Elevate yourself to a place of intimacy, creativity and healing, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Announcing the launch of the Yoga for Better Sex series on My Yoga Online.

Unlock the secrets of Tantra, unleash your Kundalini energy, and find your creative center! From February 1-14, they’re releasing a video per day, plus articles dedicated to helping you ignite your love life. Learn how the techniques of yoga – including pranayama, bandhas, asanas, kriyas and more – can enhance the sensual aspects of your physical and metaphysical self.

The Yoga for Better Sex series starts today!  Click here to access the series.

Oh! Did I forget to mention…? It’s free.

Excerpt from Day #1…

Krista Novakowski

“Tantra is an ancient practice with its origins in both India and Tibet and in translation it is defined as the warp of the loom. This is symbolic of the web that is the interconnection of our holographic Universe.” -  Krista Novakowski

Krista believes that in Yoga we are each individual laboratories and that we really need to honor the techniques that are transmitted to us, giving them the time and practice they deserve in order to understand how they are truly working on us, eventually discovering which techniques are most beneficial for our personal sadhana. She now resides in Vancouver, where she co-runs a branch of Agama Yoga as well she  holds Tantra workshops, Shakti groups, Hridaya Silent Meditation retreats, holds various Tantric Rituals and teaches Kamala Yoga for Shaktis. She is so thankful to share the teachings that have been most transformational in her life and are still the core of her current sadhana.

Centrefold is an award-winning, animated documentary presenting the personal accounts of three women who have had a labiaplasty. Ellie Land uses animation and moving images to explore issues such as femininity, gender politics, education and identity. She is particularly interested in documenting difficult, culturally complex subjects, seeking to represent them in a way that is accessible to all audiences. Her film was officially launched at the Wellcome Trust on July 12, 2012 with a screening and lively debate chaired by Dr. Phil Hammond. Panel members included author and psychotherapist Susie Orbach and ‘Great Wall of Vagina‘ sculptor Jamie McCartney.

Watch the film, leave a comment and do get in contact if you require further information about the project to hello@thecentrefoldproject.org.

LINKS:

THE INDEPENDENT 2nd October 2012 Why have vaginas – which were once so worshipped – become taboo?

WOMANS HOUR RADIO 4 25th July 2012 The Rise of Labiaplasty Operations - featuring a clip from the film and interview with Lih-Mei Liao, Centrefold’s partner and medical expert from University College London Hospitals .

BBC NEWS (online) 24th July 2012 The rise in woman seeking the perfect vagina by Melissa Hogenboom

HUFFINGTON POST 24th July 2012 Why do so many woman want to have ‘designer’ genitals by Sara C Nelson?

WELLCOME TRUST (online) 20th July 2012 New short film Centrefold tackles the ethics of labiaplasty by Meredith Thomas

RUDE MAGAZINE (online) 20th July 2012 Are more woman seeking a perfect vagina? 

METRO RADIO 12th July 2012 New animation on plastic surgery

Sex toys are set to match smartphone sales in the next ten years, and much of this is due to the increasing salaries and freedom of women in America over the past few generations.

Presented by Adam & Eve – Scandalous facts you didn’t know about sex toys.

Oblation Run at University of the Philippines Los Banos

The term, streaking was first popularized by a reporter for a local Washington, D.C. news station in 1973, Wikipedia informs, ”…as he watched a mass nude run taking place at the University of Maryland. That nude run had 533 participants. As the collected mass of nude students exited Bel Air dorm, the reporter, whose voice was broadcast live over the station via a pay phone connection exclaimed… ‘They are streaking past me right now. It’s an incredible sight!’ The next day it was out on the Associated Press wire as ‘streaking’ and had nationwide coverage.“

So, if you missed World Naked Gardening Day (May 14), World Naked Bike Ride Day (June 11) or World Naturist Day (June 19) there’s still a chance to “officially” streak for relief from the summer heat!

