LYDIA OUKHANEVA is a specialist of Holistic Medicine who studied conventional medicine at the Moscow Medical Academy. After several years’ practice she undertook training in the Academy of Onnury and Su Jok Therapy of Natural Healing under Professor Park Jae Woo. In the field of psychotherapy and healing she employs the transpersonal psychology techniques of Stan Grof, holotropic breathwork and the traditional Japanese Reiki system of Mikao Usui. Lydia’s professional and spiritual interest is to study human potential and she is currently organising a seminar on Conscious Sexuality. Erika Brincat meets up with her to find out more…

Lydia is wearing bright white and looking her radiant self as usual when we meet for lunch to discuss her upcoming seminar. For me she has been a role model for a number of years now – a friend and talented doctor who genuinely cares about her patients’ health and lives… so I can easily imagine her conducting a seminar on such a delicate and intimate subject, allowing the participants to feel at ease and learn new things which will help them improve the quality of their love life in a supportive environment. Her seminar will deal with all aspects of our sexuality – the physical, the emotions, the mind and spirituality, beginning with information about our anatomy and physiology.

She tells me: “Conscious sexuality involves all aspects of our being – our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and perceptions in different parts of the body. It is an essential act of self-understanding and self-care, and an act of attention to our senses and joy, recognition of our truth and our priorities. By paying attention to our sexuality we can recognise our divine meaning and discover a joyful way of being. We can go out from the shadows of judgement into the light of appreciation and gratitude of what will guide us to an unconditional state of love and happiness which can help us stop destructive habits and behaviour. It is never about quantity but quality.”

“I am also writing a book entitled, The Art of Intimacy to be published in Germany which will deal with our sexual energy and how to tap into its sacred side, which is often neglected on the roads to pleasure or procreation,” adds Lydia. “Through the consciousness of sexuality we can reconnect with our individuality and learn to be independent. Consciousness creates “slowness”… for example you cannot be conscious of what you are eating if you are hungry and fill your mouth with everything that is edible and then suffer with indigestion and tiredness! Hurry creates an automatism – you have no feelings about the smell, texture and taste and just take more and more to satisfy your appetite. Sexuality is similar. Hurry, greed for satisfaction, unprepared state of body and tiredness bring short enthusiasm with a quick catharsis, mostly for men. This is unconscious sexuality, and the woman is often left out, together with all the precious gifts of sensuality.”

Very often, nowadays our sexual energy is out of balance. It is not too late though. The balancing of sexual energy enables you to improve your health, to get rid of chronic diseases, to heal your emotional pain, to harmonise your sexual life, and to allow your personal development to leap to a new level of consciousness. Therefore, this seminar promises much joy, energy, new knowledge and self-discovery. “Our vitality is connected with our sexuality. After all we are given life on this planet through our sexuality. So what has happened to us with our modern lives?” she asks. “We know so much about other planets, other worlds and dimensions and even about parallel realities and yet we do not have simple knowledge about our own bodies and physiology, emotions and sexuality? We are so bombarded with sexual images in the media, advertising and entertainment industry that most people’s vision of sex is warped into some sort of self-gratifying commodity. In its basest form sex can be an act of lust and greed, and yet in its highest form it is a beautiful and divine act and expression of union.”

“Often we are not having sex as an ‘art’ but as a ‘use’, and many times people are not open in mind and feelings because there isn’t enough time to create the space for intimacy. When you own your own sexual energy it is very empowering. We need to make a commitment to ourselves: “My body is sacred and I know how to protect it and will avoid situations where it is disrespected.” It is essential to clean up feelings of guilt, and achieve innocence in the mind again. Sexuality is creativity and spontaneity. Even St Paul said: “The Body is Sacred.” Sexual life can be the way of worshipping. In sacred sexuality we lose our ego point and have the shortest way to get in touch with our individuality. In fact ancient texts describe the sexual act as a moment when male and female are one with themselves, each other and the Divine.”

“Many medical problems such as prostatitis, ovarian dysfunction, urinary tract infection and a lot of other ‘diseases’ such as simple back-pain are static energy connected to an unsatisfied sexual life, guilt and lack of self-appreciation,” adds Lydia.

The ancient civilisations of Egypt, India, Babylon and Greece to name a few used the mystery of sexuality in rituals to reconnect humans with nature and divinity. The history of sexuality and how it has helped different civilisations to develop is reflected in the spiritual knowledge found in ancient sacred texts, such as the Tao, Indian sutras, Egyptian manuscripts and Greek mythology. Some of this knowledge still survives in our time and will be introduced during the seminar.

The weekend programme will include practical exercises such as Osho’s Meditations, Breathing Exercises, Tao practices like “The Inner Smile” and Mantack Chia’s techniques. Mantack Chia was the first Tao Master from China to publicise these sexual techniques and is well known in the East for creating the Universal Healing Tao system – teaching others to take personal responsibility for their own physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Such techniques help to balance the yin and yang quality of our being, as well as the rejuvenation and healing of the body.

“The purpose of the seminar is to improve the sensuality and consciousness of your being, to discover your true self, to be a master of your sexuality, to manage your health, to heal relationships and any past traumatic experiences, to be more in synchronicity with your rhythm of being and nature, and to develop your spiritual awareness,” she explains. It will include art therapy, tea ceremonies, juice breaks and lunch breaks, which will be focused on Conscious Eating with short explanations.

The seminar will be held on Friday evening 12 September, Saturday and Sunday 13 and 14 September. It is not just for couples, singles are welcome, and relaxed comfortable clothing suitable for meditation and breath-work are recommended. Lectures and lunch will be held in the relaxing atmosphere of a private villa in Wardija.

If you would like to receive further information about the event you may contact Lydia on 9946 9922; email: [email protected] or contact Carmen on 9980 6060. Spaces available are limited.