Yoni is the Sanskrit word for the female genitals, more specifically the vagina. It can be translated as "sacred space" or "Sacred Temple." In Tantric Yoga or the discipline of Tantra, the Yoni is always regarded as being a sacred object worthy of extreme love and respect - a fact which men need to appreciate in many ways. For example, one way of paying the Yoni respect is to ask your sexual partner if you may enter her before you penetrate her during sex.

A Yoni massage is always conducted in a sacred space where the woman -- who is the receiver of this massage -- can relax, enter into an altered state of consciousness, and absorb the love and respect of the man who effectively is acting as her high priest when she is the goddess of sex. This view of sex and the relationships between the sexes is based upon the belief that female sexual  connection goes to the source of all energy in the universe: it is the woman whose Yoni connects with the ultimate source of universal life energy. This is why women can experience multiple orgasms for long periods of time, and maintain themselves in a state of high orgasmic energy for as long as they want. Certainly the Yoni massage may not always bring a pre-orgasmic or slightly inhibited women to orgasm, but the very act of massaging the Yoni will always be a very pleasurable experience, and can do nothing but enhance the pathway of development towards  orgasm for all women, no matter how orgasmic they already are.

The partner of the woman who is receiving the Yoni massage (known as the giver) will enjoy this experience because it allows him to respect and honor the femininity of his partner to the full, and it will also allow him to give her extreme joy, massive orgasmic pleasure (provided she is already orgasmic); moreover, he will potentially witness something that can be extremely spiritual for  advanced Tantric lovers. Furthermore, the Yoni massage it is an extremely enjoyable form of safe sex, not to mention the fact that between two partners (whether they are familiar with each other or not) it can build enormous amounts of love, trust and intimacy. Indeed, the Yoni massage is used by some therapists to help women break through the sexual blocks that come from sexual abuse or other inhibitions which can prevent them from achieving orgasm: in other words, in every single way the Yoni massage is a thoroughly helpful, beneficial, and enjoyable sexual or sensual experience.

The object of the Yoni massage is not only about achieving orgasm, although this is often a delightful side effect. The goal actually depends on what you wish to achieve -- it can be as simple as obtaining immense pleasure from the incredible sensitivity of the female body in general and the genitals in particular; but if you regard the Yoni massage as an experience or a process rather than something with a goal or an outcome to be achieved, you are free to relax and enjoy it for what it is: a tribute to the sensuality of the human body. If an orgasm does occur it will, most likely, be an intense orgasm, probably more expanded, longer, and more intense than a normal orgasm. It will also have an element of spirituality about it, because the Tantric practitioners knew that the highest levels of sexuality are a route to accessing our spiritual side. In every Yoni massage the receiver must be encouraged to relax into whatever is happening to her and to allow her mind to wander. This means it must be conducted in an atmosphere of safety and respect and trust.

The Yoni massage

Have the woman who is receiving the Yoni massage lie on her back and place as many pillows as may be necessary under her head to make her comfortable, so that she can look down at her Yoni and up at the man who was giving her the massage. (Of course there is no reason whatsoever why a Yoni massage cannot be given by a woman as well as a man. Indeed, there is something particularly special about the transmission of this sacred ritual and energy between two women.)

The giver should place a pillow, one which has been protected from the oil that you will be using for the massage with a towel or some other suitable covering, under the hips of the women receiving the Yoni massage. You may also wish to place some kind of pillow or cushion under the woman's knees, but in any event she must have her legs slightly apart, perhaps crooked at the knees, so that her genitals are clearly visible for the giver of the massage.

In this position the giver has full access to all parts of the woman's body including her Yoni. Start the process by encouraging the receiver to relax with deep slow breathing. It's helpful if both the giver and the receiver coordinate their breathing so that they attune their bodies' rhythms to each other. If at any time the receiver starts to breathe quickly or with shallow breaths, the giver should encourage her to slow down, take deep breaths, breathe slowly and in a relaxed way, so that she does not hyperventilate and so that with each breath she takes her body relaxes more and more.

Start by massaging the woman's legs, thighs, chest, breasts, abdomen and all the other parts of her body so that she begins to relax and is ready for more intimate touch. The massage can be given by a naked person who uses their whole body surface to massage the receiver, by sliding the whole of their chest area over the body of the receiver. This certainly increases the sensitivity of the receiver to the massage, but slow, long, sensuous hand and forearm strokes over the receiver's body may work just as well. You will be using a high quality massage oil which is at body temperature, so that when it touches her Yoni it will not give her a shock.

When you are ready you may pour a small quantity of this oil onto the pubic mound of the receiver:  your aim is to allow just enough oil to drip down the outer labia and comfortably cover the outside of the Yoni. Massage gently, slowly and carefully all around the pubic mound of the receiver, over the outer labia and the perineum. Do not rush this: the longer you take, the more sensitized she will become to the joys of the Yoni massage. As giver, you should relax and simply enjoy the process, trying to achieve a state of mind which is as blank as possible. At the same time, however, you need to be aware of what is happening for the receiver -- in particular if her breathing starts to speed up, or her back arches, or her body becomes more tense, you need to encourage her to relax, for it is in the relaxation that she will achieve the greatest pleasure of the Yoni massage.

