Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (2 page)

Uterine Prolapse

Fibroid Tumors

7 The Ovaries

Anatomy

Ovarian Cysts

Polycystic Ovaries (PCO)

Ovarian Cancer

8 Reclaiming the Erotic

We Are Sexual Beings

Our Cultural Inheritance

Reclaiming Our Erotic Selves

9 Vulva, Vagina, Cervix, and Lower Urinary Tract

Our Cultural Inheritance

Anatomy

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

Herpes

Cervicitis

Cervical Dysplasia (Abnormal Pap Smears)

Vaginal Infection (Vaginitis)

A Note on Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Chronic Vulvar Pain (Vulvodynia)

Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome)

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Stress Urinary Incontinence

10 Breasts

Our Cultural Inheritance

Anatomy

Breast Self-Exams

Benign Breast Symptoms: Breast Pain, Lumps, Cysts, and Nipple Discharge

Treatment for Benign Breast Symptoms

Mammography

Breast Cancer

Program to Promote Healthy Breast Tissue

Cosmetic Breast Surgery

11 Our Fertility

Abortion

Emergency Contraception: Abortion Prevention

Conscious Conception and Contraception

Transforming Infertility

Pregnancy Loss

Adoption

Fertility as Metaphor

12 Pregnancy and Birthing

The Transforming Power of Pregnancy

Our Cultural Inheritance: Pregnancy

Preventing Premature Birth

Preventing Preeclampsia

Turning a Breech Presentation

Our Cultural Inheritance: Labor and Delivery

Birth Technologies

Mothering the Mother: A Solution Whose Time Has Come

How to Decrease Your Risk for a Cesarean Section

My Personal Story

Turning Labor into Personal Power

13 Motherhood: Bonding with Your Baby

Postpartum: The Fourth Trimester

Circumcision

Formula Versus Breast Milk

Mothering in a Dominator Culture: The Hardest Job in the World

14 Menopause

Menopause: A Crossroads

Our Cultural Inheritance

Creating Health During Menopause

Adrenal Function: What Every Woman Should Know

Kinds of Menopause

The Hormone Therapy Question

A Hormone Primer

Symptoms of Menopause

Hot Flashes

Vaginal Dryness, Irritation, and Thinning

Osteoporosis

Sexuality in Menopause

Thinning Hair

Mood Swings and Depression

Fuzzy Thinking

Long-Term Health Concerns

Alzheimer’s Disease

Deciding on Menopausal Treatment Self-Care During Menopause

Menopause as a New Beginning

Part Three
Women’s Wisdom Program for Flourishing and Healing

15 Steps for Flourishing

Imagine Your Future: Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Cells

Step One: Uncover and Update Your Legacy

Step Two: Sort Through Your Beliefs

Step Three: Respect and Release Your Emotions

Step Four: Learn to Listen to Your Body

Step Five: Learn to Respect Your Body

Step Six: Acknowledge a Higher Power or Inner Wisdom

Step Seven: Reclaim the Fullness of Your Mind

Step Eight: Get Help

Step Nine: Work with Your Body

Step Ten: Gather Information

Step Eleven: Forgive

Step Twelve: Actively Pursue Pleasure and Purpose

16 Getting the Most Out of Your Medical Care

Why You Must Take Responsibility for Your Health Care

Choosing a Treatment: From Surgery to Acupuncture

Creating Health Through Surgery

17 Eat to Flourish

Creating Optimal Body Composition and Vibrant Health

The Wonders of Magnesium

Creating a Supplementation Program

Other Common Concerns

A Word About Smoking

Appreciate the Energy of Food

18 The Power of Movement

Our Cultural Inheritance

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise and Addiction

Exercise, Amenorrhea, and Bone Loss

My Exercise Story: Making Peace

Getting Started

19 Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World

Our Mothers: Our Cells

A Ritual of Reclaiming

Transforming Our Fear of Our Shaman Past

Our Dreams: Earth’s Dreams

Making the World Safe for Women: Start with Yourself

Resources

Notes

Acknowledgments

List of Figures

Fig. 1: Earth’s Energy Going Upward

Fig. 2: Chakra Diagram with Female Figure

Fig. 3: Menstrual Cycle (Days)

Fig. 4: Lunar Chart for Menstrual Cycle

Fig. 5: The Female Mind-Body Continuum: Interactions Between the Brain and the Pelvis

