If you have been exposed to popular culture at all over the last ten years, as soon as you think of the Kama Sutra, Sting is probably the next thing to enter your head. Not always a pretty combination! Fortunately the Kama Sutra is much more ancient than The Police's front man, and has quite a few interesting ideas to offer in the bedroom. And you don’t need to be an acrobat to enjoy them! Today we are taking a quick look at the Kama Sutra and what it has to offer the modern couple.

What is the Kama Sutra?
The Kama Sutra is the title of an ancient Indian text compiled by Vatsyayana. It is a compilation of different sexual positions that help couples best enjoy each other. It's main teachings come under the categories of:

• Preparing for a lovemaking session
• Foreplay for sex
• Different positions for actual penetration to take place in
• Afterplay - enjoying the relaxed time after sex with your partner

Surveys show that around one in three people has used the positions from the Kama Sutra and enjoyed them!

While many people think of the Kama Sutra as an illustrated driver's guide to the sexual organs, it was actually originally text based, and illustrations were not added until afterwards. In reality, even the descriptions of the sexual positions are only a small part of the original manual

You have probably already tried it!
Just about anything other than the missionary position is probably described in the Kama Sutra. The Kama Sutra also describes fellatio and cunnilingus, as well as more relationship-oriented advice such as how to maintain a marriage, prepare yourself to be sexually attractive, and even how to arrange relations between your many wives and your courtesans! Not all relevant to today … but mostly so.

Can anybody use the Kama Sutra?
As we mentioned earlier, you have probably already tried several of the positions or acts described in the Kama Sutra. Of course, flexibility is required for some of the more exotic positions, and not everybody will have this degree of physical fitness. That's fine! Concentrate on the less taxing parts of the text and pictures, such as:

• Advice on how to stimulate desire
• Different types of kisses and caresses
• Some ideas about gentle biting, scratching and slapping
• Oral sex
• The penetration positions that you can manage
• Improving your physical attractiveness

If you are feeling adventurous about positions, just get into them slowly and don't let all that increased blood flow tempt you into damaging yourself!

How do I Start?
Ideally, the first thing to do will be to get a copy of the translated text as well as the illustrations that have been added later. There are plenty of Western books that detail the positions as well as providing commentary … commentary that is a little more relevant to modern life than how to make sure that your seventeen wives interact well with your courtesans ;-). The Kama Sutra is an ancient text that shows us how to enjoy something even more ancient and primal - the sexual instinct.