I am a single LDS female (virgin) and I wanted to do a certain yoga type exercise program, namely 5 Tibetans, on a regular basis for its great health benefits and little time it takes to do. I find myself very aroused when doing some exercises. You are supposed to do 21 repetitions but for example, when lying on the floor and lifting both legs up simultaneously (using pelvic muscles I guess) I have to stop after just 5 or so repetitions and relax. Even then, while lying down, not moving at all and hoping that arousal would dissipate, I involuntarily orgasmed. I googled it and it’s supposedly called a coregasm. Clothing had nothing to do with it; it was muscle/exercise induced.
I hope that it is not something I need to see a bishop for as I did not want it to occur and I did stop doing the exercise when I sensed hightened arousal (much before the required number of repetitions). My intention was not masturbation and I successfully decided long ago not to have anything to do with that. Any thoughts on what happened as a moral issue?
I am very slim, don’t normally exercise but I decided to start this weekend and got too aroused each time. As a worthy temple recommend holder and patron, I feel wrong about trying again tomorrow when it would most likely cause this again. And there are many other exercises involving thigh or abdominal muscles that have this effect so it’s not as easy as eliminating a particular movement. What happened especially bothered me as exercise is suggested as a means of releasing sexual energy while single in the chastity talks – I don’t suppose they mean released in this manner…
Does this happen to many others? Wanting to keep the law of chastity but still do the exercises that are very beneficial, what are my options? They mention wet dreams as ok but I found no statement on coregasms. Any other comments on this?
Victoria Zdrok, Ph.D., a sex therapist and author of The Anatomy of Pleasure writes:
“A lot of women require a buildup of tension in their legs before they can achieve the release of orgasm,” she said. “So, when a woman exercises, the release of endorphins and dopamine, which are necessary for orgasm, combined with the tension in the lower extremities, can cause the clitoral stimulation” that is needed.
and
Joy Davidson, Ph.D., author of Fearless Sex, says:
“When that happens, usually it’s women who already have very strong pelvic muscles,” she said. “And when they’re doing certain exercises that are tapping into the deep core or into the quads and inner thighs, what they wind up doing is almost automatically squeezing pelvic muscles in addition.”
Davidson speculated that the tightening of core and leg muscles are “triggering the nerve impulses in the pelvic area. It’s a little unusual to get that much response from one squeeze, but if you’re doing multiple reps, you’re squeezing your pelvic muscles over and over again.
The fact that you are sexually inactive may be contributing to your body being in a more heightened state of arousal than if you had a marital outlet for your sexuality. This may be playing a role in your ability to have coregasms as easily as you describe. On a positive note, it is important to remember that your body is sexual and that you were created in a way that meant for you to be sexual. Many women have the opposite problem of not being able to achieve orgasm easily at all. Therefore, you are lucky that your body is able and willing to respond sexually. If and when you marry, this will hopefully be a wonderful aspect to your relationship. My bigger concern for you is the focus on worry and/or shame regarding normal bodily functions. I would hope that you can overcome these feelings of inappropriate guilt so that when you are able to have sex, you will not be burdened with psychological baggage that will hamper your ability to enjoy this God-given gift.
There are many involuntary physical reactions that our bodies have with very little control from our part (i.e. penile erections and wet dreams are good examples in the case of men). As women, we have similar physical reactions as well – they are just usually not as upfront and center because our anatomy is different (i.e. involuntary vaginal lubrication, clitoral engorgement, etc.). I would encourage you to continue to exercise in ways that you feel comfortable, understanding that you will not always have control over how your body responds and letting it go at that (you may also find that the more your body becomes accustomed to exercise, the less this will automatically happen). I do not see this as a moral issue.
Exercise will offer a release from stress in general – but no, I do not believe coregasms are the release they are speaking of in chastity talks. I would imagine many don’t even know that this happens at all. The release being spoken of has more to do with burning off energy, stress and frustration (all benefits of regular exercise).
I have not been able to find statistics on how many women experience coregasm so I can’t help you with percentages, but you are not the only one obviously that this is happening to.
The fact that this was an involuntary physical reaction in no way classifies it as a sin, is not deemed masturbation, and therefore, confession is not needed. Confession to a bishop as part of the repentance process is meant for sins of a serious nature (definition of serious nature will vary among members). If we were all going in with every minor sin to our bishops, they would be completely overwhelmed. In my opinion, even occasional purposeful masturbation is not necessarily grounds to see your bishop. If masturbation becomes addictive in nature (several times a day or even per week), includes pornography use, is secret from spouse, etc. then it becomes more serious of an issue. Ultimately however, you are the only one that can decide if you need to see your bishop or not.
The Mormon Therapist
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