On Saturday, July 14, 2012 the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) will honor the art of body painting and the body as a living canvas as part of their 37th Annual Nude Recreation Week celebrations (July 9-15) at participating member parties, clubs, resorts and officially designated nude beaches across North America.

Think this is a flash in the pan fad? Think again. Body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in tribal cultures for millennia and still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and parts of Africa. In fact scholars believe body painting actually predates the first cave paintings by tens or possibly hundred of thousands of the years.

More recently however, since the 1960s, body painting has enjoyed a revival, or Renaissance of sorts throughout Western Society. Remember the Demi Moore Vanity Fair cover of August 1992, multiple Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues featuring models in spray paint bikinis or the Super Bowl XLVI GoDaddy commercial?

Then, in her mid-twenties she discovered yoga and realized that , “…it was practiced in bare feet (no ugly trainers required, yay!) and every class ends in lying down,” she was sold. Yoga got her to connect with her body, but she was looking for more. Ballet? Hip-hop? Belly dancing? …all rejected as too formal, too hard or too silly.

“Then I saw pole dancing,” Chwenny says. “…sensuality, grace, girly-ness, and spiked heels. Very interesting!”

I have added her Website to our blogroll for those readers who are interested in getting first hand insights from a pole dancer. She is dedicated, delightful and Chwenny even has her own YouTube Channel.

“Suddenly, I’ve found a form of exercise that I can’t get enough of!” She says she can, “…still act like a super girly girl, and I’m still a whimpy little nerd at heart who hates sports, but I can lift my own body weight on a vertical metal pole now while wearing 5″ heels.”

Make plans to join us on September 27 at 9 am EDT for Amara’s Virtual Book Launch… an online Web party celebrating the launch of ‘The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka.’ It’s a one-hour worldwide Web chat where you can join with invited guests in a live chat dialogue. It’s also a great way to connect personally with author and teacher Amara Charles.

To celebrate and help Amara’s book hit #1 on Amazon on the magic launch day, we’re asking everyone to wait to buy their copy of ‘The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka’ on September 27, 2011! Having a great surge on Amazon makes a huge difference to the book’s worldwide availability and longevity.

Space in the Virtual Book Launch Party at 9 am EDT is limited. In order to participate, you must reserve your spot in advance. Click to register. Connect with Amara and the following special guests in this one-hour worldwide Web chat:

• Thunder Strikes, founder and pioneer of the Quodoushka teachings
• Peter Thomas, Australia Quodoushka Organizer
• Kamala Devi, Tantra Theater and Mistress Sacred Bliss Coach
• Kristen Viken, Shamanic De-armoring Master Facilitator
• Pamela Madsen, NYT best-selling author
• Steven Barnes, NYT best-selling science fiction author

“In Amara Charles’s brave new book, The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka, she introduces us to the little known world of sexual healing known at Quodoushka. You don’t need to be a Tantra Geek, or a New Age bindi-wearing goddess to find this book transformational. Inside it’s easy to read pages, you will find a compassionate and extraordinary way to learn about sex. If you are ready to go deeper into your own sexuality – pick up this book.” – Pamela Madsen, author of Shameless: How I Ditched The Diet, Got Naked, Found True Pleasure and Somehow Got Home in Time To Cook Dinner

“Quodoushka’s Fire Breath full-body orgasm was absolutely the most valuable thing I ever learned about sex. This hotly anticipated brave book is a treasure trove of wisdom that raises the bar on sex education. Amara Charles knows these practices intimately, and her enthusiasm for her subject rubs off. Great for beginners to advanced.” – Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., author of Dr. Sprinkle’s Spectacular Sex

“The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka beautifully complements the ancient knowledge of the Taoist shaman. These transformational teachings reveal ways to deepen and strengthen relationships and offer a means to access the universal healing forces of creation.” – Master Mantak Chia, author of Healing Love through the Tao: Cultivating Female Sexual Energy and Taoist Secrets of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy

Remember, you must register in advance to participate in the live one-hour worldwide Web chat with Amara Charles and friends.

