Sexual transmutation is taking the sexual energy that’s building inside you and channeling it into something else. “You’ll let that physical energy build up,” clairvoyant intuitive Catharine Allan notes, “and you purposely don’t release it in that sexual way.” You could, of course, channel it directly into physical sex, as so many do, but if you need a little extra oomph of creative energy or physical might, holding off on the sex and using that energy elsewhere is the idea of sexual transmutation. Allan notes that it isn’t unlike tantric sex, which is also all about sexual energy and sacred sexuality. Edging, for example, is a popular practice for men in tantra—and that’s actually one way of transmuting your sexual energy. And just like in tantra, sexual transmutation doesn’t always have to involve a partner (see tantric masturbation). Ultimately, sexual transmutation is about “keeping the power of that energy that’s building and rising and wants to release and going for a run or painting, etc., to apply that,” Allan says. Allan and Roxo both note that sexual transmutation requires a great deal of awareness, particularly of your own sexual energy. “You have to physically be aware of that build of energy,” Allan explains, “and instead of right away going to the release of it (orgasming), you take it and maybe you clean the house, for example.” Roxo adds if you haven’t meditated for very long or aren’t involved in other spiritual practices and rituals, you might find difficulty trying to transmute your sexual energy. “You need to have a certain level of awareness to be able to differentiate between these different states occurring in your body, and in your emotional and spiritual body,” she says. “You want a basic knowledge of how to work with your breath and a basic cultivation of awareness training, so you can stay present with what’s happening.” For example, art is one avenue to go down. Maybe for you this looks like painting, making music, or writing a poem. If dance is an art form to you, perhaps you dance. “You can create with that energy because sexual energy is creative energy,” Roxo notes. And for anyone looking to make fitness gains, yes, you can channel your sexual energy into something more athletic or physical. This is a more masculine approach, Roxo adds, but can be great for the physical body. Anything from a cold plunge to a workout to breathwork like Wim Hof’s technique would allow you to move that energy. As Allan adds, if you tend to spill the energy and want to have a release, you can ask yourself, Where does that creativity want to pour into my life? There’s no limit to the things we can channel sexual energy into, and sexual transmutation offers us the ability to harness that powerful, creative energy for anything we’re looking to accomplish.