Yoga Sex vs Drunk Sex

July 21, 2015January 22, 2024 by Susanna Leein Mind, Sex

Yoga makes sex even more awesome than booze does. Already, this entire article sounds like a lie. I mean, when I come out of the gate with such a grand unbelievable statement like that, it surely must set off your smarty-pants alarm. With all the things alcohol does to help sex, lowering the inhibitions, acting as a social lubricant, allowing the logic center of your brain enough of a stay-cation that you can bend your perception of reality into pretending that the guy from the barstool next to yours, who is currently flailing around behind you like a Muppet, is the ex you still love…it seems a little incredulous to think that there’s anything legal that could possibly do more to benefit your sex life. I get that. I too was skeptical. But it’s been proven true, and here’s a few reasons why:

1. Stress kills the libido, and chaos creates stress.

Yoga calms your mind through attention to breathing. Smooth, even breaths naturally bring tranquility to the brain. Our drunk minds aren’t calm they’re just not functioning at 100%, giving you less than your normal amount of chaos to handle. And sure, that sounds great, but think of your mind as a classroom full of kids. Getting drunk is basically filling them with birthday cake, root beer, and pixie stix, and letting them bounce off the walls. Now, of course, a few of them are going to puke and have to go to the nurse’s office, leaving you with fewer to deal with, which seems easier to keep control over; but just because there’s fewer of them doesn’t mean they’ll be able to focus on math any better. Regulated breathing, however, is like teaching those kids manners and discipline, giving them the tools they need to be able to sit at their desks and read quietly. Now, I’m certainly no teetotaler, there’s nothing wrong with the occasional sugar bomb, but having the baseline of tranquility makes for a way smoother school year.

2. Being fully present makes for greater enjoyment of an experience.

In yoga, we link our breath with our movements, creating a connection between them, keeping us present in what we’re doing, which, with a regular practice, extends into our lives beyond the mat. Staying present and attentive during sex lets us fully experience what’s going on, notice what feels good and what doesn’t, which brings us a greater awareness of our own sexual desires, needs, and wants. I won’t speak for you, but when I get drunk, it’s usually with the goal (conscious or subconscious) of disconnecting, taking a break from reality, and on more than one occasion, I’ve tried something new in bed while drunk, and woken up the next day with no recollection of how I felt about it, beyond a sore muscle or aching orifice, which usually makes me only more leery of trying said sexual feat again.

3. On the note of sore muscles, I’ll move into the myriad of physical ways yoga helps sex.

To begin, there’s flexibility and strength. A regular yoga practice increases that power pair, which helps us be more comfortable in various sexual positions. For example, a greater range of motion in the hips allows for a wider leg-spread in missionary. Stronger quads and core lets you enthusiastically stay on top longer. Downward dog leads to happier doggie-style. And having more physical stamina in general never hurt anyone (longer rolls in happier hay). Yoga also improves our circulation, increasing blood flow to the entire body, pink parts included! Increasing the blood flow enlivens our tissue and nerve endings, making us more sensitive to the tickles, tingles, and other tremendous titillations that come from my personal favorite of our national pastimes.

Yes, being drunk can also increase flexibility, but temporarily, by numbing pain receptors, which explains my sore muscles the next day. The alcohol-related lowered inhibitions led to being careless with preparations, explaining the aching orifices. I’ve never had more stamina when I’m drunk. And I am only slightly ashamed to admit that I’ve passed out during drunken sex on more than one occasion.

I think that in my attempt to draw comparisons, I may sound really judgmental, so let me clear that up: Since the first time I paired drinking and fucking, I’ve loved drunken sex. But in a very in-the-moment, life-of-spontaneous-adventure sort of way. Yoga has just allowed me to have more complete, lasting appreciation of my sexuality. So I’m not saying we should stop living our beautiful, wild lives, I’m merely encouraging the addition of a bit of balance to the engaging madness that makes us the unique treasures that we are. More mind-blowing orgasms, less face-melting hangovers? I’ll absolutely drink to that, namaste!

Sex and Yoga Combined Equals Orgasmic Enlightenment

September 29, 2015January 22, 2024 by zfortadminin Mind, Sex

Sex and yoga have a lot in common. They’re both about opening and stretching into new places. Going deep inside yourself to find strength and endurance you didn’t know you had. Softening and letting go to remove your civilized layers and return to yourself.

