Sex & Yoga

Sex, like food and money, is part of life and something we can't ignore. Yoga means balance, and this extends to sex as well. Many people approach sex from a place of lack and have it when they can, rather than when circumstances are truly conducive. The conscious person, when confronted with a take it or leave it situation, often leaves it as a matter of course. One's sexual life is often something which can take decades to bring into balance. People often use sex as the arena in which to validate themselves, revisit old wounds, and to try to find meaning in life. It is a very fortunate person who can learn early on that sexual energy can be immediately translated into powerful creativity and healing and that sex should be considered sacred. Even though energy is infinite, it is only infinite in us when we tune our physical vehicles accordingly. In the manner that it 'takes money to make money,' it also take energy to receive energy. The extent to which we can find balance in sex, food, etc., often determines the trajectory of our lives.

Some people, when they start Kundalini Yoga, decide to go on a "sex fast," for up to a year, to help repair their nervous systems from overindulgence in sexual activity in their earlier years. According to yoga, a man's nervous system isn't fully mature until about age 26, and too much sexual activity before that age is contraindicated. Women mature faster but this applies to them as well.

Kundalini Yoga doesn't take a moral stance against masturbation or any other aspect of sex. However, it does take the position that it is possible and preferable to sometimes transmute the sexual urge into creativity and self healing, rather than let it be dissipated. If you are not with a partner, and/or for spiritual reasons, want to transmute sexual urges, we recommend Frog Pose, Camel Pose, and Sat Kriya which is on our Delete Depression set on the Yoga Quick Fixes DVD (among other of our titles).

Another way to overcome desire in the moment is to inhale, hold the breath, and intensely feel the desire. As you exhale, slowly let it go. Breathing very slowly (8 times per minute or less) will help transform sexual desires on the spot.

In the Hatha Yoga tradition, in which celibacy plays a role, they warn against the use of onion and garlic because they are said to stir up "passions." In the Kundalini Yoga tradition, onion and garlic are prescribed for their healing properties because Kundalini Yoga is ideally able to transmute sexual energy.

There are many theories about sex and yoga, but we have seen that the healthiest, most balanced people, are the ones who have regular sex in a loving relationship. For many people, and for many reasons, it is not always possible to have regular sex in a loving relationship. If that is the case, it is a great time to intensify your spiritual practice and prepare yourself for when the optimal circumstances present themselves.

There are specific techniques in Taoist Yoga and some yoga traditions which advocate forced retention of semen. In Kundalini Yoga, it is felt that this approach (sort of like the caste system in India) is actually a mundane (and erroneous) interpretation of a more subtle concept. Kundalini Yoga advocates having normal sex but in moderation. The meaning of moderation is different for everyone. Some yogis say that sex once a month is the ideal. We feel that for most people, around two times a week is more realistic.

Yoga theory says that it takes 80 bites of food to create 1 drop of blood and 80 drops of blood to create 1 drop of semen (or intra-uterine blood). According to yoga, semen when transmuted, becomes ojas, life essence, which is sort of a rarefied form of cerebral spinal fluid which facilitates the rising of Kundalini energy and lubricates the brain. The concept behind that is that it is good to save some energy for the inner work rather than expend energy indiscriminately. Kundalini Yoga theory states, that with regard to sex, quality is more important than quantity.

Kundalini Yoga states that when two people have loving sex there is a blend of auras and both people actually get more energy back. So, bottom line, what Kundalini Yoga advocates is a balanced lifestyle which entails loving sex and a committed relationship. Sex is more than just a joining of bodies, it's also an energy experience. In some spiritual traditions, there is the opinion that sex with too many people can muddy up one's energy and psyche, and that, on some level, the people with whom we have sex will continue to affect us, and vice versa. If you find validity in that assumption then it is important to consciously pick your partners.