People Tell Us How They Orgasm Without Touching

There are people who can orgasm solely from nipple stimulation, then there are those—Lady Gaga included—who claim that they can experience peak pleasure without so much as a single touch.

One of the lucky people who say they can “think themselves off” is Maya Ansar, a London-based influencer who shared her experience in a recent TikTok video.

Ansar told VICE that she discovered she could think herself off about three years ago. She started regularly having orgasms in her dreams and realized soon after that she could do it wide awake too, whenever she wanted.

Now, Ansar says that getting off is as simple as flicking a mental switch.  

“I don’t have to fantasize or anything, I just have to think ‘come’ and it happens,” she said. “It’s literally about being so in tune with your mind and body and realizing that an orgasm is more mental than anything else.”

Back in 1992, researchers found that women who got off on imagery alone experienced physiological responses—such as increases in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and pupil diameter—that were similar to physically stimulated orgasms.

“On this basis we state that physical genital stimulation is evidently not necessary to produce a state that is reported to be an orgasm,” researchers concluded at that time.

This is the case for Ansar today.

“The orgasm I have from thinking off is exactly the same as a penetrative orgasm, deep within my core and it sends waves through my entire body,” Ansar said, adding that it feels slightly different from a clitoral orgasm.

In any case, Ansar said that this has greatly enhanced her sex life. 

“It’s an amazing talent and I consider myself blessed and want thinking off to be normalized,” she said.

Meanwhile, some who are more intentional about experiencing a hands-free orgasm do so with external help.

A German man in his late 30s who asked to remain anonymous due to the sexual nature of the topic, told VICE about his experience with erotic hypnosis audio clips.

“It’s basically a hypnosis track giving suggestions of feeling more and more pleasure, which can result in an orgasm,” he said, adding that he has experienced both ejaculatory and dry orgasms from erotic hypnosis. According to him, a dry orgasm feels “more light and less genital-focused.”

One problem he faces in erotic hypnosis, however, is that he usually falls asleep before relevant hypnotic suggestions. 

“Only when I am awake and in the right mood, I [successfully] orgasm with hypnosis,” he said.

An amateur erotic hypnotist in Texas, who wished to remain anonymous for personal privacy, told VICE that he has been practicing erotic hypnosis on others for about five years. His hypnosis sessions usually happen via text, on platforms like Reddit or Discord. A typical session for him usually involves controlling the body movements, imaginary sensations, and orgasms of his subjects when they’re in a trance state. While he said that he can almost always bring subjects to orgasm through hypnosis, he has never been able to fall quite deep enough into a trance state to experience an orgasm himself.

“I have felt some physical sensations but have never achieved a full hands-free orgasm,” he said.

Then there are those who claim to climax just by intense breathing.

Christina Jensen, a physical therapy doctor in Tennessee, told VICE that she first learned to orgasm without tactile stimulation by working her breath and pelvic muscles with intent.

“These orgasms for me are meditative—I definitely have to have a quiet mind and be focused on my breath and my internal self in order to be successful,” she said, adding that she practices yoga, breathwork, meditation, and pelvic floor exercises in her free time.

“They feel different from ‘regular orgasms’ in that they take much longer to achieve and the entire process is more gradual,” she said. “That said, once I achieve an orgasmic state, I can stay there as long as I’m able to maintain my focus.”

Many learn to experience similar breath-induced orgasms through Tantra, an ancient philosophy stemming from Hinduism and Buddhism. Tantra offers a set of practices that can supposedly stimulate and channel sexual energy, which often ends up enhancing orgasms. In modern Western culture, Tantra is most known for its alternative approach to sex—some call it “the yoga of sex.” 

Barbara Carrellas, a sex educator who has written books about adapting Tantra to contemporary lifestyles, said that this is a “narrow vision” of Tantra’s vast teachings but recognized the importance of Tantra in redefining contemporary ideas of sex. She first learned to have breath and energy orgasms in the 1980s, during the AIDS epidemic. 

“We were looking for ways to have powerful orgasmic experiences with others without passing on a deadly virus,” she said.

Today, Carrellas teaches Tantra to keen learners, introducing to them new dimensions of sex. 

“Tantric practices can be utilized to expand the orgasm experience, leading to what some people call a full body orgasm,” she said. “I think if everyone could learn how to have them, the world would be a much healthier, happier place, and our view of what sex is could be would expand a hundredfold.”

For all the rave reviews of the wonders of tantric sex, Carrellas cautioned against having preconceived expectations of sexual pleasure out of breath and energy orgasms.

“[Breath-induced orgasms] are full-body orgasmic, ecstatic experiences that are felt all over the body and beyond. They usually don’t feel especially sexual in an aroused genital sort of way,” she said. “It provides an instant tension release and feeling of freedom.”

Much like audio erotica, breath-induced orgasms are known for their inclusivity. For example, they’re notably enjoyed by people with physical disabilities that hinder them from experiencing conventional orgasms, such as spinal cord injuries.

According to Carrellas, breath and energy orgasms are also especially appreciated in the trans community, since it can avoid triggering gender dysphoria.

“I like to call them ‘gender-free orgasms,’” she said.

But these bursts of pleasure take a great deal of mindfulness. 

Carrellas usually starts with lying on her back with her knees up and feet flat on the floor.

One method has her sensing or imagining sexual energy moving through her body, using her mind to “pull energy” into her chakras or energy points located along her body, from the perineum to the top of the head.

Another practice involves the conscious use of breath—breathing more fully and deeply, from the beginning of your sexual experience until orgasm, is supposed to make you more likely to experience a longer and deeper orgasm. Beyond the erotic realm, breathwork has been used as a therapeutic method to alleviate mental, physical, and emotional distress.

But perhaps the most important tip is to rid yourself of any lofty expectations that come with having a touch-free, breath-induced orgasm.

“It’s much better to have an intention of curiosity, such as, ‘I am going to breathe with the intention of energizing my entire body for 20 minutes, then finish with a ‘clench and hold.’ [Then] I’ll let go and see what happens,” said Carrellas.

The “clench and hold” is a technique Carrellas teaches that involves taking lots of deep breaths before tensing up your muscles—especially those in the abdomen, butt, and pelvic floor—for about 15 seconds before letting go.

“First and foremost, an open mind, unattached to outcome, is crucial,” said Carrellas.

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This article was updated for clarity on July 21, 2022.