The term and concept of energetic sexuality as a whole has been creating quite a buzz throughout sexuality and wellness conversation in recent years, as spiritual and tantric erotic practices increasingly claim their rightful space in western contemporary sexuality discourse.

This was only reaffirmed by the spotlight on Miss Jaiya’s work with Erotic Blueprints on the 2021 Netflix series, Love, Sex & Goop, but it is important to acknowledge that practices in energetic sexuality and energetic orgasm actually come from a rich ancestral philosophy and spiritual lineage, and therefore hold not only a lot of validity in their claiming of space, but also a lot of power in what they stand for, and more specifically, what they ask us to do.

Expanding our Concept

Essentially, to tap into any sort of potential for energetic pleasure and energetic orgasm within one’s self, one must first expand their definitions of pleasure and orgasm. Most often, we think of both of these concepts as existing only within the realm of the physical and material, and it can be hard to separate how we think of pleasure and orgasm from their ties to the physical things that pleasure us to the point of orgasm, whatever they may be. To even leave orgasm out of the conversation for a moment, it can still be challenging to explore pleasure itself as a concept as detached from the physical, as we do, as humans, dominantly experience pleasure through the senses. We link pleasure to sensuality, and sensuality to sex, and all of these connect in the physical world to create what we know as sexual arousal. What does it look like to separate pleasure from the senses then, to separate it from the physical?

Have you ever spent time with someone and found yourself thinking “I just feel good around them, I just like their energy,” or perhaps come out of a meditation feeling an elevated state of bliss or wellbeing in your body, without anything happening to you physically? These are very common examples of what we can refer to as energetic pleasure.

Let’s take this then into our conceptualization of energetic sexual pleasure, and in doing so expand our definition of orgasm. Peaking back at Jaiya’s work with erotic blueprints, the concept she operates on is that each of us has a different experience of arousal, things that turn us on, which makes our sexuality unique. Many of us however, simply just aren’t aware of our own turn-ons and paths to arousal, what Jaiya calls our erotic blueprints, and therefore are often left feeling as though something is wrong with us for not feeling aroused or pleasured by the things our partner(s) may find pleasure in. In this disconnect, often what gets sacrificed is, well you guessed it, pleasure.

While Jaiya’s work operates on the premise of meeting folks where they’re at in their erotic blueprint and working in ways that align with our most dominant sources of pleasure (energetics being one of these paths), the concept of energetic sexual pleasure operates on the fact that we are all literally made of energy. Therefore, if we are all made of the same energy, we all have access to energetic pleasure, though we do not all know how to access it within ourselves.

Tapping into Energy

Whether you are aware of it or not, beyond your physical body is an energetic being, made of the same energy as the rest of the universe, in constant fluctuation and movement, governed by highly powerful energy centers and channels which make up a complex and intricate system.

These energy centers (chakras) and channels (nadis) in our bodies govern our thoughts, desires, actions, emotions, and sexuality on a more than physical level constantly, though they can be quite subtle. While these things may be influenced by many material factors such as lifestyle, health, geographical location and so on, it is also possible to start to tap into and gain control of our energetic responses if we can start to understand the universal laws and rules they are governed by. If we can start to swim with the current instead of against it, or instead of simply hopping over it as we often do in the western world, we will have a far greater chance of discovering how to use its power to our advantage. Essentially, we can turn up the volume.

Sexual Energy

Sexual energy is very much part of this larger system. On its most basic level, our sexual energy is located and governed by the sacral chakra (Svadhishthana), which is physically located near and associated with the genitals. When kept here and only utilized in relation to the genitals, our sexual energy is able to manifest in very linear, limited (albeit very pleasurable) experiences with a beginning, middle and end. Here we find what we traditionally refer to as an orgasm, stimulated physically and experienced physically.

To introduce energetic orgasm then, is to go beyond these limited experiences with their beginning, middle and end, and see what lives beyond the climax.

Expanding our Orgasm

If physical orgasm is holding our sexual energy only within the space of the sacral chakra, the genitals, then energetic orgasm is a flooding of sexual energy throughout the entire body. It is accessed through use of one of the central concepts in Tantric Yoga, Kundalini. In a very short summary, Kundalini is the rising of life force energy upward through the body’s main energy channels (the Sushumna Nadi, connected through the chakras) to the crown chakra, (Sahasrara). If you’re new to Tantric philosophy, I would highly recommend doing some studying and practicing with a Tantric practitioner prior to setting off on your energetic orgasm or Kundalini Awakening journey alone. While energetic orgasm can definitely be experienced without a partner, in the beginning, it is most accessible by having a trained practitioner help you to develop a relationship with your energetic sexual body through intentional, orchestrated energetic body work.

