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| i just taught at a rehab center where one woman asked me if there were poses that could contribute to lowering her sex drive... that puzzled me..is there? |
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| Supposedly Janu Sirasana B or C is also called the purity pose because it helps with this. I'm not sure which one it is, but it's the one with the heel of the bent leg in under the butt with the heel digging into the lower banda between the genitals and anus.
Did she explain WHY she want to lower it a bit? Maybe it's better to deal with the root of the problem instead of the branches. |
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| i have heard of and experienced this phenomenon.
its almost like, a person gets so engrossed in the yogic path that the urge to have sex takes a back seat. before i took up yoga, i was almost a slave to my sexual desire, but now i find myself more preoccupied with yoga. not merely the practice of asana, mind you, but the entire 8-limbed path. not to say that i don't enjoy sex or have urges, its just greatly reduced.
so are there poses that lower sex drive? perhaps. but i think it requires more than just poses.
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Expert Yogi
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| What kind of rehab was it? When I think of rehab I think of recovering from physical injuries btu of course, there are the addiction type of rehabs. If it is that kind, I get the impression that addicts like to substitute one addiction for another which provides a "high" and some turn to sex for that reason. Or maybe it was a really bad pick-up line...  |
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| I've found that it has the opposite reaction. First, I'm in better shape, with all that that implies. Second, I'm surrounded by beautiful woman in tight or revealing outfits. Third, I'm pretty sure I'm been surpressing mine for a while, and all the yogas forcing me to deal with it.
Which is part of the reason this pose stuck in my mind. |
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| It's Janu B. And the only thing I'm thinking during that pose is "how many breaths until I can get my heel out of my a$$?"
Just kidding, of course.
But Iyengar, regarding paschimottanasana (aka brahmacharyasana,) says in LOY (p.170):
"Due to the extra stretch given to the pelvic region more oxygenated blood is brought there and the gonad glands absorb the required nutrition from the blood. This increases vitality, helps to cure impotency and leads to sex control. Hence this asana was called Brahmacharyasana. Brahmacharya means celibacy and a Brahmachari is one who has controlled the sex appetite."
I think I remember this topic coming up before, so it's probably in the archives somewhere. |
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| ahh dead kennedys...
what a band
anyways...
i've been reading patanjali's yoga sutras, which call for a yogi to be celibate. certainly a yogi back then was a very different thing than a yogi today, but i think he might be on to something.
how much of my thought process goes towards sex and dating? yes, a lot. i think that if i could say, channel that energy into yoga practice it would be very beneficial.
the catch-22 being, as brother jello said, doing yoga makes you more desirable and puts you in proximity of some very lovely ladies.
what can you do?
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| dhanurasana - 2006-01-05 11:11 PM
ahh dead kennedys...
what a band
California Uber Alles!
i've been reading patanjali's yoga sutras, which call for a yogi to be celibate.
No actually it calls for a yogi to practice Brahmacharya. What this means exactly seems to vary depending on whom you talk to, but control of the sexual impulses is probably the best explaination. You'll notice that both BKS Iyengar and PJ are (or were) married with kids.
how much of my thought process goes towards sex and dating? yes, a lot. i think that if i could say, channel that energy into yoga practice it would be very beneficial.
Sure, but if you end up spending all your time thinking about it anyway, what's the point?  I guess celibacy works well for some people, but others really do need to get married, have kids, a happy sex life, etc. Not sure about enlightenment, but I'm not going to do yoga if it makes me miserible.
What translation of PJ sutras are you working on? Some of them seem a little wacked to me, you might want to read a couple of them before deciding to never look at a woman again. |
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| thank you all for your input.. to answer your ? about what type of rehab i apologize for not stating in my first post, but it was a drug rehab center.. and yes it seems that this one woman is consintatly thinking about sex and not satisfied on her own(if you know what i mean) I will speak with her about waht was discussed her - thanks
as far as the sutra's and celibacy - this became a big discussion amongst some fellow teachers and I - from what i understand there was no way that Patanjali was celibate considering he had kids but from what we discussed it seems that it is more thought of not "sleeping around" and to remain celibate until you are in a commited relationship... do i agree i cant say that i do but its a little more understandle in that context - at least i think so |
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| i think i might just be fed up with sex, dating and relationships in general.
not necessarily in that order, though. |
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| dhanurasana - 2006-01-06 3:17 AM
i think i might just be fed up with sex, dating and relationships in general.
not necessarily in that order, though.
Nothing wrong with that. It's also the winter, and people tend to get a bit down in the winter. Not the best time for thinking about such things is it? |
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| dhanurasana: I think i might just be fed up with sex, dating and relationships in general.
not necessarily in that order, though.
If that is true, you are blessed indeed. If you still have a sex drive, just get married to a good girl and then satisfy your sex drive that way, later it will reduce, and then you shall not have this problem. Same for her. Now, to look for good girl is not as difficult as people think Actually, all girls are good! Only, you have to find the one amongst them which you can marry, and who will like to marry you.
Best Luck. |
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| kulkarnn - 2006-01-06 10:23 AM
If you still have a sex drive, just get married to a good girl and then satisfy your sex drive that way, later it will reduce, and then you shall not have this problem. Same for her. Now, to look for good girl is not as difficult as people think Actually, all girls are good! Only, you have to find the one amongst them which you can marry, and who will like to marry you.
Best Luck.
thats not marriage, thats friends with benefits.
and once again, i don't think i'm ready to give up...dating is just so ridiculous!
the right person has to be out there, or perhaps i just need to become the right person.
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| My own experience echos Green Jello's. Since taking up yoga, I've found that my already waning interest in things like alcohol have diminished further. My sex drive is the exception. It always did drive me nuts but it's got worse. I find yoga helps control the distraction however.
Fee |
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| Orbilia - 2006-01-09 6:05 AM
My own experience echos Green Jello's. Since taking up yoga, I've found that my already waning interest in things like alcohol have diminished further.
Yeah, I've wondered for quite a while how natural it is to drink. I've heard that a single beer or glass of wine a day IS healthy, but beyond that it's bad. Regardless for many people it's an acquired taste, and alcohol is a poison.
I also can't bring myself to smoke pot anymore. I used to do it occasionally, but now when I think about smoking my body literally shudders.
My friend Pat threw a party for New Years, and I had 4 beers (New Castle, which has a relatively low alcohol content) over 3-4 hours, and left early. Yoga just seems to satify those desires I used to satisfy much less effectively with drinking. (Or maybe I'm getting old )
My sex drive is the exception. It always did drive me nuts but it's got worse. I find yoga helps control the distraction however.
Fee
The sex drive on the other hand is completely natural. It's also been shown that exercise increases the level of testoterone, and thus the sex drive. Yoga also helps with looking good, feeling relaxed and positive, and thus getting positive attention from the opposite sex. |
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| Interesting distinction, GJ. I've always liked the taste of alcohol and can tie one on with the best of them (mainly 'cos I don't get hang-overs.... one of my more annoyting traits, I'm told  ) however I don't really like the effects much. I'm a 'get to the warm fuzzies stage and stay there' sort of gal. Pot has never done much for me though I have been known to indulge from time to time.
Oh yes, and I don't believe you're getting old... you just prefer wearing a purple hat these days, don't you?
Fee |
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| Orbilia - 2006-01-10 5:33 AM
Interesting distinction, GJ. I've always liked the taste of alcohol and can tie one on with the best of them (mainly 'cos I don't get hang-overs.... one of my more annoyting traits, I'm told )
I seldom get hang-overs, but most beer I don't like the taste of. Same thing with wine. Actually before I tried New Castle I had pretty much given up on alcohol, so maybe I'm just not a fan of pilsners and dry wines.
however I don't really like the effects much. I'm a 'get to the warm fuzzies stage and stay there' sort of gal. Pot has never done much for me though I have been known to indulge from time to time.
Not a big fan of heavy drinking, and I never have been. I've been drunk to the point I was seeing double, and it's just not fun. A beer or two, and I'm finished. I also don't care for being stoned, though the hang-over the next day is a lot of fun.... which I've always found to be odd.
Either way I go back to old quote "I don't take drugs so I can feel good, I take them so I can feel nothing at all". Yoga and meditation seem to be much better for getting some mental quiet and not leaving me befuddled in the process.
My friends who are stoners say that the two don't really mix. Either you're into alcohol, or you're into pot, but few people are into both.
Oh yes, and I don't believe you're getting old... you just prefer wearing a purple hat these days, don't you?
Fee
Okay, you're going to have to explain this to my poor old befuddled brain. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Warning
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
-- Jenny Joseph
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| Thanks for fetching up the poem for me, Tourist. I always manage to misremember the first line and say purple instead of red hat 
Fee |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| There is a whole movement of women who go out in red hats and purple clothes as a statement of their strength and wisdom that comes at a "certain age."  You'll also see a lot of 50-something women wearing red shoes these days. It is an unrelated phenomenon but I think it is a little rebellion at having had to conform all those previous years and/or not being able to afford something frivolous like red shoes (for men and others who may not understand this, red shoes don't "go" with everything the way black or brown ones do so they aren't as multi-purpose) when they had little kids to support and buy shoes for. Since I hate stereotypes, I just bought some green shoes instead  |
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| In the UK, red shoes are also associated with women who have a certain laxity regarding their moral status apparently (according to my mother : "They're all fur coat and no knickers").
Fee |
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| I'd like to see more people wearing purple, it's such a nice color. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Fee - I think that was definitely true of our mother's generation and possibly why so many of us are flaunting it as a badge of power and freedom. I made sure my mother's favourite red shoes were cremated with her. |
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| I understand Brahmacharia to be the devotion of sexual energy towards god. So one can be a brahmachari and still have sex. One can be a celibate but continually thinking about sex and devoting their energies in this direction and not be considered a Brahmachari.
I started my yoga practice 3 years ago after coming out of my first relationship which lasted for 4 and a half years. During my r/ship my mind was incredibly geared towards sex. I needed to find relief from this after I found myself single and yoga has been a great refuge for me. I have been celibate (circumstantial) since then and still find myself grappling with sex desire. Sometimes I swear off of women completely and flirt with the idea of enforced lifetime celibacy, but this is a hard pill to swallow. I have found that a short yoga practice to still the mind before bed helps and chanting gayatri mantra. I also chant the yoga sutras of patanjali. All these things help turn the mind towards god and combat the 'natural' tendancy to think about sex. |
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yoga to control sex drive???
