What’s Breath Got To Do With It?

Sensuality, luscious beauties, begins with the breath. As a yoga teacher, over the years I have come to realize that just about everything has to do with breathing. When my little boy, who deals with hypersensitivities, has to endure something especially uncomfortable, I have taught him to use pranayama, or yogic breathing techniques to help him calm his mind, and ultimately cope with the discomfort. When I teach yoga, I’m teaching breathing techniques and breath consciousness while I teach postures. It’s actually more important, in my opinion, than the body postures because of how it affects the mind…and I think we all know that the mind is inextricably linked to sensuality!

Pondering the teaching of sensuality, it’s occurred to me that breathing is even more directly connected here as well. Sheri Winston, outstanding sexuality educator, does groundbreaking work teaching about anatomy, and also tells us that one can use breath for enhanced pleasure. Imagine yourself experiencing extreme pleasure. Do you tense up? Do you continue to breathe or hold your breath? Is your breath shallow, or deeper, or do you gulp and gasp and hold the air in? Most of us don’t pay attention to this, and what I’ve learned is that we are missing out on some of the most intense pleasure imaginable!

One of my favorite tantric teachers, Mare Simone, demonstrated some fabulous breathing exercises in a program I was involved with not long ago. She literally brought herself to orgasm with this breathing technique and nothing else. Many tantrikas (sexual healers) have this skill, as well as the knowledge of how the breath is deeply connected with the life force. This connects our sexual energy with our spiritual energy…resulting in a magnificent flow of ecstasy that moves up the spine called kundalini.

In the workshops that I facilitate, I teach women to move the energy through their bodies with their breath, and tune into the sensations of being in a sensual, ecstatic, vibrant, alive body. It changes the way they look, making their eyes shine and their skin glow. It puts a smile on their faces! Truly, sensuality is the essence of embodiment and pleasure deeply connected in the moment, elevated by breath…