Christiane Northrup - The Secret Pleasures of Menopause Playbook: A Guide to Creating Vibrant Health Through Pleasure

The

Secret

Pleasures of

Menopause

Playbook

Also by Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Books

Mother-Daughter Wisdom The Secret Pleasures of Menopause* The Wisdom of Menopause The Wisdom of Menopause Journal* Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom

Audio/Video Programs

Creating Health

The Empowering Women Gift Collection, with Louise L. Hay;

Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.; and Caroline Myss*

Igniting Intuition, with Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D.*

Intuitive Listening, with Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D.*

Menopause and Beyond (CD and DVD available March 2010)*

Mother-Daughter Wisdom

The Power of Joy *

The Secret Pleasures of Menopause*

Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom

WomensWisdom Web Community

Womens Health Wisdom E-letter

Womens Wisdom Circle

Miscellaneous

Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom Healing Cards (a 50-card deck)* Womens Wisdom Perpetual Flip Calendar*

All of the above are available from www.drnorthrup.com.

*The items with an asterisk are also available from Hay House.

Please visit Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com ; Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au; Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk; Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za; Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Why a Playbook?

W hen I was writing The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, I began to hear more and more stories from other women about exactly what I was researching: how opening up to and expanding joy and pleasure in midlife creates vibrant health physically, emotionally, and spirituallyincluding amazing sex. I was inspired by the many touching and creative stories I was hearing from women who definitely saw midlife as the start of the absolute best years of their lives.

So I decided to put together a playbook (as opposed to a workbook) that you could use as a companion to The Secret Pleasures of Menopausea book that would provide you with specific examples of what real women just like you are actually doing to enhance their levels of life-giving nitric oxide through pleasure.

These are straight-from-the-heart stories stories that are warm, clever, poignant, courageous, insightful, energetic, frequently humorous, and amazingly uplifting and joyful. Many are downright hot! And all were chosen specifically to inspire you and give you permission to reach for more joy and pleasure than you ever thought possible.

In these pages, youll meet women with strong, passionate life forces who respect and love themselves enough to speak their truth; heal their pasts; and let go of mind-sets, relationships, and behaviors that no longer serve them. They also dont hesitate to kick up their heels and have a great time, doing whatever makes their hearts sing. The upshot: theyve been able to stoke their inner fire and cultivate pleasure, joy, and vibrant health on every level and with every breath.

As I wrote in Secret Pleasures, everything we think, say, and do from this point on in our lives will either keep us actively engaged in living passionately and joyfully, or it will hasten degeneration and increase our chances of poor health and disease. The women who share their stories in the pages that follow clearly understand this truth and have undeniably chosen joy and passion. Their stories prove that the pursuit of pleasure is hardly an indulgence; its a life-affirming necessity!

Let this book be your personal guide to the territory of life-giving pleasure. And make sure that you use the spaces provided (or your journal) to write down and commit to your own personal pleasure plan.

Christiane Northrup, M.D.

How to Achieve Maximal

Levels of Life-Giving

Nitric Oxide

T o experience maximal pleasure (not to mention great sex), you must follow a lifestyle that enhances the production of an amazing molecule called nitric oxide. The purpose of this simple molecule, made of one atom of nitrogen and one atom of oxygen, is to signal the cells in your body to stay healthy. It literally resets your power grid.

The more nitric oxide your body makes on a regular basis, the healthier and happier you are. Its perfectly natural, its easy (and fun) to increase once you know how, and its the key to developing and maintaining optimum health. Think of it as your secret weapon for wellness!

Here are the six steps to maximizing nitric oxide, each of which is explained further in this section:

1. Associate yourself only with positive people everywhere you can.