What Is Light Bondage?
Bondage is just one aspect of BDSM that many couples, curious to hardcore, enjoy. If you are just beginning to explore BDSM, and bondage is of interest, light bondage is recommended.
Some couples may not identify with BDSM but are looking for something to spice up their sex life. For these folks, light bondage can be the answer.
Light bondage refers to a gentler type of restraining than straight-up bondage entails. It may mean that the restraints themselves are household objects or clothing, not specific BDSM restraints, or that the restraints are not tied as tightly.
Light bondage may also refer to how serious the bondage scene plays out, that there is a more playful exploratory approach rather than domination of a submissive that involves punishment and/or humiliation.
Beginner BDSM couples will feel more secure starting out with light bondage play or gentle bondage scenes.
If watching bondage in porn or reading bondage erotica gets you hot and bothered, consider trying light bondage play with your lover… see where it takes you!
Read: Bondage Ideas: 10 Types of Bondage Play
Light Bondage Gear
Light bondage gear available at sex shops include fuzzy or furry soft cuffs for wrists or ankles. These types of cuffs are comfortable because they are not too tight and usually don’t need a key to get out of. You can also find silicone ring restraints that will hold, but are not tight on the skin.
BDSM beginners can also use silk scarves or ties for restraints. These provide a gentle bondage experience, as the tied partner can usually escape and there is little chance of chafing against the skin.
Another option for light bondage are under-the-mattress restraint systems that can transform your bedroom into an instant BDSM playground. Many set-ups come with faux-leather padded cuffs for wrists and ankles, for a gentler bondage experience.
Read: Bondage Restraints: 15 Types of Bondage Gear
I also recommend NO restraints for bondage newbies. Pretend bondage has one partner holding their ankles or wrists in a restraint position (behind the back, above their head, spread eagle) and keeping them there as though they were being restrained. This exercise gives the “restrained” lover full control until they are comfortable enough to actually be restrained.
Read: Bondage Stories and Confessions from Readers
6 Light Bondage Ideas
1. Add a Blindfold
It’s one thing to be tied up, but it’s quite another to not know what your lover is about to do to you. You have to feel safe and have a good degree of trust to add the blindfold to the mix. But if you do, the results can be very exhilarating.
Blindfolds add a layer of sensory deprivation that will have you guessing what comes next. Anticipation builds, and so too will levels of arousal.
Read: Blindfolds, Hoods and Masks, Oh My!
2. Play with Sensations
Sensations can be used to tease, tickle, and tantalize a restrained partner. Fingertips, feathers, and any textured instrument will send shivers up and down a lover’s body.
Experiment with temperature play using ice cubes, hot packs, popsicles, and wax.
Sensation play can include impact play—spanking, flogging, paddling—but should only be practiced with knowledge and safety measures in place.
Read: Sensation Play Tips, Tools, and Ideas
3. Combine with Role Play
Role play is great in combination with light bondage, as it can add a playful element that can make bondage newbies feel more at ease.
Create a scene that fits the dominant and submissive roles you identify with and let your imagination fly. Great roleplays for light bondage include doctor-patient, police-prisoner, horny housewife-plumber, and headmaster-student.
Read: BDSM and Bondage Roleplay Ideas and Scenarios
4. Add Sex Toys
The purpose of light bondage may be to pleasure your lover as much as possible while they are restrained. Start with some non-penetrative play with a vibrator, running it over their body, pausing on sensitive erogenous zones. You can then move on, penetrating your lover with dildos or butt plugs, even a strap-on.
Read: 5 Strap-On Sex Tips for Beginners
5. Experiment with Positions
Light bondage can be done in many different positions. Wrists can be tied together behind the back, behind or above the head, or they can be tied separately to head posts of a bed in spread eagle. The submissive can be on their back or stomach wherein ankles and wrists are hog tied all together.
You might think of renting a dungeon where you are using BDSM furniture with light bondage techniques until you are comfortable with the practice of full-on bondage. You can also take workshops and courses on bondage.
Read: Bondage Positions and Techniques to Try
6. Try Chair Bondage
Chair bondage is another position you can try when exploring BDSM. Depending on the type of chair used, shoulders, arms, wrists, torso, legs, and ankles can all be loosely restrained for bondage play.
With one partner tied to a chair, you can engage in role play, predicament bondage, sensory play, or degradation and humiliation practices.
Read: BDSM Predicament Bondage Basics and Ideas
5 Light Bondage Tips
1. Consent is Essential
Tying someone up without consent is illegal, so do make sure there is consent involved any time you engage in bondage, even light bondage.
2. Agree on a Safeword
Safewords and other BDSM protocols are used to ensure safety, physical and psychological. For light bondage, the safeword used may signal that all restraints must come off immediately. Choose a safeword and agree to its meaning before you begin to play.
Read: Safe Words: A Guide to Choosing and Using Them
3. Keep Checking In
Light bondage is one way to explore bondage safely, but it is also important to check in verbally with your partner. “Are you okay?” or “Do you feel comfortable?” or “Is this scarf too tight?” and “Do you want to keep going?” are all good questions to ask during bondage play.
Read: BDSM Limits and Boundaries to Discuss
4. Maintain Good Circulation
One of the biggest safety concerns of bondage is that restraints are too tight. Cutting off circulation can lead to injury, and even death, and is one reason why light bondage is used by BDSM beginners.
Restraints should be loose enough to fit two fingers between a restraint and skin. Also be wary of restraints that tighten with movement or inadvertently during play.
5. Never Leave Them Alone
While you may see this in BDSM movies or porn scenes, it’s not safe to leave anyone restrained alone.
The restrained person may move, causing a restraint to become too tight. Something may happen in their environment where they need to move quickly for the sake of safety. Or someone else may find them in a compromising position that affects both your lives.
Light bondage can provide a safe and fun entryway into the world of BDSM. Play smart. Play safe.
Tell us what you think