Rethink the Missionary Position: Three Ways to Spice up a Classic

Our sex survey produced a lot of fascinating results, but one in particular stuck with us: the fact that 37% of women chose the missionary position as their favorite, yet only 12% say it brings them to orgasm. Hmmm...

So why do we love missionary? It’s probably not because we’re lazy. For many, it’s associated with “making love” and we’ll sacrifice an orgasm to feel connected with our partners. That’s nice and all, but who says we can’t have both: the intimacy and the amazing orgasms? Below are three ways to step up the sensations during missionary, without sacrificing the connectivity.

Missionary Makeover No. 1: Make like a C.A.T.
No, don’t get down on all fours (that’s another position entirely), but rather, try the Coital Alignment Technique. Basically, the man raises himself up so that he’s closer to a 90 degree angle from the woman. The most important thing is to have either the shaft of his penis or his pubic mound (the area right above his penis) against her clitoris.

“[It’s] the riding high idea. He’s coming out of her further so his pelvic bone is stroking her clitoris. He’s not thrusting as deep so it’s more of a rocking motion between the two of them, so her clitoris is being stimulated more consistently,” says Dr. Joy Davidson, sex therapist and creator of The Joy Spot.

However, she cautions that this method isn’t foolproof.

“It doesn’t work very well for people who like a lot of deep thrusting, especially women who are more responsive to pressure up near the cervix. It may be [better] using it at various points in the love making instead of something you do all the time,” Davidson says.