swelling is a normal immune response which can occur through irritation of tissues in surrounding areas. Keeping down the swelling is often a way of relieving the symptoms of the condition.

Case Study notes:
A female patient of 58 years of age,experienced leg pain and was given a steroid injection at the site of the pain. 10 years later, she began to experience similar symptoms and a second steroid injection was administered. At this point no Xrays or further investigation was carried out. The positive effects of the second steroid injections lasted only a few months. Slowly over time the patient was rendered incapable of moving and reduced to crawling. Standing up resulted in her legs buckling beneath her. The pain was constant and unbearable, and she was finally referred to a consultant. An X ray showed signs of osteoporosis, but did not show the source of pain. A subsequent MRI scan revealed the presence of stenosis at L2 and L4 (lumbar vertebrae 2/4). She was given co-codomol and prescribed topical analgesics and sent away to return in 6 months to be assessed for surgery.

During that period of time the patient turned to complementary help and was encouraged to change her nutrition to re-balance the inflammation promoting mechanisms that the body seems to adopt in such cases. Regular Shiatsu treatment and Mctimony Chiropractic was used to encourage, healing and alignment. Manual lymphatic drainage was used to relax the nerves, to encourage swelling away from the affected area and Craniosacral Therapy was administered to reduce irritation to the structure surrounding the spinal cord. These treatments were aided by two supplements MSM and Turmeric. Glucosamine with Chondroitin was also prescribed by a nutritionist. This all took in the region of 4 months to take effect.

The patients mental state was also assessed and she was encouraged to meditate, and use breath work to ease her anxiety in connection with the pain. Eventually she began a process of physical exercise, to strengthen her muscles. At the 6 month review, her pain was virtually gone, she had reduced the number of pain analgesics she was taking and had made changes within her home, to meet her physical needs. She avoided walking any distance, utilising a mobility scooter.

2 years on, she is pain free. She still feels unable to stand for any length of time, but can walk without problem, short distances. Her quality of life has returned, and she has as yet not undergone surgery.

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Osteoporosis and Back Pain
Back Pain and the Ageing process

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Back Pain And The Ageing Process

June 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Back pain occurs for many reasons, these include poor posture or poor body mechanics. Excess weight which leads to strain on the spine. Poor diet, smoking and diseases of the spine alongside other health conditions impacts upon spinal wellbeing. 

The spine is composed of vertebrae, individual odd shaped bones which provide ultimate support for the body. Each vertebra is separated by a disc whose function is to provide flexibility. Discs are constructed so as to provide cushioning and shock absorption, whilst allowing space for the passage of the spinal cord and therefore nerves. 

spinal column

During the process of age vertebrae thicken and cartilaginous discs become misshapen and lose fluidity. Often the spinal canal narrows imposing pressure on the spinal cord and nerve endings. This leads to sensations of numbness, weakening, ultimately leading to pain. This narrowing is referred to as stenosis. Stenosis is a condition mostly seen in older people, although it does appear in people in their 20′ and 30′s. The symptoms of spinal stenosis are progressive, so it is termed a degenerative condition, which becomes more severe as the patient ages. Other terms you may have heard connected to back pain during old age are arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. These are all degenerative conditions, which are seen as changes in the structure of bone tissue resulting from wear and tear and ultimately old age.

Dont live with Back Pain

Despite being an aspect of ageing, back pain should not have to be ignored, because it can lead to other things, such as issues with the bowels and the bladder. It prevents a sufferer from enjoying a full and active life. There are many ways to alleviate the condition, and at Touch of Healing spinal health can be dealt with in a number of safe and gentle ways.

Preventative measures for avoiding back pain, ought really to be a consideration from times when no back pain is felt. The weight lifter, or the bricklayer, can avoid back pain by having a simple understanding of what impact a repetitive movement can have over the vertebral ligaments and muscles. Knowing how to keep them healthy and maintained is one key to good spinal health. For more information please watch the associated videos and further blogs on this subject as they appear.

