In our culture we rarely have the opportunity to practice eroticism without there being a particular demand or agenda.
In this workshop we will apply yogic principles to erotic practice and sexuality. As yoga brings you face to face with your limits through asana practice, eroticism understood as a yogic practice can also help you to become stronger and more flexible - both physically and psychologically. Eroticism can be understood as a kind of yoga, i.e., as an informed way of learning to arrive at our limits and expand, without causing physical or emotional damage to ourselves or others. Such expansion, we believe, is healthy in a deep sense.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN IN THIS CLASS? In a safe and controlled way we will practice arousal patterns through touch, breath, strong and subtle sensations, materials, massage, bodywork, contact improv, Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) and yogic asana. We will do so without being attached to any kind of goal. The overall aim is provide opportunities for you to expand your erotic repertoire as well as your capacities for pleasure.
WHO IS THIS CLASS FOR? This class is open to the curious and the brave of all genders and sexual orientations. There is no age restriction, other than you must be over 18. Some previous experience in tantra, kink or sex-positive workshops is recommended, but not required. What all care is taken, some of the content can be challenging for some people. There is no obligation to take part in anything. All activity is voluntary and consent focussed.
WILL THERE BE NUDITY? For this introductory class there will be optional nudity.
HOW WILL WE PARTNER UP? If you have come with a partner, you can engage exclusively with them. Otherwise everyone will be paired at random with different people during activities and discussions. You do not have to engage with anyone you don’t want to. You can step out of any activity. Intrusive behaviour and rudeness will not be tolerated.
The concept of Erotic Yoga draws its inspiration from the work of Joseph Kramer, Ph.D, the Founder of Sexological Bodywork and the New School of Erotic Touch.
Peter Banki, Ph.D founded Erotic Living (previously known as the School of Really Good Sex) in 2015. Prior to that he curated Xplore - Festival of the Art of Lust in Sydney from 2011-2013. He says: “When you are intimate with someone, you witness them at their most open and vulnerable, whatever their role. Much more than your skills or competence, it’s your being that is truly exciting.”
Peter has an extensive background in Iyengar yoga, dance and the martial arts (Capoeira Angola). His somatic and movement practice forms the basis of his work in the sphere of eroticism.
Peter has also been a scholar and teacher of European philosophy and literature for much of his adult life. Philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Georges Bataille, Anne Dufourmantelle, Avital Ronell and Jean-Luc Nancy have most inspired him in his thinking about sexuality and eroticism. He holds a Ph.D in German studies from New York University (September, 2009). His book The Forgiveness To Come: the Holocaust and the Hyper-Ethical came out recently with Fordham University Press. Articles about Peter's work on The Festival of Really Good Sex have been featured in many news outlets, including The Guardian, Archer Magazine, ABC Radio National and news.com. He has also been interviewed about the Festival of Death and Dying, which he also founded and directs, on ABC Radio and the Sydney Morning Herald. His work on apology and forgiveness has been featured on 2SER and on the philosophers’ zone on ABC Radio National.
A selection of Peter's academic publications can be found at www.peterbanki.com
