This month we kicked off module 1 of the Sex Positive Professional Certification Program (SPPCP) through the Center for Positive Sexuality. This module contained many great resources and information to lay the foundation for the rest of the course, outlining the 8 dimensions of positive sexuality and bringing to light differences of experienced and expressed gender, emotional and physical attraction, and the kaleidoscopic realms of variations, overlaps, and possibilities therein.
The course offers a combination of written text and video resources from professionals in the fields of sexuality and sexual health. Students of the course are prompted to reflect on different questions of positive sexuality as it relates to the material.
The term “positive sexuality”, admittedly, has become somewhat of a buzzword. It’s easy to say that you support positive sexuality, but what does that actually mean? In addressing my own definitions, I refer to my yoga practice.
As a photographer, my yoga practice is of utmost importance to me. Not only does yoga help keep my physical body relatively flexible and strong to capture different angles and interests as a photographer, but mentally, my yoga practice assists me in developing true presence. Photography is about capturing moments. Moments that convey a feeling – an emotion, and a story. If I am distracted by the chitter-chatter of my own mind, I am far less likely to tune into what is going on around me, and will likely miss the shot. My yoga practice helps me to be a better photographer.
My yoga practice also helps me to define the phrase “positive sexuality” and to bring it to life in actionable ways, contexts, and scenarios. The Yamas and Niyamas are limbs 1 and 2, respectively, as outlined in Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of Yoga. The Yamas, translated as self-control, are a set of 5 principles that relate to how we connect & interact with our surroundings. . The Niyamas, translated as discipline, are a set of 5 principles that relate to how we connect & interact with ourselves. In order to dissect my own definitions of positive sexuality, we must look at each yama and niyama individually as well as collectively.
Head over to my living portfolio site, Learning to Fly with Tangled Wings, to view my interpretation of the yamas and niyamas as applied to both yoga and positive sexuality.