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Osteoporosis and back pain
degenerative disc disease and back pain

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Chilling and reflecting

June 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

That evening we (apart from Sue and Christine) went to a place in Kathmandu called “Rum Doodles”. A really rowdy fast food eatery with a very bad band of Nepalese musicians playing live rock and roll. For additional company we had an incredibly raucous bunch of people, probably from a separate trek, truly letting their hair down. We were pretty much entertained by their antics. One of the women who looked like a man, took a bit of a shine to Matt and on more than one occasion tried to persuade him to join her on the dance floor. He was being so polite, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer and in the end he just went with it and it was a hilarious site….I know Matt knows he can pull some really funny faces, which just added to the delight of watching him handle this individual :-) . Ours was a very tame group comparatively, but as the Everest beer flowed so did the humour, the mood and the dancing. By the evenings end we had managed to get Jeff up and singing, Danny somehow punched Hanifa in the eye (not on purpose!) and even Raj was joining in. It was such a lovely site watching them enjoying themselves. I sat it out, only because I didnt want to aggravate the cough which had improved immensely from taking the antihistamines, but threatened to overwhelm me if I demanded a bit too much of my lungs. Anyway I contented myself watching them.

At the end of the evening Raj went and paid the bill for the entire group….. drink, food and all….a typical Asian gesture. He had done the same thing in Snowdon and for many of us it didnt go down well. One or two  had no qualms in having their bill paid, but Asgar who is also of a traditional Asian mentality felt it wasn’t cricket! :-) Those who were willing  through whatever reason (for some it became an issue of simply not wanting to offend Raj) to accept him paying that was their affair, but he wanted to pay for his own bill. Lucy made a comment aimed at Asgar, which Hanifa heard and strongly took offence  to, feeling it to be rude and uncalled for and I believe words were exchanged  at some point, what those words were I have no idea.

Raj comes from South India, unmarried with no real commitments with a highly stressful and well paying job, so he could afford to be generous. Being Indian, I understand the traditional mentality of wanting to undertake the feeding of friends and guests, but in my opinion Raj owed it to himself and others to be alittle more discerning and understanding of firstly the sensibilities of western culture, where people, though touched by the gesture, preferred to pay their own way, and secondly of people who took his generosity for granted as if it had little importance (and it was this that I hated the thought of)…as it is an imbalance of energy, that I felt, he didnt deserve. I spoke to Raj later on the philosophy of having value for his own virtues and ultimately respect for both his and the individuality of others.  From previous conversations he and I had had, he is ultimately into prananyama and yogic teachings, I think, and I could see him smiling, so perhaps on some level he connected with what I was saying.

 The following afternoon, Hanifa had told Sarita that she wanted to eat Masala Dosa, a south Indian dish and Sarita had agreed to take us somewhere. Asgar told Raj we going and he didnt need asking…again a mentality we relate to completely… and CJ and Danny who were with Hanifa, asked if we would mind them coming too…as if I would have minded :-D ….I wanted Amish to come, but I had no idea where he was.

We piled into two taxis and arrived at a restaurant on a very busy road. The waiters must have thought we were mad because we ordered so much food,  Raj alone ordered enough for 4 people :-) . The owner tried to disuade us from getting so much, but in the end let us set up a tab and get on with it. When Danny saw the Masala Dosa arrive, along with the paani puri and dahi wada, his jaw dropped….I could see he was wondering how we would eat all that was coming. Both CJ and Danny were the best company a body could have whilst eating this meal.. they had no idea what the hell any of it was. They liked some of it, but not all of it and we joked and laughed as Asgar was teaching CJ some typical Indian etiquette….she was wonderful  and when I heard Danny say “do you know something Shehnaz, its not about base camp, its about this”, as he banged his fist on the table, all I could do was smile….another happy moment to add to my collection..:-)

Raj in true form had eaten everything, with alittle help from us and then Ian, Saritas husband arrived. As we waited for Ian to eat Raj said he wanted to hire a helicopter  to go around Everest, and asked us all to go with him :-) Ian informed him that it would only be possible to take a small helicopter and it would be limited in seats. If it happened, Asgar and I were happy to sit it out. It turns out only two additional passengers could go and though Dannys face said he wanted to go, he gallantly said, “take CJ and Hanifa….”. I could have hugged him xx. It was alot of money, but it was obvious how much Raj wanted to take the trip, and whats more he could afford it. I wanted to encourage him, and I think he wanted the encouragement as he didnt know when next, if at all, he would get the chance to do it, but unfortunately Asgar thought the amount was obscene and discouraged him…which so annoyed me, because I didnt think it was his call to make. Anyway it didnt happen…so full up and contented we went back to the hotel.

