Staying Fit
Ever gone on a fruitless search for the body’s erogenous zones? It might be time to venture beyond the usual go-to spots.
Think of it as a game of “sexploration.” And hopefully the destination will introduce you to an entirely new happy place.
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“So many people don’t know the full playground of their own body,” says Tameca Harris-Jackson, a sex educator with the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and a certified sex therapist. “Many go straight for the obvious.” Her advice? Get creative and play with the body in new ways.
Here are nine body parts to pay attention to when getting your groove on.
The brain.
This might not be the sexiest part of the body to think about, but Harris-Jackson calls it the most important when what you’re after is a satisfying intimate experience. It’s also the place where you want to start.
“When we invite someone into our intimate space, what we start doing first is connecting with each other mentally — feeling comfortable, feeling safe,” she says. That happens by way of communication.
Once our brains are OK with connecting intimately, Harris-Jackson says, then we can get to touch.
Vulva.
With women, Harris-Jackson suggests starting with the vulva, that fleshy area where the pubic hair grows, touching, caressing and kissing the outer and inner lips of the vaginal opening before proceeding to what she calls “the prize”: the clitoris.
“It’s a very sensual way to help the body open up and help the person become much more receptive to having the highly charged clitoris massaged," adds Harris-Jackson, who is based in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
The clitoris.
This body part — or what one can see of it — looks like a small button, but beneath the skin on either side of the vaginal opening is a complex structure housing roughly — get this — 8,000 sensory nerve endings that affect over 50,000 nerves across the body when stimulated.
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