Yoga can lead to sexy-times!

March 2, 2012 5:01 PM

Yoga can improve your sexual experiences... and perhaps lead to sex with your instructor.

"Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult — an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise.... If yoga can arouse everyday practitioners, it apparently has similar, if not greater, effects on gurus — often charming extroverts in excellent physical condition, some enthusiastic for veneration." Now science is having some successes figuring out how yoga affects the body.

posted by exphysicist345 (64 comments total)

Sexual experiences? I LOVE those things!
posted by Greg Nog at 5:05 PM on March 2, 2012 [28 favorites]

This yoga...
posted by jquinby at 5:07 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cue the sexy chicka-chicka-bwang-bwang sitar music.
posted by clvrmnky at 5:10 PM on March 2, 2012 [11 favorites]

Is this something I'd have to open my sacral chakra to understand?
posted by cmoj at 5:21 PM on March 2, 2012 [9 favorites]

This new learning seems to agree with my hindsight bias.
posted by Hicksu at 5:23 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

nytimes and yoga scandals: no surprise here
posted by ninjew at 5:25 PM on March 2, 2012

Girl look at that body.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:25 PM on March 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here's a list of the accusations against John Friend from YogaDork, including a timeline. If you're too lazy to click, they are:

1. He is leader of a Wiccan coven and had sex with women in his coven
2. He had sexual relations with his employees
3. He froze the pension of his employees
4. He delivered packages of marijuana to various places
posted by phaedon at 5:25 PM on March 2, 2012

If your libido is still a surprise, you have some milestones on the road ahead of you. You could fall for anything. Ahem...
posted by Mr. Yuck at 5:26 PM on March 2, 2012

This is news?
posted by wuwei at 5:26 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not news, just something that will sell papers and impressions.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:32 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Surreptitious hypocritical sexy times? Maybe yoga is a perfect match for conservatism after all!
posted by XMLicious at 5:34 PM on March 2, 2012

William J. Broad? As in Billy Idol?
posted by acb at 5:40 PM on March 2, 2012

This is why only half of our things are nice.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 5:45 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Let me turn the heat and humidity up in here. 110 degrees... how's that?
posted by R. Mutt at 5:45 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

*awaits cover of "Lapdance" that begins with "I'm a downward dog"*
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:47 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

People getting sweaty in tight clothes while contorting into revealing positions are more likely to have sex.

More at 11.
posted by Slackermagee at 5:47 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

People getting sweaty in tight clothes while contorting into revealing positions are more likely to have sex.

/checks mirror

No.
posted by unSane at 5:51 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

People getting sweaty in tight clothes while contorting into revealing positions are more likely to have sex...

Are we talking about yoga or Twister now?
posted by TedW at 5:52 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh! Suddenly The Love Guru makes a lot more sense!
posted by Joey Michaels at 5:52 PM on March 2, 2012

The Times is right on top of this yoga thing.
posted by dhartung at 5:55 PM on March 2, 2012

Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone — a main hormone of sexual arousal in both men and women. Czech scientists working with electroencephalographs have shown how poses can result in bursts of brainwaves indistinguishable from those of lovers. More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals. The effect was found to be strong enough to promote sexual arousal not only in healthy individuals but among those with diminished libidos.

Well, see? Science proves that yoga is sexy. Science!

Hold on, let me check and see if William J. Broad is a mefite...whew.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:56 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Are we talking about yoga or Twister now?

Hey hey hey, I did not tell you to put your left foot there!
posted by mannequito at 5:58 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

“They’re understandably disappointed to hear that he cheated on his girlfriends repeatedly” and “lied to so many.”