Later that evening we were off to an organised banquet, with traditional Nepalese food and different froms of Nepalese dancing and music. It was all good. I was sat next to Kathryn who was making real efforts to look with it, but things had kicked off again at the hotel before we left. I felt for her, although based on my experience I understood the opposite argument, which I covered in my very first blog of this series, but just as we had had a gruelling 17 days so had she and even more so for dealing with all the comments and negativity. None of any of it was really her fault I suppose, although it may have seemed like she should have known things, or been able to ease situations….ultimately Nepal was a new experience for her too and she deserved to let her hair down and enjoy it the same as us. The meal ended and we all went back to the hotel. I was talking to Sue on the bus and I know she felt very strongly on many points connected to the BHF and again I could see the merit in alot of what she said, but apart from airing our discontent I wasn’t sure what any of us could do. We couldnt change what had come to pass at any rate.

The next morning was Sunday and I woke up to a big mothers day ribbon on the door of my hotel room, which Hanifa had left and when I went with it to breakfast Danny insisted I wear it, like a sashe :-) . After breakfast we sat and talked. I gathered a number of our group had been up through the night. Deep and heated discussions seem to have taken place and noses got put out of joint. Some of it had been about the BHF and CAT, and about our porters and some of a personal nature….I found some of it upsetting,  but for now I wanted to wait for Sarita. My cough had almost disappeared but something had aggravated the water works again and it felt like I could have a kidney infection. When Sarita came I got medicine from her and then we just sat and talked and watched her nephew playing. I was so sad to leave her…she and I had clicked and I really hoped that we would get to meet again.

As we were not due to leave till 4pm that afternoon we went to what they call the ‘Peace gardens’ and spent the rest of the early afternoon there. We ate lunch and it appears that Raj took note of my words and didnt try to pay, although he admitted that he had been tempted due to the delay in peoples ability to work out what they had had to eat. We took photographs and, then went back to the hotel, said our final goodbyes to Sarita and CAT and Jeff, (as he was staying for a couple more days) and set off for the UK. Our journey back was smooth and uneventful. By the time we landed my kidney problem had gone and so had my cough!

On returning, I gather many of our group took time to recover….illness overcame some…Asgar slept constantly for 10 whole days, and I had a bit of jet lag, nothing adverse.

Our journey had ended, as will this sequence of blogs, but upon reflection and based on the fact that I have completed this nearly three months after my return, I just want to take a few minutes to mention what I have reflected upon.

Nepal as a destination was nothing I had even thought about, and yet I discovered a country, a people, a tradition so rich and beautiful that I feel I dont have sufficient words to describe it. I have always known I am focused and determined, but I discovered qualities and strengths in me I didnt know I possessed. I overcame fear and I learned how Karma works in mysterious ways. I met some wonderful human beings and I observed qualities, behaviour and demaenor in others, which, forced me to find tolerance and acceptance, which, may have been absent in me previously. I came back with the persona that the experience of achievement enables and I recognise that somehow on some level, though I am me, I am a better me, a more self assured me, a happier me in myself. Self actualisation, a term coined by Carl Rogers is reaching the pinnacle of Maslows Peak experience. I believe we go through this process over and over again, each experience adding to the one before. The experiences dont have to be grand, by anyone elses standards, they can be methodical, yet steadfast and determined….the journey end is simply the beginning of another, and the goal is always what we open ourselves to learning on the way………

I would like to dedicate this series of blogs to my father who wanted to, but never made that journey from Kathmandu onwards…

For all of you who have walked with me,( including my fellow trekkers) I wish to thankyou for your company, I have felt your enthusiasm and enjoyed sharing my story with you….. Namaste,  :-D  . 

Shehnaz xx

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Lukla to Kathmandu

June 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Lukla runway....

Lukla runway....

We woke at 5am, dressed, packed and gathered for breakfast. Immediately after eating we sat and waited in anticipation for Jeff to find out what was to happen with regards to our flight back to Kathmandu.

I asked Asgar to share the two bags of snacks we had left over between the porters but he gave them to Jeff instead to give to the centre post for CAT treks, which annoyed me, as I wanted to give them something from us as a mark of appreciation. Jeff came in and announcd that at this point Kathmandu was accepting no flights.

