Sex Mudras (2 page)
How to Use This Practical Guide
It is recommended that you begin with a thorough, attentive reading of the entire book. Through this reading, you will discover what you immediately need and take note of what you will return to later. You are not expected to practice all the exercises; some may be unnecessary for you, inappropriate to your age, or may simply not appeal to you. This is entirely normal. At heart, we are all similar in that we all seek pleasure; the form that pleasure takes is what makes us different from one another.
Take part in this first reading with your partner. Think curiously about practicing these exercises. Some will be more suited to you than others. When practicing the exercises, do not focus on sexual performance as your only goal. Devote a corresponding level of attention to your overall equilibrium. The rest will follow naturally.
Set aside those exercises that you do not enjoy or that seem too complicated at first; after putting them on the “back burner” for a bit, you can return to them with all the more ease. You will be surprised to discover the previously unknown possibilities that your body holds. This discovery will provide you with encouragement and support, and will lead you to new revelations.
Later, once you are familiar with all of the contents of this book, it will be useful to you simply as a reference that you can consult occasionally to maintain harmony in your sexual practices.
The Eastern View of Sexuality
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Energy
Everything in the universe consists of energy. The first energy that nourishes us is cosmic energy, the second is terrestrial energy, the third is the air we breathe, the fourth is the food we eat, and the fifth is our libidinal energy, which is also the foundation of our physiological and psychological equilibrium. Each of these energies is produced by the preceding one, and they each generate a multitude of their own energies, all different and all interdependent.
One type of energyâby no means insignificantâis sexual energy. If this type of energy is lacking, or has departed from its equilibrium and lost its amazing power, one feels as if a part of oneself has been amputated. Like many other things in the universe, however, a diminished or lost libido can be repaired or even completely restored. Such restoration is the subject of this book.
According to the theories of Chinese medicine, reproductive energy is located in the kidneys. This is where our energy reserves resideâthe reserves that we get from our ancestors. This energy diminishes throughout our lives, finally dwindling to nothing when we die. Therefore, to get good results from these exercises and to gain the greatest satisfaction from them, it is essential to maintain the strength of the kidney area and of the organs themselves.
The Primal Sexual Energy
The Chinese call the primal sexual energy
huang qi
(pronounced “hwang chi”). It is an ancestral energy, the atavistic physical transmission of energy from each generation to the next. This legacy of our ancestors can sometimes be extraordinarily powerful but also sometimes disconcertingly weak. Certain practices can boost this energy; however, they cannot refine it to the point of transforming a small cylinder into a racecar engine.
This ancestral energy is stored in the kidneys. The ancient Chinese did not call them “the kidneys” but rather “the Kidney,” placing importance upon the energy of the kidneys rather than upon the physical organs themselves.
The Tao refers to two Kidney energies: Kidney yin and Kidney yang. The yin accounts for the great majority of Kidney energy (around 90 percent) and is characterized by calm, repose, and nonaction. Yang is characterized by activity and generation. Because the kidneys are composed predominantly of passive yin energy, they are easily depleted and must be continually reinforced, sustained, toned, and nourished to counter this natural tendency.
To this end, we can employ individual practices such as appropriate diet, meditation techniques, t'ai chi ch'uan, and qigong, as well as specific treatments from traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and moxibustion (performed with dried mugwort, which is burned over certain areas of the body, exerting a tonic effect upon certain organs or upon the general state of being).
Kidney energy is diminished (or as the Chinese put it, “wounded”) by childbirth, orgasm, or intense physical effort. For a man of any age, ejaculation is said to be equivalent to the effort of running a thousand meters. So while good sex is fulfilling, one should take care not to overindulge. Traditional Chinese medicine also tells us that “sitting too long wounds the Spleen, standing too long hurts the Kidney.” All things are relative; some humans can run a hundred marathons over the course of their lives and live healthily to ninety years, while others cannot climb three flights of stairs without feeling exhausted. We inherit the legacy of our health from our forebears.
