The Self Pleasure Principle: MOVEMENT

Category: Sex Education

I believe each of us carries an inner sense of joy that awakens when we express ourselves freely, without imposed limits. The same feeling flows through movement in dance. Dance is a fundamental language of expression in every culture.

Looking back through time, from the days when humans lived in caves to the present, across modern societies and Aboriginal traditions and within tribal ceremonies, dance has always stood at the heart of ritual. The moment we surrender to the pleasure of movement, we allow the conscious mind to unhook from the churn of thought.

At the same time, that conscious part connects with the inseparable wisdom that rests within the body.

Our culture leans heavily toward the intellect, perhaps too much. Dance is joyful and full of pleasure; it offers a way to step out of the head and into the body, into the present moment we inhabit. I believe that dancing regularly, or practicing any kind of movement, is vital for the psychological, emotional and spiritual health of both men and women. We live in a very rigid world that often numbs emotion, and the simplest way to reconnect with our human essence is through free and cheerful dance.

Sensual dance is profoundly healing for women, as it cultivates feminine qualities in motion such as fluidity, grace, beauty and of course sensuality.

Many successful businesswomen will tell you that on the road to achievement they lost, or felt compelled to sacrifice, their connection with the feminine. As their mental and emotional stance grew more yang or conventionally masculine, they noticed their bodies became tighter and more rigid, especially through the pelvic region.

Allow me to introduce five foundational pelvic movements that are simple, effective and a beautiful way to reconnect with the sensuality that lives deep within.

According to recent research, women whose pelvic movements are open and fluid reach orgasm more readily and often experience multiple orgasms. This makes sense, since the pelvis is home to our sexual energy. When we are rigid and closed in that area, energy is unlikely to circulate as it should. The same research found that women who experience vaginal orgasms do not have locked pelvic muscles. As a result, their gait is more natural; there is a clear, unimpeded link between the movement of the legs, the pelvis and the spine. Open, mobile and fluid pelvic motion is a sign of good mental health and a strong intimate bond.

An open, unimpeded range of motion in the pelvic area directly improves physical and emotional health, since it allows the energies in the lower half of the body to circulate more freely.

Taoist teacher Mantak Chia states: "The coccyx and the sacrum are centers where the major nerves gather; they connect closely with the organs and the glands. When they are open and connected, a person feels balanced; when they are closed, one feels imprisoned."

The sacred pump is one of the key mechanisms that moves lymph through the lower body. When it is closed, or the pathway is congested, the system clears toxins less effectively. That can undermine physical health and dampen responsiveness to sexual sensation. Physical movement, including exercise, also releases feel good neurochemicals that uplift mood, such as dopamine, endorphin, estrogen and serotonin. These practices are designed to expand the range of motion of the female pelvis and to awaken dormant or stagnant physical, sexual and emotional energy in and around the pelvis, the genitals and the entire body.

The five pelvic movements are:

1. Thrusting movements
2. Circular movements
3. Semi circular movements
4. Figure eight movements
5. Undulating movements

These five movements can be further explored as isolated or expanded motions, and practiced forward or backward. The openness that begins to bloom through the pelvis rises into the upper body, which naturally restores a pelvic to heart connection.

Yet the exciting benefits of these movements and of sacred erotic feminine dance are not only physical. These methods transform the emotional relationship we have with our bodies and strengthen confidence in our sensual self expression. Human beings are creatures of habit, and we tend to repeat the same movement patterns.

These patterns mirror our mental and emotional life experience. How we think and how we feel about ourselves is written on the body. When we are happy and think bright thoughts, our bodies feel lighter, more fluid and healthier. In contrast, when we feel depressed or fixate on painful thoughts, our bodies feel heavy and slow, and our resistance to illness drops. Once again we return to the idea that thoughts are alive; they shape not only our outer reality but also how vividly we feel our physical bodies.

To complicate matters, the thoughts we are not aware of often shape our reality. We act from patterns we cannot consciously change because we do not even know they exist. The practices and dance described here work with the whole body and invite naturally pleasurable and sensual movements that gently reveal restricted areas in the pelvis or anywhere in the body. In doing so, they bring unconscious emotional energies to light that may have been trapped there. That energy then releases through joy and dance. It is that simple and remarkably effective.

The sensual dance of the five pelvic movements

Each of the five pelvic movements carries an emotional resonance that matches the gesture. These movements offer a guide for widening your sensual vocabulary and for exploring your sensual self expression with joy, innocence, curiosity and play.

The five facets of sensual self expression are:

1. Bold
2. Flirtatious
3. Graceful
4. Seductive
5. Extravagant

There are many facets of feminine expression, yet most of us feel comfortable and accepted when we use only one or two. Through this practice and dance you will have the chance to try on these different aspects and qualities of your femininity. By exploring beyond your current range, you will rediscover parts of yourself you hid, suppressed or distanced because you often heard messages that such behavior was not appropriate.

We tend to close off certain parts of ourselves without realizing we have done so. If we do not expand beyond the modes of expression we currently use, we will never fully rediscover the fragmented parts of our being. These practices provide a supportive space where you can celebrate every form of sensual self expression. With their help, you will activate and enrich the core energies in your body while supporting emotional and physical wellbeing through conscious movement and dance.

The table of the five foundational pelvic movements and the five facets of sensual self expression, and how they relate to the five elements earth, water, air, fire and ether.