You can use each to amplify the power of the other.

I went on a remote yoga retreat with my lover last fall. It was life-changing. I was cracked open wider and wilder than I have ever been before.

The combination of having a full week devoted just to us, quantum-leaped our connection. Doing yoga together daily stretched the crusty parts of us open and dissolve. Being immersed in an off-the-grid experience (no electricity, sleeping in open-air villas) reconnected us to our natural rhythms.

Sex is part of your natural rhythm.

Like yoga, the more you commit to it, and trust it and learn to let go, it will transform you. The little parts of you that get in your way, your defenses, your ego and chatter mind, can all be dissolved through a powerful yoga session.

Or an hour of life-shifting sex.

I recommend taking a weeklong sex date several times a year to get out of your routine, and into each other. You will revitalize your selves, cells and relationship.

In between those weeks, you can maximize your time in yoga classes and during your weekly sex dates.

Here’s where sex and yoga come together:

1) What happens in bed and on the mat carries out into life. What I love about yoga, is the microcosm. I physically open, stretch and cultivate a practice of letting go. When I leave the class, I feel more open, patient and relaxed.

Sex has the same impact on me: when I am assertive and strong in bed, it strengthens my assertiveness and strength in life. The more I allow myself to receive pleasure in bed, the more open to it I am (and expect it) in my day-to-day existence.

2) Sex and yoga rebirth you. Yoga helps you to leave your ego and the constructed parts of yourself behind. The more you practice, the more you relate to the world from a natural, un-self-conscious place.

After cataclysmic sex, I stumble out of the bedroom and the world feels new. I feel new. This is one of the major reasons why I am such an advocate for the spiritual and therapeutic benefits of sex: it transforms us.

There is a good reason why we call orgasm “la petite mort.”

3) Sanctuary. We all need a place to retreat. We take off our armor, sigh, and are held. Yoga gives you a space to unwind your tension and sink deep into yourself.

Sex does this twofold: you open and sink into yourself and into another person.

4) Breath is key. In yoga, the poses are a vehicle to move the breath. Yoga is like a breath-bath. Every nook and cranny of your being gets cleansed. The breath unclogs stuck energy and gets your system flowing optimally again.

During sex, breathe as consciously and fully as you would during yoga. The breath carries potent, sexual energy (even stronger than regular “chi” or “prana”) throughout your body, rejuvenating and healing you in the process. Deeper breathing also leads to full-body orgasms, multiple orgasms and stamina-building in men.

5) Balancing out with the feminine. Yoga is fantastic for getting you into your archetypal feminine energy: learning how to flow, be receptive and surrender.

In our busy, modern lives, most of us live from our “masculine.” We do more, stay active and driven in order to achieve. We forget that learning to open, attract and receive can be as powerful for getting things done.

The art of surrender is the key to powerful sex. Both sexes can tap into the state of learning how to receive, and how to be.

6) Flexibility in mind and body. The best sex is borne out of an open, non-judgmental way of being: everything is accepted. Plus, the physical ability to hold challenging yogic postures clearly transfers into a talent for marathon sex.

It goes both ways: the ability to cultivate four-hour orgasms will strengthen your yoga practice.

7) Pelvic power. Yoga tones the pelvic floor, bringing more conscious awareness. You will improve sexual sensitivity and boost your orgasmic potential and control.

Sex and yoga help to lubricate the hips and the heart: both crucial tools for day-to-day living and loving. Use both as tools to breakthrough to a state of yo-gasmic bliss.

Curated by Erbe
Original Article

Taking Up Aerial Yoga and Its Benefits for Health and Wellness

August 1, 2018January 22, 2024 by Terri-Jane Dowin Body, Wellness

I am trying not to fall on my face. That’s not a metaphor for anything; I mean that I am quite literally trying not to fall on my face. I’m in a hammock, but rather than lying inside it, gently swaying in the breeze, maybe on a beach somewhere, I am crossways with it under my hips. My arms and legs are outstretched, and because “you go where your gaze is,” I am trying to look up and meet my own eyes in the mirrored wall in front of me, and not look down at the floor (causing aforementioned falling). This is my second aerial yoga class, and if anything it’s even more difficult than the first, because I’m now painfully aware of my lack of upper body strength.

Aerial yoga is a combination of yoga, stretching, and acrobatics.

