4.2.1 Sexual pleasure

Sexual pleasure is the ability to enjoy sexual arousal. Most men, women and couples consult us because they would like to fulfill their dream of a more pleasurable sexual experience. But, is this possible without fluidity of movement to allow for the diffusion of sexual arousal through the body, or if the arousal cannot be channeled in the pelvis, or if one lacks the ability to let go? In other words, since the brain and body form a functional unity, an improvement of the arousal function will directly affect sexual pleasure and, consequently, the ability to orgasm.
The following table illustrates how physical abilities facilitate good sexual functioning:

Arousal function


Basic erotic abilities

Diffusion of arousal
(sexual fluidity)



Channeling of arousal (double swing, reflex arc)


Increases the intensity of pleasure

Letting go below
(pelvic swing)


Abandonment to genital intensity

Letting go above
(upper swing)


Abandonment to
emotional intensity

Orgastic discharge (orgasty)

Orgasm (orgasmy)

Emotional discharge

Thus, physical abilities directly influence the emotional experience. For example, high muscle tension inhibits pleasurable perceptions. The more abilities a person attains by enhancing their arousal function, the more they can influence and modulate their arousal – thus, intensifying their experiences of sexual pleasure and orgasm.
Cognitions – i.e. what a person knows about sexuality, the norms that he or she hold, and their beliefs – support or inhibit learning steps, thus influencing the pleasure and arousal functions.
Regarding the experience of pleasure, sexual health presupposes the ability to intensely enjoy sexual arousal and self abandonment (letting go) on both the genital and emotional levels. The basis for this is the combining of pleasant emotional feelings with physical arousal. This is not always the case, however. Sometimes sexual arousal is accompanied by unpleasant feelings. In the extreme case, during a rape experience, for example, physical sexual arousal may occur, but the accompanying (emotional) feelings are painful. Hence, in contrast to Masters and Johnson’s depiction of the sexual response cycle on a single curve, we distinguish two curves: a physical arousal curve as well as a curve describing the emotional experience i.e. sexual pleasure.