Yoni massage, as I practise it

Perhaps you typed these two words into a search bar one evening, closed the tab, then tried again a few days later. A friend mentioned it in passing. A podcast, a book, a sentence read somewhere left its mark. And since then, one question keeps coming back: what is it, really? And is it for me?

This page answers everything, plainly and without crudeness: what yoni massage is, where it comes from, what science took so long to see, how external massage, internal massage and yoni mapping unfold, and above all how your consent frames every single gesture. Take your time. There is no hurry.

What is yoni massage?

Yoni massage is a slow massage of the vulva — and, if the woman wishes, of the inside of the vagina — given with no other aim than her own sensations. It is not a prelude to anything. It leads nowhere. It expects nothing in return. It is a time when your sex is touched for its own sake, with the same attention as your shoulders or the nape of your neck, and when you have only one thing to do: feel.

Yoni is a Sanskrit word meaning “origin” or “source”, and it designates the vulva. I use it for its precision — neither clinical nor crude — not for any spiritual meaning. I explain this choice in Yoni: why use this Sanskrit word, even outside tantra.

At Escale de Soie, yoni massage is part of a full-body erotic massage for women. It never comes first: it arrives late, once the body has had time to settle, to warm up, to trust.

Where the practice comes from

Yoni massage is often presented as an age-old tradition. The word is. The practice as it is taught today was born in California, some thirty years ago: Joseph Kramer, who trained practitioners in erotic touch in Oakland, opened his classes to women in the early 1990s with Annie Sprinkle, a sex educator. A teaching film set down the strokes in 1995. The German practitioner Michaela Riedl later refined them and gathered them in a book that has become a reference.

Her vocabulary is that of energy; mine is that of physiology. But on the essentials we say the same thing: a woman who receives, who guides, and who has nothing to give back.

Read more: Yoni massage: from Annie Sprinkle to Michaela Riedl.

What research has established

To understand why yoni massage takes its time, you need to know something school kept quiet for a long time: the clitoris is around ten centimetres long. The glans, beneath its hood, is only its visible tip. The body, the two legs and the two bulbs extend inside, around the entrance to the vagina.

This complete anatomy was only described in the late 1990s, by the Australian urologist Helen O'Connell. And it took until 2022 for a team to count the nerve fibres of its dorsal nerve alone: more than ten thousand.

So when a hand cups the vulva, it is addressing a whole organ, largely hidden, which needs time to fill with blood and awaken. This is not a metaphor. It is anatomy.

Read more: The clitoris: what school never showed you.

External, internal: what each one means

External yoni massage always begins with a simple gesture: a palm resting on the pubis, and staying there, long enough for your body to understand that nothing is hurried. Then the hands travel across the whole vulva, slowly, in no fixed order: your breathing and your words set the rhythm. It is a complete experience in itself, and many women wish for nothing more.

Internal yoni massage only happens if you asked for it before the session. A finger enters slowly, once the body is ready; the oil then gives way to a lubricant suited to mucous membranes. Inside, each wall has its own sensitivity, including the area known as the G-spot, which responds in some women and not in others. An emotion may also rise: it is welcome, and one word is enough to slow down or stop.

Read more: External or internal yoni massage: what changes, and G-spot, sacred spot: what science says.

Yoni mapping, in brief

Yoni mapping, or “genital mapping”, was developed by Joseph Kramer. With the tip of one finger, a point on the vulva or the vaginal wall is touched, then another, and you decide where the finger rests, how long it stays, and with how much pressure. To find our bearings, we borrow the face of a clock: twelve o'clock towards the clitoris, six o'clock towards the anus.

At each point, you say what you feel: nothing, discomfort, warmth, pleasure, an emotion. There is no right answer. It is not a treatment but an exploration, a way of learning the geography of your own body. Part of the session can take this form if you wish; for the vaginal wall, as for anything internal, it is asked for before the session.

Read more: Yoni mapping: the map of your sensations.

Saying yes, and being free to take it back

A massage this intimate is only possible within a frame of absolute clarity.

• Before the session, we talk: what you would like, what you do not want. Nothing begins before this conversation.
• Internal yoni massage is agreed separately, and written down in our trust charter. Preparing it at home is optional, and nothing you tick commits you. Internal touch is never decided along the way.
• In the moment, I wait for your yes, spoken aloud. Silence is not a yes.
• At any moment, a word or a gesture is enough to slow down or stop.
• One boundary never moves: my intimate parts stay out of it.

What I wear, table or futon, the areas to include, body to body if you feel like it: it is decided with you, before we begin, like everything else. Nothing is asked of you in return; if touching me helps you let go, you may, never my intimate parts.

Read more: Consent and yoni massage: a yes, before and during.

What women take with them when they leave

I promise no miracles, and I treat nothing. But I see, session after session, what this massage can open.

Women who arrive with a full head and an absent body. Who have long experienced their sex as an area to manage: to protect, to wax, to look after, to offer — rarely to feel for themselves. And who, perhaps for the first time, feel it exist without owing anything to anyone.

What I hope for each of them fits in a few words: reclaiming your body. Feeling it as yours again, alive, worthy of attention. Enjoying it fully, without having to justify yourself. And leaving with that smile I know so well, a calm fullness that lasts long after the door has closed. And, who knows, the wish to tell a friend about it.

Your body does not need to be repaired. It needs to be listened to.

When to see a professional instead

Yoni massage is an experience of pleasure and reconnection. It is not a treatment. If you experience pain during sex, vaginismus, vulval pain, persistent dryness or the after-effects of a difficult birth, the right person to see is a doctor, a midwife or a physiotherapist specialising in pelvic floor rehabilitation.

If you have an infection, are pregnant or have recently given birth, let us talk beforehand: internal massage can wait, and the rest of the session remains possible. And if you carry a history of sexual violence, you are welcome, at your own pace, with all the pauses you need. This massage does not replace proper support: a doctor, a psychologist or a specialist organisation is there for that.

Prices and lengths

Yoni massage is not a paid extra: it is part of the session, at the same price, if you choose it. Only the length changes.

• Discovery — 1¼ hours of massage, €100
• Signature — 1¾ hours of massage, €150
• Immersion — 2¼ hours of massage, €200

The welcome and the quiet return afterwards are always added to the massage time. For a first session, I recommend the Signature; for internal touch or yoni mapping, the Immersion leaves the most comfortable amount of time. All the details are in the prices section, and the full course of a session is described under the session.

Where to receive a yoni massage in Savoie

I welcome you between Aix-les-Bains and Chambéry, in a discreet place with no sign outside and parking on site. The address is given once your appointment is confirmed. It is easy to reach from Annecy, Grenoble, Geneva or Lyon: the journey becomes part of the interlude. Our conversation and the session can take place entirely in English.

Frequently asked questions about yoni massage