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If you could use a bit more pleasure and joy in your life, try this simple practice to ground yourself and create inner safety, starting in the pelvic bowl.
When many of us think of pleasure, we think of sex. Sex is the microcosm for life. When you are open to feeling deep pleasure and joy in life, it is reflected in your sex life, and vice versa.
The brain is wired to protect us. And sometimes this important and helpful system becomes hyper-focused on everything that is wrong or uncomfortable and we get stuck—mentally and emotionally. We become ungrounded and disconnected from our root.
This simple practice called Pleasure in Presence was designed to help you rewire your mind-body connection to be open to receiving more pleasure, joy, and contentment in the moment.
There is a deeper experience of the sensation of pleasure than just a surface level, fleeting moment of instant gratification. This type of pleasure is True Pleasure.
It’s an uplifting, life-giving feeling in every cell of the body—in the mind, body, energy, heart, and soul. Sometimes the pleasure runs so deep and feels so true that you become orgasmic with no sexual stimulation at all!
There are many bumps in the road to experiencing more pleasure and joy in life. Sometimes it seems like life is working against us in this way.
There can be somewhat of a snowball effect in our thought-feeling relationship… We recognize one difficult or unpleasant thing and that leads to more of the same and suddenly, we start thinking about all that could possibly go wrong in life!
Can you relate?
It’s like being caught up in a negative energy bubble: One negative thought magnetizes more negative thoughts and suddenly everything you could potentially stress about comes into your mind and you start feeling terrible! Distress is the antithesis of pleasure.
It’s important to recognize these as thought patterns woven into our neurophysiology—not necessarily by choice, but by habit—that are called forth by the energy field we create when we don’t feel good. Thought patterns are often what limit our ability to expand into our deepest capacity for pleasure. It is possible to interrupt negative or unhelpful thought patterns and transform your mind-body wiring!
When you take a moment to find something good or enjoyable, think a pleasant thought, and purposefully cultivate positive feelings in the body, it will help you feel better right now. When you feel good, you think more positively, and suddenly the world of possibility opens up. It’s that simple.
Pleasure in Presence is a practice designed to help you become wired for pleasure. Use it to break out of a mental funk, transform your energy, and essentially feel better in your body right now.
Here is the practice:
1. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
2. Find a comfortable seated position with your spine tall.
3. Relax into your body. Feel your sitting bones on the earth. Feel your belly soften. Relax your heart, throat, and brain.
4. Take a few breaths to sink deeply into your body while breathing in a relaxed rhythm.
5. Open all of your senses: With eyes open, notice what is perceivable through sight, even in your peripheral vision. Tune into your ears: Notice very subtle sounds. Notice the noise or silence. Notice any smells and tastes, and notice sensations of fabric or texture or temperature.
6. Find one sensation you can deeply appreciate in this moment.
7. Become fully aware of both the object and your appreciation for it, opening a two-way channel.
8. Feel your mind relax with this appreciation. Pause.
9. Feel your heart relax with this appreciation. Pause
10. Feel your deep belly relax with this appreciation. Pause.
11. Feel your root relax with this appreciation. Pause.
12. Bring the feeling of appreciation into the body as deeply as possible. Pause.
13. Allow your entire body-mind to receive this moment of appreciation, expanding this feeling into every cell. See if the corners of your mouth naturally turn upward for a subtle smile.
14. As your meditation comes to an end, keep this pleasure filter open as you move through your day.
The one caveat: You have to actually believe this feeling. It has to be authentic. The goal is not to pretend pleasure or happiness, but to find some sensation that elicits the actual physical response of pleasure in your mind and your body. It may take a few tries, and some days may be more difficult than others, but over time you will train yourself to tune into how pleasure is cultivated and expanded through you.
As you master this technique, you will anchor more pleasurable feelings in your body-mind by connecting pleasure centers between the root, belly, heart, throat, and brain.
If you feel ungrounded in your pleasure and want to build a stronger, loving connection to your root, check out my online course for women called “Unlock Your Pelvic Potential.”
Our brand @emilyraedavies supports the physical, sexual, and spiritual wellness of women with online courses, community, and self-care products.
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