Shibari bondage, which is also recognized as “kinbaku,” is a modern type of rope bondage that originated in Japan, according to sexologist Midori, the author of Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage.
The literal translation of shibari implies “tying” whereas kinbaku implies “tight bonding.”
Shibari is the act of tying somebody up for aesthetic purposes. However, for quite a few, the advantage of shibari bondage goes far beyond aesthetics.
For some, the stress of tight rope wrapped about the body can generate pleasurable sensations – sensual and otherwise. Shibari bondage is also utilized as a type of meditation, relaxation, trust-creating, and as a precursor to kink play.
What Does Shibari Bondage Have to Do With Yoga?
Who knew attending a shibari conference out of curiosity would adjust my life forever? You normally only hear points like that about yoga classes . . .
My initially practical experience in a shibari conference space left me breathless, not only from all the wonderful and intricate rope art going on, but also from the quite a few persons in yoga poses.
Some persons had been actually tied in yoga poses such as Lotus Pose and Butterfly Pose. Others had been practicing a sequence of yoga poses as preparation for obtaining tied up.
I spent most of that evening watching the wonderful mix of yoga and bondage and reflecting upon the intersection of the two practices. As a outcome, I speedily saw that the two practices are each complementary to every single other.
Meaning, I speedily saw how yoga (the practice of yoga poses and breathing approaches, focusing on the present moment, and sitting via uncomfortable moments) could assist 1 be physically and mentally ready for kink.
Similarly, it also occurred to me that some kink practices (sitting via discomfort, elevated discipline, and a focus on the present moment throughout a scene) could advantage a yoga practice.
In addition to the two practices getting complementary, I also saw how helpful yoga can be to prepare the body for kink.
For instance, poses such as Bridge Pose, Downward Facing Dog, and Cow Face Pose all assist to open up the chest and shoulders. Each of these poses could assist to prepare your body for obtaining your hands tied behind your back or more than your head.
It was this evening at the shibari bondage conference and my practical experience that inspired my book, Yoga for Kink: A Guide to Using Yoga to Prepare the Body for Bondage.
Continue reading to understand more about how yoga can assist prepare your body for bondage and/or kink play.
How Does Yoga Prepare Your Body for Kink and Bondage?
Yoga for kink can advantage quite a few varieties of kink and bondage play. Some persons take pleasure in obtaining their hands tied behind their backs though other folks take pleasure in obtaining tied into an intricate backbend. Both can advantage from carrying out some yoga beforehand.
There are two varieties of stretching: static and dynamic. Static stretching entails holding a position for 30 seconds or longer. Dynamic stretching entails utilizing movement into and out of a position repeatedly to take the body to (not beyond) its limit.
Static stretching, like yoga, has been shown to: assist muscle tissues unwind, assist stretch fascia and ligaments, raise bone density, and raise mobility. The longer the hold, the higher the advantage in terms of releasing fascia and ligaments.
Ligaments are fibrous connective tissues that connect bones to other bones. Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue beneath the skin that encloses and separates muscle tissues and other internal organs.
Static stretching delivers the precise rewards required for a body in preparation for bondage and kink play.
In taking the time to use yoga to prepare your body for kink play, you are capable to safely and enjoyably discover kink with your companion.
Now that you have an understanding of how yoga can assist prepare you for kink, continue reading for particular poses that can assist.
3 Important Benefits That Sex and Yoga Have In Common
These 13 Yoga Poses Prepare Your Body for Kink and Bondage:
1. Standing Forward Fold Pose (Uttanasana)
Stretch your hamstrings and reduced back to prep your body for bondage.
Let’s attempt it:
- Begin standing
- Make positive your feet are hip-width distance apart
- Inhale and attain your hands to the sky
- Exhale and hinge at your hips, coming into a forward fold
- Rather than straightening your legs, push your feet down into the earth
- Allow the back of your hands to rest onto yoga block or the floor, or hold onto opposite elbows
- Very slightly, push your ankles outward. This is a minor adjustment, do not overdo it
- On every single exhale, gently push your feet into the earth and attain your hips toward the sky
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
- Note: If your back is rounding, place a bend in your knees and let your belly to rest on your thighs. It is more crucial to have a straight spine than straight legs in this pose
2. Bound Forward Fold Pose (Baddha Uttanasana)
Get prepared for shibari bondage binds with this Bound Forward Fold.
