Touch Me There (5 page)

“hub,” describes the seven major and minor centers of psychic energy. They are located along the “shushumna,” the fiery central energy merid- ian, or pathway, that runs up and down the spine (see Figure 1.1). The chakras are affiliated with organs of the endocrine (hormonal) system, since it is these glands that regulate vitality and energy flow. Often de- picted as energy vortexes or “whirlpools,” chakras vibrate or spin with the energy type that corresponds with their location. They are connected via invisible channels called “nadis.”

FIGURE 1.1: The chakras

crown chakra third eye throat chakra heart chakra

solar plexus chakra sacral chakra

root chakra

The Chakras

Chakra 1—Root Chakra
(houses all sexual organs and functions in men and some organs and functions in women)

Sanskrit name:
Muladhara

Location: at the base of the spine (corresponds with sexual center) Related endocrine gland: ovaries/testes

Energy: basic life and survival energy, including the need to reproduce Color: red (represents the life force in its powerful, inexplicable form) Scent: musk

Chakra 2—Sacral Chakra

Sanskrit name:
Swadhisthana

Location: just above the sexual organs/below the navel Related endocrine gland: pancreas

Energy: sexual/emotional energy, especially as it relates to a woman’s sex- ual confidence, intuition, and functioning

Color: orange (the color of joy and vitality)

Scent: myrrh (aromatic gum resin of a tree found in Eastern Africa and Arabia)

Chakra 3—Solar Plexus Chakra

Sanskrit name:
Manipura

Location: between the navel and the base of the sternum Related endocrine gland: adrenals

Energy: personal power and how we use it; is connected to one’s ego Color: yellow (cheerfulness and radiance)

Scent: amber

Chakra 4—Heart Chakra
Sanskrit name:
Anahata
Location: the heart

Related endocrine gland: thymus

Energy: female in aspect, related to how we give and receive love and affection; regulates breathing and circulation

Color: green and rose (hope, rebirth, and creativity) Scent: rose

Chakra 5—Throat Chakra
Sanskrit name:
Vishuddha
Location: the throat

Related endocrine gland: thyroid/parathyroid

Energy: masculine in aspect, related to creativity and expression; the chakra of living and speaking your truth; controls one’s voice and ability to communicate

Color: turquoise or Russian blue

Scent: frankincense (fragrant gum resin of a tree found in Somalia and southern coastal Arabia)

Chakra 6—Third Eye

Sanskrit name:
Ajna

Location: the “third-eye” (middle) region of the forehead Related endocrine gland: pituitary

Energy: inner light/spiritual intuition; related to physical and psychic vision

Color: deep blue Scent: jasmine

Chakra 7—Crown Chakra
Sanskrit name:
Sahasrara
Location: the crown of the head Related endocrine gland: pineal

Energy: connection to spiritual truth, existence, pure consciousness, and emotional and mental enlightenment

Color: violet or pure white Scent: lotus

The chakras, representing the dynamic flow of cosmic energy within the body, are a must-know component of stimulating your hot spots. When the chakras are healthy, one’s sexual relations are vibrant. The chakras contribute to one’s sexual aura, which, in turn, becomes sexual chemis- try between two people. When opening, stimulating, and balancing the chakras, you can feel your own and your lover’s aura, presence, and sexual vitality.

As a warm-up for the activities in this book, try the following two ex- ercises, which are designed to help you get a better sense of the energy and chakras you’ll be working with.

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EXERCISE 1.1:
Finding Your Energy

Practice the following exercise, first by yourself, and then, if appropriate, with your partner. Be sure to take your time and to do the exercise in a quiet space that is free from distractions.

1. Sit in a comfortable position, and hold your hands up in the prayer position, but with palms only facing each other, not touching.
   
2. Breathe in deeply and steadily.
   
3. Send your breath out toward your hands, imagining this exhalation as heat, a vibration, or light.
   
4. Notice the magnetic charge that is building between your palms.
   
5. Close your eyes and relish this charge for a few moments.
   
6. Repeat with your partner. As you face each other, create energy be- tween your hands and those of your lover.
   

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EXERCISE 1.2:
Sensing Your Lover’s Aura

1. With your eyes open, sit beside your lover and move your hands slowly around their body without actually touching it.
   
2. Keeping your palms open and relaxed, approximately an inch or two above the skin, sense the aura coming off your beloved’s body—the heat, light, density, tingling. You may even experience it as visual imagery or color.
   