It’s a small class, so that there is enough space for swinging around, and so that the instructor can get around to everyone. Silk-like hammocks are hung from the ceiling, and yoga mats are placed beneath them. I’m still unsure if these are more for cushioning than for the floor-yoga parts of the class. There are warm up stretches done on the floor, and then stretches move into the hammocks. Once everyone is warmed up properly, the inversion part of the class starts. This is where you’ll see people hanging upside down, or wrapping one foot in the hammock to shimmy up it with the other.

Camaraderie is built very quickly in an aerial yoga class, I’ve found. I think this is partly because every inversion feels like a huge accomplishment, and partly because when you are hanging upside down, holding on to the hammock with your ankles, it’s helpful to be able to ask the person who has already flipped through their own hammock which leg you are supposed to cross over where. The mirrored wall in the yoga studio is equal parts help and hindrance when trying to work out left/right and front/back whilst upside down.

Yoga – on its own – is good for your wellbeing. It forces you to focus on your breathing, and to take slow, measured breaths. Movements are purposeful, and generally a yoga class is a calm environment, where you gradually build up your practice into more challenging poses. Yoga isn’t goal-focused (which can be a challenge in itself), and it’s a small, quiet break in our hectic day-to-days. Aerial yoga has all of those benefits, with the additions of having to trust yourself, and of the endorphin hit of having realised that you have indeed managed to scramble up the hammock to the ceiling, and tuck your foot behind your head at the same time. It’s a yoga class, but amped up in the best possible way: more effective, more focused, and with more of an adrenaline rush.

The Hammock both supports your weight and helps you balance, so yoga stretches which are difficult unaided (I’m looking at you, standing splits) are made easier. With the help of the hammock, you’re more flexible because there’s less stress on your joints and muscles. It’s almost a complete body workout, because your core is constantly engaged whilst you’re stretching out your limbs, but because you’re supported by the hammock, and because inversions and poses are aided by gravity, there’s less effort involved than if you were in a HIIT class.

Swinging Like a Spider Monkey

On top of the physical benefits of aerial yoga, the adrenaline rush of finding yourself swinging around like a spider monkey does wonders for your mental wellbeing. It boosts your body’s endorphin, serotonin, and dopamine levels, making you feel happier and have more energy. There’s definitely something to be said for the feeling of achievement in finding yourself in what you thought was a difficult pose. Mostly, though, aerial yoga is a lot of fun. It feels almost childlike, to be suspended upside down, rummaging around inside a giant silk scarf, and using muscles you had forgotten you had. More than once, someone in the class has yelled “woo!” as they fly through a 180. It’s a playground for grown-ups, a workout that feels nothing like working out. It’s more difficult than I imagined it would be before I started, but it’s also much more rewarding.

We’re at the end of the class, and now – finally – comes the lying down, swaying gently part. I highly recommend savasana-ing in a dark green silky cocoon. It’s very relaxing. As the lights come on, and people emerge from their hammocks, there are smiles all around.

Simple Yoga Poses to Do With Your Partner

May 10, 2019January 22, 2024 by Jillian Pretzelin Body, Wellness

Recently, my husband and I have been trying to exercise together more. We love the bonding time and it’s fun to get to challenge each other. We run on treadmills next to each other, take fitness classes, and even lift weights.

But perhaps our favorite exercise to do together is yoga.

I’ve always loved yoga. It helps to relax my mind and strengthen my body at once, but now that I’m doing it with my husband, I’ve found a whole other side of it. There’s something so special about sitting together in a pose, quieting our minds together and even helping each other find the right stretch.

While we love taking yoga classes, we also love practicing easy poses in the mornings and in the evenings after work. These poses make us feel physically ready before we start the day and help us relax before heading to bed. Plus, it gives us some quality time to focus on each other.

We might not be the most experienced, strongest, or most flexible yogis in the world, but we feel so connected and refreshed when we take the time to do just a few simple poses.

Here are 7 great (and simple) couple poses that you and your partner can do at home too.

Partner Seated Spinal Twist

Lots of people forget to stretch their back but it feels so good to give your spine a twist after a long day of sitting in the office. It’s even more fun when you get to do it with your partner.

For this pose, you’ll start by sitting back to back in a cross-legged position. Both of you will reach back with your right hands and place it on your partner’s left thigh. Then, put your left hands on your own right knees. Once you’re in position, practice breathing together, lengthening your spine on the inhale and twisting on the exhale. When you feel you’ve twisted as far as you can go, switch sides and twist the other way.

