Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships
Poppy Bilderbeck
A sex and intimacy coach is helping couples reignite their sex life with a method known as 'pinballing'.
From people realizing there's actually more than just one way for a woman to orgasm - shocker - to the 'Karezza' sex trend, the year of the snake has really got many shedding off their typical sex habits and being inspired to try something new.
And if you've found yourself simply 'riding the escalator', as sex and intimacy coach Hannah Johnson says, then fear not, because another method is here.
Johnson, also known as 'The Libido Fairy,' spoke out against the 'escalator' practice as a habit which could be silently ruining your sex life without you even noticing.
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Instead, she suggests the 'pinball method'.
"What on Earth?!" I hear you cry. Well, strap in - not in that way - and prepare to enter the year of the fire horse reigniting the flames in the bedroom.
Before scurrying online to find a knock-off pinball machine, it's important to note the pinball method is not literal.
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Instead, Johnson explains 'playing pinball' with your partner stresses the importance of bouncing around all the different forms of intimacy, rather than settling on one particular act or simply repeating the same sexual routine over, and over, and over again.
Johnson shared on social media that 'playing pinball' includes 'non-linear experiences, exploring without a goal and focusing on pleasure' which 'creates intimacy worth wanting'.
Unsure where to start? Well, how about 'play wrestling, oral, kissing, massage, role play, eye gazing, using a toy, tickling, or dirty talk'?
And if the idea of going so freestyle in the bedroom stresses you out, Johnson advises creating a 'sex menu' of things you and your sexual partner both like or want to try to give you both some direction.
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"Pinball naturally decentres penetration and puts pleasure back at the center," she told Metro. "It reduces pressure and expectation for performance or for things to go perfectly, and keeps you in the moment instead of zoning out on autopilot."
But how do you know if your relationship could do with a bit of pinballing and whether or not you've just been 'riding the escalator'?
For starters, you don't need to go out sourcing an escalator in your local shopping mall to get frisky on, the phrase is, yet again, very much metaphorical.
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When you're on an escalator, many typically zone out, the machine simply a vehicle taking you from point A to point B, with the rider not giving too much thought to how its mechanisms actually work or the experience of it - unless you've been hibernating most of winter and suddenly feel all nervous using one that is.
And Johnson's coining of the phrase draws parallels between that experience and some people's complacency in their relationship, particularly when it comes to sex.
The expert said: "The escalator prioritizes penetration and completion of a script over genuine connection and creativity in the bedroom."
Essentially, it's a model of sex which views penetration as 'the main event' with hands, toys and oral activities falling by the wayside slightly, which results in, typically women, feeling less fulfilled.
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So how about hopping off that escalator and trying the lift? A helicopter? Or even just the good old fashioned stairs, eh? And, of course, don't forget your newly discovered 'pinball' machine.