Welcome

At this moment, I imagine you're wondering: Is this book for me? Will it make a difference in my life?

Here's what I can tell you:

This book is about valuing your body and yourself. It's about knowing your body's center—your belly—as the site of your soul-power, the wellspring of your physical, emotional, and spiritual vitality.

My message is this: The life energy focused in your belly is the source of your passion and creativity. Your courage and confidence. Your capacity to love fully. Your intuition, insight, and sense of purpose. It is your release from stress, your guide to good health. It is the origin of your inner strength.

What I'm saying is: You can develop the source energy concentrated in your body's center. You can direct its expression to enhance every dimension of your life. This book is a guide for doing exactly that.

But still, is this book for you?

This book is for you if:

• you've dieted to "trim your tummy." Now you want to get a better take on what your belly is all about.
  
  
• you've had enough of feeling bad about your body. You realize your belly will never be board-flat. You're ready to feel good about yourself as a whole.
  
  
• you suspect that if you could make peace with your belly, you could tap into a wealth of creativity, wisdom, and guidance.
  
  
• you want to take charge of your sexual energy and fully own your pro-creative power.
  
  
• you've had a hysterectomy or given birth by C-section and still feel torn up. You want to feel whole again.
  
  
• you're passing through menopause and want to access the core energy that's becoming all the more available to you at this stage of your life.
  
  
• you already enjoy yoga, Tai Chi, martial arts, African dance, or Middle Eastern dance and want to experience another approach to body-centered movement.
  
  
• you're seeking an invigorating, power-centering exercise program you can easily do in five minutes.

• you're seeking a body-centered path to personal and spiritual empowerment.

This book may be for you—in conjunction with appropriate medical or psychotherapeutic attention—if you've struggled with an eating disorder, experienced abdominal pain or illness, or survived assault focused on your belly. Please consult with your health care provider to determine whether and how this book can be of service to you.

This book is for you and your daughter, for you and your mother, as a foundation for sharing the experience of your womanhood and fostering respect across the generations.

This book is for you and your friends as a basis for supporting each other as you find your own ways to value your belly, your body, and yourself.

In these times, it takes guts—courage, determination, and daring—to consider honoring your belly and the soul-power it contains. And so I welcome you, a gutsy woman, to The Woman's Belly Book.

—Lisa Sarasohn
Asheville, NC
September 9, 2003