The Connection Between Pleasure + Breastfeeding

Women can be seen as the water bearers of this world. Our wombs hold our waters, as do our breasts, in the form of milk or colostrum. Our womb waters include our blood, discharge, the juices we squirt, and the waters of our unborn children. By entering expansive states of pleasure, we soften, unfurl, and activate the waters of our womb. This flow of sensation pulses out and up from our wombs until it reaches our heart, where the heart and breasts become flushed with radiance, love, and openness.

This same process occurs when a baby begins to suckle at its mother’s breast. The love and connection between a mother and baby initiates a rush of oxytocin, and the milk ducts begin to provide a river of warm, nourishing milk that flows from mother to baby.

On the contrary, states of stress can be unsupportive for both the mother and baby. For instance, if a mother is running on cortisol combined with sleepless nights, it can become more difficult for her to access states of relaxation and pleasure. In states of stress, our waters dry up which can cause difficulties with self-lubrication, painful menstruation, and even lower our milk supply. Thus, it is vital to the health of ourselves & our children to be in connection with the waters of our womb and breasts.

Below, we have provided two somatic practices to support you on the path of milk and pleasure…

1. Womb Breathing

Find a comfortable seat with legs gently open, or laying down on a blanket with pillows under the knees. Place both hands on your womb and state in your mind that you would like to connect with her. Begin to take soft and slow inhales through your nose. Slightly open the mouth and allow an exhale with a sigh or sound. Do this for a few cycles of breath until you feel more present in your body, and your flow of breath feels natural.

Inhale - breathe in softly and slowly through the nose, and exhale all the way down into and through your cervix.

Inhale again - breathe in through your cervix, and exhale up and out your mouth. 

Go back and forth between inhaling with your awareness on your cervix and the nose/mouth. It may take a few cycles of breath to drop into a rhythm & deeper awareness of your womb; please move slowly and take your time.

Allow your awareness and presence to drop down from the mind into the womb. Feel how grounding, centering, and nourishing this breath is for you. This is a beautiful time to ask your womb if she has any messages for you, or you can ask for her assistance as you navigate a challenge in life. Breathe and listen to what she has to say. Breathe here for 3 - 5 minutes, or until you feel intuitively complete.

We recommend this practice as a precursor to self-pleasure, lovemaking, or breastfeeding your babe.

2. Pleasure Pulsing

Find a comfortable position where you can relax your body. Take some deep and expansive breaths in through your nose, exhaling a soft sigh out of the mouth. Continue this for a few cycles of breath, as you become more present in your body. You may choose to place your hands on your womb, or place one hand on the heart and the other on the wombspace.

Imagine there is a river of sensation flowing up and down between your heart and womb. As this river flows down into your womb, allow your awareness to drop down as well. Begin to gently pulse this flowing energy within, inviting your pelvic muscles to engage. Let the tissues and muscles of your womb softly engage and release in a rhythmic motion, allowing yourself to feel the waves of sensation this brings. Build the energy up slowly, before breathing it back up to the heart. Let the breath keep your body soft, open, and relaxed here.

Begin to pulse this delicious energy in the heart now as it awakens sensations of pleasure, love, and oxytocin. Let this energy fill your heart and spill over into the breasts. Allow yourself to sink into pleasure, as any areas of tension in your body begin to melt away. Continue breathing and pulsing this sensual energy within, guiding it back and forth between your womb and heart/breasts. Breathe here for 3-5 minutes, or until you feel intuitively complete.

We recommend this practice for women desiring more easeful self-lubrication, and for nourishing the body and nervous system when experiencing stress. This is also great for supporting mothers with low milk supply to connect to the waters of their heart and breasts. I have personally found this to be supportive for the times when baby isn’t quite asleep and the milk stops flowing. Practicing the pleasure pulse for a few minutes begins to stimulate a release of oxytocin, which in turn stimulates the milk ducts to produce more milk and provide another letdown. Not only is the result more milk and a juicier yoni/womb - the body also learns to melt and soften into pleasurable sensations with more ease and grace.

The womb, breasts, and heart are fed by the same spring. As we create a meaningful relationship with our waters, we create a meaningful connection to all of life. My prayer is that women will remember the sacred waters that flow within - that all women have the tools and wisdom to tend themselves well, so that we may walk in this world hydrated, nourished, and turned on.

Written by Autumn Rose

Autumn Rose is a mother, writer, storyteller & women’s embodiment guide devoted to empowering the feminine frequency and midwifing her back to her rightful home - in the body. Follow Autumn on Instagram @embodyjaguar.