Desire Wants to Move Through You

Photo by Joel Filipe

Somewhere along the way, the English word 'desire' became synonymous with sexual wanting. There is nothing wrong with this, of course. For many, sexual desire is potent energy to experience; a titillating and powerful pull toward one of our most primal instincts. Yes!

I don't believe desire only exists in the sexual realm. To me, it is more expansive and can exist in any moment. In my experience, desire is the deep, fire-in-your-belly sensation that moves you fluidly from one moment to the next. Whether toward some tender goal, or a decadent meal, or a tempting lover, desire is the spark that sets your heart and body into motion. It can certainly settle for a period of time, humming mostly from within until it is needed to ignite you forward, but more often than not our Desire desires to be stirred up, felt, moved, and expressed in a way that feels really good. This is the practice - coming into a more intimate relationship with our desire energy so that we might learn how to be with it, honor it, hold it, and ultimately, offer it as a sacred expression of ourselves.

Desire energy exists in so many flavors - yearning, craving, wishing, lusting, demanding, to name a few. Sometimes, for any number of valid reasons, these flavors stir up so much sensation within us that it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes, when we aren't used to allowing the sensations of desire, we attempt to control them by holding our breath, tensing our muscles, swallowing our own vocal sounds, or any number of other subtle gestures toward inhibiting its flow.

As we move through life, losing touch with our desire energy can happen to anyone at any time, whether you are an embodiment veteran or have never before explored expression through movement. So what do we do when our desire is hindered?

Start slow. Be gentle with yourself and let it expand bit by bit. Honor the sensations of your desire energy no matter how they show up, whether as a fleeting spark or a rush of electricity. Trust that it is always enough and never too much.

My hope is for us never to withhold from ourselves, and when we feel able, to experience mind-blowing desire energy toward a turned-on existence in any moment.