I would never cheat on my girlfriends.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:08 PM on March 2, 2012 [15 favorites]

There is a certain kind of creepy yoga guy who is so fucking sexual harassypants all over the place. Also, his farts smell like adzuki beans and patchouli. ::shudders::
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:11 PM on March 2, 2012 [8 favorites]

What a strange issue. Perhaps this is because Yoga has some trappings of spirituality around it. I doubt this would be an issue if the guy was a standard physical trainer.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:12 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

/checks mirror

Oh god, no.
posted by octothorpe at 6:13 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

What a strange issue. Perhaps this is because Yoga has some trappings of spirituality around it. I doubt this would be an issue if the guy was a standard physical trainer.

Naw, I'm pretty sure that if a physical trainer went around speaking about the virtues of chastity and celibacy while boinking everyone he could get his hands on it would also get people aggravated.
posted by XMLicious at 6:22 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would never cheat on my girlfriends.

I love the whole world.
posted by Forktine at 6:23 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

My yoga instructor is way hot. I bet he gets hit on all the time.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:24 PM on March 2, 2012

Yoga is evil to Abrahamic religions. That's why I like it.
posted by telstar at 6:29 PM on March 2, 2012

I was wondering why Target was selling crotchless yoga pants.
posted by Burhanistan at 6:31 PM on March 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

> Yoga is evil to Abrahamic religions. That's why I like it.

Er, not really.
posted by Burhanistan at 6:32 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have no idea how these people got their downward dogs wedged in their disciples' asanas, although I can guess why.
posted by uosuaq at 6:32 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

Naste!
posted by Flashman at 6:36 PM on March 2, 2012 [12 favorites]

Naw, I'm pretty sure that if a physical trainer went around speaking about the virtues of chastity and celibacy

Did this guy even do that? Just about every woman I know does either hatha or bikram and I never heard anything about chastity. Yoga is mostly like pilates now, it mostly about fitness is it not?

Mr. Friend preached a gospel of gentle poses mixed with openness aimed at fostering love and happiness.

Ok, yeah. Dude meek in the streets and a freak in the sheets.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:37 PM on March 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you do a Ctrl-F in the article you can find mention of both promoting chastity and celibacy with a couple of the guys mentioned in the article. If you're talking about Friend, evidently the latest case, I'm not sure why what he did was "apparent hypocrisy" unless he was saying something along those lines.
posted by XMLicious at 6:44 PM on March 2, 2012

The special clothes, room, lights? Lazarus Long, present.
posted by Mblue at 6:46 PM on March 2, 2012

If you're talking about Friend, evidently the latest case,

Yeah, I agree with you about those 70s yogis. I'm just talking about Friend, I'm a little suprised people are surprised.Check out the philosopy of Anusara . I'm a little shocked every class didn't turn into a key party.

Similarly, our thoughts, desires, passions and emotions are not obstacles to spiritual awakening which need to be squelched or eliminated, but instead they are God-given means of glorifying and expanding our experience of the Supreme

the body/mind is a Divine gift to help us discover our glory, our greatness, and our worthiness to experience the highest sense of freedom
posted by Ad hominem at 6:50 PM on March 2, 2012

YO PEOPLE if you don't follow and devote yourself to other people, your own life may significantly improve!!
posted by xmutex at 6:50 PM on March 2, 2012

It is fucking hilarious when Christians get all OH NO YOU ARE WORSHIPPING THE HINDU PANTHEON about ordinary suburban North American yoga classes.

But then there's this, so. Apparently some people think the suburban yoga classes aren't worshipping the Hindu pantheon enough.
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:54 PM on March 2, 2012

/ is Christian
/ doesn't do yoga
/ see above re: adzuki bean farts
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:56 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

While we're on the topic, can someone explain this classic failblog picture? Surely it's staged???
posted by Durin's Bane at 7:07 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

It is told that The One, the all mighty Shivaji, climbed to the top of Mount Kailash with his radiant wife Parvati. And there they spent ten thousand years in union.









