Sex can truly be one of the most fun and fulfilling activities a person can do. It’s the most intimate you can get with another person, and it’s an experience that is unmatched for promoting closeness and a shared sense of satisfaction.
While the safest and most emotionally satisfying sex is when you share it with someone whom you’re in a relationship with, after a long time, you need to change things to keep it fresh. Outfits or role-playing can spice up the foreplay which can lead to a steamier encounter, but for the act itself, some new sex positions to try can do the trick.
Finding out what works for you and your partner can spice up the experience because as people, we like new things. It’s enjoyable to find out how sex feels with different angles, body placements, and different views.
The view is very important, because sex should be something that immerses your entire being, ideally we have sex not only with our genitals, but with our eyes, ears, and minds as well.
I compiled a list of the most popular sex positions, and I will describe not only how to do each one, but also the benefits and potential problems in this sex position guide.
How many sex positions are there?
You will never run out of different sex positions, that’s pretty simple. There are so many different body parts to position and ways to position them, surely there will always be room to explore.
Even a subtle shift of the pelvis or scoot of the knees can alter the angle of entry and make the experience totally different.
When you’re ready to explore some new fun sex positions, a great place to start is the Kama Sutra.
This book was written some time around the year 200 in India, and it is a manual of how to live well when it comes to emotional fulfillment.
Perhaps most famously, it also includes a manual of different sex positions.
The Kama Sutra describes 64 different sex positions, consisting of 8 basic positions, and 8 variations on each position. If you try to do all 64 positions, you will find that the limit to how many sex positions you can try is dictated not by your creativity, but by the physical limitations of your body.
Unless you’re incredibly strong and limber, you aren’t going to be able to try every position imaginable. The fun is finding a new good sex position that you can add to your regular rotation.
What is the best sex position?
If there was an answer that everyone could agree upon for the best sex position, the Kama Sutra wouldn’t have needed to include 64.
The fun of sex is that we’re doing things to stimulate and explore our bodies, and everyone’s body is different. Our bodies aren’t built exactly the same, and our minds certainly are wired very differently which makes sex such a personal experience.
Don’t forget to spice up everything with list of great music for making love.
You and your partner get to explore which positions are your favorites, and when a lot of people like them, they’re given names. Some sex position names everyone is familiar with, and there are some lesser well-known positions which might end up stirring your juices.
Here is a list of the top 10 sex positions which are so popular, they have been given names by popular culture.
Missionary Sex Position
What is missionary sex position? The old tried and true, this is the bread and butter of sex positions. While it is known for being overused and cliche’, it’s only overused because it’s simple and effective.
Missionary composes of the woman lying on her back with her legs spread, and the man lying on top of her, with his pelvis between her legs. This sex position is enjoyable for nearly everyone, as both partners are somewhat relaxed, with the man resting the majority of his body weight on the woman.
This position is nice because your partner’s eyes are generally even with your own, which facilitates eye contact and kissing. This is normally used as a starting position because it allows the man to easily see what he’s doing and move easily during initial penetration.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with beginning your sexual journey with the missionary position, but you should switch it up occasionally to keep things going.
69 Sex Position
The famous 69 position is our 2nd favorite. Named after how the numbers 6 and 9 together resemble two people head to toe (use your imagination) this position is not for intercourse but mutual oral sex.
This can be done several different ways; one popular way is for the man to lie on his back, with the woman lying on top of him, positioning her vagina near his head, while positioning her head over his penis. During the 69, the man performs cunnilingus, or he stimulates her vagina with his mouth and tongue, while the woman performs fellatio, or stimulates his penis with her mouth.
Position is fun because oral sex involves different sensations than vaginal sex, and it offers each partner an up close and personal view of their lover’s genitals. This position can also be done with the woman lying down and the man on top, or even with each person lying on their side.
Cowgirl Sex Position
Our next favorite is a position for intercourse, the cowgirl position. Cowgirl is one where the man lies on his back and the woman straddles over him, and lowers herself onto him with her legs on either side, while his penis enters her.
She then facilitates the sex by bouncing, rocking, or sliding her body so his penis penetrates her. Many women like this position because they can control the speed, the angles, and the depth of the sex they are better able to control their stimulation and achieve orgasm.
Many men like this position because they get to lie down and let the woman do the work and provide the stimulus. While the women are doing most of the work, the men can also tilt their pelvis to change the angle of entry, or lift their hips up to provide deeper penetration for the woman.
Position also leaves the man’s hands available for extra stimulation if he chooses, or he can offer his hands for her to grab onto to pull for some deep and hard penetration.
Doggy Style
Next on the list is doggy style, always a popular position. Named after the positions dogs normally use, this position is a rear-entry position. The woman gets on all fours, normally resting her weight on her knees and hands or elbows, and puts her butt up in the air.
The man positions himself behind her, facing her backside. He enters her vagina from behind, and can use his hands to hold her hips or shoulders for leverage. Some men like doggy style because of the view it includes, as they may enjoy looking at a woman’s butt during sex, and this offers a perfect view.
