I love the "Multi-orgasmic" series of books by Mantak Chia and Co. Why? Because they draw on traditional Taoist sexual knowledge that has been tempered and tested over thousands of years. The Taoists developed theories of bodily health that became the roots of Tai Chi, acupuncture and reflexology. Also, the Taoists were all about getting it on! Traditional Taoist doctors would prescribe love-making in specific positions at specific times of day to relieve certain ailments. They believe that sexuality is the most vital of bodily energies and that energy created by sex can be harnessed and spread throughout the body to increase overall health. And... you know... multiple orgasms are a great way of making that happen. (Don't you want to go to a party with Taoists?)

Seriously though! Taoism is an ancient tradition which along with Buddhism and Confucianism form the triad of belief systems for Chinese society. This is gorgeous refined stuff that forms a deep well of knowledge if you are so inclined to take a look. I have personally only scratched the surface, but appreciate the Multi-orgasmic series as a reference guide to explore, experiment and acknowledge the deep mysteries of sex.

Authors

The Multi-Orgasmic Couple was written by:
* Mantak Chia, a world-renound teacher of a system called Healing Love which is based on Taoist sexual knowledge
* Maneewan Chia, his wife who also is a teacher of Taoist arts with a focus in women's health and sexuality
* Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D, a western medical doctor specializing in women's health
* Douglas Adams, her husband who is a freelance writer and editor

Together these four authors combine their viewpoints of gender and culture to provide a cross-cultural look at sexuality for couples.

Layout

This book has an elegant layout. Each page has a wide margin at the side where some of the most interesting/important points are re-printed in large letters. It's a lot like how magazine articles will pull out that one winning phrase to catch your attention. This makes for easy skimming to find the info that you're really interested in. The book also has lots of explicit hand-drawn pictures, so you don't have to worry about deciphering what they're talking about when describing a certain position. It's written in an easy to understand way. The Multi-Orgasmic Couple is a book that can be read cover to cover or flipped through at your ease and it's chock-a-block full of great information. The book has 8 chapters separated into 2 parts:

PART ONE Solo: Multiplying and Expanding Your Orgasms

CHAPTER 1 Fireworks: Multiple Orgasms for Men

In this chapter you'll find information about what an orgasm is as opposed to what ejaculation is. The theory behind male multiple orgasms is to delay ejaculation while having orgasms anyway! So there's a discussion of this as well as some exercises to help make it happen.

CHAPTER 2 The Pool of Desire: Multiple Orgasms for Women

This chapter is like a mini summary of the book The Multi-Orgasmic Woman. It talks about common blockages that women have to experiencing orgasm, and then how to cultivate and expand upon your own orgasms. Hooray.

CHAPTER 3 Better than Chocolate, Better than Coffee: Expanding Your Orgasms and Your Energy

Here you can find details about some of the Taoist practices of taking your sexual energy and spreading it throughout your body. There are plenty of exercises to try.

PART TWO Duo: Sharing Passion, Healing, and Intimacy with Your Partner

CHAPTER 4 Pleasuring Each Other

Here you'll find info on the different between men's and women's sexual energy, Taoist techniques for cunnilingus, fellatio and thrusting patterns.

CHAPTER 5 Sexual Healing

This chapter contains information about the ability of sexual energy to bring youth and vitality to the body. It talks about some of the different ways to cultivate these healing aspects and some info about safer sex and safety.

CHAPTER 6 Making Real Love

This chapter has information about how to overcome blockages in a relationship as well as how to prevent these from happening.

CHAPTER 7 Sexing the Spirit

This is a chapter about sexual meditation practices and how sex can nurture our spiritual lives.

CHAPTER 8 Making Love for a Lifetime

Here you'll find information about maintaining sexual desire throughout life, sexual healing for older men and woman and working with the changes that happen as we age.

I really appreciate how practical and straight-forward the advise is in this book. I grew up in a western culture that experiments pretty freely with eastern practices and new age philosophies (e.g. the west coast of North America). That means I have been exposed to a gamut of "different, new ways of looking at things." I realize that there is a lot of "woo woo" head-in-the-clouds mumbo jumbo circulating around out there. But I've also learned that not all of it is crap. For those who look, there are facets of my culture that are worth exploring and I consider Taoism one of those areas. I think that for those looking for alternative body and sex education, the Multi-Orgasmic series of books is a great place to start. As I said previously, it's founded on ancient traditions as has been tested over time.

Personally, I enjoyed reading some of the things about male sexuality. I had previously read the Multi-Orasmic Woman and there's not a whole lot of new information in the women's chapter for me. Also the couple drawings of sexual positions and tips for increasing pleasure while having partner sex are really worth the ink they were printed with.

I wish that the cover were more discreet in this edition, but other than that this one's a keeper!

Disclaimers

This book is pretty darn heterosexual. There is a preface/disclaimer at the beginning that mentions "while the Taoists were primarily concerned with harmonizing male and female sexuality, the practices are equally valuable for gay and lesbian couples. For the Taoists, all people have masculine (yang) and feminine (yin) energy, and they knew it is essential for couples--straight, gay, or lesbian--to harmonize the differences that exist between the partners." That said, this book is not comfortably queer if you know what I'm sayin'. Ladies, if you're looking for that I highly recommend The Whole Lesbian Sex Book. There's also the Multi-Orgasmic Woman and Multi-Orgasmic Man that may be of more interest to the ladies and gents, respectively.

Also, there is a big warning at the beginning of this book saying that the practices contained in it's pages are powerful and it's recommended that people with high blood pressure, heart disease, or a generally weak condition proceed slowly through the practices.

I must admit that I use my copy of The Multi-Orgasmic Woman more than this particular volume. Maybe if I was more solidly in a hetero couple I would use this book more. It's still a great reference but I personally am not using it as much.