Whether you're partnered up or flying solo, the most important relationship you have is with yourself. And you deserve love, pleasure, and all the feel-good, toe-curling, mind-blowing benefits of a rockin' sex life, no matter what your relationship status is.

True self-love includes sexual satisfaction, and sometimes that means masturbation.

The more, the better. Women can masturbate as often as they want without any real health risks, and there are many physical and mental benefits of masturbation in addition to the simple pleasure of doing it.

If your current regimen feels good to you, keep at it. It's also not necessary to masturbate if it's not pleasurable to you or if you only feel like it every once in a while.

If you want to develop a masturbation practice, start with two 15- to 20-minute self-pleasure sessions a week and build from there if it's feeling good.

You can also consider cycle-syncing your self-pleasure to capitalize on your body's natural endocrine ebbs and flows.

The best path to orgasm changes depending on which phase of your cycle you're in and what's happening with your hormones (your sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone are higher around your ovulation phase).

So many women let their sexuality fall by the wayside, especially when they're not in a relationship. But there are many benefits of masturbation, physically and mentally, and you shouldn't have to rely on a partner to deliver the goods.

The hormones produced during orgasm (oxytocin and nitric oxide) are power players when it comes to maintaining hormonal balance, healing adrenal fatigue, and maintaining regular ovulation.

There are five Cs to consider when you're just getting familiar with your body: center, circle, clitoris, climax, and calm.

Set the mood and get centered with some relaxing music or mood lighting.

Then, spend 15 minutes circling the areas you'd normally go to for direct stimulation (nipples, areolae, and clitoris); instead, focus on your inner thighs, hips, abdomen, and upper chest.

Then take the time to build your orgasmic sensation by stimulating your inner labia and areas around your clitoris with your hands, and when you're ready to climax, use your hands to get you there.

This may blow your mind, but just like you don't need to rely on your partner for your orgasms, you don't need to only rely on electronics either.

Some of you vibrator devotees may be shocked, but it's true: Battery-operated toys shorten one of the most important phases of your orgasm—the plateau phase, cheating you of some monumental benefits.

Here's why: Your orgasm isn't just a one-dimensional shebang; it's made up of several important phases including arousal, plateau, climax, and resolution. The longer the plateau, the more nitric oxide and oxytocin you build up in your body, and this is where the real hormone balancing payoff is.

While your vibrator may send you straight to climax fast, it bypasses the beautiful benefits of a full orgasmic experience. Why cheat yourself of all that good stuff?

If the thought of abandoning your power tools leaves you anxious, trust me: You can get the big O on your own, and when you learn how to pleasure yourself manually, you'll be on your way to reaping all the big-time benefits.

One vibrator technique to consider to still get yourself that extended buildup: Use it on the lightest setting over your panties.

Always, always, always use lube during your dry phases (menstrual and follicular).

You may be less likely to need extra lubrication during ovulation and luteal phases if your hormones are healthy. These are also the times to really rely on your hand to get you to climax, since more of those sex hormones are flowing.

Here's more on how to make masturbation feel better, plus how to make yourself orgasm.