THE SACRED AWAKENING
The Hidden Power of Female Sexuality in Chinese Medicine
Ending the Silence — Let’s Talk
Sex. A word so often whispered, avoided, or wrapped in shame — especially when it comes to women. For centuries, female sexuality has been silenced, distorted, or reduced to reproduction alone. Yet within the traditions of Chinese Medicine, sex is not something taboo or indulgent. It is a vital force — a wellspring of health, creativity, intimacy, and power.
It's time we talked about it. Not in hushed tones, not behind closed doors, but openly, honestly, and without apology.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, sexual energy is seen as an essential part of a woman’s overall well-being. It's tied to jing — the essence of life — and nurtures everything from hormonal balance and emotional vitality to skin glow and fertility. But when that energy is suppressed, neglected, or misunderstood, we lose access to a profound source of nourishment.
We’ve inherited a culture that tells women to be desirable but not desiring, to care for others but not tend to their own pleasure. Traditional Chinese Medicine invites us to reclaim a different narrative — one that honours the wisdom of the body, the cycles of nature, and the sacred intelligence of sensuality.
This isn’t just about sex — it’s about wholeness. About restoring connection to ourselves, our partners, and our own inner fire.
Let’s break the stigma. Let’s return to the body. Let’s remember that pleasure is not a luxury — it’s medicine.
The daoist view
sex as a path to vitality
Daoist medicine and philosophy offer some of the richest perspectives on sexuality. Rather than seeing sex as something purely physical or moral, Daoists viewed it as an opportunity to align with the rhythms of nature and cultivate life force.
In this view, sexual energy (jing qi) is sacred. It is the spark of life that gives rise to growth, creativity, fertility, and connection.
Practices such as Dual Cultivation (房中术, Fang Zhong Shu) taught that when two people engage in sex with intention, respect, and alignment, they could exchange energy, nourish each other’s organs, balance yin and yang, and even expand consciousness. Far from being depleting, sex was seen as a powerful form of medicine—but only when approached in harmony with natural laws.
Unfortunately, many of these practices became hidden, distorted, or were never translated into female-centered teachings. But when revisited with a modern, embodied lens, they offer deep insights into how women can reclaim their sexual energy as a source of strength and even health.
When approached with intentionality, mutual care, and body awareness, sex can become a form of yang sheng—an act of cultivating life force rather than losing it.
Does this experience feel safe, connected, and nourishing?
Does my body feel energized and warm afterward, or depleted and cold?
Is my sexual energy being used to create—not just life, but joy, connection, creativity?
The Energetics of Sex in Women’s Bodies
In Chinese Medicine, a woman’s body is governed by Blood (血) and Yin (阴)—substances that nourish, cool, and moisten. Sexual activity, when supportive and fulfilling, can invigorate qi, move blood, calm the shen, and even strengthen jing by stimulating healthy hormonal and energetic function. Women are prone to stagnation and so the active movement of sex itself and the stimulation of the act and contraction of the pelvic floor muscles helps move potential stagnated blood and qi.
But sex can also harm when there is imbalance—too much, too little, or experiences that are disconnected, painful, or emotionally unsafe.
Here's how each key substance can be affected by sex:
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ESSENCE
Deeply foundational. In women, jing is drawn upon in menstruation, fertility, and aging. Healthy, respectful sex can nourish jing by stimulating hormonal balance and feelings of vitality. But chronic depletion (from trauma, over-exertion, or lack of pleasure) can drain it.
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METABOLIC PROCESSES & INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YIN YANG
Sex can invigorate qi, especially when it is emotionally and physically pleasurable. It can open the chest and heart, encourage movement through the Liver channel, and relieve stagnation. But if qi is already deficient, or if the encounter is emotionally taxing, it may lead to more depletion.
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Sexual arousal promotes blood flow to the pelvic region, warms the uterus, and improves circulation. In TCM, this can benefit menstrual health and fertility. However, if a woman is blood-deficient (common postpartum or due to chronic stress), too much sex can lead to further depletion.