There was nothing to be done except to again wait. The tea room was freezing and being sat still we couldn’t keep warm. Many went off wandering. My cough was improving, but suddenly I was overcome by extreme exhaustion and all I wanted to do was sleep, so I unpacked my sleeping bag, crawled in and slept.

It was looking less and less likely that we would get a flight and soon midday would mean that it was impossible. Around 11.30 am Jeff walked in and announced that the first 16 with their bags  at the reception area of the airport would be going to Kathmandu. I sat up forgetting I was in my sleeping, lurched forward and was only stopped from falling by the table infront of me :-D . I scrambled out of the bag, scrunched it into its container, shuved it back into my kit bag, and quickly took it out to the reception. Running back inside I found Asgars bag and did the same, at which point those who had gone wander about came running back in. I managed to find Hanifas bag, and was determined that my family would not again be separated, and heaved it onto the others. We were in the 16!

Alaistair, Sarita, Kathryn, Pesang, Chhapte would follow on, but Jeff and our entire group were on the same flight. We

Back in Kathmandu looking fresh and happy!

Back in Kathmandu looking fresh and happy!

rose above the glorious mountains and I was calm and unaffected. I allowed myself to recognise that I had done what  I had come to do and I thanked whatever had driven my determination and given me strength to complete it…….memories of my late father flooded my thoughts and looking over what I knew had been an unfulfilled desire of his, I felt tears roll down my cheeks. Dad had travelled much of the world and had even arrived in Kathmandu, but illness overwhelmed him and turned him away from these mountains. Thoughts of him reminded me of another promise, I had made in his memory, but thats another story. For now I felt happy, grateful and humbled by what I had seen and experienced in this beautiful place. The flight was smooth and uneventful and we arrived in Kathmandu, hungry, weary and in want of showers.

We arrived at the hotel and first we ate. As we finished our meal we saw Sarita, Kathryn and Pesang with Chhapte. Insisting that Asgar buy them lunch I went for a shower and ensured Pesang would not leave before I came back. I had

Our Indian meal

Our Indian meal

wanted a longer and more leisurely shower, but remembering the aweful colour of the water, it was probably best I didnt linger and was back down in no time at all. Pesang and Chhapte had finished eating as I arrived  down again. I felt I owed so much to the support of these young men, and was sad I had no immediate way of showing them how much that support had meant to me. I was probably just part of another job for them but for me they were truly so much more. They made me feel safe and their patient steps gave me strength and enriched what felt like a sometimes very lonely trek, in a wilderness I had never before known or contemplated. I felt prayers of many trekkers before, after and including me would offer them their just karmic rewards, with this, and a hug I said my goodbyes and they left.

I hugged Sarita, and ensured she ate. Ian, Saritas husband arrived and I asked him if he would mind my whisking his wife away for a while. I wanted  clean clothes and as I knew we were going out in the evening, I wanted something nice to wear. I apologised for being so selfish, knowing Sarita wanted to freshen up, but I also knew in her hospitable and giving way, she did not mind. And so I went shopping in Kathmandu. I bought a top, two pairs of sandals and a Shalwaar Khameez to wear at the banquet for the next evening….and boy… was it fun feeling alittle human again! :-) .

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Back to Lukla

June 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
Sunshine in Lobouche... can finally see what the landscape is like.

Sunshine in Lobouche... can finally see what the landscape is like.

Asgar and I set out at 6am with Dawa as our guide. Pesang was still with the six people of our group who had gone to Base camp and Chhapte was acting sirdar, so had to stay with the main body of the group. It was just light and absolutely freezing. I had 3 layers on my lower body and 6 on top including my down jacket. We set out on the most beautiful of mornings you could possibly imagine. The skys were clear and the sun was the brightest I had ever seen. A day too late, this would have been perfect had it been yesterday…but it was not meant to be and we had no days left to play with, so back to Luckla.

