One day, while writing at the coffee shop, I found myself within earshot of two women discussing ways of improving their sex drive. The two women appeared to be on their lunch break, they were of the professional caliber, wearing business power-suits and multitasking with their smart phones. The discussion varied from eating oysters to doing kegels during conference calls. The barista handed them their caffeinated concoction and they sauntered out the door leaving me to ruminate over their ideas toward a better libido.
Being polite and non-creepy, I kept my mouth shut. However, if my desire to serve superseded my fear of being the coffee shop creep, I would have jumped in and said this: The first rule of increasing your libido is to increase your blood flow. Now, there are obvious differences between the male and female reproduction system. Therefore, when considering supplements or diet, there are both male and female approaches. Regardless of our differences, both male and female reproductive organs rely on a steady and uninterrupted flow of blood to stay healthy.
The analogy of the garden hose works well on this topic. Imagine you have a five-foot garden and a five-foot garden hose to water all of your pots. Normally, each pot can be watered with ease. Put a kink in the hose, and now your hose is three feet, leaving some of your pots feeling a little thirsty. Analogy aside, you don’t have a five-foot garden hose. You have a network of arteries, capillaries and veins, about 60,000 miles long, called your circulatory system.
The best way of putting a kink in your hose, is to sit on it, and that is what most people do on a regular bases. There is a good chance that those businesswomen spend large portions of their day sitting. Sitting in traffic, sitting at their desks, sitting down for a meal, and sitting on the couch… because they have been working all day! These women are not alone. According to studies, Americans spend and average of 13 hours a day, sitting. All this seat warming has put a kink in our hose and the pot containing our love making organs is just out of reach.
Read more about standing up for better health
Our reproductive organs are based within the pelvic girdle. The pelvis connects our upper body with our lower body. Imagine a single line of energy descending from the top of the skull down through the torso, dividing into two at the hips and descending to the soles of our feet. When we sit, we are placing a kink in our hose resulting in a reduced blood flow. Aside from a lowered libido, poor circulation makes everything that the body needs to do, more difficult.
By now, if I were speaking with the two women, they would demand a solution. I would then say, “where sitting is the problem, yoga is the solution.” When we practice yoga regularly, we are systematically removing those kinks. Our circulatory system supports our nervous system, our skeletal system, our muscular system, our lymphatic system, our glandular system, our digestive system and of course our reproductive system. With consistent practice, we can improve our circulation, which will allow the rest of the body to find harmony.
Possibly, one of your biggest sexual organs rests between your ears. Internal harmony is gained from aligning your seven chakras. There are differences in thought regarding your chakras and how they correspond with your glandular system. I subscribe to the thought sexual energy resides in the Svadhisthana, or sacral chakra. Resting a few inches below your navel the sacral chakra acts as your sensual energy storage center. Energy from within your Svadhisthana radiates up your spine through the top of your skull, keeping your brain young, vibrant, and nourished. When you believe that your body is strong, lean, flexible and grounded, your sexual energy radiates without effort. When you feel weak, heavy and stiff, and stress controls your daily thoughts, sexual energy is stagnant.
A regular and well-rounded practice will work wonders in improving your circulation, aligning your chakras and is a pathway to unlocking an array of physical and mental abilities. In regards to libido, improving circulation to the pelvic region is critical. So, skip the fad diets and chemical based supplements and go to a yoga class three times a week, or more! A regular yoga practice should include meditation, inversions, backbends, forward bends, twists, and standing and prone asanas. A seasoned yoga practitioner will incorporate all the above in their sequences.
Every asana will improve circulation, somewhere in the body, but here is a six-minute sex sequence from my deliberate yoga practice that focuses on improving circulation within the pelvic girdle.
• Start in Child’s Pose. Firmly plant your palms into the mat while you sink your hips into your heals. Find your ujjay breath with the intention of fanning the flames of your sexual organs with each inhalation. Stay here for a full minute. Then come onto your hands and knees.
• Cat cow. Before you begin, imagine tying a string from your navel to your spine. Pull that string so that your navel lifts up toward your spine and keep it there. Now inhale and curl your spine maintaining your tight navel string. Exhale extend your spine, your chin parallel to the mat and your tailbone reaching toward the ceiling. Maintain your ujjay breath with the intention of washing your sexual organs in fresh blood, oxygen and energy. After 5 rotations, curl your toes, raise your hips and find your dog!
• Downward Dog. We will stay here for a full minute, so go in with the intention of receiving energy by expending energy. Push your palms away from the floor as you try to ground your heals into the earth. Burn your stress to heat up your sensuality. Don’t forget about that tight navel string. Walk your hands to your feet and enjoy a quick forward fold. Raise and squat.
• Garland Pose. From your squat, keep your heals on the floor and see how close you can bring your feet together. Ujjay breath is going, tight navel string is maintained; you are saturating your pelvis girdle in steamy hot blood with the intention of cultivating your sexual energy. After 5 breaths, gently lower your butt and come to a seated position.
• Bound Ankle Pose. Place your feet together and pull your heals into your groin while you lift your heart into a gentle back bend. Inhale deeply to fan the fire within your root chakra and exhale fully. After 5 breaths, release your bounds and lay on your back.
• Bridge Pose. You’re pelvic girdle is ripe with energy. Raise your hips into the air, in celebration and imagine this being an offering to the sex gods. After thirty seconds, slowly rest your spine to the mat and repeat for another 30 seconds.
• Happy Baby. I ended with this asana not just because it’s a position in the Kama Sutra, but also because, you can’t sit on your hose if your butt is sticking in the air! Take this heat and intention and release into Svanasana.
• Svanasana. Also known as Corpse pose, this neutral position provides an opportune time to harness this refreshed receiving energy. Use these last few Ujjay breaths to spread your sexual heat throughout your torso, your feet, and your hands and through each chakra.
Read more about herbs that enhance sexual vitality
At the end of my guided intentional sequence, if the two businesswomen were still listening, I’d reassure them I was a certified yoga instructor and not a coffee shop creep! They would likely rush off to their next meeting, with thoughts of breathing fire into the furnace of their sensual chakra! Hopefully, they would be inspired to take 6 minutes out of their coffee breaks to get deliberate with their desire, and unkink their hoses to improve their libido!
Be deliberate in your practice, be deliberate in your health, and be deliberate in life.
Namaste.
