Of Positions and Pleasure: Previously Incognito (II)

Part Two

Dear readers, welcome back for the second chapter of our guide to positions of pleasure, fondly derived from pre-modern wisdom.

In Part One, we shared three interesting positions from the “Ananga Ranga,” a lesser known classic when compared with the “Karma Sutra.”

Our journey for collective insight takes us to another continent of the world, to a place some call the cradle of civilisation, and how “The Perfumed Garden,” a text from North Africa, can provide you with ideas for pleasure.

“The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight”, its full title, and somewhat inspired by the Indian manuals that were published three centuries ago, was written by Sheikh Nefzawi as an exotic 15th Century manual for the therapy of better lovemaking. This text, with its poetically charged language, offers a splendor of positions that aim at suitably enhance lovemaking for the man and woman alike.

“The Perfumed Garden” has eleven main postures for lovemaking, and these postures are named from the “First Posture” to the “Eleventh Posture.”

Exotic Postures of the Perfumed Garden: Our Choices

The Sixth Posture

This is one posture that a lot of us would certainly be familiar with, given its infamy and its relation with a particular animal. We expected our coverage of this posture to be met with plenty of giggles and laughter, and it is in good nature that we wanted to feature this posture, as we realised that ancient writers like Nefzawi had already discovered them, and they are certainly not recent media creations. More importantly, Nefzawi’s basis for this posture leaves us with much to think about and appreciate.

In this posture, the man enters the woman from a kneeling position, and the woman supports herself with her arms and legs, while facing away from the man, and allowing his member to slip in gently from behind. This posture gives the man the opportunity for romance, as he can engage his woman with caresses and kisses on parts of her body that he can reach.

To Nefzawi, and to many modern day anthropologists, this posture is surprisingly appealing to couples, and their justification is that a woman’s buttocks exhibit intense signals of her sexuality, and this makes the posture trickle with a tinge of much needed bedroom primacy.

The Seventh Posture

To allow for this posture to occur, the woman needs to be lying on her side while the man lifts one of her legs to his shoulders. It is advised that the man be kneeling to ensure comfort in this posture.

This posture represents the flexibility and adaptability of lovemaking, an activity that should not be bound by just those few common positions and postures. In addition, this posture allows for visual and verbal communication, as the woman and the man can appreciate each others’ expressions of pleasure, warmth and love.

The Tenth Posture

There is no better way to end our coverage on “The Perfumed Garden” then to bring in a high octane posture. Like the Embrace of Inversion, the Tenth Posture too puts the woman in charge. We advise that this posture be tried out on a bed where there is a headboard or stable bed frame where the woman can grab on to.

To begin, the woman lies on the bed, relaxed, with her legs parted. The man then kneels and inserts his member, and puts on hand on the headboard or bed frame. The woman raises her legs and squeezes them tightly on the man’s hips. While also grabbing on to the headboard or bed frame, the woman initiates the movement and controls the pushing and pulling with her legs that are nicely clinging on to the man’s waist.

This is a position that can work up a little sweat for the couple, as it requires coordination and effort in the pushing and pulling movements. Nevertheless, it remains one of our more exciting recommendations.

And there you have it, we’re shared a total of six positions and postures for you couples to explore and enrich your lovemaking. We hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage, and do let us know if you have any topics that you would like us to share about.