Making Time For Pleasure

When everything is just too overwhelming and life seems to be racing in a zillion directions, how do you handle it? Do you drink more coffee, try to do more, stay up later, get up earlier, or break down? Do you let stress build and ignore it? Do you just stuff your face with sugar like I do? It's a huge challenge to stay focused and prioritized, and to make the time for rest and balance in these times. We have so many mediums of communication all vying for our attention, not to mention careers to work, families to tend to, functions to attend, plans to make, appointments to keep. The list goes on and the stress seems to mount, until we find ourselves either sick or in breakdown somehow. I see many people who seem to wait until they're sick for a small break, and then they jump back up before they're even ready to go back into the ring for more. It's scary to watch. I can't help but wonder if they are truly happy, or just afraid to stop. For some, I'm sure that staying in the game full frontal brings them joy, but this isn't not true for everyone. The perfect antidote for stress is pleasure. Nothing gives us more of an "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" feeling. It doesn't really take much if we learn to breathe and center our attention on our hearts, get present with the moment, and then feel into it. I don't believe that pleasure can happen when our minds are racing in the opposite direction. Ever tried to completely relax while running? Doesn't work that well, does it? You have to get the mind to stop, drag it back to where your body is and sync your system up with the now. Only then can you really be with whatever pleasure you're offering yourself. One of the more advanced routes to pleasure is associated with our sexuality, and in a pinch our sexuality can be channeled into any activity and then it becomes sensuality, which is highly pleasurable. Pleasure in eating something delicious, feeling the sun on your face, getting a shoulder rub, stretching, looking at beautiful art or photos, listening to gorgeous music...these are all so pleasurable. If we focus on feeling our bodies respond as we enjoy these activities, we are officially having a sensual experience. This is where the pleasure we are feeling can light up our brains, our groins, our whole physiology, and we are healing, opening, and receiving the relaxation and rejuvenation we crave. In the book, The Pleasure Zone, Resnick lists the 8 fundamental pleasures as being primal, pain relief, play, mental, emotional, sensual, sexual, and spiritual. The last three can "be thought of as the consummate realms for reaching your pleasure potential", she says. Take some time out for pleasure today and if it feels good try it daily for a while

. I would love to hear back from you how it affects your life.

Sensuality: Do You Purr or Do You Purrrr?

There are many ways to tap into this inherent gift of sensuality. We’re all born with it, but some of us just don’t know it yet. I’m here to give you the lowdown on how to be the source of your own turn on and in turn, turn the world on.

Revving up your sensuality engine is as easy as pie…literally. Especially if you like pie! Eating can be deeply sensual or unconscious and robotic, and anything in between. It’s really the energy that you bring to your senses that awakens them and the interplay between you and the object of your attention.

Consider the difference between sensory and sensual. Sensory is about the senses and the physical sensations that go with it. Sensuality is a personified energetic experience of being alive and turned on to life! Being turned on is a key aspect of sensuality because it truly is a process of anticipation mixed with sensation and filled with inherent satisfaction.

Try these simple exercises that will enhance your capacity to feel, smell, hear, taste, and see. For starters, and a little lesson from nature, watch your cat bathe herself while purring. Without the purr, it’s kind of a silent ho hum action. While purring? That kitty is enjoying herself, loving her paws, loving the moment, basking in happy. Clearly, the inherent joy inside kitty cat is what turns her from a lick machine into a sensuality pro.

Then you might try the fresh outdoors for a veritable smorgasbord of sensory delights. Instead of rushing around and living in your head talk about what you need to do next, try stopping and taking a few mindful breaths the next time you’re outside. Smell the air and take it into your lungs deeply, feeling the texture of the air in your mouth. Look at the sky and admire the hue of blue that particular day. Notice the feel of a breeze across your cheek or the sunshine on your skin. Listen to that same breeze in the trees, and see if you can hear more than one bird.

Another simple way to tap into your sensual self is with food. Instead of fast inhalation of a meal, take the time to savor each bite, rolling it around on your tongue…so many textures, tastes, sensations. By taking a few seconds several times a day, your senses will actually sharpen and you’ll begin to wake up the parts of yourself that may have gone numb. Nerve endings become more sensitive and the world is suddenly a playground of ecstasy!

Is it really that easy? Absolutely, but you have to be willing to risk the sex appeal you will begin to ooze. You might find yourself falling in love with nature in a new way, and you might find yourself surrounded by people who just love being near you because of how it makes them feel. You just might become really, really sensual…