Having sex is a basic human need, just like eating, breathing, and sleeping. Now you may be wondering:- How is sex good for your health?

Sex is important for your physiological health and mental well-being, much like food, air, and rest.

Below I will share information about the Eastern views on sex and body-mind sexual union, mainly from Indian and Chinese cultures. Besides, there are Western studies related to the health benefits of sex activities.

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Sex according to Indian Ayurveda

Ayurveda associates sex to the three doshas, which are on their part connected to the five elements of nature (ether, air, fire, water, and earth).

The three doshas are Vata (ether, air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (water, earth), and all three doshas are active during the sexual act.

Pitta is responsible for the desire for sex, Vata is accountable for all physical action whilst Kapha gives potency.

TO FIND OUT YOUR PRAKRUTI, OR YOUR DOSHA TYPE, TAKE THE TEST HERE

Knowing your Prakruti (your predominant dosha) will help you understand the sexual needs of your partner.

• Vata type is the creative type and tends to fantasize more and requires less physical sex and inclines to be easily fatigued.
• Pitta type is more romantic and has a high desire for sex and is able to balance it out.
• Kapha type is slow in nature and takes longer to be aroused, but afterward is potent and lasts longer.

Definition of Ancient KAMASUTRA

KamaSutra is an ancient Indian text regarding courtship, marriage, love-making, and sexual positions.

According to Kamasutra: the body, mind, and soul are blended during intimacy, and all the senses are being stimulated.

In real fact, KamaSutra is less about the practice of sex and more about the control of sexuality and the relationship between the couple and their everyday life.

Sex according to Chinese Taoism

Sexual relations from a Taoist view is about the correlation of the YIN (female) and YANG (male) balancing of the energies.

Breathing is important to get the Chi energy flowing. Chi is the life force or bioelectromagnetic power.

In ancient China Tao Masters used to teach their Emperors & Empresses the fundamentals of sexual activities, not only for greater pleasure when having sex, but also to prolong their life.

Sexual energy is not merely the act of having sex, it is how you can manage to connect with the world and enhance your vital energy.

Tao states the liver dwells on anger and frustration, the spleen and stomach house the worry, the lungs hold the grief and the kidneys store fear and trauma.

Sexual energy if used correctly has the strongest healing power.

Sexual secretions contain various pure biochemically active elements, nutrients, and proteins.

All the vital energy consumed from the universe is stored in the organs in the central body area and 25% of it is stored in the sexual organs to have the energy required to procreate.

However, according to Tao, in regard to men, unless you are aiming at having babies, ejaculating is synonymous with spoiling your own medicine.

Tao teaches you how to retain that energy and reinstate it into your body or your brain.

The method is to contract or squeeze your anal muscles to back away when you reach the brink of orgasm, and then pull up that energy to your organs. It is said that your body gets stronger once that same energy goes back to the organs.

The alternative is to pull the energy through your spine to reach your brain, aiming for spirituality.

This is the same thing as having an orgasm without ejaculation. Men who have managed to practice and reach this state have said they will not go back to the past method, as they feel more energetic and healthy.

For further reading on Tao and sex, here is my review of the book The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity.

Western science is today constantly proving what Tao and Ayurveda have believed and taught for years.

Health Benefits of Sexual Activity

Studies and proven methods and measures in the West reveal sexual activity has potential health benefits, both physical and psychological.

Swedish men and women who have regular sex (coitus in particular) have better mental health, whilst young women from the US have improved their mood and suffer from less depression with regular sex. So:

How is Sex Good for your Health?

• Sex boosts your immune system and prevents diseases
• Sex is the best exercise and can reduce calories
• Sex relaxes you and helps you have a good rest
• Sex reduces depression
• Sex reduces headaches
• Sex releases physical and menstrual pain
• Sex may prevent prostate cancer

And there´s more.

• During sexual love and excitement, serotonin is released and you feel happy.
• Sex increases your heart rate, intensifies your breathing, tenses the muscles, and raises your blood pressure.
• Having sex makes you look younger.
• Sex is also good fun.

Are you looking for a way to spice up your love life and add some extra passion to your relationship? Look no further than:

Sex is a terrific exercise, especially for women´s pelvic floor muscles

I had once participated in a fantastic seminar focused on The Pelvic Floor as part of a Feldenkrais Method Workshop.

Feldenkrais is about awareness through movement.

During the weekend-long workshop, we spent the whole time lying on the floor, working out the pelvic muscles.

It was a mixed group of males and females and everyone was impressed by how little and gentle exercise can do so much benefit to your body and the way it functions.

It is unlikely that you exercise and squeeze the many muscles of the pelvic area and glutes, even though you are active and do exercise (unless you practice yoga or similar holistic techniques).

During copulation and vaginal intercourse, you are automatically exercising the whole pelvic area around the reproductive organs by contracting and relaxing movements.

You can also experiment during sex play to discover the pelvic muscles and notice how you feel when contracting and releasing these muscles.

Exploration during sex can be a fantastic way of being aware of your pelvic muscles and learning how to exercise them more often to gain all the benefits.

A healthy and strong pelvis will support your body and will function better.

How Much Sex is Good for Your Health?

Well, that depends if you are male or female and also if you are able to master it. As long as sex does not become an addiction and can be controlled, then it will only do you good.

According to Tao philosophy, females may have multiple orgasms and do not lose any energy whilst men are discouraged to have many orgasms as it will make them weaker. 

Do you believe the ancient philosophy of the East, with regard to holistic sexual practice, can spice up your sex life?

Sources:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01677.x

The Relative Health Benefits of Different Sexual Activities

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743609515329775