Bondage is a lot of fun whether you’re the dom or the sub. With so many different kinds of ropes, restraints and bondage toys, the only limit is your imagination. However, bondage also takes some skill and consideration to do properly. There are rules that you need to follow to make sure that your bondage play is both enjoyable and safe. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the Dos and Don’ts of bondage.

Do

• Establish a Safe Word
  While we long to hear our sub moan, “it hurts, it hurts” (or to say so ourselves!), you can easily put someone into an unenjoyable or truly painful position, start doing something that they don’t like or accidentally hurt them. When that happens, having a safe word that can be called out to immediately stop the action is a must.
• Use Comfortable Restraints
  Nice silk ropes, padded cuffs, and soft gags aren’t just fancy pieces of equipment; they’re important if you want to avoid serious rope burns, chafing, and other injuries. Rope you’d use on a sail boat has no place in the bedroom!
• Lube Up
  Sometimes you just can’t get as wet as you’d like on your own, especially during a particularly long session. Also, if you’re going to be enjoying any anal play, remember that it doesn’t lubricate itself! Pick the right lube before you get started.
• Discuss Before and After
  Before you start a session, talk about what you want to do or have done to you! It’ll get you excited and aroused and spark your creativity, too! Afterwards, you should talk about what you really liked during the scene, what could’ve gone better and what you didn’t like.

Don’t

• Surprise Your Partner
  If there’s something that you really want to do but your partner has not expressed any interest in it—even if it’s just because you haven’t talked about it—don’t go ahead and do it in the middle of a session. If they don’t like it, that can kill the mood, and you might even hurt your partner.
• Make Your Partner Uncomfortable
  Take care of your partner’s physical and emotional well being. Using comfortable restraints as discussed above is an important part. Stay aware and sensitive. Knowing the basics of tying a knot will get you far!
• Tie Your Partner Awkwardly
  In general, you should avoid tying up your partner across certain lines unless you really know what you’re doing. Tying wrists to ankles, for instance, is a big no-no. That’s uncomfortable and an easy way to cause a sprain.

Take these basic instructions to heart, and I can assure you that you’ll be having satisfying, kinky sex on the regular. The gist of the whole thing is simple: bondage is a game of trust and openness. Once you get that going, everything else will flow naturally!