The female mystery has beguiled us since time began. Because a large part of female sexuality takes place hidden from view, it leaves much room for fear and speculation. It also leaves room, however, for fantasies, desires, and hopes. Many women and men that I encounter have a serious wish to learn more about female sexuality—holistically and in depth—but they often feel helpless and inadequate to do so.
Early in my own life, I felt an impulse to learn more about my yoni, and a desire to get in touch with the feelings that were associated with it. I was curious about my desire and joy, and about the emotions and moods that sometimes blocked the realization of that joy. However, it soon became painfully clear to me that our society hardly offers opportunities to approach this topic in a respectful and appropriate way. Yet how are we to be in touch with the beauty and essence of our sexuality when we have such a limited space in which to experience it? A yoni cannot reveal its secrets or its overwhelming joy by following narrow norms; it can reach full bloom only when we experience all its depths.
Female sexuality is an indefinite space that becomes bigger, more intense, and more pleasurable the more we experience it in a protected space. Respect and attention are keys to appreciating the many facets of the yoni and receiving its gifts of fulfillment and joy.
My many questions and hunger for experience led me to take part in a tantric yoga course from 1995 to 1997. It was there that I learned for the first time about yoni massage, an extensive and intensive massage of the female genital area. The yoni massage work had lasting effects on my sexual experiences and also taught me much about true sexuality. I became aware of how closely my yoni was linked to my whole being—to my inner growth, my happiness, and my desire for life. I have encountered nothing since then that has affected me on so many levels: on a physical level as a source of health and vitality, on an emotional level through intensive dealings with my feelings, and on a spiritual level through the experience of my spiritual breadth, which is part of the heart-opening effects of yoni massage.
While I had been searching up until then for meaningful work, this experience immediately made clear to me what my calling was. Since then, I have explored the yoni in many ways—by myself, and together with other people who share my urge to learn more about the healing dimensions and strength of our sexuality. In 1997, I met the shaman teacher Maraya Haenen, who deeply affected my life and thinking. With Maraya’s guidance I immersed myself in the spiritual aspects of sexuality and tantra, which became the foundations of this book.
Since 1997, I have offered seminars and massages for people who want to learn more about themselves, about sensual touch, and about the power of sexuality. Along with my business partner Gitta Arntzen and many others, I created a healing center called AnandaWave—Space for Spiritual Experience. AnandaWave offers massages, seminars, and counseling that provide women and men with opportunities to encounter sexuality in a healing way. For me, sexuality is the most fundamental source of spiritual and physical well-being, which in turn lead to growth and health. My vision is for all people on this earth to recognize the yoni for what it is: the universal lap of woman, from which we all come, and which we should all remember to honor.
Even after years of work, the transformations that happen at AnandaWave continue to touch my heart and make me happy. Within a short period of time, clients begin to open themselves and allow themselves to be touched. When I look people in the eye after a good massage or a good seminar, I see increased depth and empathy, as well as more clarity, loving presence, and profound openness. After massage women often tell me that they have never before been touched so thoroughly and with such undivided attention. Many report that they have previously been very much fixated on reaching climax, which had precluded awareness of anything else: sensations such as the widening of the yoni, emerging feelings, merging with the partner, the opening of the heart, the steadily growing and expanding desire, and the circulation of energy in the body had all been lost. Some women recognize themselves as sexual beings only after their first yoni massage, while others begin to realize that they carry deep wounds in themselves.
It takes many small steps to experience sexuality in a deep and healthy way. I do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions for problems or for unfulfilled desires. Healing begins with a journey, and we must open ourselves to the process. The yoni massage is one possibility that is important to me personally, since the massage touches the innermost parts of womanhood. It is a small step to a more fulfilled and consciously lived sexuality.
This book is intended to support women in adding more vitality, healing, and desire to their lives, and in opening the way to a new understanding of their femininity. For men, it is an invitation to learn more about the female mystery and to develop a better understanding of it. I sincerely hope that my book offers knowledge and inspiration to its readers, both male and female. I hope that it will provide the seed for valuable and healing experiences and contribute to people experiencing their relationships and sexuality as a source of internal riches. Where love resides, there is no longer space for violence.
WITH SENSUAL GREETINGS,
MICHAELA RIEDL
