Pleasure has saved my life more than once. In my darkest times, it was pleasure that brought me to wholeness. It was connecting more deeply and with my body that built me up again after feeling so torn down in these times of darkness. Tapping into feeling joy in my body has been my lifeline. It kept me sane during the pandemic, helped with every major transition in my life, and it’s what keeps me going every dang day.

For me it has been a journey of erotic wholeness, a deep tender exploration of self and a daily practice that keeps me grounded and happy. I weave so many of my Tantra practices into my 1:1 work and in Pleasure Playground. My work is ever evolving and rn I’m really interested in a Tantra-informed erotic movement practice, or what I am loosely calling an erotic journey to self. This is the foundational element I am bringing to the next round of Pleasure Playground in October.

I have cultivated a body/movement practice that both is grounding and awakens my erotic being. I have woven together intentional breath and sound with so many layers of dance/somatics that has become a sensual movement practice that is my own. 

That’s what Tantra feels like to me, savoring a multi-course meal, relishing in each flavor and experience. Pleasure without an agenda, anything can turn into an erotic experience given the right conditions and intention.

Letting go, trusting and knowing the experience that I received was FOR me, not being done to me (the Wheel of Consent is our constant guidepost in the classroom) was an act of liberation. I felt so free in that act of surrender. Words hardly do justice to the beauty of the experience. 

In case you missed it, I’ve been preparing all summer for the Urban Tantra training with Barbara Carrellas. I’m here for a week with 23 other tantrikas training in the mountains near my hometown.

I have been living an intentionally auto-erotic life for nearly two years. That means that with the exception of the erotic massage I received from a practitioner a couple of months ago, I have been the source of my body’s pleasure.

This is a good reminder that no & low stim pleasure practices are equally as nourishing for our bodies as orgasms or any kind of high stimulation activities. Sometimes my body wants to do nothing and that nothing can be equally if not more impactful than doing something.

I am so tapped into what my body desires. I have deepened my relationship to my body and have become an exquisite partner to myself.

I think it’s important to honor the whole body and build that trust within ourselves before we even entertain the idea of involving genitals. And we don’t need to engage them to orgasm or feel joy in our bodies. When/if we decide that we want to, the agency of that choice, the sacredness of the trust and reverence can open up a portal to pleasure way beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Pleasure, like orgasms is a journey and not a destination. When we think about the body as energy centers and pleasure as a way to expand and move energy in the body, our ability to achieve or feel pleasure is exponential. 

I feel the ease of moving with trust in everything I do, my body’s wisdom feels honored and it’s a deep satisfaction like I’ve never felt before.

I LOVE sensory play and one of the top criteria for selecting bedding for me is how it will feel on my skin.

I’ve been having fun experimenting with different movements to see how it affects my energy and mood. Today I played with spelling out the alphabet with my hips, it felt really good and made me laugh.

My daily pleasure practices have helped me stay grounded in self, allowing me to examine things that come up and process them in a myriad of ways. I have a treasure chest full of tools to support me.

When I’m excited it’s a way to express and feel that excitement and release little pressure/pleasure bubbles. When I’m feeling unmoored it’s a way to ground my energy. When I feel stagnation, it’s a way to move the energy. When I’m practicing breathwork it’s a way to feel my exhales more deeply.

I love living in that duality or expansiveness of a relationship, where something brings me so much joy and pleasure and also so much pain and heartache. The deep complexity of it is so beautiful. 

I felt a fire ignite, an excitement building to call in the next round of Pleasure Playground, my vision of what that would look like taking shape.

Surrender as an act of self love, as an act of pleasure by flowing with everything feeling and sensation that arises. Giving time and space to feel. To be.

The heat and the strength I felt was invigorating. It felt so good to be sure of my body and my balance. Powerful and full of pleasure.