How often have you walked away from a sensual movement session feeling less confident, underwhelmed with your "performance", and overall dissatisfied with your practice? It happens to all of us. Oftentimes when we leave a sensual movement practice feeling anything other than connected with our body, acquainted with our breath, and aligned with our pleasure there were some self-expectations, and social or self-ideals that simply weren't met.
It's time to re-introduce pleasure, ease, and presence into your sensual movement practice. ~ Desire'
Here are 3 ways to invite more pleasure and ease into your sensual movement practice :
1. You guessed it...The first way to invite more pleasure into your sensual movement practice is to drop your expectations.
Truthfully, expectations are an easy way to set yourself up for disappointment. When you're moving from a space of "this should be the outcome" you leave little to no room for ease. Although society loves to push the idea of multitasking, your mind can truly only focus on one thing at a time. Give yourself permission to focus on the here and now.
Instead of setting an intention focused on outcomes, try setting an intention to simply be present. No goals, no expectations, no resistance.
( Because the mind will often fall back into familiar patterns ) Next time that your mind begins to wander off into the "space of outcomes"....gently nudge yourself by closing your eyes and asking a few questions:
At this very moment, what is my body saying?
Is there any resistance within my body? If so, where?
How is my breath?
The moment that you begin to release expectations and focus on the present, you create space for your practice to be guided solely by pleasure.
2. Next...Release your judgments and surrender to the process.
"I should be further along. My movement doesn't look like theirs. There is nothing sexy, sensual, or erotic about my movement today." How often have you said one or all of these statements to yourself or someone else?
One of the main aspects of sensual feminine/yin energy is the ability to access your state of flow. ( I know within the movement community the definition of flow varies; however, at this moment I am simply discussing the opposition of force. ) For example, if you're menstruating you may be feeling more introspective and notice a major shift in your energy. That's ok. Or you may be ovulating and feeling erotic, sensual, sexual...all of the juicy feels. You may also be recovering from a long work or mothering week and feeling quite "out of touch" with your sensual body. Flow by embracing your current feels. These are just a few factors that will show up and continually play a major part in your sensual movement practice. Rather than judging your current movement abilities instead, try taking a few deep breaths and reminding yourself that your sensual movement journey is cyclical, not linear.
Be gentle with yourself by leaving the floor open for in-depth conversations with your emotional, sensual, and spiritual body. Oftentimes our inability to access ease stems from our disconnect with our cyclical nature.
Creating a judgment-free space for play, exploration, moodiness, and respect for your feminine body is an important factor in welcoming more pleasure into your sensual movement practice. ~ Desire'
3. Last but definitely not least...Breathe with intention.
From a very young age, many of us were taught that we are too loud, and let's take it a step further...simply taking up to much space. As a result, we've learned to stifle many of our natural bodily sounds including our breath. I resist that.
This familiar pattern of stifling our breath shows up in our sensual movement practices. Our inability to breathe fully often reflects in the way we move our bodies, the way we show up in our practice, and the way we express pleasure. You may have had internal conversations such as, "I would love to circle my hips, shake my ass, and throw my hands in the air but, I don't want to do too much." I know, I've been there. Re-acquainting with your breath invites self-acceptance, breaks the generational patterns of "playing small", and serves as a gentle reminder that you're multifaceted being. The greatest gift that you could give yourself is the sound of your breath.
Right now, pause your reading...and breathe fully. Inhale through your nose with the intention to hear the air as it enters the nasal passageway. Now, open your mouth and exhale. Give your breath sound. Observe how that deep intentional breath made you feel. Do you feel more confident, expansive, and embodied? Did you smile afterward at the amount of freedom that you felt? Or, did you notice an attempt to still "keep your breath quiet"? Don't judge your reaction, simply observe and muse on your findings later.
Our breath welcomes feelings, sensations, and presence. Without our breath, our body moves aimlessly without a real internal connection.
If you allow it, your breath will act as a pathway to your pleasure, your body, and ultimately your ability to take up space. ~ Desire'
I would love to hear your thoughts...what are some ways that you remain connected to pleasure and ease during your sensual movement practices?
** Have you been having a hard time tapping into your pleasure, re-acquainting with your sensuality, welcoming ease, and/or honoring your cyclical feminine nature?
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