Sex hasn’t changed in 2,000 years – but so much about our lifestyles has.
In fact, more than 40 million Americans in relationships aren’t having sex at all. Jill Blakeway, the clinical director of the YinOva Center in New York City and author of "Sex Again: Recharging Your Libido," spoke with Fox News Health about why people should look to some ancient wisdom to fix this problem.
“We live in the most sexualized society there has ever been,” Blakeway said. “You can't turn on the Internet or go to a movie without seeing very graphic sexual images in some ways. It's right out there, and yet Americans are having less sex than ever before and less sex than people in other countries.”
Blakeway believes that this pervasive amount of sexual imagery is actually the reason couples are having less sex. According to her, it directs people’s sexual energy outwards instead of inwards, to their primary relationships, preventing them from creating strong physical, spiritual and emotional connections.
She also noted that the overly sexualized images of women in the media create unrealistic expectations and make women feel bad about their bodies.
“My patients worry about their muffin top and their jiggly bit under their arm and stuff like that,” Blakeway said.
“And it makes them feel less confident sexually instead of more confident.”
In order to help people get back in bed with their partners, Blakeway recommends turning to ancient Daoist exercises. Daoism is an ancient philosophy from China, based on the principle that people are happiest and healthiest when they are in harmony with the natural laws of energy in the Universe. Daoists split these laws of energy into two complimentary concepts: the feminine yin and the masculine yang.
“As you can imagine, a philosophy that's all about the interplay of yin and yang--masculine and feminine--has really interesting things to say about sex and about healthy sex and about how happy healthy sex affects body, mind and spirit,” Blakeway said.
There are a number of Daoist breathing exercises that Blakeway said can help take the energy out of your head and focus it into your pelvic region, so that people can be more present during sex. She has also created a six-week program called the Loop, which draws from ancient Daoist exercises that claim to help enhance a person’s libido.
“It's a way of spreading sexual energy from your pelvis throughout your body to make sex a more whole body experience,” Blakeway said.