Sensuality has always been a vibrant force in my life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a keen connection to my body and what I could do to make it feel good. Growing up in the Mojave Desert, my childhood was spent running around with my bare feet on the hot earth, sculpting cool, wet mud with my hands, and watching the dance of butterflies against the backdrop of desert sage. I cherished the moments I could be alone with my body, privately exploring its pleasure responses and finding freedom in this home that encouraged so much bliss. I didn’t have language for what I was experiencing; it just was, and I trusted it.
I’d like to invite you to take a moment and pause with me. I want you to imagine what it would feel like to be fully awake to your senses and the vital hum of your physical body. Imagine being able to trust and be fluent in the language of your body, and slowing down enough so that you can hear it clearly.
Let’s go even deeper. Imagine having pleasure be the compass with which you navigate your day and the rhythm that guides you back home to your body. Imagine feeling completely comfortable in your own skin and having this inner confidence enhance the relationship you have with yourself and the world around you.
Who would you be in this new version of you? In a word, you would be sensual. If you find yourself doubting whether walking through life in this sensual way is possible for you, you’re not alone. We live at such a fast pace that it’s often hard to tune into our own needs or notice that we even have a body. We forget to breathe. We forget to pause. We forget to feel. And when we do feel—either because we finally made the time or because our body demanded it—it’s only for a fleeting moment.
Though this might be the age-old paradigm we’ve navigated the world with, many of us can sense that the distraction and disconnection from our sensual selves is not how it’s supposed to be. We can sense that we’re meant for more ease, enjoyment, and embodiment in our lives—we just don’t know how to make living by that slow, sensual energy a reality.
We may live in a culture that values fast over slow, logic over feeling, rigidity over fluidity, mind over body, and we may have grown used to the repeated rituals of neglect, denial, repression, and disregard of our bodies, but we don’t have to subscribe to that. We can choose to empower ourselves and engage in practices that give us more space to feel pleasure and joy as a way of liberating and healing ourselves.
Sensual Self is your first step on the path to reconnecting with and radically reclaiming your sensuality.
Let’s walk it together.
Copyright © 2021 by Ev'Yan Whitney. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