Let’s attempt it:
- Begin standing
- Make positive your feet are hip-width distance apart
- Inhale, attain behind you and clasp your hands by interweaving your fingers
- Exhale, fold forward, hinging at your hips
- Allow your hands to fall toward the ground
- If your back is rounding, place a bend in your knees and let your belly to rest on your thighs
- Rather than straightening your legs by pushing back with the knees, push your feet into the earth
- Very slightly, push your ankles outward
- On every single exhale, gently push your feet into the earth and attain your hips toward the sky
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
3. Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Elongate your spine and generate space in your complete body to prepare for kink with Down Dog.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin on your hands and knees
- Spread your fingers wide with your index fingers pointing toward the front of the mat
- Rotate the crease of your elbows toward the front of the mat
- To genuinely ground via your hands right here, push down via the base of your thumb and index finger
- Imagine that you are attempting to open a jar. Energetically speaking, you are activating your hands in such a way that you are opening a jar with your hands, but you are not enabling them to move
- Exhale and lift your hips up and back, into Downward Facing Dog
- At initially, retain your knees slightly bent and your heels lifted away from the floor
- Draw your navel in and up toward your spine
- Engage your quadriceps by drawing your knees up your thighs
- Slightly rotate the heels of your feet outward, bringing them wider than your major toes
- Actively drop your heels toward the ground
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
- Note: If your low back is tight, bend your knees, this makes it possible for you to work on lengthening your spine. It is more crucial to have a straight spine than straight legs in this pose
- If your heels are more than two inches from the floor and your calves and heels really feel extremely tight, you can bring the mat to your heels, so to speak, by putting a rolled-up blanket or yoga mat beneath your heels
4. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Find a protected space in Child’s Pose.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin on hands and knees
- Exhale and reduced your seat to your heels
- Slowly stroll your hands out, bringing your belly onto (or toward) your thighs
- You can retain your knees close with each other or wide apart. The closer with each other they are, the deeper the stretch will be in your reduced back
- Stretch your hands out above your head and rest your forehead on your mat or a yoga block
- Rotate your biceps outward (away from your face) to assist your shoulders roll down your back
- Allow your chest to fall toward the floor
- Hold for 5 to seven breaths. For a Yin version of this pose, you can hold it for 5 to seven minutes
- If the deep bend in your knees is also substantially, you can spot a rolled-up blanket among your sit bones and heels
- To lessen the intensity of the pose, you can spot a yoga bolster beneath your torso
- You can also bring your arms by your sides, resting your hands next to your feet
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30-Minute Yoga Sequence to Activate Your Sexual Energy (Free Class)
5. Cat/Cow (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana)
Warm up your spine for your shibari bondage kink with some Cats and Cows.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin on your hands and knees
- Align your wrists straight beneath your shoulders and your knees straight beneath your hips
- Untuck your toes and gently press the tops of your feet into the mat
- On an inhale, lift your head, heart, and tail though enabling your belly to drop toward the mat
- Ensure that your shoulders do not drop with your belly by pressing your hands into the earth
- Rotate the crease of your elbows toward the front of the mat
- On an exhale, arch your spine
- Draw your chin toward your chest and pull your navel in and up toward your spine
- Rotate the crease of your elbows in, facing every single other
- Repeat for 5 rounds of breath
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6. Easy Seat Forward Fold (Sukhasana Variation)
Give your spine and hips some gentle opening as you prepare for kink with this Easy Seat variation.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin in a seated position
- Fold your feet in toward you in any way that is comfy for you
- On an exhale, spot your hands on the mat and stroll your hands out away from your body
- If it is okay for your body, you can bring your forearms down to the mat. If not, leave your hands on the mat
- Drop your forehead toward the floor, enabling your spine to curve
- Be positive to retain your sit bones on the floor. If required, gently push into your hands (or forearms) to retain your sit bones grounded
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
- If your low back is tight and it is tough to bend forward, spot a yoga block beneath your sit bones
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7. Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana)
Open your hips, hamstrings, and backbody with Pyramid Pose.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin in Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
- Step your left foot back about two to 3 feet and spot it at a 90-degree angle so that your toes are pointing toward the left front corner of the mat
