Yoga helps you connect to your body. So does having sex. You need to understand movement, breathing patterns and how to engage your muscles to learn what feels good and what doesn’t.
The two intersect so frequently, it’s hard to discern which is which—especially when it comes to their names. So, lets play a game of is it yoga or is it a sex move!
With the help of Jessica O’Reilly, sexologist and author of The New Sex Bible; Tanya Boulton, New York City yoga instructor and co-owner of tanya-b clothing; and Kathryn Budig, yoga teacher, author and Under Armour spokesperson, we’ve round up 10 positions. Think you can discern which belongs on the mat and which belongs in the bedroom?
First up: Praying Mantis
Praying Mantis
Type of Position: Sex
How to do it: This one requires some physical fitness…and flexibility. Start standing upright while your partner stands in front of you facing away (her back to your front). Next, have her bend over, so her hands are on the floor. Then, help her lift and wrap her legs (one at a time) around your waist so you can penetrate.
Next Up: Down Dog
Down Dog
Type of Position:Yoga
How to do it: Start in the tabletop position: on your hands and knees with your back flat. Align your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Then, spreading all 10 fingers wide, distribute your weight through your palms and knuckles. Exhale as you curl your toes under, lifting your heels slightly off the floor, and bring your pelvis toward the ceiling, making an “A” shape with your body. Keep your feet at hip-width distance, hold, then exhale again as you bend your knees and come back to the tabletop position.
Next Up: The Spider
The Spider
Type of Position: Yoga
How to do it: Lay down on your back with your arms at your side. Lift your hips up toward the ceiling (as if a string is pulling them), and tuck your tailbone under. Engage your inner thighs, fronts and backs of your legs. Hold, then slowly bring your back to the floor.
Next Up: The Stand
The Stand
Type of Position: Sex
How to do it: Have your partner lie on her back with her palms facedown on the ground. Using her hands, have her push her weight against the floor to bring her legs up so her toes point toward the ceiling. Then, in one swift motion, have her bring her hands to support her lower back; only her shoulders and elbows should be touching the floor, supporting her weight. Next, kneel on one knee beside her and slide inside of her.
Next Up: Wild Thing
Wild Thing
Type of position: Yoga
How to do it: Start in plank position on your hands. Put majority of your weight onto your left hand and roll onto the outer edge of your left foot while you lift your right hand and foot off the ground (into a side plank position). Place your right foot over your left leg like a hurdle and spin your chest and pelvis to the sky as you reach your top arm overhead. Hold for 10 breaths, then return to start position and repeat on the other side.
Next Up: Plow
Plow
Type of Position: Yoga
How to do it: Start on your back. Swing your legs up into the air and overhead, bringing your toes to the ground behind you. Bend your elbows (so they’re against the floor) and support your mid-back with your hands.
Next Up: The Snake
The Snake
Type of Position: Sex
How to do it: Your partner lies flat on her stomach and you enter from behind. It’s called The Snake because you rock, grind and slither in rhythm like a pair of snakes. If she prefers, she can press up with her hands to lift her upper body off the ground just like the Cobra yoga position.
Next Up: Legs-Up-The-Wall
Legs-Up-The-Wall
Type of Position: Yoga
How to do it: Sit sideways next to a wall. Then, in one smooth movement, swing your legs up against the wall and your back onto the ground. Keep your legs together, bend your elbows like cactus arms resting on the ground, and close your eyes. You can also add support to your lower back by placing two thickly folded blankets beneath your bum.
Next Up: Heart Open
Heart Open
Type of Position: Sex
How to do it: She lies on her back with her legs up in the air. Then, she stretches them apart as far as possible using her hands to hold her ankles in place. He enters from below.
Next Up: Linked Dogs
Linked Dogs
Type of Position: Sex
How to do it: Both partners kneel on the bed facing one another (very close). She bends her right leg so that her right foot is flat against the mattress (at a ninety degree angle) and you bend your left leg, lifting it over her left leg, sliding inside.
