Free Anal Pleasure and Health: A Guide for Men, Women and Couples by Jack Morin Ph.d. Page B

danger of becoming a sissy or a slut-unless that's your secret wish. As you move beyond such fears, you'll notice, subtly at first, a graceful expansiveness emanating from your pelvis. Stay with it and soon you'll be taking a more confident, grounded, and agile stance in the world.



Your challenge will be to observe how your anus responds in a variety of situations throughout the day. Not only will you discover that your anus reflects whatever you're feeling, but also that your level of anal relaxation has a strong effect on how you feel; it works both ways. People often ask if anal tension and discomfort is a physical problem or all in their minds. The answer, of course, is always the same: both. Body and mind, anus and emotions, are in constant interrelationship. The more you learn about this fundamental truth, the greater will be your capacity for anal pleasure and health.

    STRESS AND ANAL TENSION
    IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND the connection between the anus and emotions you need a clear picture of how you, as a total organism, prepare to meet threats to your survival and well-being. Suppose you're confronted by a very real external danger, such as a violent person or dangerous animal. Instantly, without any conscious planning whatsoever-there's no time for that!-your entire being prepares to confront or escape from the danger. Blood rushes to your vital organs, particularly the heart and lungs, which begin working feverishly.
    Blood rushes away from the surface of your skin, which is why you tend to feel cold and clammy when threatened. Tactile sensitivity drops, reducing the possibility of being distracted by pain if a confrontation occurs. Muscles tighten to provide a rigid armor against attack. Breathing, restricted by the tense muscles, becomes shallow and quick. Adrenaline flows. Your entire being is in the highest state of alert. These reactions are part of a comprehensive stress response linking mind and body in absolute unity.
    In such extreme situations your innate tendency is to defecate, thereby unloading unnecessary weight to aid in escape or battle. Animals and human infants exhibit this spontaneous defecation reaction to severe threat, but we soon learn that this response is inappropriate. Therefore, when adults are under high stress our natural response is to rigidify our anuses in an effort to counteract the urge to defecate. This is why most of us associate a tense anus with fear.
    Although extreme situations like this are relatively rare, our lives are full of less serious threats, all of which produce similar stress responses to a greater or lesser degree. In civilized society many of our stress reactions are to internal threats. These are specific fears ("I'm going to lose my job, get laughed at, or rejected,") or general anxieties ("I'm not the person I should be; I'm inadequate"). Most of these worries are about what might happen in the future. How often do you imagine potentially frightening or distressing situations that never actually materialize?
    It is crucial to realize that imagined threats-no matter how irrational or unlikely-can produce the same stress responses as an attack by a wild animal. To dismiss these internal threats as all-in-the-head is to misunderstand the fact that your body takes all threats seriously, whether internal or external, imagined or real, and responds accordingly. Seeing the problem as in-the-head ignores another important process. Just as fear makes your body tense up, the opposite is equally true: When your body is tense you feel afraid. The anxieties of living are in-your-body just as much as in-your-head. When you feel less stirred up, your body will relax-unless it's forgotten how. Conversely, if your body relaxes, you'll feel less anxious.
     
    Most of us are under at least moderate stress much of the time. We're worried about problems, insecure about the future, afraid of losses, humiliations, and rejections. In addition, our bodies retain accumulated tension from