Fig. 6: Adhesions in Pelvic Organs

Fig. 7: Acupressure Points for Gynecological Problems

Fig. 8: SAD and PMS

Fig. 9: Uterus, Ovaries, and Cervix with Anatomic Labels

Fig. 10: Endometriosis

Fig. 11: Types of Fibroids

Fig. 12: The Clitoral System

Fig. 13: Breast Anatomy

Fig. 14: Breast Self-Exam

Fig. 15: Fertility Awareness: Ovulation and Basal Body Temperature

Fig. 16: The Causes of Female Infertility

Fig. 17: Acupuncture or Acupressure Points to Turn a Breech

Fig. 18: Currents of Wisdom

Fig. 19: Hormone-Producing Body Sites

Fig. 20: Body Mass Index Chart

List of Tables

Table 1: Characteristics of the Addictive System

Table 2: The Body as a Process Versus Medical Worldview

Table 3: Sources of Guidance

Table 4: Energy Anatomy: Mental and Emotional Patterns, the Chakras, and the Physical Body

Table 5: The Anatomy of Women’s Wisdom

Table 6: Comparing Contraceptive Methods

Table 7: Potential Risk Factors in Childbirth

Table 8: The Effects of Hormone Therapy on Breast Cancer Risk

Table 9: USDA Suggested Weights for Adults

Table 10: Calculating Your Daily Protein Requirement

Table 11: Recommended Daily Supplementation

Introduction to the Fourth Edition

The Medicine of Empowerment

One of the central outmoded ideas governing our health care system is the notion that the processes of a woman’s body are designed to cause suffering and pain, and that women require a great deal of medical care and testing to stay healthy. Though this is certainly the experience of countless women, there is another way—a better way.In fact, the female body was designed by our creator to be a source of pleasure, fertility, movement, strength, and well-being. Our bodies connect us with the moon, the tides, and the seasons. We are meant to flourish. We, the human race, have come to a crossroads, a turning point when old, unsustainable ideas and behaviors are breaking down all over the planet. The current health care crisis is just one example of this breakdown—an example with which I’m intimately familiar. There is no need to fear the crumbling of the old, for it opens a space for new, more sustainable, and healthier systems and ideas to be created in all aspects of the human experience on earth, including how we handle the experience of living in a female body.

Over the past three decades, my experiences as an ob-gyn physician, new mother, and midlife woman have led me to a revolutionary new approach to women’s health and wellness that acknowledges the seamless unity of our bodies, minds, and spirits. Though this wasn’t obvious to the mainstream medical community back in the 1980s and ’90s when I was first field-testing the approaches outlined in this book, it is now abundantly clear to us all that a woman’s state of health is highly influenced by the culture in which she lives, her position within it, her experiences, and her day-to-day thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.

It is possible to thrive in a female body instead of simply waiting for disease to happen. It boils down to this: Regardless of our individual circumstances, our pasts, or our ages, each of us has inner guidance available that we can tune in to in order to create vibrant health—now. We are born with this inner guidance, which comes in the form of the emotions and desires that lead us toward things (including thoughts) that feel good and are good for us, and away from things that feel bad and are bad for us. It’s that simple. We are hard-wired to seek love, joy, fulfillment—and health. Though we’ve too often been talked out of our desires as children, I’ve learned that we can trust those feelings that make us want to get up in the morning. Our desires are the way that the healing life force comes through us and replenishes our bodies. They are what make life worth living. They make up our hopes and dreams. And they invariably hold the keys to healing not only our bodies but our entire lives.

As a physician, I’ve seen time and time again how our inner guidance also comes in the form of bodily symptoms and illnesses—especially when we are living lives devoid of pleasure, joy, and hope. Our illnesses are designed to stop us in our tracks, make us rest, and bring our attention back to the things that are really important and that give our lives meaning and joy— aspects of life that we often put on the back burner until “someday.”

The insights catalyzed by decades of medical practice as well as my own health problems challenged everything I learned in medical school and residency training about women’s health. Over the years, it became abundantly clear to me that premenstrual syndrome (PMS), pelvic pain, fibroid tumors, chronic vaginitis, breast problems, and menstrual cramps were related to the contexts of an individual woman’s life and her beliefs about herself and what she thought was possible in her life. All of these factors are associated with very real biochemical changes in our cells. Learning about their diets, work situations, and relationships often provided me with clues to the source of women’s distress—and, more important, what steps needed to be taken to relieve that distress. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the thoughts, beliefs, and behavioral patterns behind medical conditions in ways that simply aren’t addressed in medical training. These insights are the missing link to optimal health on all levels.