The ground was fresh with deep snow, crispy and crunchy as we walked through it. The merrain seemed quite special today. Luckily I had slept well the night before and so was looking forward to the walk. I also knew where I was going and that makes a tremendous difference when trying to get somewhere. Our speed was steady and rhythmical. Dawa walked in front and we followed his tracks. Shortly before the top of the black boulder where the memorial platform was situated Dawa stopped to show us the mountains behind so Asgar could take photographs. They were breathtaking and even more so for the fact that for us for two days the weather had been abysmal and the sky invisible. It was like we were being told farewell with a beaming smile. I would add this scene to my collection of happiness for no other reason than that it was heart lifting. As I waited in the silence for the others I whispered “I’m still waiting”, but the mountains remained silent, only the feeling inside my heart grew :-D . I refer ofcourse to the magical experience people claim to have when visiting this part of Gods earth. I just smiled and carried on walking. It felt so good, I had got to where I wanted to be and going further was for another time.

Going back to Pheriche took exactly 3 hours and upon arrival we were greeted by an exuberant Sarita. Happy, smiling and talking non stop, hugging me and exclaiming how good it was to see us. Matt came along very quickly afterwards, much to our surprise and Alaistair too. Alaistairs face looked like a balloon, he was so badly swollen, apparently he had been extremely unwell for a long time during our trip, and had neglected to tell anyone. Coming down  was probably as good for him as it had been for Matt. Sarita insisted we have some noodle soup and I had to peel off my waterproofs and one fleece layer, the temperature difference was so significant.

After eating I wanted to carry onto Tengbuche, but Alaistair insisted we wait. Part of my reason for wanting to continue was that my cough got worse as the day wore on alongside fatigue. It was by this time 10am and I figured that I would make it comfortably to Tengbuche in another 3 to 3 and half hours.

Hanifa and Everest

Hanifa and Everest

Anyway we waited and, it was 11.30am before the others arrived 2 and half hours later. Our group from La Buche had waited until the base campers arrived back from Gorak Shep before setting out.  Over a period of 45 minutes the group emerged one at a time in groups of twos and threes and my eyes were searching for Hanifa. She came in right at the end walking with and talking to Jeff.

Everyone was surprised to see Matt, we expected that he would have been helicoptered out, but I gather the insurance company were playing silly buggers and as Matt felt ok he hadn’t pushed it, especially since he was being well cared for at the Pheriche field hospital.

I spoke to Raj about base camp I wanted to know he was ok. The story I got left me feeling alittle confused and bemused. He told me he couldnt remember very much and at some point he sat down with everyone else, then was told they had arrived and within alittle while more they headed back. I asked him, did they see anything and he said there was nothing to see, partly because of cloud cover and partly because there was nothing to see. They stayed at that point for 30 minutes roughly. He looked shattered as did Sue and Christine. Justine and Paz

Avalanche!

Avalanche!

seemed ok, but I didnt speak to them to know if they were or not and Amish he looked tired, but he just beamed from ear to ear as he always did. I was glad they were  ok, especially as they hadn’t had the luxury of the third acclimatisation day, before going upto greater altitude. It seems that Raj had finally relented and agreed to take the diamox. It had also taken them 19 hours to make the walk from La Buche to Base Camp via Gorak Shep and back to Gorak Shep, where they stayed before heading back to La Buche that morning to join the our group.

After lunch we set out  together, but as the hours  passed I began to feel rough and the cough again took hold of me. It was after 1pm by the time we left. To add to my battle with the cough the weather again turned, and I persevered through the low cloud and wind. I so wish I had stuck to my guns and insisted on leaving earlier. But we were where we were and so continued onward. The section half way between Pheriche and Tengbuche was ok, not great but ok. It was the next half where I struggled big time.

I seemed to have lost complete control of my bladder, and every step I took made me feel like I would literally wet myself, so I was walking like a snail. I took so many loo breaks and couldnt keep up with the drinking. When finally I arrived back at Tengbuche it was almost dark. I came to the tent, and broke down into tears because in my head I thought I might have to be taken down. I called Sarita and told her how I felt, and she had the Sherpas bring me a drink and in the meantime I washed down, put on my night wear, and then she came back with something that she was sure would help. I didnt want to eat, but Chhapte brought me some strong garlic soup, together with daal bhaat :-) rice and daal. Considering I wasnt hungry I did eat a fair bit and then I went to sleep immediately. I dont know when Asgar came  into the tent, I was glad to be left alone, and grateful that my body only demanded one loo break during the night.  I decided to stop the diamox.

