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

fearless and allowing ourselves to feel our fear fully. The first-chakra area is, quite literally, affected by how connected we feel to the earth and the processes of the earth. The body areas that correlate with this chakra are the spine, the rectum, the hip joints, the blood, and the immune system. The foundation for our sense of safety, security, and belonging usually is formed in childhood, when we get a sense about whether or not this planet is a safe place to be and whether or not we’re accepted. Therefore, unresolved family and physical survival issues— such as problems concerning one’s house, family, sexual identity, and race— are represented in the first chakra. A person with a first-chakra issue would be likely to say or think regularly: “No one is here for me”; “I’m all alone”; “I just don’t fit in”; “Nobody cares”; “I’ll starve.”
    The health of the second-chakra area has to do with two separate issues. The first involves our outer drives in the world and includes both how we go about getting what we want and the actual things we go after. Do we actively go after what we want, or do we allow things to come to us? Finally, when we do go after what we want, do we do so shamelessly, with a sense of being entitled to the fulfillment of our desires, or are we filled with shame, believing that we’re not worthy to have what we desire?
    The other second-chakra issue has to do with how we get our needs met within a relationship. Are we dependent or independent? Do we take more in relationships, or do we give more? What is our balance between relying on others to fulfill our needs versus relying solely on ourselves? Do we give to others unconditionally? Or do we give in order to get something, such as love, recognition, touch, sex, or money? Do we know how to receive and accept support? Do we have well-defined boundaries, or are they poorly defined? Are we assertive or submissive? Do we protect others, or do others protect us? Do we tend to oppose others, or do we acquiesce to their opinions or actions?
    The pelvic and reproductive organs (vulva, vagina, uterus, cervix, and ovaries) are associated with the second chakra, and so are the blad der and the appendix. The health of this area is affected by the degree to which our relationships are based on feelings of trust or, alternatively, control, blame, and guilt. If we use sex, money, blame, or guilt to control the dynamics of our relationships (including our relationship with ourselves), then the organs of the second chakra may be adversely affected. A person with a second-chakra issue might often say or think: “If you loved me, you’d come to visit more often”; “He doesn’t write, he doesn’t call”; “What do I have to do to earn your love (or respect or recognition)?”; “You’re never there for me.”
    The third chakra is associated with a person’s self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, and sense of responsibility. In other words, how do we balance our feelings of adequacy or worthiness with infe riority in what we do in the outer world of work or achievement? Are we hyperresponsible or irresponsible? Are we aggressive, or do we tend to be defensive? Are we prone to threatening and intimidating others? Are we territorial? Or do we feel trapped and want to escape? In our work, are we overly dependent upon boundaries, or do we have issues around limitations? Finally, do we know how to balance our competitiveness? Do we know how to both win and lose with grace? How do we handle gains and losses? All of these issues affect the health of this area. Addictions are generally third-chakra issues. For example, people who abuse alcohol or food often suffer from painful feelings of inadequacy. But the abuse of alcohol or food is also an abdication of responsibility to self and others. It’s little wonder that eating disorders or overdrinking often adversely affect the esophagus, liver, stomach, pancreas, and bowel—all