by Brittany Wagstaff
I’ve always been driven to learn new things and have lived my life in a deeply immersive way, diving into very deep experiences. In high school, I was an exchange student living in Perth, Australia. After that, I ended up in South Africa for a year. I really couldn't focus on college, sitting around reading textbooks. It just wasn’t interactive enough for me.
When I was 23, I was very driven to have a family. I was dating a man who was a geology grad student. We fell in together easily and started a family dynamic that was a continuation of my childhood—meaning we moved a lot. Family was the binding factor, and I was definitely the driving marital force keeping us together. But there were underlying interpersonal issues. I desperately wanted more intimacy, and being a wife and mother wasn’t satisfying that. I felt unseen and, strangely, kind of unwanted. Eventually, we got a divorce.
After that, I became involved in many projects, such as buying, remodeling, and selling homes, and I opened a coffee shop. True to my immersive nature, I loved tackling big projects and did them mainly on my own, driven by the desire to see what I could accomplish.
In the summer of 2017, I had what’s known as a “kundalini awakening” that took me by complete surprise—especially since it wasn’t even a sexual thing that triggered it. I was listening to someone play the guitar and sing. I wasn’t at all attracted to him, but listening to his music, I felt this rising orgasm starting at my root chakra, going all the way up into my throat. It was so intense that I remember looking at him, feeling shocked that he was completely oblivious to what was happening. The feeling didn't leave me for days. I was completely wide open and, even though I had been practicing yoga for 20 years, completely clueless about what was happening.
When I first heard about Orgasmic Meditation (OM), I resonated with it completely, sensing that it would clarify what had happened to me during the Kundalini experience.
My first OM—Orgasmic Meditation‚ was memorable: I felt completely free, knowing that it was just the right thing to do. I found my partner attractive, and I was comfortable with everything, taking off my pants and my underwear and lying there in the butterfly with my open legs. When we began the OM, I kept thinking, “Oh! This is just the right medicine! My spiritual self, my physical self, and all my cells are getting taken care of here. This is exactly what I wanted!” That first session was so electrically charged, and I could tell my partner was having his own electrical experience. The therapeutic benefit of the practice was immediately apparent.
After I had a few more OMs under my belt, I opened up even more. I liked getting in the nest, stepping into a ritual space, and knowing I would get 15 minutes of attention.
About half the time, it was a very energetic experience where I would get electric feelings in my genitals and then in my core. Generally, it was a body experience, but every OM is different. All the outside stuff falls away; there is delicious engagement. The Orgasmic Meditation—OM container can be its own world, leaving everything behind upon entry.
When I started OMing, I was in a period of great upheaval, and the OMs were beautiful still points in my life. They helped me slow down. They were also a catalyst for me to accept my independent identity as someone who is very much her own person. I appreciated the therapy of it and appreciated that I was standing up for other people’s access to nourishment by claiming my own needs and fulfilling them. I remember thinking, “Oh my God, everyone can have this level of being held and loved no matter their religious or group identity.”
Orgasmic Meditation showed me how alive I was inside. It showed me my magnetic erotic being and helped me feel comfortable as a person. It also helped me feel more grounded and purposeful, and I started bringing that confidence into my relationships at work. I now have the intimate connection with people that I craved so long ago. And I feel comfortable holding space for others where I feel it is needed in turn.
