Smell:
The Most Primal Sense
The fact that smell is the sensory avenue for the root chakra is a testament to the insight of the Tantric and Yogic practitioners who described the chakra system. Smell is the most primal sense. It often affects us in ways we fail to perceive. In simple terms (and current research is revealing that the subject is considerably more complex), the sense of smell is governed by two systems: the main olfactory system and the accessory olfactory system.26 Compared to many other mammals, the human sense of smell is rather weak, but it is still considerably more powerful than most of us realize.
The accessory olfactory system generally operates below the level of conscious awareness. It responds to pheromones and can enable people to recognize close blood relatives by smell alone. It is connected to the amygdala, a part of the brain that regulates fear and pain and processes emotion, and the hypothalamus, which links the nervous and endocrine systems and regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and circadian rhythms.
While visual cues are frequently the first trigger for sexual attraction, the accessory olfactory system probably plays a more critical role, once we’ve gone from seeing someone from across the room to talking at close range. All of this makes sense in evolutionary terms: distant odors, of fire or other threats, can get us ready to flee before we have consciously registered the danger. At close range, recognizing the scent of a close relative may limit our desire to engage in incest and thereby help us choose appropriate mates.27
The main olfactory system is considerably more complex, and it involves more areas of the brain, including not only the hypothalamus and the amygdala but also the orbitofrontal cortex, which regulates decision-making, among other things. Thus, it appears that smells processed through the main olfactory system have an impact both consciously and unconsciously. This aspect of the sensory avenue is also closely connected with the limbic system and the hippocampus. This means that smells can easily trigger memories, sometimes quite vivid ones. If you’ve ever taken an acting class and been exposed to sense memory as a technique, there’s a good chance that the first sense you worked with was smell. The creators of method acting recognized something that has been known for centuries in Tantra and that modern science has validated: smell is the most unmediated of our senses, and we can use it to tap into hidden aspects of our psyches.
Whether or not you have taken a method acting class, you can begin to explore the power of this sense by doing a basic acting exercise. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to choose a strong and somewhat unpleasant aroma—ammonia. This exercise is very simple: close your eyes, and breathe through your nose. Imagine that you are holding an open bottle of ammonia just under your nose. Breathe slowly and deliberately, calling the scent of ammonia to mind. Continue to do this until you have a visceral feeling that you are actually sniffing ammonia. This should not be difficult. Take a few more breaths, allowing yourself to experience the odor as completely as you can, and then open your eyes.
As a general rule, we like to focus on pleasurable sensations and guide people toward experiencing more joy in their lives. We apologize for the ammonia, but it is one of the easiest scents to evoke from memory, which makes it a good choice for a first try. Once you’ve successfully awakened your memory of that smell, you can try the same practice with something more pleasant: roses, spices, perfume, or sex.
Another way to explore your sense of smell and awaken this sensory avenue is to reverse the process. Instead of focusing on the memory of a scent, you can explore how certain scents may awaken a memory. This exercise requires two people and a blindfold. Have your partner choose five fragrant items, such as fresh fruits, flowers, pine needles, mint, or earth. Essential oils work too, but we encourage you to use the actual substances. Smell each item while blindfolded and take in the aroma without trying to identify it. The smell may evoke a memory, often a visual one, so if you’re thinking, “That smell takes me back to Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s when I was about six,” you’re on the right track. If you’re thinking, “That smells like a mango,” you’re focusing on interpretation at the expense of the more primal elements that will come through if you can quiet your rational mind.
Now that you understand that smell is so primal and so central to the way you experience life, both in memory and in the moment, you can use the sense of smell to enrich your erotic life. It should not be difficult to find scents that you both find sexy. This is highly individual, but here are some of our favorites: basil, sandalwood, jasmine, vanilla, cinnamon, and bergamot. Once you have identified a few aromas that appeal to you, you can use them intentionally to create an environment that turns you on.