Yoga and Sexuality

Sexuality. There is nothing more natural, and more likely to create neurosis. In our culture, the media bombards us with images of sexuality used to sell products or create buzz. Celebrity sex scandals make great stories in the 24 hour news media. Hollywood movies can give us unrealistic expectations of how relationships and sex can be. Fortunately, yoga offers some tools to help individuals get in touch with their own sexuality, heal sexual hangups, and for couples to enhance intimacy with one another.

Chakras – Whether literal energy centers in the metaphysical body, or metaphorical wheels representing aspects of our humanity, working with the chakras is very helpful for getting in touch with our sexuality. The second chakra is located in the lower abdomen and sexual organs, and relates to our emotions and sexuality. When healthy, we can experience sexual fulfillment and a healthy connection to our emotions. When unhealthy, we may find ourselves overwhelmed by emotions, or unfulfilled sexually. You could try this Meditation for the Second Chakra, or Camel Ride to break through energetic blocks and stimulate the energy in the second chakra.

Kundalini Yoga for Balanced Chakras

While the second chakra is very obviously connected to sexuality, working with other chakras can also be beneficial. Working with the 5^th chakra, located in the throat and dealing with communication, could pave the way for better communication about sexual intimacy between partners. The 4^th chakra, relates to love and helps to connect and integrate polarities such as mind/body and masculine/feminine.

Your Life is in Your Chakras

Yoga – Many people find themselves inhabiting their minds rather than their bodies. Whether due to upbringing, conditioning, or some physical or emotional trauma, this over-emphasis on the intellectual/mental can make it difficult to recognize signals and sensations coming from the physical body. That in turn, can make it difficult for some people to fully experience and enjoy intimacy with a partner. By practicing yoga, we learn to move from our minds into our bodies. We train ourselves to recognize the subtle messages and sensations our bodies send as we hold or move through postures and kriyas. As we re-develop our connection with the physical body, our ability to fully experience and enjoy intimate moments increases.

Kundalini Yoga: Healthy Body Fearless Spirit

Partner yoga can be a very beneficial for couples to strengthen their bond. Practicing asanas together can lead to greater trust and communication, as partners may take turns supporting one another in different postures. Practicing mudras or breathing together can enhance intimacy and emotional connection between two people. Around America, some yoga studios hold partner yoga workshops from time to time (especially near Valentine's Day) where you could learn some assists and postures under the guidance of a teacher. If nothing like that exists in your area, books such as The Joy of Partner Yoga can guide a couple on their way. The Art of Making Sex Sacred shares meditations from the Kundalini Yoga perspective, along with teachings from Yogi Bhajan on sexuality.

[Note: if your partner is not interested in trying yoga, don't despair. Continue your own practice, and consider if there are other activities the two of you could do together. Camping, cooking, or sharing hobbies can all build communication and connection.]

The Joy of Partner Yoga

The Art of Making Sex Sacred

Mantra – The powerful words and vibrations of mantras have a profound ability to change our internal and external experience. Yogis with a love for kirtan can talk for hours about how mantras have changed their mood, opened their hearts, and healed emotional blocks. As individuals, we can use mantras to address our personal, emotional needs. There are mantras that can heal our relationships with ourselves, with men or women, and different personal needs.

Couples can also use mantras or yoga music albums to enhance intimate moments or raise the vibration of the atmosphere around them. Sanskrit mantras related to Divine Love in the form of Radha and Krishna or Sita and Ram can have a profound effect on the way couples view one another. The mantra “Om Kama Pujitayei Namaha” from Deva Premal's Mantras for Precarious Times can uplift the experience of love making when chanted together or played in the background.

If your relationship with your partner or spouse could use a yogic boost, check out the Kundalini Yoga for Sex Kit, which includes several excellent books, mood setting yoga music albums, and supplements to enhance your relationship.