a whole range of experiences between a peak and a
valley, but what distinguishes one from the other is the very basis of each
type—the peak orgasm depends on an active buildup of excitement and the valley orgasm arises from relaxation.
Peak and Valley Orgasms
Let us consider in detail the differences in these two approaches to orgasm. From the very outset the approach and attitude is different, one from the other. First of all, we tend to intentionally seek and “go for” the peak type of orgasm, to deliberately build it up to a climax. Achieving a peak orgasm becomes a linear, goal-oriented activity requiring a mental intention to getfrom one place to another. We assume that we need to
do
whatever we consider necessary to reach our final destination—the peak. A valley experience is more like an invitation without an expectation or demand of orgasm. Something may or may not happen. And when it happens, it happens by itself. The final outcome is not at issue; rather, the focus is on the joy of the moment—being here and now in the body—which allows the journey to unfold without a predetermined direction. In place of pursuing an orgasm there is an openness to and acceptance of what is taking place in the body, moment by moment, which creates the sensitivity necessary for an orgasmic valley experience to emerge.
To arrive at a peak orgasm we must usually expend considerable physical effort. The aim is to intensify the stimulation and bring the deliciously exciting sensations into one glorious crescendo. This involves repeated mechanical movements of the pelvis, which get faster and faster toward the end. This activity is necessary in order to intensify energy to a peak, but at the same time it also builds up a lot of tension, which compresses the energy into the genitals. In contrast to all this customary activity, to enable a valley experience to flower we need to
be
more and
do
less, allowing everything to unfold very slowly in the most languid, easy, lazy way possible. We avoid deliberate efforts and any movements or positions that produce undue tensions. The penetration of the vagina by the penis is deliberately slow, and so are any pelvic movements. This relaxation between the genitals encourages a radiation and expansion of energy into other parts of the body.
The peak orgasm is usually quite a hot affair. In the valley things are a lot cooler. Any pleasurable moments of excitation can be enjoyed for what they are, but they will be followed by minutes of relaxation, not fed and inflamed into a climax of excitement. Through slowing down into a more non-doing approach and bringing awareness to internal movements of energy, we awaken an inner sensitivity that has little to do with excitement or stimulation. This sensitivity reveals a layer of magnetic excitation in the body that is cool, cellular, and ecstatic. A buildup of excitement is not even really required for the relaxed kind of orgasm.
Yet another way that a peak orgasm differs from a valley orgasm is inthe duration of the experience. A peak orgasm is estimated to last, on a good day,
around ten seconds. So we can say that a peak experience has a pretty definite
start and finish. This makes it more like an event—we “have an orgasm,” or not,
as the case may be. In contrast, the valley orgasm is a more sustained state, a
timeless experience without a specific start or finish. It can last for a few
moments or a few hours—the time span is irrelevant, but the experience is the
same: In a valley orgasm, an ecstatic peace descends upon us, it surrounds,
embraces, and soothes us, we are suspended in it. We “become orgasmic.” This is
an expanded state of consciousness, not a momentary event measurable in seconds, like an orgasm.
When we merge fully with the subtleties present in the physical body, the sexual experience becomes ecstatically bodiless. This sounds contrary and upside down but in reality this is how it works. Energy turns inward
Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers