The Proof Is in Your Pants

You may already have experienced multiple orgasms. Surprising as this may sound, many men are multi-orgasmic before they enter adolescence and begin to ejaculate. Kinsey's research suggested that more than half of all preadolescent boys were able to reach a second orgasm within a short period of time and nearly a third were able to achieve five or more orgasms one after the other. This led Kinsey to argue that "climax is clearly possible without ejaculation."

But multiple orgasms are not just limited to prepubescent boys. Kinsey continues: "There are older males, even in their thirties and older, who are able to equal this performance." In Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, Dr. Herant Katchadourian adds: "Some men are able to inhibit the emission of semen while they experience the orgasmic contractions: in other words they have nonejaculatory orgasms. Such orgasms do not seem to be followed by a refractory period [loss of erection], thereby allowing these men to have consecutive or multiple orgasms like women."

Why do most men lose their ability to be multi-orgasmic? It is possible that for many men the experience of ejaculating, when it happens, is so overwhelming that it eclipses the experience of orgasm and causes men to lose the ability to distinguish between the two. One multi-orgasmic man described the first time he ejaculated: "I still remember it clearly. There I was orgasming as usual, but this time a white liquid came spurting out. I thought I was dying. I swore to God that I would never masturbate again -- which of course lasted about a day." Since orgasm and ejaculation generally occur within seconds of one another, it is easy to confuse them. To become multi-orgasmic, you must learn (or possibly relearn) the ability to separate the different sensations of arousal and to revel in orgasm without cresting over into ejaculation. Understanding how orgasm and ejaculation are different will help you distinguish the two in your own body.

Brain Waves and Reflexes

Orgasm is one of the most intense and satisfying human experiences, and if you have ever had an orgasm -- and almost all men have -- you will not need to have it defined. All orgasms, however, are not created equal. Orgasm is slightly different for each person and even different for the same person at different times. Nonetheless, men's orgasms share certain characteristics, including rhythmic body movements, increased heart rate, muscle tension, and then a sudden release of tension, including pelvic contractions. They feel good, too. After noting that "orgasm is the least understood of the sexual processes," the thirteenth edition of Smith's General Urology explains that orgasm includes "involuntary rhythmic contractions of the anal sphincter, hyperventilation [increased breathing rate], tachycardia [increased heart rate], and elevation of blood pressure."

These definitions include changes that occur throughout your entire body. However, for a long time orgasm was seen -- and for many men is still seen -- as strictly a genital affair. In the West, Wilhelm Reich, in his controversial book The Function of Orgasm, was the first to argue that orgasm involved the whole body and not just the genitals. In the East, the Taoists have long known that orgasm could be a whole-body experience and developed techniques for expanding orgasmic pleasure.

Many sex researchers are now arguing that orgasm really has more to do with our brain than our brawn. Brain-wave research is beginning to reveal that orgasm may occur primarily in the brain. That you can have an orgasm in your sleep -- without any bodily touch -- seems to confirm this theory. Further support comes from neurologist Robert J. Heath of Tulane University, who discovered that when certain parts of the brain are stimulated with electrodes they produce sexual pleasure identical to that produced by physical stimulation. Many sex therapists are fond of saying that sex takes place in the brain. There is some truth to this statement -- especially when it comes to orgasm.

Unlike orgasm, which is a peak emotional and physical experience, ejaculation is simply a reflex that occurs at the base of the spine and results in the ejection of semen. Michael Winn, senior Healing Tao instructor and coauthor of Taoist Secrets of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy, explains: "A lot of men are freaked out by the very idea of nonejaculatory orgasm because they've been having ejaculatory sex for such a long time, often decades. So the first thing to do is demystify ejaculation, which is just an involuntary muscle spasm."

With practice, you can learn to experience the peak feeling of orgasm without triggering the reflex of ejaculation. In the next two chapters we will explain, step-by-step, exactly how to separate orgasm from ejaculation and how to expand your orgasms throughout your body. But first let's look at the evidence that men, like women, can have multiple orgasms.