Spirituality and Women’s Health

From the work Christiane Northrup, M.D. www.drnorthrup.com

We are all spiritual beings. Connection with spirit is inherently part of being human. Our bodies are permeated and nourished by spiritual energy and guidance. Having faith and trust in this reality is an important part of creating health. When a woman has faith in something greater than her intellect or her present circumstances, she is in touch with her inner source of power. Each of us has within us a Divine spark. We are inherently a part of God/Goddess/Source. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within, and we can make this spiritual connection through our inner guidance. We need go no further than ourselves to find it.

How to Connect with Your Spiritual Guidance

Learning to connect with our inner wisdom, our spirituality, is not difficult, but neither our intellect nor our ego can control either the connection or the results.

The first step is to hold the intent to connect with Divine guidance.
The second step is to ask for guidance.
The third step is to release our expectations of what will happen as a result.
The fourth step is to wait for a response by being open to noticing the patterns of our lives that relate to the original intent.

Though each of us is a part of a greater whole, we are also individuals. The unique part of this whole that we each embody must be expressed fully in order to create health, happiness, and spiritual growth for ourselves and others. The way to best express this Divine part of ourselves is by becoming all of who we are. Our bodies direct us toward full personal expression by letting us know what feels good and “right” and what doesn’t. Illness is often (but not always) a sign that we are somehow off track from our life’s purpose.

Energy Medicine

Understanding how energy works in our female bodies can help us decipher our individual body’s unique language. The location of a disease within the body — where it occurs — has spiritual, psychological, and emotional meaning and significance. Just as spirituality is free-flowing and ever-changing, our body’s energy system is always changing, and the potential for healing or disease is present at all times. Quite simply, emotional and mental energy can become physical in our bodies.

We have seven specific energy centers in our bodies, known as chakras. Emotional-psychological patterns commonly affect women’s bodies and their energy centers, the chakras. This is not to say we should blame ourselves for our unhealthy patterns and illnesses, but rather to simply notice them and begin the healing process.

Seven Energy Centers

Every human being, male or female, has the same chakras, and each of them is affected by specific emotional and psychological issues. (These are what I also call emotional centers.) These energy centers connect our neurologic and endocrine systems with our psyche. Their locations run parallel to the body’s neuroendocrine–immune system and form a link between our energy anatomy and our physical anatomy. Though standard Western medicine has not yet recognized chakras, Eastern cultures have long appreciated them.

If we look at the chakras as the key areas in which energy mediates between the emotional and physical body, we can begin to grasp how cultural and personal wounding may have spiritual, psychological, or emotional consequences that set us up for subsequent gynecological, obstetrical, or other health problems.

Energy Centers

Whether you believe in chakras as literal places in the body or as metaphoric ones, they can help you activate mind/body connections to help you heal.

Energy Center	Organs	Spiritual / Emotional Issues	Physical Dysfunction

7	Can involve any organ system	Clear sense of life’s purpose vs. Trusting that life has a purpose that may not be clear Connection to God or universal source of energy Understanding the paradox that an individual can influence her life’s events and also trust that things happen as forces of circumstance	Developmental disorders (cerebral palsy) Genetic disorders Multiple sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Multiple-system abnormalities Any life-threatening illness or accident that serves as a wake-up call

6	Brain Eyes Ears Nose Pineal gland	Perception: Clarity vs. Ambiguity Thought: Left brain vs. Right brain — Rational vs. Nonrational; Linear vs. Holographic; Rigid vs. Flexible Morality: Conservative vs. Liberal; Following the rules vs. Understanding that rules have exceptions Repression vs. Lack of inhibition	Brain tumors / hemorrhages / stroke Neurological disturbances Blindness / deafness Ménière’s disease Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Parkinson’s disease Learning disabilities Seizures

5	Thyroid Trachea Neck vertebrae Throat Mouth Teeth and gums	Communication: Expression vs. Comprehension (Speaking vs. Listening) Timing: Pushing forward vs. Waiting Will: Willful vs. Compliant	Bronchitis / hoarseness Chronic sore throats Mouth ulcers Gum difficulties Temporomandibular joint problems Cervical disc disease Chronic neck pain Laryngitis Swollen glands in neck Thyroid problems

4	Heart / Lungs Blood vessels Shoulders Ribs / Breasts Diaphragm Upper esophagus	Emotional expression, including capacity to feel fully, express, and resolve anger, hostility, joy, love, grief, forgiveness Capacity to form mutual reciprocal partnerships with balance of giving and receiving, nurturing of self vs. nurturing of others, intimacy with others vs. capacity to be alone (intimacy with self)	Coronary artery disease Myocardial infarction (heart attack) Hypertension Cardiac arrhythmias Chest pain Mitral valve prolapse Cardiomegaly Congestive heart failure Asthma / allergies Lung cancer Pneumonia Upper back, shoulder problems Breast problems, including cancer

3	Abdomen Upper intestines Liver, Gall bladder Lower esophagus Stomach Kidney, Pancreas Adrenal gland Spleen Middle spine	Self-esteem, self-confidence, or self-respect Adequacy vs. Inferiority relating to competence and skills in the outer world Responsibility vs. Irresponsibility Substance abuse Aggression vs. Defensivenss Competitiveness vs. Noncompetitiveness: Winning vs. Losing Territoriality / Too many boundaries Fear of assuming responsibility or making decisions for self Feeling overly responsible	Gastric or duodenal ulcers Colon / intestinal problems Ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome Heartburn / gastritis Pancreatitis / diabetes Constipation and diarrhea Indigestion, chronic or acute Anorexia and bulimia Hepatitis Adrenal dysfunction

2	Uterus Ovaries Vagina Cervix Large intestine Lower vertebrae Pelvis Appendix Bladder	Balanced drives in the outer world toward sex, money, and relationships Capacity to co-create with others Fertility and generativity Relationship dynamics, including: Dependency vs. Independence; Giving and Taking; Defined boundaries vs. Poor boundaries; Assertiveness vs. Passivity	Ob-gyn problems Pelvic / lower back pain Creativity Sexual potency Urinary problems Appendicitis

1	Physical body support Hip joints Spine Blood Immune system	Safety/security in the world: Knowing when to trust or mistrust; Knowing when to feel fear and when not to Balance between independence and dependence	Chronic spinal problems Back pain Sciatica Scoliosis Rectal tumors / cancer Chronic fatigue Fibromyalgia Autoimmune diseases Arthritis Skin problems