The main difference in the experience between a physical and energetic orgasm, other than how they are achieved, is that while a physical orgasm stays in the physical realm, and therefore only discharges energy outward from the body during climax, an energetic orgasm discharges energy up and through the body, resulting in an experience that is not at all linear in the way we understand an orgasm to be. Energetic orgasm is experienced in more expansive and longer lasting pleasure than its physical counterpart, manifesting in waves of continual pleasure rather than in one quick, definitive release. Because of its non-linear nature though, in order to access this pleasure in one’s self, one must release their linear understanding of orgasm and open to the fluidity of energy.

Another main difference here, is that due to the nature of using energy rather than anatomy, energetic orgasm may look and feel different to different bodies. There is not one, clearly definable experience of energetic orgasm, and the path to get there may be influenced by the emotional or energetic blockages already present in your body. This is why it is often best to seek guidance from a trained practitioner when you first start out. When it does happen though, this energetic release can bring a sense of ecstasy that transcends the physical and ripples through the entire being, healing and transforming on multiple levels at once.

But, how?

The first step on your energetic orgasm journey may seem very simple and relatively un-sexy. The first step is to start to develop awareness of your energetic body as a whole. Start to take inventory of your emotions, thoughts, feelings, and where these things are coming from in the body. The best way to do this is to slow down.

If you don’t already have a meditation practice, this is the best way to start to build connection with your energetic body. Even 15-20 minutes of meditation daily can help to bring you into the body enough to feel the subtle flow of energy at any given time. In order to hear the faint calls of our energetic body, we must first be quiet enough, still enough, to do so.

Once you’ve established a meditation practice as part of your lifestyle, then you can start to play with visualization.

Guided Meditation

For those with an established meditation practice, starting to move your sexual energy has to begin where it’s at, in the sacral chakra. Enter into meditation however is in your practice that feels most natural to you, take the path of least resistance.

Once you’ve entered meditation and grounded here, you can begin focusing your awareness. Start to visualize a pool of golden energy swirling in the space between your navel and your genitals. Bring all of your awareness down into this space until you can start to feel a sense of warmth building here.

After you’ve started to build some energetic heat (physical sensations may accompany this, and this is completely normal), begin to practice circle breathing.

In short, circle breathing is a type of breathwork (pranayama) which draws the breath from the low belly up through the nostrils, matching the length of the inhale with the length of the exhale without any time in between.

Keeping your awareness on the pool of golden sexual energy at the sacral chakra. Use circle breathing to visualize drawing this energy upward from the pool through the rest of your body with each inhale.

Initially, begin with long, slow breaths as you first start to play with moving the energy upward from its chamber. As you get more comfortable with this movement, you can begin to gradually speed up your breathing, pulling the energy up through your body, higher and higher with each breath. Slowly increasing the speed of the breath can increase sensation and energetic movement. See where this takes you.

Any sensations (tingling in the extremities, perhaps heat building in the physical body) are normal, and like with any other sexual practice, continue this practice in a way that feels good for as long as it feels good.

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I will not promise that you will reach energetic orgasm on your first try with this practice, as I highly suggest seeking out an energetic practitioner for your first go at this sort of pleasure. I will suggest that you view this meditation practice as making initial contact with the concept of energetic pleasure as a whole. You have to start somewhere. You cannot expect to reach orgasmic ecstasy through your energy if you have never first established a relationship to your energy in the same way that you probably won’t make yourself cum in the physical sense if you don’t somehow explore physical pleasure.

What I can promise however, is that energetic orgasm is possible for all humans occupying all bodies. You are made of energy if you are able to read this, and however it looks or feels to you, you are a sexual being. The experience of sexuality is a diverse and varied and non-linear component of human existence, so let it be that!

Let it be expansive, let it be limitless, release the definitions that place binaries on your pleasure and explore what lives beyond the climax.

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Written by Taylor Neal

(she/they) A Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, writer, yoga instructor and sex worker's advocacy support worker, Taylor strives to dive deeply into the endless complexity that is raw, authentic human experience. They are committed to an ongoing exploration of intimacy, sexuality, and how humans can foster loving relationships with their bodies, and they strive to offer this space with their teachings, art and writing. Practically, Taylor combines their background in dance and performance, their passion for the written word, and their curiosity within contemporary visual art and photography, with their studies in Communications, Art History, Feminist Theory, Design for Theatre and Fashion Design. Their cumulative work and practice comes together as a holistic exploration of identity, movement, sexuality, and how the embodied subject navigates space and the natural world. To connect with Taylor, you may find them at their website taylorneal.ca, on Instagram @nzzltea, or through their podcast, Full Bloom Pod, on Apple Music and Spotify.