Yup SEX. I'm not talking about getting sexy in your yoga class like Ogden, the Innappropriate Yoga Guy. I am talking about using your personal practice to connect with yourself and your partner for the the Big O(mmmmmmm).It's no secret that a regular yoga practice tones, lengthens muscles and increases stamina, I am not letting the cat out of the bag here. The experienced yoga practitioner tests their flexibility with pretzel like asanas, such as dwi pada srisasana (feet behind the head pose), ananda balasana (happy baby pose) and supta kurmasana (reclining tortoise pose). While the point of yoga isn't to tie yourself into knots, it's easy to associate yoga with the work of contortionists. My yoga teacher likes to call those such poses her "yoga party tricks." Don't worry, in this blog post we won't take our yoga party tricks on the road, we save for the bedroom.
Yoga and sex are easily married. They are both physical and emotional, challenging and uplifting, they both use the body to calm the mind and uplift the spirit and they're both great for the immune system (did you know that orgasms improve the immune system?). If you can think of one amazing and fulfilling yoga class that took, it probably included physical agility, sweat, an elevated heart rate, mental clarity and spiritual openness. The perfect yoga class is a sacred experience. Now think about the last time you had great sex. Every fulfilling sexual union relies on the same characteristics. It's simply up to you and your partner to orchestrate it. When you start thinking about sexual contact and sexual energy as sacred, the act of sex begins to shift. Bringing increased awareness and sensitivity into each sexual experience will not only enhance your pleasure, but bring a closer connection to your partner.
"Yoga focuses people on how they feel, which is something they don't do enough during sex," says Dr. Marty Klein, a sex therapist and author of Beyond Orgasm: Dare to be Honest about the Sex You Really Want. "During sex, people tend to think more about what they imagine the other person is looking at or thinking about. Yoga brings the mind away from judgments, thoughts, speculations, assumptions, anxieties - things that interfere with physical response and emotional satisfaction."
The style of yoga doesn't matter. Whether you practice, gentle hatha, vinyasa flow, Kundalini, Jivamukti or Soul Sweat Asana, a consistent practice will bring greater awareness to your body and and who you choose to get physical with. The more in tune and receptive you are to your own body, the more in tune and receptive you will be to your partner. This receptiveness will help you recognize the shifts in energy your partner has and tune into what feels good and what feels great for each of you. Add communication to the mix and you'll be on your way to becoming a sexpot in the bedroom and living a life that includes supersatisfying sex!
(the list is close to endless, but this post is getting long, I decided to cap it at 5).
Awareness: A consistent yoga practice brings awareness. Awareness to your own body and those around you. VAKGO is a theory my yoga teacher learned and taught me. It's an acronym that stands for Visual, Auditory, Kinestetic, Gustatory and Olfactory. Fancy names for seeing, hearing, feeling (emotions and tactile), tasting and smelling. All real experiences contain these five elements. Yoga helps the practitioner step into VAKGO and living in the moment. This awareness and ability to be in the moment is essential for great sex.
Yogic Philosophy: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali teach the Yamas and Niyamas, the "dos and don'ts" of living a yogic life. While each of these can be applicable to the yoga of great sex, the first principal (Yama), Ahimsa may be most applicable. Ahimsa translates roughly to non-violence or compassion. It is non-violence and compassion first and foremost to yourself. Bringing ahimsa into the bedroom will allow you to let go of judgment and simply enjoy an uninhibited good time. Remember, he's not watching the cellulite on your ass jiggle, thinking you need to lose a few pounds. He's thinking, OMG I am getting a piece of ass!!!
Bandhas: Bandhas are energy locks in the body. We have 3: Mula Bandha (pelvic floor or root lock), Uddiyana Bandha (solar plexus or abdominal lock) and Jhalandara Bandha (throat or throat lock). Learning to engage your bandhas during your asana practice cleanses and energizes the interior body. Mula Bandha is for both women and men. Engaging mula bandha (which is much like doing a kegel for women or trying to stop the flow of urine while going to the bathroom for men) builds strength in the pelvic floor and improves blood flow and circulation. Blood flow and circulation in the genitals is essential for sexual arousal and orgasm.
Asana: This seems like a no brainer here. Yoga party tricks! Regular asana practice will build energy, stamina, strength and flexibility. Just as there are many asana's out there, there are just as many sexual positions. Have you thumbed through the Karma Sutras? But while there are lots of positions out there, you can't get into them with a tight, stiff body.
Pranayama: Pranayama is yogic breath work or breath control. Yoga teaches that breath is life. Proper breathing bring more oxygen and blood to the brain and helps to harness prana, our life force energy. The practice of Tantric (Tantra meaning two woven together, or two fullness as one) Yoga or tantric sex teaches that though the joining of two spiritual bodies the two poles can be ecstatically merged to reach enlightenment or bliss. This is accomplished through the connection of energy and breath. We don't have to turn into tantric practitioners to use pranayama for great sex. Simply gazing into our partners eyes and breathing together will create a deeper emotional connection. Slowing the breath and using control will increase sexual arousal help to prolong orgasm.
So there you have it. Now go forth, practice yoga and have great sex!!
Keep it Fresh!
~Terra
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Were you in my head this week Terra??
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