Dear Women, Would You Try “One Taste” Of Orgasmic Meditation?
By Ava Kiai
“It’s yoga for your orgasm” apparently, and we really don’t know what to think about it. OneTaste is an organization with locations in major cities in the US (including here in New York) and a few abroad that preaches the practice of “orgasm meditation” or OM, the “revolutionary practice” that falls inches short of promising divine revelation if one only following their prescription for 15-minute/day sessions of a focused female orgasm. (For the Freudian adherents among you, feel free to make of this what you will.)
“OM is a sexual practice, but it’s not sex,” touts OneTaste’s website. The “practice” is all about women and having women reach heightened vitality, awareness, and comfort with themselves. “Orgasm is the nutrient that has been missing from the standard human diet for centuries… Through orgasm, we’ll be fully restored to our natural human state: the state of connection.”
But seriously, we’re not sold on an organization that promises that its flagship practice will “thaw a woman’s genitals and awaken her Orgasm.” But founder Nicole Daedone is certain she has the key to what’s been keeping women from leading fulfilled lives. In a TED talk entitled “Orgasm. The Cure for the Western Woman,” she describes the conception of the startup — even the title rings similar to that of Civilzation and it’s Discontents. Yet with startlingly convincing rhetoric she illustrates how she thinks this method might solve the communication imbalance between partners.
The site offers several ways to learn orgasmic meditation, primary among them are:
- The “how to OM class” is a day-long (literally, it’s from 10 am to 7 pm) class that will cost you a hefty $195/person. The class includes demonstrations, an exploration of techniques and principles of the OM practice, and an introduction to the application of the practice. The next upcoming OM class in New York is on April 20th. (The Advanced OM class is a two-day ordeal where “together, you and your classmates will viscerally research the next level of what’s possible.” For $295/person this time.)
- You can also order Private OM Training Sessions (we shit you not) where in a series of 3, 6 or 12 sessions, a coach will literally administer and lead the practice. “In and around the practice of Orgasm, we teach men to be strokers (mindful men) and women to live from their desire (turned-on women). While working one-on-one with a certified, OneTaste coach you find that things in your life begin to shift. You notice that the things you want in life seem to present themselves to you…. and life just seems a lot more pleasurable.” (We know how this sounds, so we took a look at the site’s Teacher’s Ethics code of conduct and found there are indeed imposed limitations on the degree of contact teachers can have with those they practice on outside the OM.)
- Perhaps strangest of them all is the OM Circle: “The OM Circle is a group practice of Orgasmic Meditation (OM) where people can OM, meet other people who OM, and receive individual guidance on their practice from a Certified OM trainer. Whether you’re OMing for the first time or have been OMing for a while, the OM Circle is a clean, clear place where you can come and participate in group, OM practice.” There’s pillows, lube and gloves for rental or you can bring your own. Partners, as the site suggests, can be found on the OM Hub — which one becomes a member of for a $49/year fee. The local meetings take place Mondays, 7 pm at Friends in Deed (594 Broadway, Suite 706) & Wednesdays, 6:30pm, Elk Studios (164 W 25th St, 12th floor)
- Finally, you can avoid the weirdness of re-enacting that scene from When Harry Met Sally by ordering the online OM Essentials media kit for in-home use. Included: “What is OM? The Essentials.” (eBook and Video) and Ergonomics (Video) that guides you through positions. $50 and it’s yours.
Every Wednesday, OneTaste also holds “TurnOn” sessions in New York where, for $10, you can get together with strangers and talk about sex and what gets you turned on like you’re 13-year-old girls at a slumber party and Aaron Samuels just asked you for a pencil yesterday. Though the organization does promise that these talk-through-it sessions will be “the ignition that leads to a more of what we really want in life… [and leave] you feeling more alert, ignited and happy.”
OneTaste seems keen on expanding its offerings as the site has links from nearly each page to one proposing you become a Master OM trainer, a position that can be filled by either a man or woman.
Daedone does not seem like a person who registers discretion as a viable personality trait — she was probably that girl in your 6th grade Health class who was weirdly comfortable with those creepy plastic model casts. “Our vision is that one day you’ll hear yoga, meditation and orgasm in one sentence without whispering the third,” she says. What do you think, ladies? Convinced of the ‘health benefits’ or is this all just people finding new ways to get off? Let us know in the comments.
Daedone is giving a lecture tonight at 8 pm at Cooper Union’s Great Hall on the theory and practice of her brainchild, Orgasmic Meditation.
