Diana Soline, Founder of Women's Temple and a teacher at the Body Electric School, offers classes and private sessions to women to help them embrace and celebrate their sexuality.

Consider sex as a spiritual practice. That's what it slowly evolved into for me since taking my first workshop at the Body Electric School in Oakland, which offers experiences of integration of spirituality and sexuality. At that time, I was having a very satisfying sexual relationship with my partner. I loved sex—it was fun and exciting. But it became something much more after I was introduced to the full-body practice of conscious sexuality. Speaking metaphorically, having a hearty hamburger can really hit the spot but it lacks the possibility of a deeper exploration of senses that an exquisite seven course meal can offer. What I call "hamburger sex" is genital sex. What I call "connoisseur sex" is a full-body practice that satisfies all parts of you: your body's raw desire, your heart's longing for warmth and comfort, your intellect's search for meaning in your experiences, and your spirit's need for a deeper connection not only with yourself or your partner, but with all there is.

You might be thinking: "It all sounds very good, but how do I get there?" Imagine a woman coming out of a marriage devoid of sexual or nurturing touch. She may have forgotten what it feels like to be alive in her body. Perhaps it has been years since she was touched by anyone with the care and gentleness for which her body longs. Or imagine a woman who was sexually abused in the past. She may not know how the trauma has affected her relationship with her body. How can these women, and others who long for a deeper connection with their bodies, find a way back in?

No matter what has happened in the past, the answer is in the present. Life continuously expresses itself in every cell of our bodies. The more present we are, the more we can connect with the life within us. Often the hardest thing is to let go of our preconceptions of how our aliveness should express itself and instead embrace what is being expressed. Trusting one's body and surrendering to it, listening and allowing it to express itself are the keys to deep sensation. What's often in the way for us is the idea that sex is only about physical pleasure. But sometimes sex brings up grief, anger, sadness, and other emotions that are an inevitable part of living in a human body.
What if, before the joy of being alive can be truly felt, the tears and grief for all the years of being dead inside of the body need to come out? What if, before trust and pleasure can come in, the unexpressed scream from the rape that happened years ago needs to come out? What if, before the deep pleasure can be felt, the tears of forgiveness for your mother's strict religious beliefs and all the shame that came with it need to be let out?

In my practice, all these expressions are welcome along with the expressions of pleasure and joy. Whatever a client's life story is, my role is to create a container of safety, trust, guidance and support so that her body can heal in whatever way it naturally wants to heal itself and open up to deeper sensation and vitality.
I have witnessed hundreds of women, including myself, being transformed by this work, releasing traumas, beliefs and ideas, embracing their sexuality, and opening to the deeper mystery of being alive.