Saritas remedy had helped and after a good nights sleep I had stopped feeling sorry for myself. I again left an hour early with Asgar. From Tengbuche past the the monastery, down for almost 2 hours or more to the water, we met a familiar swing bridge and went across by around 9.30am. Asgar and I took a short break and then carried on upwards. We reached the of the mountain  a couple of hours later. (This whole trip had been about climbing one section of mountain to go back down another. There were no routes cut into the mountain system just trails weaving up and down through them.) The group wasn’t far behind us and it was nice for the first time in our trip I could see the Sherpas and Porters eat while we were eating.

One of the sweetest scenes I can remember of the whole trip, was of Matt laying on his stomach on the raised concrete platform where we were sat to eat, on tables and chairs. He had a camera in one hand and was engaging a young nepalese boy in the art of picture taking. It was so tender and magical.

From here the route was to take us to Namche Bazaar, walking around the mountain along the path cut out into it. Sarita and I talked and walked and arrived at Namche Bazaar as others of the group were leaving, having gone into the bazaar to make further souvenir purchases. Sarita went into Namche to return Asgars sleeping bag while we kept going. I felt so much better. The coughing was still there but not bothering me as badly. I wasnt rushing as such, wanting to enjoy everything I was leaving behind me. The familiar beauty of the surroundings was again revealing itself and I knew what to expect in front of me, which made it easier.

Prem the cook passed me enroute, speaking to me in Hindi…..I didnt want to beleive it but could sware he was very very drunk :-( . Sarita rejoined us at the bottom of the mountain, running and shouting down to us. She was such a bundle of energy and made me smile at the sight of her. There were two more  swing bridges and one more ascent, and we had reached the outskirts of Monjo. Millions of stone steps to this fortified settlement needed climbing, so it was

Matt and a local kid

Matt and a local kid

dark before I got back to the teahouse. Asgar ordered me a bowl of noodle soup and soon aferwards dinner came, but I was full up and decided to go back to the tent. I told Jeff that as we were going to Lukla the next day, I didnt think it was really necessary for me to leave earlier. He agreed and I went off to our tent.

At the last breakfast on the road, we were in jovial mood and Matt made it even more jovial by keeping a promise he had given at Snowdon. After everyone at eaten Matt took off his upper clothes to reveal a bright lime green mankini, as worn by Sacha Baron Cohen :-D . We were all laughing so hard, as someone dared him to take off the rest. Matt, obviously a man of his word obliged. CJ and Hanifa were sitting across the table  from Matt and as he unbuttoned  his trousers and pulled them down, both the girls jumped back in their chairs squealing and laughing simultaneously.

Alaistair who was next to Matt had the strangest of expressions not quite knowing what to make of what was going on. Matt did keep his promise but he also kept a semblance of propriety by keeping his boxers on underneath the mankini…:-) It was such a funny sight :-)

We were soon on our way from Monjo back to Lukla. Pesang had ducked into one of the houses and Sarita laughing and joking followed him in and beckoned to us to go with her. “Look what  he is doing” she said to us. The house we entered

The Lukla Gate

The Lukla Gate

was neatly packed from floor to ceiling with blankets and rugs, several beds stood top and bottom and next to each other, it was crammed and dark, but to one side a woman stood frying what looked like doughnuts! and Pesang sat eating, looking embarrassed that he had been caught out. Asgar wanted some of what he was eating and the woman made more and Asgar bought Pesang another one, which he gratefully took.

From Monjo to our half way point, Sarita and I laughed and joked, sang and danced to bollywood songs. I taught Chhapte a verse of a Hindi song, modifying it slightly, so he could always remember it. “Didi ji ki chadi hoon mein” , which translated means “I am my sisters staff”. He along with Pesang had whenever necessary been there to hold my hand, like a faithful and much needed walking stick :-) . Didiji meaning sister was a respectful way in which Nepalese address older women.

Talking to every house owner along the route we got offered cups of masala chai, invitations to take lunch. We played with the small children and watched them playing with eachother. I saw some of the biggest magnolias trees in the

We're finished!

