Book Review: Waking the Warrior Goddess: Harnessing the Power of Nature & Natural Medicines to Achieve Extraordinary Health by Dr. Christine Horner
Originally published at: www.happynews.com
Dr. Christine Horner is a champion
for women in the battle for good health. Particularly, Dr. Horner’s passion is
to teach women to protect themselves from breast cancer. She also wants to
empower breast cancer victims with knowledge that can help them improve their
chances of survival.
In Waking the Warrior Goddess:
Harnessing the Power of Nature & Natural Medicines to Achieve Extraordinary
Health (WWG), Dr. Horner speaks to the reader in a voice reminiscent of a
big sister or a close friend. She comes across as genuinely caring about the
reader. While honoring her mother and other breast cancer victims and
survivors, she aims to provide us with the tools to prevent and fight cancer.
Dr. Horner focuses on positive lifestyle changes and conveys scientifically
proven ways to "influence your state of health."
WWG
Once her bill successfully passed in
Congress in 1998, Dr. Horner focused on what she felt was an even greater
problem, the "growing epidemic of breast cancer." That was when she
began her quest to find all that modern science and "ancient traditional
medicine systems" had to offer for breast cancer prevention.
A research-based book, WWG promotes
Dr. Horner’s vision that "All women experience perfect health because they
recognize and use their powerful inner ability to heal themselves." The
beauty of this, however, is that this book is not just a tool for breast cancer
prevention and cure; it is her prescription for a positive, healthy lifestyle
for everyone.
Dr. Horner combines the techniques
she discusses into easy to follow "to-do lists" and shopping lists.
Dr Horner uses a metaphor, the Warrior Goddess, and the principles of ayurveda
to portray the concepts of our own inner "healing intelligence" and
what she calls the "oldest and most complete system of prevention-oriented
holistic health still practiced today."
Throughout the book Dr. Horner
explains in a very simplistic way, what various bad guys (IE. sugar, stress,
tobacco, estrogen) do within the body and how the good guys (IE. certain
spices, foods, stress reducing activities) empower the body. She even
consolidates these scientifically based recommendations into her "30-Step
Program," which includes a grocery list and a supplement list. Throughout
WWG, Dr. Horner not only explains why to eliminate certain things and
incorporate others, she also gives alternatives. For example, she recommends
giving up red meat, but for those who love red meat, she suggests
vegetable-based meat substitutes.
Dr. Horner presents the information
in such a positive, can-do manner that one cannot help but feel empowered by
her belief that women can change their lives for the better. She defines terms,
explains physiological processes in our bodies, gives examples and makes
analogies or parallels to relate concepts to other more easily understood
ideas.
Having cited studies and work from
around the world, it is very clear that Dr. Horner has sought out every
possible known natural means for women to protect and/or heal themselves.
Indeed, Dr. Horner’s "passion to teach people to live healthy
naturally" adds what she hopes will be a comprehensive tool for women to
protect themselves from any cancer. This is ideal for the person who is not
skilled at researching, yet, for those who want more information, Dr. Horner
incorporated a Resource Guide in which is listed places to purchase the
recommended products, her recommended reading lists, and a complete
bibliography of all studies, journal articles, books and websites she cited.
Even this is broken down into categories by chapter and subject.
Keeping in mind that doctors cannot
always solve our problems in short appointments, we must arm ourselves with
knowledge. To quote Dr. Horner, "If we have knowledge, we have
choice." This does not mean that we avoid our doctors. Rather, it means we
are better equipped to help our doctors to help us. No one book can substitute
for medical care, but WWG attempts to arm us with the knowledge to prevent
illness in a society that is cure-oriented rather than prevention-oriented. Dr.
Horner’s focus is on breast cancer prevention, but her recommendations may be
universally applicable, regardless of gender, race, or location.
When asked about the high cost of
some of her recommendations (IE. the average price of CoQ10 seems to be
approximately $30 per bottle at local drugstores; panchakarma treatments
"in America, programs and lodging run between $1,500 and $3,000 per
week," according to
Proper rest and exercise do not have
to cost anything, and most readers can acknowledge that sleep and exercise are
scientifically proven to have many benefits to overall health and well being.
In the chapter "Balancing Rest and Activity," Dr. Horner explains the
importance of the proper amount of rest and maps out simple guidelines for
managing exercise in our day.
