Boost your intimate bond by tapping into these red-hot therapies to increase your sexual confidence
It’s hard to be a sizzling sex goddess every day. In fact, it’s often the last thing on your mind when you’ve got work to do and a pile of dirty washing to sort through.
But connecting with our sexuality plays a vital role in our physical, emotional and spiritual health, helping us to tune into our bodies and to celebrate our powerful feminine energy. So, if you feel like you’ve lost your mojo, now is the time to take action. Try one of these sizzling therapies to embrace your goddess power and turn up the heat in the bedroom tonight!
1. Tantric healing
Contrary to popular belief, tantra isn’t about having sex for hours on end to reach spiritual nirvana. Coming from the ancient Sanskrit term meaning ‘the weaving and expansion of energy’, it actually focuses on using everything in life, including sexuality, to grow and expand consciousness through meditation, breathwork, ritual, movement and touch. Relationship therapist and coach Jan Day runs classes and retreats for groups, individuals and couples, including her Living Tantra workshops which she describes as “a learning space where you can grow into celebrating your natural, healthy sexuality with ease, playfulness, tenderness, consciousness, integrity and joy.” Through this tantric work you will experience deeper levels of intimacy, connection and trust in relating to others. For more information, go to janday.com
2. Ecstatic dance
People have danced in ritual ceremonies since time immemorial, and research shows that dance and movement therapy can help with all kinds of emotional problems, boosting body image and self-esteem and reducing anxiety, isolation and depression. What’s not to love? Classes and workshops such as the immensely popular 5Rhythms and Biodanza draw from indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy. Devotees say it helps to boost confidence, get in touch with your body, tune into your inner self and connect with like-minded people. It’s a no brainer – get your dancing shoes on! For more information, go to 5rhythms.com or biodanzaassociation.uk
3. Sacred womb ceremonies
These powerful healing rituals use meditation and visualisations to tune into your own natural rhythms, menstrual cycles or menopause to boost your feminine power. Therapist Chloe Isadora explains that, when you learn to inhabit your own body, a natural sexual confidence occurs. “From the loving, kind and compassionate, to the wild woman in her rage and fury, this means allowing yourself to be fully seen and heard, feeling comfortable in your own skin and being truly you. The simple act of walking slowly and feeling your hips sway can be an incredibly erotic experience.” The ceremony opens by creating a sacred space, followed by meditations to connect to the earth energy and visualisations to ‘awaken’ your womb. “After the ceremony, we drop into a deep space of relaxation, to receive messages from our wombs, and close with soothing nourishing womb-to-heart breath,” says Chloe “After the transmission there is space for some sharing as it’s always beautiful to hear, learn and grow from other women’s experiences. Together we close the sacred space and integrate with rose tea and home-made raw chocolate.” For more information, go to chloeisadora.com
4. Kundalini yoga
Often called the ‘sleeping goddess’ or ‘serpent power’, kundalini yoga teaches us how to raise our sexual energy up through our spines and through the yogic techniques of kriya, pranayama and meditation, to reach higher planes of consciousness. Teacher Carolyn Cowan runs women-only urban retreats called ‘Kundalini and the Exploration of the Female Arousal Cycle’ that aim to boost sexual confidence by exploring pleasure, arousal and kundalini energy. The two-day workshops look at the female sexual nervous system, arousal paths and physical responses that allow the female body to orgasm. “One in three to one in ten women do not orgasm. This topic always comes up when we’re in the room,” says Carolyn. “We will learn what stops orgasm happening, the negative self talk, cultural messages and life experiences that can interrupt the divine pleasures of the female orgasm. There is homework, intimacy, connection and a really safe space in which to ask all the questions you can never ask.” For more information, go to carolyncowan.com
5. Jade egg work
This ancient taoist technique, made popular by Gwyneth Paltrow recently, helps to strengthen and tone the vaginal and pelvic floor muscles to boost your sexual energy. Other benefits include curing incontinence and improving your ability to orgasm. While conventional methods include the popular kegel exercises, practising with a jade egg, which is believed to balance and regenerate the body, addresses the interplay of the breath and the pranic energy of the pelvic region. Cheryl MacDonald runs womenonly classes with jade eggs called YoniYoga. “Our classes focus on improving pelvic floor health and healing dysfunction, as well as ultimately embracing your sexuality and making friends with your vajajay,” says Cheryl. “There is no nudity in the class and you can choose to practise YoniYoga with or without the use of the jade egg, as you will still experience benefits.” For more information, go to yogabellies.com
6. Goddess energy
This feminine healing therapy focuses on celebrating your sacred power by getting in touch with your deeper desires. The Abundant Goddess Immersion is an intensive two-day online workshop run by spiritual counsellor Maia Mires. The course will help you to let go of old painful patterns and embrace your inner goddess. It includes teachings, consciousness shifting tools and powerful divine feminine initiations. “You will be reconnected with your Divine Mother, work on your ancestral wounds, heal your body shame and understand what it takes to transform your reality into a consciousness that emanates no fear but only peace and love,” says Maia. For more information, go to the website spiritualcounselling.co.uk
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