Today's guest post comes to you from my friend (and mega babe) Lacey Haynes, a magnetic writer, yoga teacher and creator of The Yoga Emporium.

Downward dog and getting down and dirty are more similar than you may think. They’re both about presence, connection and a profound and utter letting go.

When you do yoga on the mat, you express yourself through physical movements. You get adventurous and explore thresholds, all while harnessing your innate compassionate and loving energy.

When you make love with another person, you do the exact same thing except there are usually fewer asanas and more asses as part of the equation.

Brahmacharya is one of the 5 Yamas in the 8 limbs of yoga. It is perhaps best understood as a call to harness sexual energy instead of frittering it away mindlessly. Sexual energy then becomes quite powerful, serving to regenerate a connection to the spiritual self.

The five step yogic love making guide

Step 1. Tune in to your magnificent and guiding breath. 

If your mind is chatty, this will slow it down. You’ll also begin to experience sensations with more intensity as you witness the changing of your breath’s rhythm. Listen to your partner breathing and see firsthand how damn sexy it is when you synch  up your breath with theirs.

Step 2. Focus on sensations happening now. 

If your mind is wandering, try sending every molecule of your awareness to the sensations arising in your body. You’ll soon see that what’s happening on the mattress or floor or grass is far more interesting than planning your commute to work.  Go back to step one if you get lost.

Step 3. Look into your partner’s eyes. 

This simple act is extremely intimate and sometimes confronting. If you’re not used to that type of connection it might take some practice. But you’re used to practice because you’re a yogi so be patient and let yourself melt into it. If you can maintain eye contact and see your partner clearly, some pretty awesome things might ensue.

Step 4. Accept the here and now.Love making sessions are always different. Some days they’re wild while others are more tame. Some feel super intense while others are kind of like a whisper. Don’t spend time wishing it to be any other way than the way it is now. Just like with yoga, there’s always something to learn even if things go differently than planned.

Step 5. Don’t rush.

You don’t spend your whole asana practice waiting for savasana. Okay, some days you do but it’s better to let go of the end result and enjoy the journey. Take your time, explore, and when it is all over, don’t pack things up so quickly. Savour the after love making energy with one another and then let the euphoria spill over into whatever comes next.

Lacey Haynes is a writerand yoga teacher who hopes to create great things, teach marvellous classes, and connect with people she has yet to meet through her blog. Her classes are happy and inspired, born of a passion and joy for life and yoga that is infectious. She playfully embraces the Yin and the Yang, balancing strength and flexibility with working hard and letting go.

Lacey has travelled far and wide, sharing yoga in Germany, Canada, Australia, France and Portugal. She teaches Vinyasa, Yin, Hatha, Slow Flow and Prenatal classes and is currently enjoying a daily Iyengar influenced practice and is consistently dabbling in flying yoga too.