Mindful sex 'the new anti-depressant'

Vancouver-based sex researcher Dr. Lori Brotto says low sex drive isn't caused by physiological wiring and plumbing problems, but by a psychological mind-body disconnect. In other words, our minds too often have no clue what our vaginas are doing. And Brotto's key weapon to bridge that gap is the ancient Eastern technique called mindfulness.

Buddhists have practiced this type of meditation for thousands of years and Western doctors have recently adapted it as a support treatment for patients with cancer, chronic pain, attention deficit disorders and anxiety but Brotto and her colleague Julia Heiman, director of the famed Kinsey Institute, are the first to use mindfulness for sexual disorders.

"We're such an eroto-phobic culture and it takes a lot of work to change our internalized attitudes about sexuality," says Brotto, who hopes everyone puts sexual health on the 2008 resolution list.
 
"Sexuality is a quality of life issue, not this dirty, taboo thing. Why do we have so many hang-ups about something we all value as important? Ultimately we all just want to love and be loved. If people are sexually happier, they'll be happier in general. It's the new anti-depressant."