We're finished!

world (well I thought so anyway) and Sarita was digging up plants to take back to her garden in Kathmandu. We completely lost track of time we were having so much fun, when suddenly grumblings in my belly reminded me. I really hoped no one was waiting for me, but when we arrived at the teahouse for lunch, lunch wasnt even ready! we were an one and half behind everyone else and the Sherpas hadn’t got round to cooking the food. It looks like they actually started late and were missing ingredients so had to go and buy them :-) All I can say is what luck! Sarita and I sat down and the runny fried eggs, chips and the rest of lunch came. :-)

We continued on from our lunch spot and Lukla was another 2 hours away. I had a bit of a eureka moment about my cough and I asked Sarita if she thought I might be suffering an allergy. She thought it highly likely and rummaged through her bag of tricks and pulled out a few antihistamines. They were the non drowsy kind and I started to take them immediately. The last part of our journey was similar to what we had enjoyed in

Well done! Cake

Well done! Cake

the first part, and we slowly wove our way to Lukla. Sarita pointed out the gate into Lukla and I knew my journey was almost at an end. Asgar and Hanifa  were waiting by the gate as we walked through, and soon afterwards CJ and Amish came to meet us on our way in. Alaistair was not far behind them. He came out with the same intention and hugged me, saying “well done, I didnt think you would make it, but I was wrong”.

We stopped to buy chocolate and then came around the airfield and into the teahouse opposite the entrance of the little airport. Once inside I was greeted with hugs and “well dones”. It was  very nice of them all, but  I only did what they had done, just slower and nothing special really…:-)

We got back all the food we had left and as we waited for dinner we shared out chocolate biscuits with the porters,which they gratefully took. After dinner later that night we danced an hour or so away, chilling and letting our hair down and then presented our sherpas and porters with tips for their hard work. Prem was absent and I later discovered that Jeff had sacked him. We all went to bed, hoping and praying, getting to Kathmandu would be an easier prospect.

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Gorak Shep

June 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The team at Gorek Shep

The team at Gorek Shep

Those of us who opted to go to Gorak Shep woke around 5am to start out for 6am. The other group had left as we were getting up and it seems that Raj had decided to go after all. In the quiet dead of night our porters made our porridge, toast and omelettes. Who has an appetite that time of the morning! Well I certainly didnt have. I didnt feel like I had slept. Shortly, after going to bed I was woken up by loud banging on the door of the room next to us. Each of the rooms had a bolt mechanism on the outside and somehow Raj got locked in. He must have needed the loo or something because he wanted to get out and when he couldnt he started banging to grab someones attention. Well he definately had mine. Later having to use my Shewee made me aware that my waterworks were’nt right either. I had never seen pee that colour!  and so I laid for the best part of the night. fretting and must have drifted off shortly before our wake up call.

Anyway we started out whilst it was still dark, over yet another merrain. Now……. throughout the whole trek, never once had I questioned my decision to do this challenge. I had enjoyed every moment, ignoring anything which someone else might have looked upon as a negative, drawing something new and positive out of everyday and every part of the experience.  Annoyed, rather than halted by the persistant coughing that had been racking my body I was up for pretty much anything, but today I was to feel my first doubt about why I had come.

In my previous blog I talked about climbing the side of a mountain that resembled something similar to what Froddo

Me receiving my BHF medal

Me receiving my BHF medal

and Samwise Gamji from “Lord Of the Rings” in the third film of the trilogy had to endure. After the miles of merrain, infront of us was ridge after ridge, decents and ascents of icy stony, slippery paths. It took leg strength, stamina, resolve, sheer and brute determination to just keep going.  There wasn’t a glimpse of blue sky or sunlight, and one minute there was snow and the next minute that funny sort of spray like rain. No breathtaking scenery to keep us company, not a glimmer or hope that this day would give us the chance at even a glimpse of Everest. The cloud in places was that low, you were lucky if you could see 20 or 30 metres infront of you. One minute it seemed you were alone and in the next, the path was teaming with bodies in single file, anxious to get infront, just so they could get to the end of the trail. Sweating from the sheer effort, it didnt help the fingers feel any warmer….it was truely truely grim and I could have just sat down. The trouble was to sit down, would mean stopping and in the process of stopping the kind of things that went through the brain meant that it was easy to see how people could give up.

Perhaps if I hadn’t been dogged by the coughing, those kind of thoughts wouldn’t have wandered through my head……not the desire to stop nor the thought of what went through the climbers minds whilst in these utterly hopeless and hostile surrounding. Perhaps I had been too quick to judge the day before, perhaps people didnt give up their lives in the persuit of their goal, perhaps the sheer futility this scenario brought about, made them give up and once they did, nothing mattered and death just happened as the natural next step. Whatever it was… for the first time, it just wasn’t any fun.