While some women don’t enjoy doggy style as much because it doesn’t allow for eye contact, other women love putting their head into a pillow while their lover pounds away. This position can also be good for couples who have guests or children they don’t want to disturb, because if she is unable to control her vocal expression during sex, a pillow can muffle the sound.
Reverse Cowgirl
The next favorite of couples is similar to the cowgirl position in that the woman mounts a man who’s lying on his back, except now the woman faces the man’s feet, and his penis enters him from behind similar to doggy style.
While it doesn’t appear to be a very different position, the entry angle makes the dynamics completely different. While in cowgirl position, if a woman wants more stimulation along the top of her vagina, which is where more nerve endings are, she would lean back so his penis would push more on the top.
During sex in reverse cowgirl position, getting more stimulation along the top of her vagina requires that she alter her movement to a sliding motion. The difference is the man’s penis has no natural resistance to being pushed up while erect, while pushing it down takes force.
This is a dynamic which makes front-entry sex and rear-entry sex so different. Reverse cowgirl seems to appeal to the woman who likes rear-entry sex like doggy style, but also likes to be in control.
Girl on Top
Our next most popular is essentially both cowgirl and reverse-cowgirl, girl-on-top. For some couples, it doesn’t matter which direction you’re facing, the girl should be on top.
Some woman like to control the sex, and rather than communicate and hope the man knows what she’s looking for, she’d just rather take it how she wants it.
Another advantage to the woman being on top in the man’s hands are free instead being used to prop him up. The man can provide extra stimulation to the woman’s clitoris, or her breasts, or he can lock hands and allow her to use his grip as leverage to push down onto him harder.
If the woman is very limber, there is an interesting variation to girl on top that is often discussed, but rarely accomplished. The wingnut is when a woman is able to effortlessly spin herself from cowgirl to reverse-cowgirl and back while his penis is inside her, essentially spinning her vagina around the man’s penis.
I don’t know how pleasurable this is, but it certainly might be seen as a badge of honor for flexibility.
Spooning sex position
Spooning is a lot like doggy style, with the man entering the woman from behind, but this is a more gentle and intimate sex position. This position is named for two spoons and how they fit together when facing the same direction.
The woman lies on her side, with the man lying on his side facing her back. Normally, the woman will rest her head on his arm, while he uses his other arm to grab her hip for leverage.
Position is more intimate because the man’s mouth is positioned close to her ear to whisper things, or her neck and shoulders for kissing. Rather than doggy style where the man is generally vertical and far from her, the couple is often close. This style of sex is one that lends to slower, passionate sex than the impersonal thrusting of doggy style.
This isn’t one for deep penetration or loud screaming sex, but it’s a very nice one if you like to sleep this way, because once you finish you’re already in a comfortable position for sleeping.
Face Off Sex Position
Face off sex position is one that is growing in popularity, and is quickly becoming some couple’s top choice, the face off. This position involves a man sitting on the edge of the bed or in a chair, while the woman straddles his lap while facing him toward him.
She will generally bend her knees and put her feet underneath her hips while his penis is penetrating her from beneath. Face off offers a similar entry to a cowgirl, but because the man is sitting up he is far closer to her, which means kissing and eye contact.
This position permits a couple to have sex while sharing a passionate kiss or embrace, and everyone’s hands are free to roam and explore while they make love. This is a front entry position, so the woman should generally hold onto his shoulders and lean back for extra stimulation during orgasm, or even grab onto his hands and lean way back for a mind blowing experience.
As face off becomes more well-known, it is very likely to shoot up this list and begin to challenge some of the favorites for the crown.
Full Nelson Sex Position
Full Nelson begs the question, do people actually do this? The full nelson is certainly an advanced sex position, and is unrealistic to the majority of women who don’t spend a significant fraction of their lives practicing yoga.
This position begins similarly to the reverse cowgirl position, with the man sitting or lying on his back. The woman backs on to him, while he enters her in rear-entry. While his penis is inside her from behind, he grabs the back of her knees, pulling them toward her chest.
He then reaches his hands between her legs and wraps her fingers around the back of her neck. He then pulls on her neck as he’s having sex with her. Just the act of getting into this position would be impossible for most people, as most women aren’t able to bend that far, and certainly not for very long.
It does facilitate some deep penetration, so it’s not without advantages but this position doesn’t seem worth the potential for strained muscles and other injuries.
Stand and deliver
The final entry on our list is another fairly advanced one, but not as impractical or risky as the full nelson. The stand and deliver is a position that begins with both lovers in a standing position, with the woman’s back against a sturdy wall.
The woman wraps her legs around her lover’s hips with her back resting against the wall, and lowers her vagina onto his penis. She can support her weight by using her legs to wrap around him tightly as well as the wall and his shoulders. While he stands and supports them, she is free to bounce and rock on his penis.
Stand and deliver position is one that definitely facilitates deep penetration, as the man can rock his hips forward while the woman can push down onto him.
This one can certainly be fairly exhausting for the man because he’s supporting so much weight so it’s not going to mix with marathon sex sessions, but this is a great one to try when you’ve got some extra energy to burn.
Sometimes the best sex is worth the sore muscles and spending the next few days limping or walking funny.
