Kathleen Haden - Keeping Body and Mind Together - Part One

Keeping body and mind together is the first of a selection of work based on my blog of the same title.

My hope for the book is that it helps encourage the reader to stay grounded and mindful of now, rather than getting pulled in to the anxiety-driven head (headmind as it is called in the book) which is constantly trawling us through the past or predicting the future.

I refer to the bodymind (BM) and the headmind (HM) our two intelligences which, when aligned, enable us to maintain emotional (and in no small way physical) health.

To explain further we notice what we feel from our bodymind communication (our gut reaction) and when were aligned we can use our headminds constructively to put that feeling into action.

Unfortunately life does have a tendency to throw a spanner into that harmonious relationship from time to time so, in order to survive, we often block off what were really feeling and get stuck in our headminds, analysing and working out what would be the best way to deal with this or that. By practising being mindful of now in our day-to-day lives we are more likely to be able to maintain the healthy alignment between our headminds and bodyminds.

My work as a therapist (in Reverse Therapy & Solution Focused Brief Therapy) and personal life experiences have enabled me to compile this little piece of work which I hope you enjoy.

This book can be read from beginning to end or dipped into my hope is that on some level everyone will be able to relate to all or most of the entries, and apply the ideas to their own situation.

Firstly my children: Emily, Tina and Charlie you are the best and I love you so much!

In relation to this compilation thanks to Emily for editing and correcting my diabolical grammar and punctuation- your patience and gentle way has been fantastic! You have been so tolerant of my inability to understand that sticking in commas isnt the answer to breaking up all long sentences!

To Helen in Shetland for her subtle and (sometimes not so subtle) encouragement to get on with doing what I love and keep writing on a regular basis.

To Jenny for sharing her creative blog with me which inspired me to start a blog of my own.

To Ailsa for encouraging me to put this out there.

To all my friends who have stood by me through all my ups and downs you know who you are I love you!

To Caroline, the best PA in the world, for putting up with my ability to change my mind at a moment's notice.

To John for all the support, teaching and friendship- thank you!

To all my colleagues in Reverse Therapy and to all my clients old and new: it has been a pleasure teaching and supporting you on your return to health.

Last, but not least, thanks to Andrew who- when he sees that Ive actually done this- will be very surprised. Dear Andrew, keep trying to get it even though youre resistant to change, I know you secretly love the challenge!