- Your feet really should be wide sufficient apart so that your hips are squared to the front of the mat
- On an exhale, gently hinge forward at your waistline. If you really feel your spine beginning to round, quit and back out a small bit. It is crucial to retain the spine straight
- Gently draw your left hip forward and your suitable hip back and work toward bringing your chin toward your suitable shin
- Engage your quadriceps by drawing your knees up your thigh
- Open up your collarbones by rolling your shoulders down your back
- Press down via your front major toe
- Ground down via the outer edge of your back foot
- Gently press your elbows up and away from your back
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
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8. Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)
There’s absolutely nothing pretty like Triangle Pose to open your complete front and backbody.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin in a standing position
- Step your left foot back about 18 inches, putting your foot at a 45-degree angle
- Your suitable foot is pointing toward the front of the mat
- Both knees really should be straight
- Make positive the heels of your feet are in line with every single other
- Exhale, hinge more than your suitable hip, bringing your suitable palm onto your shin or a yoga block. If you are utilizing a block, it requires to be on the outdoors edge of your suitable foot
- Tuck in your chin slightly and appear up toward your leading thumb if it is comfy for your neck
- Ground down via the outer edge of your back foot and the major toe of your front foot
- Engage your quads by drawing your knees up your thighs
- Let your hip come slightly forward and draw your tailbone toward your inner back heel
- Slightly rotate your torso from your navel and draw the back of your left shoulder toward the wall behind you
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
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9. Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana)
Give your hips some appreciate with Lizard Pose to get your body prepared for bondage.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin in Downward Facing Dog
- Step your suitable foot forward, coming into a Runner’s Lunge
- Drop your left knee to the mat and untuck your left toes
- Move your suitable hand to the inside of your suitable leg
- Extend your heart forward and roll your shoulders down your back
- On an exhale, drop your head and settle into the pose
- You can leave your palms on the mat, or you can come onto your forearms. Forearms could also be placed on yoga blocks
- Don’t let your suitable knee to fall out toward the suitable, retain it straight more than your ankle
- Make positive that your palms or elbows are in line with your suitable ankle
- Draw your shoulder blades with each other and press them into your back
- Slightly draw your left hip forward and your suitable hip back
- Let your hips and your head drop toward the floor
- Draw the navel in and up toward your spine
- Stay right here for 5 to seven breaths
- For a more intense stretch, you can lift your back knee
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10. Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
Open your shoulders and hips with Cow Face Pose to prepare your shoulders for behind-the-back bondage.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin on your hands and knees
- Draw your suitable knee forward, in among your hands and then bring your suitable foot outdoors of your left thigh
- Next, slide your suitable knee back to meet your left knee
- Gently sit your hips down among your heels
- Try to bring your heels an equal distance from your hips
- Sit evenly on your sitting bones – do not let 1 hip to bear more weight than the other. If this is not attainable for your body, you can spot a compact folded towel beneath the greater hip
- Your knees may well not stack straight on leading of every single other and that is okay – do not force oneself into it
- Flex your feet
- Inhale and stretch your suitable arm out straight to the suitable side of your body and parallel to the floor
- Rotate your arm inwardly, turning your thumb toward the floor. To retain rotating, next point your fingers toward the wall behind you with your palm face up toward the ceiling
- Exhale and sweep your suitable arm behind you and tuck your forearm into the curve of your reduced back, parallel to your waist
- Roll your shoulder back and down. Then commence to work your forearm up your back
- Work to get your forearm parallel to your spine with your hand among your shoulder blades, but be positive to listen to your body and quit as required
- Inhale and stretch your left arm out in front of you with your palm facing up. Lift your hand straight above you
- Exhale and bend your elbow and commence to attain down for your suitable hand to clasp them with each other
- Please really feel free of charge to use a yoga strap right here if you cannot clasp your hands with each other
- Inhale and work to lift your left elbow toward the ceiling and descend your suitable elbow toward the floor
- Make positive your floating ribs are not jutting outward
- For the totally integrated pose, exhale and hinge forward at your hips to bring your chest toward your legs
- Allow your forehead to drop toward the floor
- Stay right here for 5 to 10 breaths and then switch sides