..we call this first position naas-tee

-Talvin Singh, Decca

Flashman beat me to it.
posted by RakDaddy at 7:13 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I feel like yelling like JOB "Come ON!". Of course lots of yoginis want to have sex with their yoga instructors! Or...am I generalizing from a sample of one? (one of each, I guess).
posted by bquarters at 7:20 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Actually that's disrespectful to the yoga practice and to the instructors and students. Some instructors are very attractive but I shouldn't make jokes like that. I was overexcited by the combination of yoga, the nytimes, and the opportunity to make an Arrested Development joke. Apologies. .
posted by bquarters at 7:27 PM on March 2, 2012

Get back on your mat, Brad...
posted by randomkeystrike at 7:28 PM on March 2, 2012

It'll be nice when society comes around to understand swinging is the norm and monogamy is freaky. D-oh, fit flexible people wanna fuck. NORMAL.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:59 PM on March 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

This sounds like a job for the Yoga Action Squad.
posted by homunculus at 8:02 PM on March 2, 2012

So... the point is that I should start doing yoga. Is that right?
posted by Dodecadermaldenticles at 8:14 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Every time I look at the linked text I am convinced it links to porn.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:37 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

It turns out that some individuals can think themselves into states of sexual ecstasy — a phenomenon known clinically as spontaneous orgasm and popularly as “thinking off.”

You'll grow hair on your pons! (Go third eye blind?)
posted by pracowity at 9:28 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Beverly, I can see that your vagina is clenching...
posted by codswallop at 9:47 PM on March 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am plainly doing it wrong.
posted by Cocodrillo at 1:54 AM on March 3, 2012

There is a certain kind of creepy yoga guy who is so fucking sexual harassypants all over the place. Also, his farts smell like adzuki beans and patchouli. ::shudders::

oh god does he wear his hair in one of those man bunsor just a regular ponytail.




guh rosssssss
posted by louche mustachio at 3:48 AM on March 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

I gotta admit, the first few minutes of a yoga class I am very distracted by all the contorting lycra bodies and stuff but then those thoughts are quickly banished by OH GOD THE PAIN.
posted by orme at 7:31 AM on March 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

John Friend was in the New York Times in 2010 (link here) and I swear there was a big brouhaha thread on metafilter at the time but when I search for yoga + 2010 + July + site:metafilter.com I don't see the thread on my search results returned. I don't know the guy but I know the type and that original piece made him look like the prototype yoga instructor poon hound except they said he did millions in annual business and he lives in a huge house and very few yoga instructors are in that pay grade.
posted by bukvich at 7:48 AM on March 3, 2012

Metafilter - a phenomenon known clinically as spontaneous orgasm and popularly as “thinking off.”
posted by the sobsister at 8:35 AM on March 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone — a main hormone of sexual arousal in both men and women.

I mean, I'm sure this is correct. But my understanding is that it's also true for resistance exercise in general. I'd be pretty surprised if yoga had some special, unique ability to elevate testosterone.
posted by en forme de poire at 8:48 AM on March 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

I always thought that THIS is "thinking off."
posted by Dodecadermaldenticles at 1:00 PM on March 3, 2012

Broad also wrote the article about people hurting themselves in yoga a month or so ago. He has a book coming out.

*yells like Dhalsim* Yoga-Gate!!!

(Now that I think about it, I'm really disappointing that you don't get to learn how to randomly teleport to unstrategic locations in Hatha, Iyengar OR Bikram, what are these yogi's doing in their spare... *RTFA*... ohhhhhhhh)
posted by stratastar at 2:46 PM on March 3, 2012

More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals. The effect was found to be strong enough to promote sexual arousal not only in healthy individuals but among those with diminished libidos.

Is that what's going on here? Or is that something completely different?
posted by en forme de poire at 7:36 PM on March 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

> Or is that something completely different?

Kind of, but that's only to charge the yoni. To get the lingam ready for action try this position.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:43 PM on March 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thank you me-fites!

I was having a rotten morning reading the Rush thread.

Then I came here and laughed my ass off.

Ya'll are some funny motherf***ers.
posted by kaiseki at 11:03 AM on March 4, 2012