Hanifa was feeling really rough, she wasn’t speaking at all and her pace in parts was not as energetic as I knew she was capable of. Chhapte stuck with Asgar, Hanifa and myself and there was nothing we could do but just keep going, praying that round the corner of every successive ridge was our final goal. It did ofcourse eventually come, but instead of feeling overjoyed, it was more a matter of relief. Gorak Shep was the highest most settlement in the Himalayan range, but in terms of buildings it was pretty sparse. We walked into the teahouse at Gorak shep reaching 5100m. Katherine the BHF representative welcomed us and we sat down to eat and drink. Asgar went to the toilet and when he came back he had a look  of real disgust on his face. I asked him what was wrong. “dont go to the loo Shehnaz, find somewhere secluded and go there” I didn’t need anymore information than that but he insisted on informing me that he had encountered a mountainous pile of shit, that rose out of the bowels of the earth from one of the two holes in the ground, that was the toilet. Apparently it was frozen solid and he told me that having seen it, it was unecessary to seek out Everest, because as far as he was concerned he had seen the mother of all mountains. If anyone knows Asgar they know he isn’t in any way squeamish. Having been in the RAF he was used to digging latrines and cleaning up sick. He once told me about one of his RAF buddies who in a drunken stupor climbed onto the roof of a car, whilst they were stationed in Germany, pulled down his keks and took a dump right there in front of him……So whatever he saw must have been bad.

Thankfully Chris managed to find another toilet, which was inside the teahouse and that was clean. We ate some lunch and the plan was to then continue up to the first shoulder of Kala Pattar. Having eaten and rested I seemed to have got my enthusiasm back and was keen on carrying on….but only if the effort was worth it. Hanifa felt alittle better too. I was surprised when we arrived at Gorak Shep to find Lucy sitting in the teahouse. Apparently, she had felt unwell and unable to carry on and decided to stay at Gorak Shep and wait for us. Apparently, the group ahead of us had arrived just as the Base Camp bound group were ready to leave the tea house. Their time was really good. Katherine asked Chhapte if he thought the weather was going to change. The Happy Sherpa just smiled and laughed and said he expected it to be the same if not worse. We asked if by going we would see anything, and he shook his head with great sureness.

He was quite happy to take us and a couple of times said “come we go now” as we ummed and arred and looked at eachother and then looked outside. I had come this far and apart fromt the cough and feeling alittle tired I was Ok, I truly wanted to make that last push. I figured that as we would be coming straight down, a 1000m in one trip for a few minutes of photograph taking would be safe enough and if I should struggle at any point I wouldn’t take any risks and would turn back immediately. Niether of our groups had either a doctor or a nurse with us at this stage and erring on the side of caution was sensible. Pav who is a doctor was in the Base Camp bound group, but I don’t know if she would have been useful in terms of helping with altitude sickness. We looked up at the sky and thought about continuing. In the end the consensus was that without the chance of seeing anything worth seeing, we would all rather turn back and return to La Buche, and so thats what we did. A bit of an anti climax really…:-( As with everything on this trip we had been confounded by the unpredictable Himalayan weather, but I suppose the consolation (in terms of those who went to base camp) was that for those for whom it really meant something, they got to reach their goal.

Katherine tried to make it alittle more memorable by handing out our gold coloured BHF medals suspended on a red ribbon and we took another photo opportunity. She was lovely for the efforts she put in with us..and I have the funniest of photographs of her trying to adorn me with this medal and asking me to pose at the same time. I was wrapped from head to toe from the biting cold and had a class 4 pair of sunglasses on! I looked so comical :-D .

Back at the teahouse in La Buche, our group was greatly diminished in numbers and it was still late afternoon when we arrived and most of us were simply hanging out trying to keep warm, writing diaries. Things were very quiet without Matt, Raj and Justin. It was another early night and for Asgar and me an early start the next morning. For the purpose of speed, Jeff asked me to leave an hour earlier than everyone and I was fine about that. We had three hard and long days infront of us for the return leg of our journey and making it to Lukla was essential so as to get our return flights to Kathmandu. But the Everest adventure for me at least, wasn’t over yet :-)

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