How To Have A Full-Body Orgasm: 8 Techniques To Try

A full-body orgasm is the type of orgasm that can be felt pulsating throughout the entire body. This type of orgasm is usually still triggered by the same genital stimulation that usually gets you off, but the resulting waves of pleasure may feel like they're rippling across the whole body because of intense muscle contractions being felt in the abdomen and elsewhere in the body⁠—or simply because you're maintaining holistic awareness of your body instead of localizing attention on your genitals. That's why full-body orgasms are a regular part of tantric sex, as tantra is all about focusing on manifesting and moving sexual energy throughout the body.

In tantric sex, semen retention is a practice in which a person with a penis has an orgasm without ejaculating. "By practicing semen retention, you can learn to move that sexual, orgasmic energy through your body so you feel the sensation of having an orgasm without actually ejaculating," the late, widely renowned tantric educator Psalm Isadora wrote at mbg. "This technique will help you transmute the urge to ejaculate into a rush of full-body orgasmic energy."

Edging is when you stop yourself from orgasming just before it happens, when you're right "on the edge" of coming. "We're not talking about trying to stop an orgasm when it starts. That's not safe," Isadora clarified. "We're talking about bringing yourself to the edge of an orgasm, pulling back, letting the orgasmic feelings move through your body, and then repeating the cycle over and over."

Cervical orgasms are a type of orgasm achieved by stimulating the cervix. Some people describe these orgasms as feeling more fuller-bodied. It's not exactly clear why; sex researcher Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., MPH, tells mbg there's no scientific research suggesting there'd be a connection between the cervix and the rest of the body. It's possible that because the cervix is located at the very back of the vaginal canal, reaching it often involves deep penetration that totally fills up the vagina and even presses up further into the body internally. This "full" feeling might explain why cervical orgasms can feel so totalistic.

If you really want to lean into the tantric sex angle, go for the energy orgasm—a type of orgasm that involves no touch whatsoever. As tantric educator Leslie Grace, R.N., explains, this involves separating the experience of an orgasm from the physical stimulation usually needed to make it happen.

Most people tend to hold their breath or breathe in a quick, shallow, panting sort of way during sex. But that type of breathing is limiting: "The more you breathe, the more you feel and the more sexual energy you raise," Barbara Carrellas, a tantric sex educator who teaches courses on breath and energy orgasms, tells mbg.

First of all, moaning is sexy, and sometimes hearing yourself making sexual noises can be like an audio cue to your brain that good-feeling things are happening. You can essentially arouse yourself with your own voice, not to mention your partner. (A 2019 survey found the majority of people feel more confident in bed when their partner is making a lot of noise, FYI!) 

Just like orgasms in general, full-body orgasms feel different for each individual. Carrellas says it'll depend on what your experience of a regular orgasm is like. 

"If you think orgasm is chiefly a physical experience (e.g., a sexual climax attained by stimulation of the genitals and other erogenous zones), then an orgasm would qualify as full-body if you felt physical sensations in a large percentage of your body," she explains. "If you have a more expanded view of orgasm (e.g., a release of tension and expansion of energy flowing through the body/mind and connecting you to spirit), your full-body orgasm experience might include a physical tingling accompanied by a huge emotional release and a feeling of oneness with nature."

She adds, "Tingling, vibrating, expansive sensations in nongenital body parts, gigglegasms, crygasms, blissgasms, and feelings of expansiveness, peak experience, peace, and connection are all common."