If you are in the Phoenix, AZ region, come to the live Book Signing Party on September 27 at 8pm including: music, food, RPC fundraiser. Details TBA at www.AmaraCharles.com.

“In The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka, Amara Charles captures the essence of intimacy. From personal experience, I can say unequivocally that she is brilliant, knowledgeable, and an absolute cauldron of vital energy. This book will guide you to become a more caring lover, free blocked energy, and delight in your body to align your human, animal, and spiritual aspects. Charles’ explanations of sexual anatomy types is a genuine revelation. The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka can make a quantum shift in the way you approach sex and intimacy.” – Steven Barnes, NYT best selling author, lecturer and martial artist

The statute criminalizes individuals who offer or agree to have oral or anal sex for money by requiring them to register as a sex offender upon conviction, while a conviction under Louisiana’s prostitution statute triggers no such requirement. This archaic and discriminatory law is founded on moral disapproval and outdated notions of what kinds of sex acts are acceptable.

Doe v. Jindal was filed in the United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans on behalf of nine anonymous plaintiffs. Some of the plaintiffs have multiple convictions of Crime Against Nature by Solicitation and as a result must register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. The lawsuit alleges that being forced to register as a sex offender because of a Crime Against Nature conviction (which is the only offense requiring registration that includes no element of force, coercion, lack of consent, use of a weapon, or the involvement of a minor) serves no legitimate purpose whatsoever. As such, it is unjustifiable and unconstitutional.

Learn more about the Crime Against Nature Statute. Read Eight Years After Lawrence, Sodomy Laws Are Alive and Kicking, a blog post by CCR Staff Attorney Alexis Agathocleous.

Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway 7th floor
New York NY 10012
212.614.6464

Lou Andreas-Salomé

“Everybody’s gotta learn sometimes,” says the Beck lyric that launches the film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Each day I awake to a dream thread, a thin filament that I can choose to follow or ignore. If my eternally busy chatter-mind starts to take over… the dream’s filament thread is surely lost. But, if I immediately concentrate and begin to gently pull, tracing the thread in a state of no-mind, I am rewarded with gifts and surprises.

A few days ago, it was one of those traced threads that led me to discover and learn more about a Russian lover named Lou… and a very powerful triforce. Lou Andreas-Salomé was at the core of a ménage à trois that included Paul Ree and Friedrich Nietzsche. She went on to have a lifelong relationship with the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, 15 years her junior. It was Salomé who began calling him Rainer rather than René, taught him Russian, introduced him to Pushkin and Tolstoy.

Lou Andreas-Salomé, Paul Ree and Friedrich Nietzsche

All of which leads me to… Triad, a 60′s Jefferson Airplane song of free-love, that pokes at social norms in asking, “Why can’t we go on as three?” – a simple philosophical question about polyamory.

The Airplane song is said to have been derived from ideas contained in the specific works of Robert A. Heinlein that include: Stranger in a Strange Land, Time Enough for Love, Friday, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Number of the Beast, and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.

Polygamy (from πολύς γάμος polys gamos, translated literally in Late Greek as “often married” is a form of marriage in which a person has more than one spouse at the same time, as opposed to monogamy in which a person has only one spouse at a time. When a man has more than one wife, the relationship is called polygyny; and when a woman has more than one husband, it is called polyandry. If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called group marriage.

According to the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook, a 1998 study of 1,231 societies in world culture edited by J. Patrick Gray, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, it is noted that:

• only 186 were monogamous.
• 453 had occasional polygyny,
• 588 had more frequent polygyny, and
• 4 had polyandry.

It seems that somehow Americans have been deluded into believing the one-man-one-woman relationship model is some kind of global standard. It’s not. Perhaps if we can apply the words of Wittgenstein we might open up a crack through which a new vision of relationships might be considered. Click to listen to Maureen Cavanaugh, host of These Days on radio KPBS: The Future of Marriage and Non-Traditional Relationships.

