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New Year’s Resolutions from a Sexologist

We may be nearing the end of January, but this article was originally posted on LisaLiving as proof that I did write my resolutions in time for the new year:)

From LisaLiving:

As the new year rolls in, we tend to focus on resolutions to improve our overall health. Gym memberships fly of the shelf, diet products sell out in response to turkey overload (how blessed we are to eat until we’re full!) and new programs to quit our not-so-healthy habits make headlines with stories of success. It really is an exciting time and I think everyone deserves and can benefit from the feeling of a fresh start!

While you’re making resolutions to live a better life and become a better version of yourself, be sure to take some time to look at your relationships. It only takes a few minutes, but thinking about your connections with friends, family, partners and co-workers can help you gain a new perspective on the ways in which you interact with others. Healthy relationships are of paramount importance to your own happiness and self-esteem and, so take some time to nourish them and take pride in those from the past, present and future.

I don’t usually write about my personal life, but I’m happy to share a few of my relationship resolutions for 2012. Please feel free to share yours as well. We can learn so much from one another!

1.  I will make more time for the people I love. 2011 was a dynamite year for my business, but I could have done a better job making friends and family a priority with phone calls, emails and get-togethers. Mea culpa! In 2012, I’m going to do a better job of this by scheduling time with loved ones the same way I schedule meetings and business engagements.

2.  I’m going to ditch the Blackberry. OK. Not literally! Resolutions have to be realistic in order to be attainable, so I’m not about to throw my cell phone in the lake. But I am going to make an effort to turn it off when I’m out for dinner with friends or visiting my family. There will always be extraordinary circumstances, but I want this rule to apply as a norm rather than an exception.

3.  I will set aside one day per week to spend time with my partner. With my travel schedule and his insane workload (not to mention my just-barely-healthy love of Ultimate Frisbee), we sometimes go for weeks without actually spending quality time together. This has to change. I’m going to cut back on my 11p.m, frisbee games so that we can go to bed together at night more than twice a week. He does a much better job of making me a priority despite working 14-hour days (and never complains), so I need to take a page out of his book in 2012.

4.  I’m going to be more romantic. I need to do more for my partner in terms of planning small surprises and organizing unexpected opportunities for fun and intimacy. After all, I’m a sexologist and should practice what I preach!

5.  I’m going to see the best in others. My mom taught me to do this from a really young age and I think I’m pretty good at it. But with stress, hectic schedules and other tidbits of life’s drama, it’s easy to get caught up in negativity. But everyone is full of goodness, so I don’t want to lose sight of this. This doesn’t mean that I will always be perfectly happy with everyone — sometimes it seems like people suck (and not in a good way). But really it’s just specific behaviours that suck, so I’ll do my best to look for the silver lining.

6.  I want to start (almost) every sentence and action from a place of love. Maybe it sounds a bit cheesy, but I want to consciously ask myself how I can move a relationship forward with everything I say and do. The more I do this, the easier it will become because practice makes perfect.

7.  I’m going to stop being so hard on myself. This is a tough one, but I have to build a healthy relationship with myself in order to cultivate happy relationships with others. And those of us who are hard on ourselves tend to also be tough on others. This means I have to accept that I will screw up sometimes. I will say things that are motivated by emotions other than love. I will have weeks when I don’t make enough time for my loved ones and I will have days when I’m more Blackberry-dependent than others. But it’s okay, because I’m human and I’m doing my best (most days).

8.  I will spread love in the big city! Not that kind of love! Get your head out of the gutter. I’m talking about small acts that make others happy. Holding a door (even if you have to wait a few seconds to do so), offering a seat on public transit, a friendly smile and a warm hello can go a long way to warm up a wintery urban centre. And every interaction, however brief, constitutes a relationship in my books. I often think to myself, “I should buy that secretary or concierge a coffee the next time I’m here”, but I don’t follow through and I’m not sure it’s always the thought that counts in this respect. In 2012, I will be more of a doer and less of a thinker. Thinking hurts my brain anyway. Kidding!

Wishing you a very happy and healthy 2012! You deserve it!

Q is for Quasimodo-Wank, Queef, Quickie and QUILTBAG

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Thanks to my British friend, Jon Jackson, for defining Quasimodo-Wank which involves masturbating to the sound of bells. And why not? If the clock strikes twelve and the mood happens to strike you, then go for it! Just don’t do it beneath the church bell tower please and thank you.
The Queef is also known as [...]

Fun Sex Facts

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From Healthy Times Blog…

[Source: Healthy Times Blog]

P is for Pearl Necklace, Pegging, Penguin, Phallophobia and Priapism.

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The Pearl Necklace involves spraying your ejaculate on your partner’s neck/chest so that it looks like s/he is wearing pearls. Use your imagination and remember to ask first!
Pegging refers to a woman penetrating her male partner’s butt with a strap-on dildo. The term was coined by Dan Savage who asked his readers to vote on [...]

O is for Octopus, Oyster and Osmolagnia

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The Octopus sex position involves two people sitting on their bums face-to-face with their arms on the ground behind them for support. The receptive partner puts his/her legs up on the other’s shoulders so that their eight limbs can be used to help thrust around like an octopus.
The Oyster sexual technique is much like the [...]

N is for Nibbing, Nose Job & Nocturnal Emission

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After a very long break in Alphabet Sex Soup, let’s resume where we left off with the not-so-nasty letter N…
Nibbing refers to hiding an erection by tucking the penis into the waistband of your pants or underwear. No one will ever know!!!
Sex is supposed to be sticky and messy right? So why not get your [...]

Need a Girlfriend for Thanksgiving?

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With Thanksgiving weekend quickly approaching, this year’s latest techno-dating gadget offers fake partners just in time for the holidays.
There seems to be something about the holidays that prompts us to turn our thoughts to love…or lust…or something like that. Last year we had the Turkey Dump site aimed at offering support for first-year students going [...]

After sex: women fall in love and men fall asleep?

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We hear it all the time. Women who have sex (and especially those who have orgasms during sex) get attached the their male partners because of the rapid release of oxytocin into the bloodstream. This supposedly biological explanation for why women fall in love and men fall asleep after sex seems widely accepted given that [...]

The Danger of…Breasts?

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Do they attack without warning? Nope.
Do they approach aggressively and poke you in the eye? Nope. (Not unless you ask them to and the mood happens to strike them.)
Are they the cause of social, economic or political injustice? I don’t think so.
Bare breasts are pretty harmless. Women who walk around (or lay on the grass) [...]

Workshop Sneak Peek: 3 Tips to Improve Sex & Intimacy

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One of the best parts of my job (and yes — it’s hard to choose a favourite in this line of work) is teaching pleasure-based workshops for men, women and couples. I have a whole series of workshops planned over the next few months and a number of participants have emailed me looking for a [...]