Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup

just as heaven’s force, coming downward from the sky through the head and the body (centrifugal force), is present in women as well as men. What differs is the degree to which each energy is present. In women, in general, more “earth’s energy moving up,” or centripetal force, is present. I’ve been told that Navajo women wear skirts because doing so increases the body’s access to this earth energy through the circle that the skirt creates on the earth in relationship to the body (see figure 1 ). The Lakota tradition holds that the energy of women during menstruation (called “moon time”) spirals counterclockwise and downward, into the earth. (Because of this, menstruating women don’t participate in sweat lodges because their energy conflicts with the upward-spiraling energy of the sweat lodge ceremony.) 7
    Centripetal energy is a grounding force that affects everyone around us because women tend to be the centers of their households, taking on psychological responsibility for the well-being of other family members. Therefore, when a woman changes her life for the better, her entire family (whether or not she has children) generally benefits. She sets the tone. The well-being of the family and of society itself depends upon women becoming and remaining healthy. Part of creating health is understanding the power of female energy and its implications. The health of a woman’s loved ones is directly linked to her own personal health. So we owe it to ourselves to take the time we need to heal and to become healthy, happy, and whole. You can’t quench another’s thirst if your own cup is empty.
    THE CHAKRAS
    Centripetal or “drawing-in” force is only one way to characterize female energy. We also have seven specific vibrational centers in our bodies, known as chakras . Chakras are the primary organs of your body’s subtle energy system that correspond with and affect specific areas of your physical body. The word chakra derives from the Sanskrit for “wheel of light.” Cyndi Dale, the author of The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy (Sounds True, 2009), refers to chakras as the “power centers that run the ‘you inside of you.’ ” Every human being, male or female, has the same chakras, and each of them is affected by specific emotional and psychological issues. These energy centers connect our nerves, hormones, and emotions. Their locations run parallel to the body’s neuroendocrine-immune system and form a link between our vibrational anatomy and our physical anatomy. Chakras act as transformers that take refined emotional and spiritual information and distribute it to the cells of the physical body.
    The vibrational system of the human body is a holographic field that carries information for the growth, development, and reproduction of the physical body. This holographic field guides the unfolding of the genetic process that transforms the mole cules of our bodies into functioning organs and tissues. Though standard Western medicine has not recognized chakras yet, Eastern cultures have long appreciated them.
    FIGURE 1: EARTH’S ENERGY GOING UPWARD
    Female energy = centripetal or “drawing-in” force. Earth’s energy coming upward through the feet, then spiraling around the uterus, breasts, and tonsils.

    Source: Adapted from Michio Kushi
    If we look at the chakras as the key areas in which emotions manifest in the physical body, we can begin to grasp how cultural experiences of wounding or affirmation may have psychological and emotional consequences that set us up either for health or for subsequent gynecological, obstetrical, or other health problems. Whether you perceive chakras as literal places in the body or as metaphoric ones, they can help you activate mind-body connections to help you heal.
    Each of the seven chakras of the human body is associated with specific organ systems and specific emotional states. Each is also either enlivened or weakened by one’s beliefs