Orgasmic meditation, commonly called OM, is a partnered practice in which one person gently strokes the clitoris of another person for exactly 15 minutes while both partners focus on the physical sensations. It combines elements of mindfulness meditation with genital stimulation, and it was developed and trademarked by a San Francisco company called OneTaste, which has since become the subject of serious criminal convictions.
How a Session Works
The practice follows a rigid structure. Two people set up what practitioners call a “nest,” a space on the floor made with a blanket and pillows. The person being stroked (the “strokee”) lies down and removes clothing only below the waist. The person doing the stroking (the “stroker”) remains fully clothed and sits to the right side on a cushion.
Before any contact, the stroker puts on a medical-grade glove and applies lubricant. They then describe the appearance of the strokee’s genitals to her, noting details like color and texture. After receiving verbal consent, the stroker begins lightly stroking the upper left quadrant of the clitoris using a single fingertip. Two timers are set: one at 13 minutes and one at 15. At the 13-minute mark, the stroker shifts to downward strokes. When the final timer sounds, the stroker cups their hand over the genitals with gentle pressure until both people feel grounded, then uses a towel to clean up.
The practice is explicitly not intended to lead to sex. Standard guidelines call for no sexual activity within 10 minutes of completing a session. Communication between partners throughout is part of the protocol, with both people sharing what they notice in their bodies during the experience.
What Practitioners Claim It Does
Proponents describe OM as a meditation practice rather than a sexual act, framing it as a way to build body awareness, deepen connection between partners, and release tension. The claimed mechanism is that focused attention on a single point of sensation produces a meditative state similar to other mindfulness practices, but with a stronger physiological response.
A small phase 1 clinical trial studied OM in people with PTSD and found a 47% improvement in symptom scores. Participants’ average PTSD scores dropped from 60 to 28 over the course of the study. The researchers concluded that the practice appeared safe and potentially beneficial for trauma symptoms, though a phase 1 trial is preliminary by design, meant to test safety and feasibility rather than prove effectiveness.
What Brain Imaging Shows
An exploratory study using functional MRI scans found that OM changed how different brain regions communicated with each other. After a session, both strokers and strokees showed altered connectivity in areas involved in emotional processing, attention, and sensory awareness. The researchers described the brain activity patterns as a hybrid, sharing some features with traditional meditation practices and some with sexual stimulation and orgasm.
In women receiving the stimulation, the changes were widespread, involving regions tied to emotion regulation, sensory processing, and fear response. In the men who were stroking, the changes were different but still significant, primarily in areas associated with empathy, memory, and decision-making. This suggests both participants experience neurological shifts, not just the person being touched.
Origins and the OneTaste Story
OneTaste was cofounded in 2004 in San Francisco by Nicole Daedone and Robert Kandell. Daedone became the public face of the practice, building it into a wellness brand that offered classes, retreats, and coaching programs. The company trademarked “orgasmic meditation” for use in educational services, with the mark first recorded in commerce in 2005 and formally granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2013. By 2017, Daedone sold OneTaste for $12 million.
The practice attracted significant media attention and a devoted following, particularly in the Bay Area tech scene. It positioned itself at the intersection of mindfulness, sexuality, and personal development, drawing comparisons to both Buddhist meditation and human potential movements.
Criminal Convictions and Forced Labor
The organization’s story took a sharp turn with an FBI investigation. In June 2025, a federal jury convicted Nicole Daedone and her associate Rachel Cherwitz of forced labor conspiracy following a five-week trial. Daedone was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. The court imposed a $12 million forfeiture judgment against her and awarded nearly $888,000 in restitution to seven victims.
Federal prosecutors described OneTaste as a company “built on the backs of coerced and unpaid or substantially underpaid labor.” The convictions centered on how workers within the organization were treated, not on the OM practice itself, but the case raised serious questions about the environment in which the practice was developed and promoted. The trademark is now held by a successor organization called the Society for Eros Practice and Philosophy.
Separating the Practice From the Organization
The criminal case against OneTaste’s leadership complicates how people evaluate orgasmic meditation. The practice itself has been studied in peer-reviewed research with some promising early results, particularly around PTSD. The brain imaging data suggests it produces real neurological changes in both partners. But the research base is still thin, limited to small exploratory studies rather than the large randomized trials that would establish it as an evidence-based therapy.
Anyone interested in the practice should know that its origins are inseparable from an organization whose founder was convicted of serious federal crimes. The technique can be performed privately between consenting partners without any organizational involvement, but classes, certifications, and structured programs tied to the OM brand carry the weight of that history. The practice exists in a space where legitimate questions about embodied mindfulness and sexual wellness overlap with a cautionary story about exploitation within a wellness community.