Simple Partner Camel

The traditional Camel Pose can give you a great backwards stretch, but it can be a little challenging for new yogis. There’s a little bit of balance involved and it requires a fair amount of flexibility. This partner version will give you the same back stretch and you might find it to be a little easier.

Sit back to back again. This time you can sit criss-crossed or in the “butterfly” position with the soles of your feet touching and your knees out. Take a few breaths as you focus on strengthening your back, pushing against each other. Coordinate so that one of you leans backward as the other bends forward. The one who is bending forward can reach their hands out in front of them to get a good stretch (this is also good for stabilization). Move slowly, breathing as you go, and communicate so neither of you are ever uncomfortable. When you’re ready, switch.

Seated Cat Cow

You might have seen or done a traditional Cat Cow Pose before, where the yogi goes on their hands and knees and switches between an arched back and a rounded back.

With the couple’s version of this pose, you get that same stretch but with the added benefit of your partner’s support. You’ll sit cross-legged facing each other. Grab each other’s forearms and practice good posture by pulling your shoulders back and down. Inhale as you look up, allowing your back to arch a little and your head to go back as far as feels comfortable. When you exhale, bring your chin to your chest and round your back, bringing your gaze to your tummy. Move slowly and repeat this motion for as long as feels good to you both.

Seated Bound Angle

This one is a great stretch for your legs.

Sit facing your partner with a nice, tall spine. Decide who will go first and who will go second. Have “Partner One” bring the soles of their feet together in butterfly while partner two extends their legs forward so that the soles of “Partner Two’s” feet touch partner one’s shins. (Note: those legs do not have to be completely straight. If you aren’t very flexible, you might want to keep a slight bend in your knees to protect your hamstrings.) Next, grab each other’s forearms. Partner Two will gently pull Partner One forward so that they fold over their legs, using their shins for leverage. Make sure you are communicating and listening to each other as you breath. The one bending forward should try to lean into the stretch on the exhale but should never go farther than is comfortable.

When Partner One feels they are done, switch positions.

Back to Back Shoulder Stretch

This stretch is great for giving your shoulders a little stretch, and can help both you and your partner with your posture!

For this stretch, the two of you will stand back to back and extend your arms into a “T” position. Interlace your fingers with your palms touching and pick a partner to go first. Gently, the first person should bring their hands just a little bit forward, pulling on their partner’s hands to create a stretch across their chest and shoulders. Then, you’ll switch. Communicate to ensure your partner’s comfort. This pose can give you a deep stretch so be careful not to move too quickly.

Back to Back Chair

Sometimes doing yoga together is just as much an exercise in communicating and working together just as it is a physical activity. The Back to Back Chair Pose is one of those. You’ve probably seen the non-couple version of this pose before, often done against a wall. When done correctly, it looks like someone is sitting in an invisible chair. For this version, instead of using a wall, you’ll use your partner.

Just as with the last pose, you’re going to start this one back to back. So, stand firmly against one another. Communicate as you slowly take small steps forward. Stop when you find your knees at a 90 degree angle. Your backs will still be pushing up against each other and your feet will planted in the ground, but you’ll be in a mirrored sitting position, supporting each other.

Old this pose for as long as you can, taking breaks when you need them.

Partner Boat Pose

This pose can be a little challenging for new yogis but if you’re ready for a balance and flexibility challenge, this one can be a lot of fun.

First, you’ll sit facing each other with feet on the ground and knees bent in front of you. Reach forward and hold hands outside of the knees. You should be just far enough away to not be able to bend your arms to reach your partner’s hands. If you’re sitting too close or too far, adjust.

You might want to sit in this spot for a few breaths to center yourself and find your balance. When you are both ready, lift one foot each (of corresponding legs) and touch your feet sole to sole. Strengthen those legs upward. Do the same with the other legs so that each of your legs are touching each other. If you look at yourselves in a mirror, you should look like the letter “A” with your legs forming the two sides and your arms as the horizontal line in the middle.

Be sure to engage your core and don’t forget to breath.

Hopefully you and your partner have lots of fun with these poses. You might even end up getting hooked and practicing yoga every day together. Not only will you get to improve your flexibility (and maybe get a little stress relief) but you’ll be able to spend that quality time with your honey—which makes it all the more wonderful.