What exactly am I doing, when I say I am doing RT?

I've had a few people ask me if I can tell them a bit more about RT. I think for the theory side of it, understanding the process and 'getting' it, the best resource is John Eaton's book. I can't really add anything to that and couldn't really explain it in a few paragraphs without making it sound like nonsense, so I'm not going to try. If you are thinking of doing RT or want to find out more about it, just spend the £10 it costs to buy the book, it's well worth it and you can get it on Amazon.

As for what RT is...well it's a journey and it will be different for each and every person who tries it. The difference between other therapies and RT is like the difference between dieting and healthy eating. RT is a way of being rather than a treatment.

When I 'do' RT it means that I am paying attention to my bodymind, reprogramming my brain with the symptom message and acting on what bodymind wants me to do. Sometimes it is easy to find out what your bodymind wants you to do and other times it is quite difficult. Sometimes doing RT means that I am doing a kind of meditation to connect with my body and to find out where I am out of balance. Sometimes it means changing my usual patterns of behaviour or prioritising things differently. This week, doing RT means that I have decided not to go to college because I knew if I went I would get caught up in my headminds desire to complete a piece of work, when in fact my bodymind wants me to do more physical not mental activity. So basically doing RT means being aware of your body, paying attention to the signs that it gives you when it is not happy and then acting to put that right.

Now that sounds fairly straight forward, but it is challenging when you have been brought up to behave in certain ways, ie be nice, don't upset people, don't talk back etc etc. My programming has meant that I have become a people pleaser, always trying to make sure others are happy, fulfilled, have their needs met to the detriment of my own. So doing RT in this sense, means speaking up for myself and challenging people even if I feel really uncomfortable doing it. It means saying no, asking for help and putting my needs before others. A good way of looking at this is to think of what they tell you to do on an aeroplane in an emergency - put on your own mask before you attend to others, even childrens'.