Human and nature: The meaning of the cave in practice of caving and its contributions to the body well being

The caving, while practical activity carried out in a cave, provides body well-being. This research aimed to analyze the meaning ascribed to the cave during the practice of caving and their contributions of these meanings in their body wellness practitioners, by means of the human / cave. The importance of this study is that there are few studies in Brazil about the relationship caving and its relation to the welfare body. It was used as a methodology combination of literature review and field. As an instrument of data collection, were carried out participant observation and semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed using content analysis, which allowed us to obtain indicators, which contributed to the systematization of meanings attributed to the cave. These meanings are linked to body wellness of its practitioners. It was worked with ten members belonging to the Espeleogrupo Peter Lund - EPL, practitioners of caving of both genders, occupants of different professional categories, taking into account the representativeness and accessibility. It was evident that the practice of caving involves the body wellness of the members of EPL, through benefits such as: bodily senses, existence of pleasant tiredness, peace, tranquility, harmony, sociability, religion and emotion.