WEBINAR series
Mindful Sexuality
Thursday, July 25 @ 6:30 pm CST
Other Webinars in this Series
Recorded: June 27, 2024
Recorded: April 29, 2024
Did you know?
Most times when people come for help with a sexual problem they don't feel any sense of control over that problem.
In sex therapy we spend a lot of time helping the person to understand not only how the problem developed, but also what they can do about it. It’s all about building up a sense of self-efficacy in the patient and teaching them that they CAN control some aspects of their sexual experience. Namely, that they can direct the way their body and nervous system function during sexual intimacy.
The body's central nervous system and the mind's attention and thought processes can be trained through a series of directed and targeted practices. When you think about making love or pleasuring yourself or someone else, this can be experienced as a form of mindfulness - awareness, moment by moment of what you are experiencing. This may not make sense to you yet, but you will gain a better understanding in this webinar series.
The body's central nervous system and the mind's attention and thought processes can be trained through a series of directed and targeted practices. When you think about making love or pleasuring yourself or someone else, this can be experienced as a form of mindfulness - awareness, moment by moment of what you are experiencing. This may not make sense to you yet, but you will gain a better understanding in this webinar series.
In this webinar series we will not only cover some of the basic premises of mindfulness, but we will apply them specifically to sexuality, sexual functioning, and sexual dysfunctions.
Mindfulness has been shown to relieve symptoms of anxiety, especially in the context of sexual dysfunctions.
One key aspect is applying the concept of “voluntary attention” to fantasies and positive thoughts. Doing so will lead to increased arousal in both men and women. It's important that men and women are able to label their thoughts that occur during sexual activity as these may improve sexual functioning. The way that I work is that once an individual is able to be in tune with their own body, they're able to then invite a partner or partners into that experience because they have the self-awareness that is necessary to be able to communicate that and share that with another person.
Write your awesome label here.
It has been found that a single experience of mindfulness can influence sexual response in women,
and although this research was not conducted in men, as a sex therapist I have seen similar results in men learning and practicing mindfulness. I often teach my clients that sex therapy or psychotherapy in general is about building figurative muscles.
Each thing we do each time we practice goes a long way towards building that muscle and improving outcomes. That being said, research has also shown that women that meditate regularly have increased sexual functioning beyond the gains found in a single episode of meditation.
This means that individuals who are fearful or anxious of being sexual don't have to start at the most scary places to start improving sexual functioning. Starting with basic mindfulness training in a context that is not sexual ultimately creates a gateway to moving mindfulness into a sexual situation.
If you are practiced at mindfulness, you will have the ability to apply it to all situations. In general, the more often you increase the use of mindfulness during sexual activity, the more sexual distress decreases.
Each thing we do each time we practice goes a long way towards building that muscle and improving outcomes. That being said, research has also shown that women that meditate regularly have increased sexual functioning beyond the gains found in a single episode of meditation.
This means that individuals who are fearful or anxious of being sexual don't have to start at the most scary places to start improving sexual functioning. Starting with basic mindfulness training in a context that is not sexual ultimately creates a gateway to moving mindfulness into a sexual situation.
If you are practiced at mindfulness, you will have the ability to apply it to all situations. In general, the more often you increase the use of mindfulness during sexual activity, the more sexual distress decreases.
In these webinars you will:
