From Freud to Taoism and Tantra: Sexual Therapy in Luxury Wellness
A 30-minute video documentary based on a speech by Michael Perin-Wogenburg at the Spa Summit in Nanjing, China, 2024.
This video was produced following a speech given by Michael Perin-Wogenburg in October 2024 at the Wellness Summit held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Nanjing. The content of the video is NSFW. Both the speech and video material have been slightly modified and updated.
Vienna 1913
Let us step back 111 years to 1913, where we find Sigmund Freud in Vienna, conducting psychoanalytic sessions for the rich and famous at his Jugendstil apartment in Berggasse 19.
In that same year, he published his book Totem and Taboo, while just a few streets away, Gustav Klimt was painting The Virgin, which was auctioned in New York in 2006 for 33 million dollars.
Freud charged 50 Austrian Kronen for a 50-minute session, which later became known as the “Freudian hour.” This is equivalent to approximately 300 USD today. A normal person would have had to work several weeks just to make that amount of money.
Freud made the topic of sexuality his main focus of research. In some way or another, Sigmund Freud was the first luxury sex coach in human history.
From 1913 Vienna, let us count back 2,713 years to 800 B.C. in China, where Taoism was surfacing.
China 800 B.C
Today, in the West, Taoism is often understood as a philosophy of laziness and inaction, with no real teachings or structure—everyone knows the Yin Yang symbol but does not really know what to think about it.
Despite nearly 3,000 years between Freud, Tantra in India, and Taoism in China, all three share commonalities from which we can draw enormous inspiration.
Animal Puja
So, what you see here is not a sex orgy. It is a video of one of our retreats where we had the rare opportunity to record; usually, we cannot do that because of strict privacy and NDA agreements. All people here are actors except one person who is the client. You see a practice from the West Bengal Tantric Tradition called the Animal Ritual.
What are the people doing there? Before the ritual started, each of them did special Kriya Yoga practices to let a fictional animal arise within them. So this circus in front of your eyes—it’s a semi-sexual, playful kindergarten, yet deeply satisfying for the “bodymind,” a game in which they feel millions of years of human evolution pumping through their veins.
Chinese Society today
In modern China, for example, a bit more extreme than in the rest of the world, people live inside shopping malls and concrete jungles. Some people may feel disconnected from the animal kingdom from which we originate. People may turn to porn just to feel something animalistic. Now, as our society becomes wealthier and people live longer, they are no longer just working to make ends meet. People are seeking meaningful activities to enrich their lives. And if we are brutally honest, what drives us as humans? Is it not the sexual urge—from our earliest years to our last breath—and this was essentially Freud’s message. This sexual urge dominates our entire economy—fashion, movies, luxury—all of it, in the end, revolves around sex, lust, and desire.
In modern health clinics, we have incredible new methods for rejuvenating our bodies—stem cell therapy, skincare products—but why do we really want all this stuff? To live longer, to be healthier? Yes, no doubt. But ultimately, isn’t the true reason for all these endeavors to be more sexually desirable, even as we age?
The question is: Can the buried knowledge of Asian wisdom help modern men and women feel and look younger, connect more deeply with their bodies, and spend less time on social media? And if we found the answers, how can we package it, how can we sell it?
Sexual Teachings of the White Tigress
The book The Sexual Teachings of the White Tigress by Hsi Lai transports us to ancient Nanjing and also to Taiwan, where a secretive sect of women pursued what they referred to as immortality through harnessing the sexual energy of men. These women believed that by using a specific form of oral sex on men, they could enhance their vitality, ultimately allowing them not just to look younger and more vital, but finally to maintain consciousness after physical death—a state Chinese Taoism calls immortality. This concept bears a resemblance to the Indian notion of Moksha, where one escapes samsara—the endless cycle of rebirth—and achieves liberation.
That sounds like a good idea—looking young until old age, and on top of that, achieving immortality. So what more do we want, and why do we not all do that together?
The answer is complex and debatable. This is one of many takes on the subject: Our societies sprang from different totemistic tribal societies, each with its own rules, dos, and don’ts. From these tribal, animistic societies, the five world religions developed.
Understanding the totemistic religions
If you grew up in Christianity and came across alternative lifestyles like those described in the book The Sexual Teachings of the White Tigress, you might feel offended because it goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ. And the reason why people from organized world religions cannot understand subjects like that is because they believe in the teachings of their founders but do not study the nature of body energies and the nature of reality firsthand.
And the reason why people from organized world religions cannot understand subjects like that is because they believe in the teachings of their founders but do not study the nature of body energies and the nature of reality firsthand.
This means that some people might mock or dismiss these practices, making jokes like, “They think they can achieve paradise through sexual acts,” in an attempt to ridicule the concept.
What is truly fascinating in the White Tigress philosophy is the meticulous logistics behind their practices. For instance, they limited their sexual encounters with men to a specific number of times to avoid killing the man, because they could, with the precision of surgeons, extract the vital sexual energy—ching—until nothing would be left. Okay, this aspect we cannot directly incorporate into the modern spa industry. However, there is something else:
In interactions with men, women were taught to remain in touch with the playful innocence of their youth. It was largely about remembering childhood innocence and behavior. In this particular Taoist school, sexual penetration itself was secondary to the playful dance of yin and yang energies. If a woman is truly playful with a man, no man can resist, not even the monks they pursued.
What can we learn from it: A woman’s playful spirit can open all the doors of heaven, and this is not related just to sexual interaction. This is related to how we train our staff in the wellness industry, like what kind of attitude people should have.
Childhood and Sexual Fetish
Keyword: “Childhood.” Freud’s work focused on neurotic aspects of sexuality, such as problematic experiences in early childhood development—the oral, the anal, and the phallic phase.
Taoist sexual science, on the other hand, focused on positive aspects, emphasizing overall spiritual development and practical guidance, also suggesting that in our social and sexual interactions, we should be playful, just like when we fooled around as children in the sandbox.
Freud explored sexual issues with the help of anthropology, comparing sexual neurotic behavior with rites of indigenous tribes. In these societies, the totem is deeply intertwined with the rules and taboos that govern tribal behavior, representing sacred laws that dictate what is permissible and what is forbidden, such as prohibitions against marrying within the tribe. In Taoism, this concept of the totem could be compared to the Tao itself—an undefinable, non-dual reality encompassing the void and emptiness but also related to certain rules about what people can do and not do.
The Forbidden Yoga thesis is: Because we have to look at sexual wellness from a much broader perspective. What kind of offer can we create that is perfectly legal and acceptable yet still gives our customers the possibility to enhance their sexual energy, feel alive and vital without being directly sexual, as this would collide with rules and norms of our society.
Forbidden Yoga is specialized in ancient Tantric procedures, Laya Yoga meditations, and we specialize in rituals of a lineage originating from West Bengal Shakta Tantra, which are scarcely known in modern society. In general, we help people in extreme emergency situations, providing help in their darkest hours. Forbidden Yoga is something like an outcast project in the wellness industry, much like Freud, who faced innumerable criticisms, or like aspects of Chinese Taoism, as discussed today, which are barely understood in modern times.
In our workshops for single clients, we do also work with sexual energy and with a lot of nudity, but very rarely are the methods we apply directly sexual.
Mahavidya goddesses
So the idea of totemism and sexual therapy—in our retreats, we work with the Mahavidya goddesses concept from Indian Tantra—these goddesses are our totems, guiding participants through their healing experiences. For example, Chinnamasta, a Mahavidya goddess, served as the totem for our workshop in Turkey. Chinnamasta stands on a copulating couple, holding her own head. Goddess Matangi, related to speech, music, and art, was the totem for a retreat in Bali during the lockdown. These goddesses represent different aspects of a non-dual reality, and their specific energies influence the nature of the project like different flavors of a Tom Ford perfume collection.
Our work operates outside of the norms of the wellness industry, and this concept allows us to explore these teachings in unique ways that are not possible in contemporary spa settings. We work with individual clients or couples, much like Freud’s one-on-one sessions, but our retreats are longer, sometimes lasting months.
These retreats are private, in most cases involving actors who serve as placeholders in rituals, creating a theater of the unconscious for the client. These practices, working with the energy body rather than direct sexual interaction, allow clients to benefit from sexual energy without physical sexual penetration.
By placing clients in a space far removed from societal norms and luxury, they are able to engage in a process that can fundamentally change their patterns and behaviors, solving problems that almost nobody else can address in today’s society.
People confide in the founding teacher of Forbidden Yoga because he does not promote himself or appear as a typical guru; he is relatable. Forbidden Yoga retreats, lasting from a week to several months, range from $30,000 to $300,000 and the sky is the limit, catering to clients who seek deep, immersive solutions to their most private concerns, not superficial luxuries. This is where the luxury wellness market might find its future—through total customization and by rediscovering the profound depths of ancient wisdom, avoiding a superficial approach.
Game Therapy and Role Play
What Freud analyzed through speech, we explore through role-playing with cast actors in the retreats. In Bali, Forbidden Yoga organized several game therapy photoshoots to help the client connect with female Yin energy. Or, we in Forbidden Yoga work with specific speech techniques that we call primary and secondary thought exaggeration, which have their roots in the Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
Freud’s psychoanalytic sessions provided a space where patients could gradually uncover repressed emotions, and the role-playing exercises offer a similar opportunity for self-discovery, but we let our clients play around with their fantasies and fetishes with real people who we cast as actors.
So, while Freud’s work laid the groundwork for much of our understanding of human sexuality, his role was exploring the depths of the unconscious rather than being a coach focused on improving sexual wellness in a direct, practical way. What stands out in Freud’s work is its total absence of what we would call luxury.
Ma
The concept of “Ma” in Japanese culture refers to the space between things—the silence between notes in music, the pause in speech, or the gap between objects. It is a place of potential and possibility, where nothingness itself holds the essence of creation. This is beautifully illustrated in Hayao Miyazaki’s anime My Neighbor Totoro, where the spaces between events, the quiet moments, and the pauses allow the story to breathe and the characters to connect with something beyond the physical world. It is in these “in-between” moments that true transformation can occur.
This is, for us, where sexual therapy starts.
Now, let us connect Freud’s work to the concept of “Ma.” If we consider Freud the first luxury wellness coach—not just because his services were expensive, but because he treated his patients by providing them with an enormous space for self-reflection through language. Freud’s method involved giving his patients the freedom to explore their own psyche without judgment. Through his sensitive intelligence, he created an environment where clients could expand their understanding of themselves. Freud’s approach did not rely on religious backgrounds, mantras, or teachings but on the power of nonjudgmental listening and dialogue.
This depth of the mind is what we need in the luxury spa industry. Not just breathwork coaches, massage therapy, and cacao ceremonies. This is for the normal people, but for the very wealthy who come with a big problem, we can go much deeper.
In our retreats, the philosophy of “Ma” rules. The client experiences the in-between spaces. There is no check-in desk, no private butler, no excessive luxury—just the essential elements that allow clients to experience the uncertainty of being in a space between light and dark, the known and unknown.
No team in the reception lounge, no spa menu to choose treatments from. None of that. Today, such an absence might be considered luxury wellness. Not having a private butler is luxury wellness. Just having someone around who sees into your heart, who understands your sorrows without words—that is true luxury wellness.
In our retreats, the clients arrive in a space where there is nothing except nature around them. No one talks into your ear saying, “Hey, sir, what do you need? Hey, sir, do you like this? May I explain the room? This is how the TV works. This is how you can access Netflix.” We want to bring our clients into a paradise where luxury wellness takes on a completely different definition.
Imagine someone who looks deeper into you than anyone else. That is what Freud offered—a different kind of luxury wellness. Today’s luxury wellness is often about forced niceness. In Freud’s case, niceness was not important. What mattered was that his clients could reveal parts of themselves they did not dare share with anyone else—not their spouses, not their best friends.
Fetish therapy in luxury settings ?
Let us pick a sexual fetish that is not too embarrassing to talk about, something many people have. Take a foot fetish, for example, being sexually triggered by a particular type of foot. Now, imagine you check into, let us say, the Kamalaya Retreat Center in Koh Samui, which is really a fantastic place, but let us say this ironically to make a point. After your check-in process, you are supposed to have a conversation with one of their Vedic gurus. And in the back of your mind, there is your foot fetish which bothers you. Would you dare to tell the Vedic priest about it? No, you would not. And if he had the same fetish, he certainly would not share it with you because you are the client. No doubt, sexual therapy in luxury settings is just a very tricky thing to approach.
