Orgasmic Yoga

Orgasmic Yoga (OY) is a term that was coined by Joseph Kramer and the Body Electric.

It is a mindful practice incorporating conscious breath, movement, sound, and touch to sink deeper into the body without the aid of outside erotic stimulation (such as porn or fantasy).  It does not involve yoga, but it can if one is so inclined. It does not even have to feature orgasms.

OY is a practice that can be done alone or with others.

One of the most profound experiences in my life was doing nearly two weeks of communal orgasmic yoga every morning during my Sexological Bodywork training. There aren’t many parallels I can draw to give an approximation of what this was like. Twenty-five people all together, but still quite separate. There was no interpersonal interaction, but one couldn’t help but feel a charge as energy rose and filled the room. Did I mention that it was a mixture of sexes, genders, expressions, and orientations? And each individual in their own pleasure. Music playing, vibrators buzzing, people moaning, laughing, and breathing audibly. It was an incredible experience as a part of an even larger training.

How is Orgasmic Yoga different from masturbation?

OY is different from masturbation in that an intention is set at the beginning. An intention is not the same thing as a goal. Often our goal in masturbation is an orgasm. In orgasmic yoga, one might set an intention to focus on their breath, or to move around, rather than sitting or lying down as usual. You could also set your intention to something bigger than yourself – for your pleasure to radiate out from you to encompass your community or the world.

Because OY is more about attention and intention rather than goals, it is very much about presence. Really being in your body in the moment. Orgasmic yoga is a practice – it is something that can deepen and develop over time.

So, is Orgasmic Yoga something you can do on your own? 

After my intensive, I spent two weeks doing OY on my own. It goes without saying that there was a huge difference energetically solo as compared to in a group. But it was still intense in its own rite. I did two work weeks in a row (so I had the weekend off) of 40-50 minutes each time. Some days were orgasmic, others multiply so, and still others weren’t. And it was all okay. It is about being in your body and feeling pleasure at whatever level from head to toe and everywhere in between.

Some things to try.

• If you feel called to try orgasmic yoga, I invite you to incorporate a heart connection into your self touch. Place one hand over your heart and the other over your genitals and breathe into it. Feel whatever feelings flow through you.
• If any distracting thoughts come to mind and start to pull your attention away, acknowledge those thoughts; let them know you are doing orgasmic yoga right now and you will be available later. It sounds hokey, but this happens to me sometimes when I do OY or meditation. Instead of trying to fight the distractions, acknowledging them and telling them you will deal with them later frees you up to be more present in your practice rather than getting stuck in your head for the whole 45 minutes. Breathe deeply to get back into your body.
• And most of all, there really is no one true way to do orgasmic yoga. The practice can be different for different people and even different for one person depending on what is going on in their life.

Just remember to breathe and have fun with it!