Spend Time gently squeezing her outer labia between the pads of your thumb and first finger. Slide up and down the length of the labia in a sensuous and seductive fashion. Then move on to the inner labia of the Yoni; take your time and make the process a conscious one. Then move your attention to the inner labia. Once again take your time, and, if possible, look each other in the eyes as you conduct the Yoni massage. It's helpful if the receiver is able to give feedback to the giver about the pressure, the speed, and any other aspects of the massage which need to be changed. This feedback should always be given in a positive way (e.g. "I love it when you do that but I just wonder if you could alter your stroke slightly so that it is more ...") Nonetheless conversation must be limited for it will take you away from the object of the exercise which is to enter into a different mental space; if you talk too much you will not achieve this. Both of you should focus on the pleasurable sensations that the Yoni massage is capable of delivering.

The Clitoris

If the Yoni is a sacred garden, then the clitoris is the centrepoint. Simply because of its small size it is incredibly sensitive  (it contains at least as many, if not more, nerve endings than the head of the penis in a much smaller area) and it has only one purpose -- to deliver pleasure. This is the only organ in the human body of which this can be said. with such a high level of sensitivity to touch, it behoves the giver of the Yoni massage to make sure that he or she knows what they are doing.

Stroke the highly sensitive clitoris with both clockwise and anticlockwise circles of your thumb and index fingers. Remember that you are doing this as a mass urge rather than as a means to bring the receiver to orgasm. The lightest touch, the most delicate movement: that is what is required, perhaps with an occasional gentle squeeze between your fingers. No matter how aroused the receiver may become, remember that you are not doing this to bring her to orgasm necessarily -- so encourage her to continue to relax and take deep breaths, so that she is able to move the orgasmic energy around her body without succumbing to the temptation of dipping into her orgasm (just yet!)

And now when you feel the time is right gently insert the well lubricated middle finger of your right hand into her Yoni. Take your time to explore and amass large the inside of the Yoni with his finger. Feel every surface of the inside of her Yoni. Gently explore, feel upwards, downwards, and sideways, vary the depth, speed, and pressure of the movements that you make as you gently caressed the inside of her Yoni. Once again do it slowly and with intent, for it is only in this way, with full conscious awareness, that the true extent of the Yoni massage can make itself felt.

Do this with the intention of nurturing and massaging and relaxing the Yoni. If the receiver is sufficiently aroused you will feel a very smooth and tumescence area of tissue on the upper surface of the Yoni a little way inside. This is her G spot or sacred spot, and it is capable of delivering the greatest pleasure  when you massage it at the same time as the clitoris. Insert your finger with your hand facing palm up and make a crook with the tip of your fingers so that you can massage this particularly special spot. The receiver may feel as though she needs to urinate, or, if it is her first time with an experience of sacred spot massage, she may experience a little discomfort. One way of moving through this is that the giver to maintain steady, firm, and gentle pressure on the sacred spot until the sensation of discomfort gives way to pleasure. At this point you can vary the pressure, pattern and speed of your movements -- you may even be able to insert two fingers to increase the pressure and cover a greater area as you massage inside her Yoni. For example, try moving with a side to side movement, a back and forth movement, or move your middle finger in circles over the upper surface of the Yoni. You can also insert the finger that's between your middle and little finger.

For most women this should be a wonderful experience, and they should have no problem accepting two fingers instead of one, but if your partner finds this too much, then simply go back to one finger. The skilled Tantric lover is able to massage the clitoris, the inside of the Yoni, and the receiver's anus all the same time by using thumb, fingers, and little finger on the anus. You may even wish to insert the tip of your little finger inside her anus using plenty of lubrication should have no problem and will enjoy the increased stimulation from two fingers. Take your time and be very gentle. You may use the thumb of your right hand to stimulate the clitoris as well, or you can if you wish use your left hand.

As you massage the receiver's genitals with your right hand you can also use your left hand to massage her breasts. If you take this option, use the thumb of your left hand to massage the clitoris: the recommended method is to use your thumb in an up-and-down movement while the rest of your hand rests on her pubic mound. However you do it, the combination of Yoni massage and clitoral massage is going to send her into an ecstasy of pleasure. Remember as you do this to keep looking into each other's eyes and breathing deeply, so that you are connected at many levels, not just the physical. It's entirely possible that this kind of massage will bring up very deeply repressed emotions, and these can be quite intense. It's absolutely essential for the giver to remember that these are not about him or her, but about the recipient's past experience. The healing that can take place during this experience is profound, and the greatest gift that the giver can provide for the receiver is an atmosphere of generosity of spirit, loving, and giving -- no matter what happens, no matter what emotions arise.

If the receiver has an orgasm, simply keep her breathing slowly and deeply and continue massaging if she desires this. It is possible for skilled Yoni massagers to provide a series of orgasms, a series in which each massage is more intense than the last - Tantricas call this "riding the wave."

When you have finished, complete the process with love, honor and respect your partner. Gently remove your hands and respect her body, allowing her to relax and enjoy whatever cooling down period she needs. Getting together in a cuddle or some other kind of embrace can be very reassuring and supportive. Learning the Yoni massage is likely to enhance your sex life and your intimacy, as well as teaching you a great deal about feminine sexuality.