Taoist Sexual Bodywork
Do we apply techniques from Taoism directly in our projects? Only sometimes when we teach a version of Taoist bodywork, focusing not just on technique but on the interplay of Yin and Yang energies when it comes to touch. This approach to touching another human can be learned easily, and in a few days, we can teach people a quality of touch they can hardly learn in any massage school. This particular bodywork therapy was invented by a Chinese doctor from the UK, Stephen Russell.
Another famous Taoist massage therapy was invented by Mantak Chia and is called Chi Nei Tsang. This is a Taoist abdominal massage that focuses on the internal organs, promoting detoxification, energy flow, and emotional healing. It helps to release tension, improve circulation, and balance the body’s energy (Chi) in the abdominal area. It is used for addressing various sexual and reproductive health issues. These massages focus on the abdomen, whereas Stephen Russell’s Taoist sexual massage is a real holistic experience beyond space and time.
Both massage therapies are perfectly suited to be integrated into any high-end spa menu; however, in our retreats, these are only add-ons; they don’t go deep enough for us to be a standalone practice.
Real sexual therapy requires more than abdominal massage; as we mentioned before, the aspect of “Ma” from the Japanese tradition, or in Sanskrit, you can call it Kalaa (कालः), the masculine aspect of the Tantric goddess Kali. The time dimension is an important key to create an overall healing space. Maybe one of the few luxury resorts which we consider amazing in regards to this idea of timelessness is the Shintani Mustang in Nepal.
Bespoke FY retreats
In the Forbidden Yoga retreats, there is a lot of nudity. Does it mean people have sex all the time? No. The nude practices are a sophisticated interaction between people using pranayama, visualization, movement, and speech to interact without being forced into direct, conventional small talk.
In our society, being naked usually means you are already at a certain level in a relationship. After meeting in a coffee shop or swiping right on Tinder, you go through a series of steps—dinners, flowers, conversations—before ending up being intimate together. This conventional path leaves no space for learning about the other body and how a body specially functions. We provide a simulated sensual space. It is a kindergarten for adults to learn basic human sensual and sexual behavior, and our clients can scream out fears and traumas.
We investigate clients’ subconsciousness—matching them with people they would never normally meet.
For example, we had a very wealthy client who only interacted within his wealthy circle, and his life felt quite boring. Our goal is to mix things up, to break their usual patterns, and bring people in they would never meet in real life.
This is why Forbidden Yoga retreats are customized.
The Game movie
We look for practice partners who take our client’s breath away—sensually, intellectually, and also to annoy or trigger them. Triggering is key, like in the movie The Game with Michael Douglas. Sometimes, you need to confront clients with their unconscious. In The Game, Michael Douglas’s character is put through intense situations to trigger deep self-realization. A sensei or master does not need to be nice to effect real change, and neither was a Taoist master or Sigmund Freud.
Finding a balance between attracting wealthy clients and not catering to their every whim is challenging. You want to push the envelope without pushing them away or risking legal issues. In our case, we embed this offensiveness within the rituals. So, we are using these placeholder actors also for the reason to confront our clients. If we push too hard, we risk not getting paid. Our ultimate goal is to change someone’s life, and sometimes that means challenging them, but it must be done delicately.
Inside these nude practices, or “games,” things are revealed. People discover who they are, why they behave the way they do, and what lies beneath the surface. If we were to directly point out their wounds or issues, they would likely become defensive, and the process would be hindered.
The key is finding the fine line between being of service to someone and not being subservient, between facilitating their growth and not enabling their dysfunction. These games and rituals are designed to help clients understand their human nature. They are not simply about enhancing sexual experiences; they are about understanding humanity itself and confronting and integrating the unconscious aspects of the self.
These gamified role-play scenarios, rooted in ancient Indian West Bengal Tantra, are incredibly valuable. They provide insights into who we really are without the need for direct confrontation. We do not need to fight with our clients; instead, we guide them to fight with themselves, to confront the parts of their psyche that they have kept hidden.
Please visit us at Forbidden-yoga.com