Amazing foreplay equals out-of-this-world sex. If you’re on the hunt for ways to level up your and your partner’s intimacy, you may want to look at your pre-sex ritual. Is it a bit formulaic and rushed? Foreplay is key to better sex, and sometimes it can begin before you even hit the bedroom (or the living room, or the kitchen … the world is your oyster). Check out our foreplay tips to spice up your next sexual experience, feel more connected to your partner’s body, and revel in more satisfying sex.

1. Slow Down

Most of us move more quickly than we realize when we’re excited and/or nervous.

My advice? Whatever your inclination may be regarding speed — cut it in half. One of the best strategies to ensure you’re not hasty in any sexual encounter, involves slowing your breathing. Take a moment to consciously inhale as slowly and deeply as possible before releasing an exaggerated exhale. You’ll likely feel more calm, present and connected even with one purposeful breath.

2. Use the Backs of Your Hands

Many people complain that their partners are too rough and don’t approach sex with enough sensuality.

Some people don’t know how to describe exactly what they want when it comes to sensual touch, so here's a tip to add to your repertoire of foreplay ideas. Consider suggesting to your partner that they only use the backs of their hands to touch you for the first minute or two in your favorite erogenous zone for stimulation. Their touch will likely lighten and slow down as they experience the texture, shape, and temperature of your skin against the sensitive backs of their fingers for sensual foreplay.

3. Use Your Breath

Your breath is one of the most underused tools in your pleasure arsenal.

For this steamy foreplay idea, lick your lips and breathe warm air over your partner's skin or genitals with a soft open mouth. Take your foreplay game to the next level and purse your lips and exhale very gently to create an arousing, cooling sensation. Lick your way down the sides of their body in a long snake pattern and then breathe over the wet path you’ve created with your tongue. You can use this foreplay technique anywhere on their body or focus on these often-overlooked erogenous zones.

4. Play With Lube

Astroglide’s O lube, an organic oil-based formula, can be perfect for a sensual massage designed to simultaneously relax and excite the senses.

Apply a few drops of massage oil lube to the palms of your hands as you sweep them slowly across your partner’s body in opposite directions for an erotic massage. As their breathing slows and deepens, work your way down between their legs and massage their inner thigh with figure-eight, oval and pitter-patter strokes to skyrocket the sexual tension around their hottest spots.

5. Make Sure Foreplay Begins Outside of the Bedroom

You are not a sexy light switch.

You can’t switch from talking about your in-laws, bathing the kids or discussing your dog's adorable habits to tearing one another's clothes off. (If you can, then you're the exception, congrats)! Rather than trying to shift from roommates or co-parents to lovers as soon as you hit the sheets, try to eroticize your daily interactions to spice up your sex life:

• Flirt with your eyes, fingertips, tone, and words.
• Keep first-world complaints (traffic, weather, bad customer service) to a minimum.
• Greet each other with enthusiasm and warmth even if you’re not in the best of moods.
• Hold your hugs for an extra ten seconds.
• Compliment each other freely.
• Send sexy or playful texts that remind your partner that you want them. A little dirty talk never hurts.

6. Build Anticipation

Anticipation is often the hottest part of sex.

Just like planning a vacation, the preparation (booking the hotel, shopping for swimwear and scouting the top attractions) can be just as exciting and satisfying as the getaway itself. Research suggests that dopamine (one chemical associated with pleasure) spikes even more significantly when you’re anticipating sexual stimulation and pleasure than when you actually experience it. So instead of heading straight to their hottest spots or pulling out your money-moves as soon as you hit the sheets, make a conscious effort to resist and tease them into a frenzy with these additional foreplay tips:

• Breathe over their nipples, and kiss or roll your tongue around the sides of the chest without sucking them into your mouth for sexual arousal.
• Tease your lips over theirs gently without diving in for the kiss or for other kinds of oral play.
• Blindfold them and turn on your favorite vibrating sex toy so they can hear the sounds but make them wait for the physical sensations.

Some scientists believe that as we anticipate sex, our bodies become better prepared for the physical experience because of classical conditioning, so you may find that staving off pleasure makes it all the more intense.

Our Last Piece of Advice

Have fun! Make your sexual activity active, accessorize, and titillate each other’s hypersensitive nerve endings for a great foreplay session and even better sexual pleasure when you finally get down to the main event.