3. Notice the difference in physical sensations as you move nearer to one of the chakras.
   
4. Repeat, but this time with your eyes closed.
   
5. Have your partner do the same to you.
   
6. Repeat steps 1–5, this time focusing on the seven chakras. Can you feel the energy emanating out of these areas? Can you visualize it?
   
7. As you hover over each center, ask your partner to concentrate on
   

the area and to visualize its color (see the chakra descriptions above). What is going on there? What kind of energy is being exuded?

Yoga

Throughout this book, where appropriate, I suggest yoga poses for cou- ples, some of which are related to advanced sexual positions utilized in tantric sexual practice. Yoga can enliven your sexual desire, ignite or re- ignite your love and passion, and heighten your pleasure and level of inti- macy. While some couples may want to try these exercises just for kicks, others may see them as a way to redefine what is sexual; as a new way to experience each other’s body, with or without clothes; and as a new way to bond. When done properly, yoga poses also improve flexibility and sexual ability; performed regularly, postures that exercise the hips, thighs, and groin make it easier to engage in certain lovemaking positions. Plus, exer- cise in and of itself is often considered an aphrodisiac.

Although engaging with your partner in yoga poses can turn you on, keep in mind that the greater goal is to connect. This is possible because these positions help lovers to open their heart, sacral, and root chakras, re- leasing dormant sexual energy and increasing their capacity to embrace and love their partner. The more familiar you are with the chakras, your body’s energy, and how to channel that energy with your breath, the more you’ll get out of doing the yoga positions and the more you’ll utilize your sexual energy during sex play. Yoga’s emphasis on breathing, movement, and spiritual communion increases the flow of
prana
(life energy) through- out your body. Hence, it also helps to cleanse and tone the sexual organs, keeping lovers healthy and sexually vigorous.

Yoga provides a different way of becoming intimate, of getting to know your partner’s body. As lovers move through the recommended positions, becoming pressed together at times, they are able to see each other in a whole new light. At the same time, yoga helps your body un- wind and feel good, possibly heightening your desire to make love. This interaction also helps to expand the idea of what sex is about, making it a full-body experience instead of merely a genitalia-focused one.

Acupressure

Centuries ago, Chinese doctors observed that muscular tension typically accumulated around specific points, blocking the body’s energy from cir- culating freely. Acupressure was developed to eliminate toxins held in muscle tissue, thereby increasing blood flow and energy. Special tech- niques for holding and touching major body points help to relieve pain and promote healing, relaxation, and increased sexual energy. Acupres- sure can be used by lovers to intensify pleasurable physical sensations and transform sexual energy, leading to greater healing and intimacy and deepening bonds of trust and compassion.

According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, health is maintained by the smooth, unimpeded flow of life energy throughout the body’s meridians; acupressure uses “acupoints,” which can be thought of as doorways into and out of the body, to correct or restore this flow when necessary. Acupoints are the entry points into what are known as “meridi- ans,” channels that keep the body’s skin, muscles, and organs—as well as the psyche—healthy and in balance by transporting this life energy, known as
qi, ki,
or
chi
. In conjunction with the flow of blood and bodily fluids, chi nourishes the whole system. Acupressure involves the firm but gentle stimulation of acupoints with the practitioner’s fingers, thumbs, elbows, or feet. After an acupressure session, the restored flow of chi is sometimes experienced as a warm, tingly, heavy sensation followed by re- laxation. (Acupuncture, the practice of inserting fine needles into the skin to promote healing, utilizes the body’s same acupoints.)

Acupressure can be used by couples to improve their sexual chemistry and the quality of their relationship. Using your finger or hand, apply slow, gradual pressure to your lover’s pressure points. (Note: Do not pull the skin or use fingers with long nails.) Both partners should take long, slow, deep breaths in unison. Maintain the pressure on an acupoint for one to five minutes, gradually applying more of your body weight. This causes the system to release endorphins, neurochemicals that are the body’s natural painkillers, creating a euphoric high. It also allows oxygen and other nutrients to better nourish the body, naturally heightening

one’s eroticism and sexual responsiveness, connectedness, and vitality. It is the clear flow of energy through the body’s meridians that results in more radiance, sensuality, and intimacy.