13 Sex Positions From The ‘Kama Sutra’ That You Absolutely Can (And Must) Do
Text your group chat about mixing up your sex life and they’ll recommend it. Do a quick online search and you’ll be directed to it. Ask your sister (if that’s the kind of relationship you two have) and she’ll send you a link to order it online. Yep, I'm talking about the Kama Sutra, an ancient Sanskrit text that, over the years, has become the go-to guide for intricate sex positions.
The Kama Sutra, written by Indian philosopher Vatsyayana, has garnered a lot of attention for acting as a guidebook to what seems like every sex position ever (some waaaay more adventurous than others). But that’s not really the point of it.
“The Kama Sutra has been quite distorted in how it has circulated in translation in the U.S. and other parts of the western world,” says Durba Mitra, PhD, an assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality at Harvard University, and author of Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought. “Kama Sutra is a book of philosophy on ethics and aesthetics, never just an ancient text on sexual positions and sexual pleasure.”
The original set of texts that became known as Kama Sutra “were actually about everything from urban living to statecraft, from perfumes to gardens,” Mitra says. The “distortion” of the book happened “in part because the first edition of Kama Sutra in English was done by colonial enthusiast—and Orientalist—Richard Burton in the late nineteenth century,” Mitra says. Burton “wanted to create a fantasy for his English-speaking audience by portraying people of the East as hypersexual and unchanging, without history,”Mitra says. But, she adds, “unfortunately people still use these reductive, racist ideas to think about Indian sexuality in the past and present.”
The Kama Sutra does address sex positions, but it’s really only in one section, points out Gigi Engle, a certified sex coach. Kama Sutra “is about the art of living and loving well and obtaining and maintaining the pleasures of life—including sex and love,” says sex therapist Debra Laino, D.H.S.
That said, the section on sexuality is packed with a number of sex positions that promote emotional intimacy between partners by way of touch and physical connection. The ancient text even teaches that men should prioritize a woman’s pleasure over their own (hear hear!), by focusing on making sure she climaxes before even thinking about their own orgasm. Kama Sutra also emphasizes being present and making eye contact during sex, Laino says.
“It’s not so much about going in and being able to do all of these different positions," says Engle. It’s more about finding techniques and moves that you can connect with and that allow you to connect with your partner on more than one level.
Now that you're call caught up...ready to give these 13 Kama Sutra sex positions a whirl?
This intimate position is easier than it looks, says Engle. "It's a great opportunity to bring in something like a wand vibrator" for you to use on yourself at the same time. And whoever is in the seated position, rocking back and forth, might also consider using a butt plug for added stimulation.
Do It: Sit on the bed facing each other with legs forward. Lift your partner's right leg over your left and lift your right leg over their left. Come together so they can enter you. Now, both of you lie back, your legs forming an X. Slow, leisurely gyrations replace thrusting. Hello, intimacy!
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