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11. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)
Warm up your complete spine with Bridge Pose to prepare your body.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor
- Bring your heels as close to your glutes as attainable with your feet hip-width distance apart
- Place your arms alongside your body with your palms facing down
- Inhale and press your feet and arms actively into the floor to lift your tailbone toward the sky
- Exhale and commence to roll onto your shoulders and bring your hands underneath you. If it feels okay on your shoulders, clasp your hands underneath your buttocks
- Lift your chin slightly away from your chest. There really should be sufficient space for somebody to spot two fingers among your neck and the floor
- Keep your knees more than your heels but push them forward, away from your hips
- Lengthen your tailbone toward the back of your knees
- Stay right here for 5 breaths
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12. Supported Reclined Hero’s Pose (Supta Virasana)
Gently open up your complete front body with this supported version of Reclined Hero’s Pose.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Sit with your knees bent and your buttocks resting on your heels
- For help, spot a yoga bolster or two yoga blocks beneath your spine prior to reclining
- If you use blocks, spot 1 along the spine (vertical) among your shoulder blades and 1 (horizontal) beneath your head, generating a T with the blocks
- Slowly recline and let your knees to separate
- On an exhale, recline back more than your props
- Roll your shoulders down your back to open your collarbones
- Gently draw your pelvis in and up toward your spine
- Stay right here for 5 to 10 breaths
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13. Wide-Legged Seated Forward Fold (Upavistha Konasana)
Give your hips, spine, and hamstrings some further appreciate with a Wide-Legged Seated Forward Fold as you prepare.
Let’s attempt it:
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- Begin in a seated position with your legs spread as wide as attainable
- Lift the flesh from your sit bones
- Press your hands into the floor behind you and scoot your buttocks forward an inch or two – or to exactly where is most comfy. You want to really feel a generous stretch on the inner thighs, but no discomfort
- Ensure that your back is straight and not rounding
- Rotate your thighs outward so that your kneecaps are pointing straight up toward the sky. Flex your feet and press via the balls of your feet
- Engage your quadriceps by drawing your knees up your thighs
- Inhale and hinge forward at your hips coming down as far as you can though nonetheless sustaining a straight spine
- Place your hands (or forearms) on the floor (or on blocks) in front of you
- Rotate your pelvis toward the ground – not so drastically that you bring about rounding in the back although
- If your belly and/or torso is on the ground, use the strength of your arms to gently pull your torso away from your hips
- Stay right here for 5 to 10 breaths
- If your low back and/or hamstrings are extremely tight, you can sit on the edge of a folded blanket
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7 Secret Ways Yoga Improves Your Sex Life
The Takeway on Yoga for Kink and Bondage: It’s All About Safe Exploration
One of the most important focuses behind yoga is to safely discover your body’s capability by gently pushing oneself close to your limit. This is correct about kink as nicely. This protected exploration is the major image behind utilizing yoga to prepare the body for bondage. When you and your companion are capable to discover new locations of intimate activities like Shibari bondage in a protected way, it can be extremely connecting.
However, it actually is crucial to make positive you are protected though carrying out so. In the bigger kink neighborhood, there are a set of principles that persons adhere to so that absolutely everyone is protected. RACK – Risk Aware Consensual Kink – is 1 of these principles. The philosophy behind RACK is that every single activity has a degree of danger to it and what is “safe” is most effective determined by the parties involved. To be threat conscious, is to have an understanding of the dangers involved in what ever activity you program to engage in. Only you know what feels ok for you and your body today.
In addition, enthusiastic consent is crucial. As sexologist Jess O’Reilly, PhD says, “To be considered consensual, all parties involved must be capable of expressing their explicit and informed consent.” Just due to the fact your companion was ok with bondage yesterday, does not imply that they are ok with it today. Consent really should be a continual discussion, not a onetime conversation.
Yoga is a fantastic way to safely prepare the body for kink and bondage. By practicing chest and shoulder opening yoga poses prior to getting tied into a backbend variety position, for instance, you are setting oneself up for a thriving adventure. One exactly where you are at significantly less threat for injury.
In addition to playful exploration, the practice of yoga and kink can assist you understand to focus on the present moment, breathe consciously when you are feeling stressed, turn out to be more disciplined, and sit via uncomfortable moments with ease.
Start slow, verify in with your companion regularly, and usually listen to your body and your heart.
