Free Goddesses Never Age: The Secret Prescription for Radiance, Vitality, and Well-Being by Dr. Christiane Northrup

in the study of pathology: the paradigm of war and fighting invaders. Health and those things that contribute to it are almost never studied or taught. So starting in utero we are programmed to think of our bodies and our environments as war zones requiring an armamentarium of pills and surgery to wage war on germs and on the body itself. We have largely overlooked the power of our immune systems and our innate ability to boost our immunity. The medical mind-set—and the fear that drives it—has to go. It’s time to reclaim the wisdom and power of the healer within.
    There’s no doubt that Western medicine can be very useful in addressing certain conditions that are acute. When you fall off a ladder and break your arm or get a concussion, of course you want to go to an emergency room for assistance. I’m a huge fan of Western medicine and its remarkable ability to replace a worn-out hip or address acute trauma. When an illness is life threatening, you want to be able to access the best medical tests and treatments available. However, most medical problems are not acute: they develop over time after a long process that we can intervene with at any point. As Myron Wentz, Ph.D., a world-renowned microbiologist, puts it, “We die too long and live too short.” Most ailments aren’t simply caused by a virus or single physical agent. They always have mental, emotional, and spiritual or energetic aspects to them. The best approach to health conditions is to acknowledge and address them through a holistic mind-body-spirit approach to wellness, not just a physical intervention.
    Diseases and disorders are part of nature’s way. Illness can give us that all-important nudge to look inward and deal with the emotions we’ve been avoiding for a lifetime. Years ago, Bernie Siegel, M.D., with whom I served as co-president of the American Holistic Medical Association, said, “The fundamental problem that most patients face is the inability to love themselves.” This is so true—and not just for patients but for all of us. Our challenge is to learn to love ourselves just as Spirit does: unconditionally. We should love ourselves not because of some achievement or service we provide to others, but simply because we are precious beings. This is the primary message that those who havepassed over in death and then returned have to share. We are loved and appreciated more than we can ever know. And we can learn to care for ourselves from a loving standpoint—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—as we would a precious child. Then our vitality is automatically boosted.
    Women have been taught to be perfectionists, constantly on the go, doing for others without stopping to rest until it’s absolutely necessary. Too often, we treat food as something to grab on the run. And we spend many hours sitting as we drive, work on computers, and so on. Exercise can seem like just another item to fit onto an overcrowded To Do list. We exhaust our bodies and our spirits trying to pack in all that we think we’re supposed to do.
    But our bodies were never meant to sit for prolonged periods. Nor were we designed for nutrient-poor fast food purchased at a drive-through window and eaten in quick bites at red lights. Sleep and rest are essential, as Arianna Huffington so powerfully demonstrates in her book Thrive (Harmony, 2014). A life devoid of movement, sleep, and nourishing food is draining and will age you quickly as it overtaxes your immune, endocrine, and central nervous systems. I consider sleep my number-one medicine. Having a good night’s sleep solves most of my problems within a night or two because it boosts vitality, as does releasing any emotions and beliefs that restrict you from expressing your divine, goddess nature. And continual daily movement—as simple as standing up and then sitting down at your computer or while watching TV—about 32 times per day—will boost your immunity and put the health-giving effects of