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SPIRIT
One of the most subtle and important aspects of our being. Sex can deeply nourish or disturb the shen. A heart-opening, emotionally safe sexual experience can anchor the spirit, deepen connection, and provide healing. On the other hand, sex that is emotionally ungrounded, non-consensual, or disconnected can scatter the shen and lead to anxiety, insomnia, or trauma.
Essence lost and gained
How Jing Moves Differently in Men and Women
One of the foundational concepts in Chinese Medicine is jing (精) — translated as Essence — the deep, foundational energy we are born with. It is the root of our vitality, fertility, growth, and aging. Jing is both inherited (pre-natal jing) and cultivated (post-natal jing) through nourishment, breath, lifestyle, and intimacy.
In Daoist and classical Chinese medical thought, the way jing is spent or conserved differs fundamentally between the sexes.
Fore Men: Jing is Lost Through Ejaculation
Classical texts often warn men against excessive ejaculation. Each release of semen is considered a loss of jing, particularly if it happens frequently, with little rest, or without emotional/spiritual connection.
In Daoist practices, especially those focused on longevity, men were encouraged to:
Preserve their essence by limiting ejaculation.
Engage in internal cultivation, using sexual arousal to circulate qi rather than expel it.
Match sexual frequency with constitutional strength and age (e.g., younger men may ejaculate more often without ill effect, but as jing declines with age, moderation is advised).
This doesn’t mean sex itself is harmful—only that ejaculation should be mindful, as jing is a non-renewable resource once deeply depleted.
For Women: Jing is Lost Through Ovulation and Menstruation
While men lose jing through ejaculation, women lose jing cyclically through ovulation and menstruation.
Ovulation is the body’s peak expression of reproductive potential. It takes a great deal of jing and blood to prepare the body to conceive, even if conception doesn’t occur.
Menstruation involves the shedding of blood, which in Chinese Medicine is closely tied to both jing and qi. Repeated blood loss—especially if a woman is already deficient—can gradually deplete her foundational stores.
However, the classical texts often see women as more yin in nature, which gives them an inward, cyclical power that allows for self-renewal. Unlike men, who are advised to guard their jing through external restraint, women are often encouraged to cultivate balance through lifestyle, rest, blood-nourishing foods, and emotional harmony.
In Short:
Men expend jing outwardly, through ejaculation.
Women expend jing inwardly, through their cyclical rhythms—most notably ovulation and menstruation.
So What Does This Mean For Sex?
For men, ejaculation can be physically depleting if too frequent, especially with age or poor health.
For women, sex does not typically result in direct loss of jing, and can actually tonify and circulate qi and blood—particularly when emotionally fulfilling and physically safe.
Returning to the dao
A queer view of harmony
There is relatively little written in classical Chinese medicine texts about homosexuality, not because it was condemned, but because it was often treated as natural and unremarkable. In many historical periods of Chinese culture, same-sex relationships were common and even celebrated, particularly among scholars, artists, and spiritual practitioners.
Unlike in some other ancient systems, there is no major foundational doctrine in TCM that pathologizes or warns against homosexual sex. The cautionary teachings about ejaculation and jing loss, for example, apply regardless of who the partner is. The emphasis was never on gender — it was on the conservation and cultivation of life force.
The teachings remain the same: As long as you are participating in sex that is safe, exciting, pleasurable and nurturing you are on the road to cultivating a healthier you and a healthier partner.
Intention: Is the encounter rooted in respect, connection, pleasure, and presence?
Energy Flow: Does the interaction create warmth, vitality, relaxation, and clarity?
Balance: Do both people feel supported, safe, and nourished?
The Dao is not a straight line. It curves like water. It bends like bamboo. It is inclusive, adaptive, and unconcerned with binary thinking.
In Daoism, naturalness (ziran) is a core value — being what you are without force or shame.
If your love, desire, and sexual energy are arising from a place of naturalness and truth, they are aligned with the Dao. Full stop.
As practitioners and students of Chinese Medicine, we have an opportunity — and responsibility — to expand our understanding of sexuality beyond the binary. To welcome all bodies, all orientations, and all expressions of love into the healing space. The medicine is already there — waiting to be remembered and applied in ways that reflect the fluidity, complexity, and beauty of real life.
With Light,
Fallon Drinkall, R.TCMP, R.AC
