when i was 22, a friend of mine recommended this book to me. after reading just a few pages, i thought i had stumbled upon the most fascinating secrets regarding a woman’s body and her intuition. throughout the years, i have met many women who feel this book brings a new awareness to their lives and the significant choices they make on a daily basis. christiane northrup, a medical doctor who approaches women’s health from a medical and holistic standpoint, encourages women to get in touch with our own bodies and inner wisdom to heal ourselves physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally; to explore who we are as individuals and look to our own intuition for answers. i have included a few paragraphs from the book to share with you:

there is a difference between healing and curing. healing is a natural process and is within the power of everyone. curing, which is what doctors are called upon to do, usually consists of an external treatment; medication or surgery is used to mask or eliminate symptoms. this external treatment doesn’t necessarily address the factors that contributed to the symptoms in the first place. healing goes deeper than curing and must always come from within. it address the imbalance that underlies the symptoms. healing brings together the often hidden aspects of a person’s life as they relate to her illness. 

although our entire bodies are affected by our thoughts and emotions and their various parts talk to each other, each individual’s body language is unique. no matter what has happened in her life, a woman has the power to change what that experience means to her and thus change her experience, both emotionally and physically.

we are meant to move toward whatever gives us fulfillment, personal growth and freedom. we are born knowing what activities, things, thoughts and feelings are associated with these qualities. we must learn to trust ourselves and know that we can naturally move toward that which is healing and fulfilling.

many people have been taught that they can’t have what they want and that a life full of struggle is somehow more honorable than one full of joy. we have also been taught to distrust something if it is too fulfilling or too much fun. this belief is reflected in our bodies.

in addition to knowing what we do want, we have the capacity to know what we don’t want. the ability to say no to what doesn’t support us is an essential part of our inner guidance system. it is never too late to start saying no to those things that drain you and yes to those that replenish you.

only our connection with our own inner guidance and our emotions is reliable in the end. that is because we each comprise a multitude of processes that have never existed before and never will again. science must acknowledge truthfully how much it does not know and leave room for mystery, miracles and the wisdom of nature.

remaining unconscious about our acculturated habits takes an enormous emotional and physical toll on our bodies and spirits. these habits keep us from being connected with our inner guidance and our emotions. this disconnection, in turn, keeps us in a state of pain that increases the longer we deny it. it takes a lot of energy to stay out of touch with this pain, and we often turn to acculturated habits, such as addictive substances, to keep us from confronting that unhappiness and pain.