Women's Circle: The Body's Own Fire | Awakening Orgasmic Energy Through Breath | North London

Women's Circle: The Body's Own Fire | Awakening Orgasmic Energy Through Breath takes place on 12 December 2027. Venue: N11, London.

Low in your body, behind the pubic bone, is a place that tradition after tradition has called fire. For a lot of women it is where desire lives, and a particular kind of aliveness that has nothing to do with how much you are getting done. Plenty of us never go there on purpose. We were taught to keep still Breathe in and hold it. Sit nicely. Keep the noise down. A body that has practised that for years can become very good at keeping quiet. The breath goes shallow and stays high in the chest. The pelvis stops moving. The voice stays down. And underneath all of it, the fire is still there. Banked, damped down, waiting, and easily mistaken for tiredness, or for getting older, or for not being a very sexual person. And we were taught that somebody else lights it That arousal is something that arrives when a person does something to you. That pleasure is a matter of the right hands, the right device, enough friction, enough time. So when there is nobody, this whole part of life can feel as if it is on hold. And when there is somebody and it has gone quiet, or slow, or sore, or predictable, the problem can start to look like you. Your body can raise its own charge Breath does it. Movement does it. Sound does it. So does the squeeze and release of your own muscle. Put those together in a body that is paying attention, and heat can gather. Keep going, and for some women it stops needing to be driven and begins to move on its own, up through the belly and the chest and out to the hands and the face. Your own breath and your own body can be enough. What can open up when you know this You may stop waiting. For a partner, for the right mood, for someone else to be skilful. What lights you is in your own body, and this is a way of reaching it that you can take home. You may feel more, and not only in bed. Women who work this way describe ordinary things coming back up in colour. Food, weather, music, their own skin. Pleasure can stop being local. When breath and movement are in it, sensation can travel rather than sitting in one small place and fading. Desire can start arriving from the inside. Not summoned, not performed, not waited for. And you get to know your own body properly , which few of us make time for, and which everything else rests on. None of that is a promise. It is what this practice opens the door to, and your body does what it does. How the morning actually goes Doors open at 10:45 and there is no rush about any of it. We settle in together, with tea, in a small group, often three or four women, most of them arriving on their own. We begin by introducing ourselves, and there is time for it. Whatever you feel like saying about what brought you here. Some women say a good deal and some say very little, and both are genuinely fine. Then a little while, still sitting with the tea, on what we are doing and why. Not a lecture. Then we wake the body up. On your feet for a little while, some shaking, then sitting for some slow circling of the hips and some easy work with the pelvic floor. Nothing you need to be able to do already, everything guided, and a seated or slower option for all of it. Then the practice itself, and this is the heart of it. You lie down on a mat with a blanket, and we breathe. Slowly, continuously, without stopping, for around forty minutes. Most of us have never breathed deliberately for more than a minute or two, so that is far longer than it sounds. It becomes work at some point, and then for many women it becomes something else, and the something else is why we do it. Two short passages are faster and stronger than the rest. Then fifteen minutes of lying completely still, with nothing at all asked of you. Then we come back slowly, sit up, and there is a proper conversation at the end, with real time for it. What happened, what it was like, anything it stirred. For a lot of women that part matters as much as the practice, because it is where you find out that the thing you thought was only yours is not only yours. We finish at 1:30, and nobody is hurried out of the door. Everything happens in your own body, with your clothes on. It may not look like what you are expecting Women ask about this afterwards more than anything else, so it is worth saying now. What arrives in this kind of practice often has a different shape from the one we were taught. It may not gather to a point and peak and stop. It can spread instead, and arrive in waves, and go on far longer than seems reasonable. It can turn up in the chest, the spine, the hands, the whole length of the body, and not in the place you were watching. Some women find heat, or trembling, or a current running up through them. Some find themselves laughing or crying with nothing attached to it. Some find a deep stillness while the body moves on its own. And long, steady breathing can bring up sadness or old pain as well as pleasure. If that happens, it is welcome here