The Tao: The Yin and Yang of Sex

When a woman unites with her man in love, all the magical power of the universe becomes integrated with this act, which then produces miracles both in heaven and on earth.

The Union of the Feminine with the Masculine

Even though it is impossible to know the precise origin of Taoist philosophy, it is known that around the year 500 BC, Chinese scholar Lao-Tse researched and compiled its basic principles into a book that we know today asTao Te King.

Just as the purpose of the Tao is to learn the supreme way to the self-actualization of a human being, the purpose of the Tao of a couple is to integrate love with sex and unite the male and female energies.

Representation of the Tao

The Tao is the unity of two principles: yin and yang. The symbol of yin and yang is a circle divided into two halves by an S-shaped line, with one half black and the other half white.

The circle represents the unity of the universe, consisting of the yin (black) aspects and the yang (white) aspects, inseparable in every manifestation of the whole. Within each half there is a smaller circle of the opposite color, which means that each principle contains the seed of the other. At the culminating moment of deployment and expression, each principle changes into its polar opposite so that the force of eternal equilibrium can do its work.

The Equilibrium of the Universe Depends on Polarity

According to the Tao, the universe is the product of the polarity existing within the primordial unity: rest and motion, contraction and expansion, condensation and scattering, moving backward and moving forward. From the most simple and peculiar manifestations to the most complex and universal ones, every being expresses this original polarity. The interrelationship between yin and yang generates all living things that inhabit the universe.

The Tao philosophy is based on the search for balance and the integration of opposing energy forces that are complementary to each other.

Yin and Yang

Yin energy represents the feminine: passivity, night, wetness, cold, water, and the moon. The woman, with all her sexual secretions and fluids, constitutes a yin essence that provides the necessary protection that allows the male's semen to become an embryo.

The woman contains an inexhaustible reserve of yin energy that is activated by sexual arousal. The female orgasm strengthens vital energy, improves health, and prolongs youth.

Due to the fact that a woman's sexual potential is more energetic and open, almost all texts on this subject place a greater emphasis on educating the man so both lovers can reach an equivalent level of satisfaction.

Yang energy represents the masculine: activity, day, dryness, sun, and fire. Man's sperm is a precious gift, the source of his physical health and vital energy. This vital energy will diminish unless it is compensated by an equivalent amount of female yin energy, which is why the man must seek to satisfy the woman each time he has sexual contact with her. That way, both will benefit the other during each act of lovemaking: he will strengthen his vital essence, and she will stimulate and intensify her yin essence.

According to Taoist thinking, the sexual feature of yin is slower excitation, but this also means that a woman is slower to quit at the moment when she needs more sexual stimulation. On the contrary, yang's sexual feature is easy excitability, which allows the man to achieve maximum pleasure instantly.

The man needs to learn to prolong the sexual act without reaching orgasm so that both energies can merge and fuse. By increasing the time his member remains inside the woman, he will absorb the yin essence that will in turn revitalize him.

When the man's yang force and the woman's yin force unite, they create life in the universe.

Infinite Pleasure

There are physical and mental exercises that enable a couple having sexual problems to find a balance. These ancient techniques are very effective for people who play routine, stereotyped, or rigid roles in their sexual relations, which may eventually lead to a loss of sexual desire.

First of all, lovers should work on developing the tenderness of their feelings and express them through caressing each other. Each partner must caress the other in a slow and soft manner, with yin sensitivity. In doing so, not only do the mouth and the fingers take part, but so does the whole body, including those parts that are not usually explored erotically.

While the partners caress each other, both should focus mentally on the image of a sun embracing the moon with its light beams -- two vital energies becoming integrated.

The man should excite the woman until they both reach maximum wetness in their erogenous zones. Upon achieving this yin sensation, it is time for the intervention of the yang, with the man's penetration of the woman until the couple achieves maximum pleasure.

Having completed the sexual act in a state of ecstasy, the couple must wait a few minutes and allow their bodies to relax completely. When they reach this restful state, the lovers should visualize the image of an integrated earth and sky, while holding hands and kissing at the same time.

If the lovers start caressing each other again, they may get excited anew and perform the sexual act more than twice a day.

If a couple performs these exercises every day for some time, they will successfully harmonize their yin and yang energies and will experience the highest embodiment of love.

Copyright © 2003 by Mabel Iam

---

Excerpted from El Amante Perfecto: Tao del Amor y el Sexo by Mabel Iam
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.