Learning transcendental meditation
(TM) is also very expensive. According to
For those people who are looking for
reputable sources of panchakarma, TM, or any other form of detoxification or
meditation, Dr. Horner strongly urges us to ask around. She advises to search
for the recommended supplements at health food stores rather than typical
grocery stores. She feels that knowledgeable health food store staff will be able
to assist in choosing a reputable brand.
When I asked Dr. Horner about
skeptics who, for example, criticize TM and challenge the existence of
scientific evidence regarding TM, she stated "TM is the most
well-researched form of meditation and is found to be the most effective method
of meditation." Indeed, when I did a quick search at
Acknowledging the social purpose of
religion and rituals, anthropologists have long believed in the healing power
of belief systems, and doctors seem to be looking increasingly at the religious
preferences and culture of their patients.
Dr. Horner spends a great deal of
time traveling. I asked her how she keeps herself healthy when she is away from
home. She replied, "I have the tools to settle by body’s imbalances. I
exercise, follow my schedule, get to bed on time, and prepare my own meals
whenever possible."
A comprehensive addition to our life
toolbox, readers should remember that no book substitutes for medical advice.
In addition, what works for one person may not work for another. We are all
different. What the reader should take away from this, however, is that it
appears possible to live a healthy, cancer free life and we can choose the
recommendations we feel we can work with. Dr. Horner provides the basis for us to
understand our bodies and how certain things affect us physically, mentally,
and emotionally, how these affects overlap each other, and how they can cause
breast and other forms of cancer, as well as many other conditions that
decrease our standard of life.
is well organized and easy to read. The reader connects
immediately with Dr. Horner on a very personal level in "My Journey,"
where she describes her experiences as a plastic surgeon working with breast
cancer survivors. She describes her battle to have legislation passed to force
insurance companies to pay for breast reconstructive surgery after survivors
have had mastectomies. On page two, Dr. Horner states, "Just imagine being
told you have breast cancer. That news alone is horrific enough. But then,
you’re told you must have one or both of your breasts surgically removed.
You’re also told you’ll be treated with poisonous chemicals that will make you
very sick, cause all your hair to fall out, and possibly damage your vital
organs. Your mind begins to race with questions that strike terror in your
heart. Will this disease kill you? Will the side effects of the treatments make
you wish you were dead? Will the postoperative pain be agonizing? Will your
significant other still love you and find you sexually attractive? The only
comforting news you hear is that you can be restored to physical wholeness with
reconstructive breast surgery. A little patch of blue in the stormy sky. But
shortly after this, you find out that your insurance company refuses to pay for
this surgery. Your world caves in. Imagine."www.happynews.com/news/1132005/waking-the-warrior.htm www.yjmag.com/health/62.cfm), Dr. Horner recognizes that many people cannot afford some
things. What she recommends, however, is to implement the things you can
afford, "just stop the bad habits to begin with." She stated further
that many bad habits (IE. tobacco, alcohol, processed foods) are often more
expensive than a healthy, organic diet. In addition, many cities have shops
where we can purchase bulk herbs, spices and teas for a fraction of the cost of
grocery stores. Dr. Horner recommends daily consumption of green tea, which is
an inexpensive addition to one’s diet. There are also other forms of home
detoxification, but since there is little to no research on these, one should do
their own research and consult their physician before attempting them.www.tmprogram.org,
the "TM Technique Course Fee: $2500 (covers the course of instruction and
the lifetime follow up program)." At the North Hills News Record, (www.tm.org/news/northhillsnewsmax.html), in 1998, the course fees were "$575 for an adult;
$345 for a full time student and $230 for high school students and
younger." Dr. Horner, who strongly recommends TM, said that there are many
other forms of meditation and stress reducing techniques that are very
inexpensive to learn and can have significant results. Once again, however, one
should do their own research. Something else to keep in mind, however, is that
"the American Journal of Health Promotion shows that people who practice
the Transcendental Meditation® technique are healthier and need less medical
care," according to the Lancaster Medical Professional Corporation (www.ayurvedamed.com/research/40). What this means is TM could reduce the health care costs,
for both insurance companies and consumers.www.medscape.com
(from WebMD) I found TM to have over 12,000 hits. Dr. Horner stated that she
looked very closely at studies to ensure legitimacy. I would personally
recommend the skeptic to further research the topic of what Dr. Horner calls
"Comprehensive Medicine," a combination of Alternative Medicine,
Complementary Medicine, and Western Medicine. "We should be saying comprehensive
medicine to incorporate everything that works." "There really has
been a shift in this country; more people are using Alternative &
Complementary Medicine, and medical schools are incorporating these into their
curricula."