In the seminars I teach, I often give the example of the young woman who had three grandparents who suffered from serious kidney disease. She complained of becoming quickly fatigued with relatively little effort, having difficulty reaching orgasm, and suffering from chronic lower back pain. To cap it all, she paid me a visit because she wanted to have a child, since I was a specialist in traditional Chinese gynecology. As one might expect, she had difficulty getting pregnant. My work consisted simply of toning her Kidney energy based on all the principles I have described above. The final advice I gave to this young woman was to have only one child. Understanding the responsibility she held in passing on this weakness, she took my advice and adopted a cleansing lifestyle that was something completely new for her.
Substances and Conditions that Negatively affect Sexuality
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The Negative Effects of Alcohol on Sexuality
The Negative Effects of Tobacco on Sexuality
The Negative Effects of Medications on Sexuality
The Negative Effects of Alcohol on Sexuality
Alcohol may lower the inhibitions somewhat, but it also has devastating effects on sexual desire, erection, sensation, and orgasm. Although its exact effects will depend on an individual's tolerance, the amount of alcohol consumed, and the length of time a person has been drinking, the net result of alcohol consumption will always be detrimental to one's sexual function.
The Effects of Alcohol on Men
Even occasional doses of alcohol will reduce the engorgement of the penis; although many people believe alcohol to be an aphrodisiac, it leads to less potent erections. The effects of chronic intoxication or alcoholism are many and varied, including difficulty maintaining an erection, troubled or premature ejaculation, and endocrine disruption. This last effect may lead to insufficient function of the penis or testicles (hypogonadism) or problems with the production of sperm.
Over time, saturating the body with alcohol can lead to testicular atrophy, body-wide hair loss, and liver disease. Among other functions, the liver holds the reserves and defense mechanisms of the body's blood. If the liver is diseased, it cannot generate the amount of blood necessary for sexual excitement. As an erection is simply an infusion of blood into the tubular structures of the penis, it is easy to understand how erections can become weaker and less functional with alcohol abuse and/or liver disease.
The Effects of Alcohol on Women
Alcohol has contradictory effects on women. While ethanol exacerbates sexual excitement, making it more intense than normal, it also restricts the flow of blood to the walls of the vaginaâan effect that grows more pronounced in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed.
Less blood flow to the vagina means less sensation there as well. However, lowered inhibitions allow erotic fantasy and arousal to be liberated. Therefore, a woman who drinks excessively may find that her subjective sensations of pleasure are augmented. However, most psychologists and sexologists agree that women who drink chronically tend to lose interest in sexuality in general and in the sexual act in particular.
The Negative Effects of Tobacco on Sexuality
Initially, the effects of tobacco are felt in the brain. About seven seconds after the first inhalation of smoke, the neurotransmitter serotonin ceases to regulate the release of endorphins because they have been artificially replaced, in an illusory and ephemeral manner, by the alkaloids in tobacco. This explains why tobacco produces an immediate stimulating effect.
In the rest of the body, tobacco causes constriction of the blood vessels. This impairs blood circulation and causes a drop in blood pressure. These effects take place everywhere, from the major arteries to the sex organs, where reduced circulation means less engorgement and less sensation. Over the long term, smoking thirty to forty cigarettes a day can cause some individuals to lose their ability to achieve an erection.
The Negative Effects of Medications on Sexuality
Many medications can have adverse effects on sexual energy. Chief among these are any medications with psychoactive properties, and beta blockers.
Psychoactive Drugs
A psychoactive drug is any substance capable of modifying the function of the psyche. These drugs can be broadly classified into three groups: psycholeptic, psychoanaleptic, and psychodysleptic.
Psycholeptics
The psycholeptic family includes calming and hypnotic drugs. These include sleeping pills and neurolepticsâmore commonly known as “tranquilizers”âwhich alleviate agitation and neuromuscular hyperactivity. Psycholeptics are used to reduce anxiety. They numb awareness and deaden mental and intellectual activity, while also calming emotional tension.
