So you are considering a bodywork session but what exactly is that? Bodywork is a facilitated exploration of your own pleasure. The real kicker is- there are no two sessions of bodywork that look anything like each other.
To wrap your head around this type of work I am going to categorize it into three different styles of sessions. Now, please take it with a grain of salt: this practice and YOURS and yours only, and every practitioner has their own set of boundaries and comfort zones that will affect each of these approaches.
The very basic approach involves slowly following each part of your body and exploring how it likes to be touched. Typically a practitioner will start at one end of your body and ask questions that give you different options and follow curiosity: Do you like this light pressure, of this stronger pressure here? After an area is explored, we move on to the next. This is sometimes called Pleasure Mapping. You focus tends to be on just that- CURIOSITY- and let that be the director of touch.
A next approach is a directed touch. In this type of bodywork session, you stay in attentive noticing of your body and follow desire- what you want to feel. You feel empowered to ask for what you are wanting, redirect touch and maybe explore what would make it even better. You can go into what it really is that you want, but this requires that you have and USE your voice. It’s very simple, but not as easy as it seems! Sometimes we call this a bossy massage or guided bodywork.
Erotic massage or ecstatic erotic massage are advancements of that same attention and awareness. You arrive at your session with some basic idea of the touch you want to receive, the intention, the boundaries. You negotiate and communicate these desires at the beginning, then incorporate movement, breathwork, sounds into your practice as they arise. A lot of time this is done with music and a collaboration of both practitioner and client.
Most of the time sessions don’t have strong boundaries like I have outlined. We are creating a container for safe exploration of pleasure with no agenda. The basis of Sexological Bodywork is three boundaries: One-way touch (from practitioner to client), clothed practitioner, and gloved hands with genital touch. Most other things are completely on the table (pun fully intended).
I'm working to put together a guided somatic exploration of intentions with a YouTube video. It’s a slow 10 minutes, and it's a larger undertaking than anticipated (I promise to have it sooner rather than later). Here is the gist: Try to pinpoint curiosities. Explore some boundaries that you may have and decide if they are flexible boundaries or hard ones. Bring items you want to feel against your skin, or have in your presence. You may want to bring items to shower with or something to change into. Most importantly, take some time to feel what comes up for you if you get exactly what you want, and if maybe what you want crosses boundaries for me.
I’m excited about working with you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.
