from www.beforeitnews.com – Playboy Inc. is celebrating their 50th year of the famous Playboy Bunny and of the Playboy Club which opened in Chicago Feb. 29th, 1960.

Playboy opened its newest club in 1964, in Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip. I became a Playboy Key Club member in 1965, and became known as a regular at the Playboy Club when it was on the Sunset Strip and also when it moved to its Century City location. Over the years that I attended the club, I became friends with some of the world’s most beautiful Bunnies.

Later, as each Bunny retired, and after the clubs closed, I eventually lost contact with each of them. I often wonder what happened to the Bunnies with whom I had become friends and what they are doing today. I am currently in my early seventies, so the Bunnies I knew would today, be in their sixties.

Recently my daughter showed me a book she had heard about from a friend and bought, that was written by a woman who was a Los Angeles Bunny in the 60’s. In the past, my daughter had listened to some of my Playboy stories which I told, and she thought I would get a kick out seeing this book. She especially wanted show me the chapter titled “Bunnydom”, which also had a photo of the author as a Bunny. To my surprise she was one of the Bunnies I had known! It was Bunny Jaki [pictured].

I remember Bunny Jaki when she first started to work at the LA Club. Her young, sweet face and bright smile caught my attention. Jaki was one of first black Bunnies to be hired at the LA Club in the late sixties. I watched her grow from an inexperienced, entry level, new Bunny to a competent, well-poised self assured Bunny.

Looking at her Bunny picture in the book brought back fun memories, and her picture on the back cover showed me that she still maintained her look of competence and poise.

I remember Bunny Jaki when she first started to work at the LA Club. Her young, sweet face and bright smile caught my attention. Jaki was one of first black Bunnies to be hired at the LA Club in the late sixties. I watched her grow from an inexperienced, entry level, new Bunny to a competent, well-poised self assured Bunny. Looking at her Bunny picture in the book brought back fun memories, and her picture on the back cover showed me that she still maintained her look of competence and poise.

The title of her book: A Crack in the Mask: The Felt Sense Method® A Humanistic Approach for Managing Incontinence, Highlighted by the Memories of a Woman Who Has Been There, took me by surprise.

I knew my wife was having difficulty with incontinence, but my daughter confided in me that she also had started having little wetting accidents. My daughter also told me that she would give her daughter a copy of this book at her upcoming bridal shower, because the information in this book would give my grand daughter steps which would keep her pelvic floor muscles healthy and would allow my grand daughter to more easily regain the strength to her pelvic floor muscles after childbirth. I have to admit, I was a little uncomfortable discussing personal female subjects with my daughter, but my daughter encouraged me to not let the subject and title of this book, stop me from reading it.

Reluctantly, I bought my own copy and simply looked at the pictures for a long while. At first, I felt like a young boy hiding to read a provocative book, but it is not a provocative book. It is an exceptionally well presented book, from its beautifully illustrated, deep blue cover to the photos of anatomy and yoga asanas. It has the feeling of an art or coffee table book. I began reading a few sentences here and a few sentences there, and soon found myself immersed in continuing to read the text word for word.

Jaki starts by saying that she wanted to give a voice to incontinence, a human voice, her voice and she does just that. It is a warm book – like Jaki’s smile. It talks to the reader with a very personal tone, and I became aware that the material in this book is being presented from a position of personal understanding and knowledge and that this book and the techniques that are within, came from her journey of regaining control over her bladder. The book is very much like the Jaki whom I had gotten to know at the Playboy Club, unexpectedly multilayered.

She says that incontinence has many dimensions. The physical aspects are evident, but the psychological aspects are not easily noticed. Jaki deals with incontinence from a scientific level, and her material is backed by referenced facts. Her anatomical diagrams are presented with decorum.

The Felt Sense Method®, the name of her technique, is an approach that teaches how to consciously contact and strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor for overcoming urinary incontinence and for improving conditions of vaginal laxity. The physical awareness exercises presented and the yoga postures described and illustrated are simple, as my wife and daughter both agrees. They said they felt very comfortable and could easily identify with any of the models in the photos, models who are not typical tall and slender models but look like the average person. But I must say that some photos of Jaki are very impressive, especially knowing that this is a woman in her sixties.

I am retired from a career in medical research, so I expected that a book on incontinence would be dry and filled with facts. To my surprise this was not the case. Yes, it has facts and information that would please the medical professional, but is presented in a manner that is interesting and understandable to the lay person.The chapters are interlaced and supported with personal stories, which I found quite novel and very refreshing. I found myself laughing out loud at some stories; others made me cry inwardly.

The most unexpected result that occurred to me from reading this book was that it gave to me an openness toward discussing a female condition with my wife with which I previously felt uncomfortable. I can now talk to my wife about this issue from a place of some knowledge and understanding and actually practiced some of the techniques along with her. Plus, I made a connection of the sameness of the anatomy of men and women, which I feel I should have realized years ago, and I have gained muscular awareness and sensitivity in my own pelvic region as well.

I enjoyed showing this book, especially Jaki’s Bunny and the abdomen pictures, to our friends. It is fun to see their faces when they see the title. I tell them to get over the title and subject matter. Buy the book and read it. They might find, as I did that it was a totally unexpected joy to read!