too, and you can slow down or stop at any point. And some find very little the first time. That is a real answer and a common one, it is not a failed morning, and it says nothing at all about what happens the next time. Nothing is promised to anybody here. The practice is offered, and your body does what it does. What you can count on Everyone stays fully clothed, the whole morning. In this circle the touch is your own hands, if you want them, resting on your own body. Some circles in the year include touch between women, always asked for and always your choice. This one doesn't. Sharing is a big part of what makes these circles work, and you always choose how much and what. You never have to give details you'd rather keep, and you can sit any part of it out without explaining why. There will be sound. Breath, sighing, humming and voices as the practice builds, because sound is one of the things that moves the energy rather than a side effect of it. You are welcome to stay completely silent yourself, and it is worth knowing before you book that the room will not be. The group is small, often three or four women. Most come on their own, having done nothing like this before. Women come to these circles in their twenties and in their seventies. Practical details When: Sunday 12 December 2027, 11:00am to 1:30pm. Doors open 10:45. Where: A warm, private home in North London (N11). The address is in your booking confirmation, and I'll send you a reminder a day or two before. Please note it is a first-floor flat, one flight of stairs up. There is no step-free access to this circle. Bring: Comfortable clothes you can move in and lie down in. Everything else is here, including mats, blankets and cushions. Herbal teas and water are available throughout. Investment: Community £15 | Standard £20 | Supporter £25. This circle uses community pricing, so please choose the tier that reflects your situation. Standard covers the cost of running the morning. Supporter helps keep a community place open for another woman. Questions: melanie@conscious-sexuality.co.uk or +44 7876 706910. Ask me anything before you book. Before you book, the health part This morning is not suitable if you are pregnant. The breathing goes well beyond anything recommended in pregnancy, and there is no version of it I would run with you. Come to a later circle instead and I will be glad to see you. Please also get in touch before booking if any of these apply: epilepsy or a seizure disorder; a detached retina or glaucoma; a diagnosed aneurysm; a hernia; heart disease, including angina or a previous heart attack or stroke; high blood pressure that is not controlled, or low blood pressure with a history of fainting; or surgery in the last six months, particularly to the abdomen, chest or eyes. Those are not automatically a no. There is a gentler alternative for the two strongest passages, and nobody has to explain anything to the room. Worth a word beforehand too if you have asthma, a thyroid or diabetes condition, a recent change of medication, or a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or a psychotic illness. If you use an asthma inhaler, please bring it. Breathing like this can bring feeling up, sometimes suddenly and sometimes without a story attached. If you know that you sometimes go numb or far away, please tell me before you book, because there are ways of running the practice that keep you present. If you are working with a therapist, particularly around sexual trauma, it is worth checking in with them first and having their support there afterwards. You can stop at any moment without giving a reason. Please keep the rest of the day gentle, and do not drive straight off. After booking, a short health check arrives by email. If anything on it applies to you, I will be in touch personally before the day. There is also a short health and agreement sheet to sign when you arrive. About your facilitator Melanie Knight is a Certified Sexological Bodyworker and Somatic Sex Educator, and has been teaching tantra for many years. She runs small, unhurried circles where women can slow down and come back into their bodies, without pressure and without performance. Her approach is trauma-informed and consent-based. The fire is already yours. Nobody else has to light it. Sunday 12 December, 11:00. Book below. Each circle stands on its own, so you do not need to have been to any other. This is the last circle of 2027, and the new year's circles begin again in January. If you would like to hear when they are announced, just let me know when you book. Women's Circle 2027: A Year of Your Pleasure: Growing Into Your Desire One Sunday a month, 11:00am to 1:30pm in North London (N11), except June's evening outdoors. 24 Jan What Turns You On Now 21 Feb The Dress You Never Wear 21 Mar Own Your Yes. Own Your No. 25 Apr Move Your Hips the Way You Want To 23 May The Art of Anticipation 20 Jun Sensual in the Wild (evening, outdoors) 25 Jul Loud and Proud 22 Aug What Your Breasts Know 19 Sep Your Breasts, Your Pleasure 17 Oct Good Girls Don't 14 Nov The Map You Were Never Given 12 Dec The Body's Own Fire Book below.