A place for pleasure in the desert

AN INTIMATE LOOK AT BACK TO THE BODY'S SEXUAL WELLNESS RETREATS

- BY DEBORAH VANKIN

BODIES are adorned with objects during an exercise about receiving pleasure, left; journaling and mindfulness exercises are part of the retreat, below.

Photographs by JOYCE LEE For The Times

THIS IS WHAT AROUSAL looks like. About 20 women are lying blindfolded on yoga mats in an airy structure in the Joshua Tree desert. Some are partially dressed in loungewear or lingerie; others are fully nude. Sexy indie folk music plays from the sound system and outside, through the open double doors, the wind kicks up, rustling the fragrant desert scrub brush, pomegranate trees and ponderosa pines. Their bodies are layered with a collage of fresh fruit, feathers, cucumber slices, smooth stones and velvety flower petals, among other things. Facilitators quietly tiptoe around the room, gently placing more and more items onto their chests, arms and legs until their skin is barely visible. One woman lies with lemon slices on her nipples, a large strawberry in her open mouth and a bouquet of long-stem pink roses, in full bloom, on her pelvis.

The exercise is meant to help the women connect with their bodies by stimulating them with a spectrum of sensations: the cool slickness of a polished river stone or the prick of a pineapple rind. It's about receiving pleasure and feeling beautiful — no matter your age, body shape or perceived limitations.

"The biological clock may be finite, but your sexuality — arousal — is infinite," says the event's host, Pamela Madsen, scattering rose petals on one attendee's thighs.