Psychoanaleptics
Psychoanaleptics encourage mental and emotional activity. They include antidepressants, with which many readers will be familiar, as well as psychotonics, which stimulate mental activity and often bring on a state of euphoria. Amphetamines are a well-known example of a psychotonic drug.
Psychodysleptics
Psychodysleptics are also known as hallucinogens (for example, LSD or mescaline). They act upon the state of consciousness, producing altered perceptions of reality, including visual, auditory, and sensory hallucinations. These substances are increasingly being investigated as potential treatments for some forms of mental illness.
Beta Blockers
Beta blockers are used to treat chronic coronary heart disease and arterial hypertension. While these substances suppress and control the heart's rhythms, they also have a highly pronounced effect upon sexual function, causing some men to have occasional difficulties attaining erection, or even total impotence. The exercises in this book will be of little help to men in this situation; they should consult their cardiologist for information regarding their sexual function.
Sexual Problems Resulting from Other Pathologies
Your internal organsâincluding the ones that regulate your sexual functionâare universally interdependent. Remember that a decrease in your sexual appetite or your physical abilities may be due to the fragility of a specific organ, or to a more general malady, known or unknown.
The following are some pathologies that hinder harmonious sexuality: prostate adenomas, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease (angina pectoris, cardiac infarction, severe cardiac arrhythmia, severe tachycardia with or without premature ventricular contraction), chronic respiratory disease, asthma, chronic bronchitis. All of these diseases are aggravated by tobacco and alcohol.
However severe these diseases may be, effective treatment for them may be found in a healthy, balanced diet and a relatively calm life, purged at least to some extent of negative emotions. What's more, there are some Chinese herbal medicines that work real miracles in ameliorating the symptoms of disease. Aloe vera is the best plant of all for regulating a heart afflicted with arrhythmia or tachycardia.
One of the more common ailments that can affect sexuality is high cholesterol: excessive amounts of bad cholesterol in the blood vessel walls will restrict blood flow and thus prevent a balanced libido. If you have high cholesterol you should restrict your intake of meat, eggs, and dairy products. You can also seek the advice of a qualified practitioner of Chinese medicine for help in reducing your cholesterol levels.
Stress and Sexuality
Aside from the conditions described previouslyâcertain diseases, hormonal problems, or neurological troublesâthe most common cause of reduced sexual abilities and appetites is stress and overwork. These things suppress both female and male hormones, leading to dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system.
However, stress affects the sexuality of women and of men very differently. To make love, a woman must be feeling good. On the other hand, a man feels good when he makes love. Thus, stress is more likely to reduce a woman's desire for sex, whereas it is more likely to be viewed as curative for a man's stress.
In either case, the best solution to a stress-impaired sex life is to slow down and take it easy. If this is simply not possible, at least practice relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation; force yourself to take some relatively long rest periods; get enough sleep; and let yourself go, both on the physical and the mental planes.
To restore the equilibrium of the libido, some effort is necessary. And again, the methods in this book are not a panacea. They will only be effective once you begin doing what is necessary in order to harmonize all your needsâsleep, rest, nourishment, and of course the flame of desire that you and your partner share.
That amorous spark is also sustained by surprises, gestures, words, and situations in which you and your partner impress each other. Do not wait for the relationship to become endangered before you try to repair what is irreparable. Do not wait until you realize that you have not been doing anything to continue seducing your partner. Seduction should be a matter of daily life; it proves that you are both interested in one another. If gestures of affection only go one way, your bond will begin to erode.
Warning
Practicing the exercises in this book while taking drugs that suppress your bodily energy, smoking excessively, drinking alcohol, or pursuing unbalanced, unhealthy, or irregular eating habits will slow your progress, and the results will be disappointing.
