What Happens at an $18,000 Retreat Where Women Learn to Have Orgasms?

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of a nude woman clutching her pillow.Photo:Getty

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A unique type of wellness retreat helps women connect with their bodies — with the goal being to achieveorgasmsand understand what gives them pleasure. But it comes with a hefty price tag of up to $18,000.

“Connecting to our bodies without shame is essential for empowerment,pleasure, and freedom,” Pamela Madsen toldVogueof the retreats, held in Joshua Tree, Calif. “But the reality is most women have never been taught how to access theirown erotic energy. We’re taught to perform sexually, but not to receive or explore what turns us on without guilt.”

Stock image of a woman’s hand clutching her sheets.Getty

A positive sexual connection to your body has a significant impact on your mental health. As theNational Library of Medicinesays, “The link between psychological well-being and female sexual health is crucial to women’s quality of life.”

A key part of the retreats are table sessions, the outlet explains, where a guided — and gloved — practitioner helps women explore what they like. “My table sessions helped me realize that I was in charge of cultivating my own erotic energy,” Hazel Stricker, 47, told the outlet. “I felt more empowered, alive, and at ease with myself.”

During one group activity called The Art of Adoration, attendees wear something that makes them feel beautiful, and then, while blindfolded, are exposed to sensations like their hair being caressed, or being adorned with gems.

But the immersive retreat — which includes a private chef, pool, and hot tub — comes with a price of up to $18,000 a week. “I want every woman to have access to this kind of healing, but we also have to honor the labor and expertise that goes into providing it,” Madsen tellsVogue.

Lower-cost options are also offered, like anonline-only weekend portalthat allows a limited number of women to join virtually for $750. In-person, the cost goes up to $2,000.

But the immersive retreats are worth it, say participants like Erinne Branter, 46, who likened her sexual life before the retreat to “walking around in this incredible sports car that no one has driven correctly.”

She toldVoguefollowing the retreat: “Suddenly someone knows how to drive your sports car and you realize that the sports car that the world has told you is too small, too big, too fat, too hairy, and not enough was actually perfect all along.”

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source: people.com