The emotions that invoke, oppose or handicap open relationships have been documented. In Dr. Deborah M. Anapol’s book Polyamory: The New Love Without Limits : Secrets of Sustainable Intimate Relationships, she describes five different types of jealousy – possessive, exclusion, competition, ego, and fear – before discussing compersion. A well known anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher has done extensive research on the feelings of lust, romantic love and attachment. Her studies of brain neurology and brain chemistry explain that these three emotions are ruled by three different brain systems that can act independently or work together in different combinations.

Ninety percent of the animal world does not follow pair-bonding. As a species, humans attempt monogamy and usually fail. So why not redefine a new set of ethical standards? The UUs for Polyamory Awareness defines polyamory as the philosophy and practice of loving or relating intimately to more than one other person at a time with honesty and integrity. They are one of many organizations that seek to define new ways of making loving relationships.

According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri, 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce.

There’s just one answer comes to me
Sister-lovers, water brothers
And in time, maybe others
So you see, what we can do, is to try something new
If you’re crazy too
I don’t really see
Why can’t we go on as three.

-Triad, Jefferson Airplane

Have you ever considered or been engaged in a polyamorous relationship? Please, add your comments below…

Storm blogs, ” Seriously, “8 Miles Wide” would still be just a big big idea (and the occasional outburst from friends and family members in the know) if it weren’t for the tireless creative megawatt team at Sockeye Creative. James Westby, Tom Grissom and Katie O’Grady, especially, kicked so much ass on this goofy little ditty born in my twisted brains.

Also important to thank – Wilf’s, Mary’s Club, Portland Parks and Rec., Mark Acito, Rick Emerson, Byron Beck, Kevin Morris, Laura Domela, Mary Urbanski, Brenda Casebeer and her trusty steed Brego, Kavita Jhaveri, James Beaton, Davey Nipples, Scott Weddle, The Jim Brunberg, Adam Lundeen, Steve Sharp and all the brilliant extras and personalities who so generously donated to the cause.

Last, but not least, thank you, Portland, Oregon. Your endless support of all things weird will always make you the coolest city on the planet. Bless your rainy and rosy wild heart.”

Check out the behind the scenes videos:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArNMGsigq4

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCz8PwSRZoU

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GanA1cnxIPE

Licorice - Glycyrrhiza glabra

She gathered her findings from a study, conducted by Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, IL.

“One of his studies reveals that women who were exposed to the scent of licorice had a 13 percent increase in bloodflow to their sexual organs compared to a 1 percent reduction from the scent of men’s cologne,” Laurel explains. “Though the exact reason that licorice arouses women is unclear, Hirsch believes that it is either an unexplained chemical reaction in the brain or olfactory-evoked nostalgia.”

It seems that Dr. Hirsch is fond of measuring changes in blood flow to the sex organs. He and colleague Dr. Jason Gruss also initiated a recent study to investigate “the impact of ambient olfactory stimuli upon sexual response in the human male.”

Thirty-one men, aged 18 to 64 years, were tested. Dr. Hirsch selected 24 different odorants for the study. In addition, six combinations of two of the most well-liked of these were also chosen. The effects of the 30 odors on penile blood flow were assessed by comparing a subject’s brachial penile index while wearing an odorized mask to his average index while wearing an unodorized mask. This was done for each subject for each odor.

After being attached to a penile plethysmograph (which measures blood flow), three minutes were allowed for acclimation. Then a blank, nonodorized mask was applied for one minute while a baseline brachial penile index was recorded. The combined odor of lavender and pumpkin pie had the greatest effect, increasing median penile blood flow by 40%. Next in effectiveness was the combination of black licorice and doughnut, which increased arousal by 31.5%. The older men tended to respond strongly to vanilla.

The doctors offer several explanations, but the direct connection between odors and sexual response cannot be denied: “The odors may also act neurophysiologically. A direct pathway connects the olfactory bulb to the septal nucleus, which in turn induces blood flow and erection.”

Increase in Penile Blood Flow Produced by Top 10 Odors in 31 Male Volunteers