INTIMACY

Well it’s that time of year again – whether your lover is delighting you or making you miserable, it’s time to acknowledge your love for him/her. Valentine’s Day is all about lovers.

Whether you’re out there looking for a compatible mate, are dating someone new, or have been seeing your current partner for awhile, try these approaches to enliven and enrich the connection between you..   Tip #1: Personalize your Expressions of Attraction

Sometimes, even when we have great sexual chemistry with our partner, we may feel shy or awkward when it comes to connecting on a more intimate level. This is particularly true when we're feeling intense levels of attraction, desire or attachment. We may fear lack of reciprocity from our partner, or even worse, withdrawal and rejection. Or, we may simply lack trust in our ability to communicate in a way that will be received with genuine care and understanding. Well there's good news here, for there are a number of ways to gently and slowly open our hearts and encourage our partner to do the same.

How to express intimacy without silly things like password-sharing. Republicans and Democrats have a few peculiarities when it comes to dating. Does the G-Spot exist or not? What happens when your backup boyfriend dumps you? Why older ladies become ultra-close with other older ladies. Love is like being on drugs, serious drugs. The Catholic Church would prefer you paid for your own birth control, thankyouverymuch.

The thing is, relationships aren't tidy and our wants and needs change from moment to moment, year-in and year-out. So while you may not be willing to give or get what you want this time, keep in mind that Valentine's Day or not, true love is kind, patient and always respectful. We don't need a holiday to remember that! And responsible communication is the way we can show it 365 days a year!

Next time you run out the door, stop, face your mate, let your lip to lip kiss linger long enough to remember how much there is to appreciate in a sweet, three second moment.

December 31 may be all about the New Year’s kiss, but by New Year’s Day, most people are thinking about what comes after the kiss. This can be a good metaphor for our dating habits in general. The person we look to for instant passion, an immediate spark or even a New Year’s kiss is not always the same person we would be happy sharing our lives with long-term.

Many of us are looking to change something in our lives: Have less stress and anxiety, feel better, be happier, increase confidence, know our life path and more. Yoga and meditation are really fantastic tools to help us with these things and so much has been written on how and why they help. But if we really want to change our external world and not just our internal world, we need to take what we learn in our practice and bring it out into the world. The path to doing this is through a relationship.

The adage “It’s better to give than to receive” is applicable in more ways than one, especially when it comes to bedroom intimacy. Having a selfish significant other can be a bit of a problem when the selfishness becomes a habit. So how do you handle it? We interviewed relationship expert and psychosexual therapist Dr. Sara NasserZadeh on how to resolve. Click here to watch the video!

Hundreds of thousands, more than likely millions, of people have grown up being taught that sex is a sin. It is considered dirty and should only be done to produce new life, and even then it should be done quickly and with extreme secrecy. In some ancient societies, if a woman was raped within a town or village not only was her attacker stoned to death, but so was she!

The other day I was talking with a woman I know fairly well (let's call her Mary), and asked her what has kept her 25 year marriage going strong. Mary replied that she was a bit embarrassed to tell me this, but that she and her husband practice something they call night on-night off in which they have sex on the nights on, but not on the nights off.

It’s that time again – the trick-or-treaters swarming the streets, the leftover candy you take to the office so you don’t gain five pounds before the holidays even begin, and the piles of pumpkins at the grocery store. Fun? Yeah, maybe. Well let’s turn that around. It’s time to make Halloween all about adult playtime!

Lights on or off? Adult toy company Adam & Eve recently conducted a survey to find out. They asked 1,000 American adults (age 18 and up) how they like their lighting during sex.

We'd stopped being good to each other. We were no longer loving spouses. But by the time my husband suggested separating, I had reached an epiphany. Our marriage was worth saving, I'd decided, and I was willing to do anything it took.

Are you the big spoon or little spoon when sleeping with your partner? It's commonly assumed that women prefer being the little spoon because they want to feel safe and protected. But many say they also have a need to hug something while sleeping.

Has your sex life fizzled out? Do you want to restore the sexual intimacy in your relationship? Can you have a healthy marriage without it? 14 Things That Lead To A Sexless Marriage In this instructional sex video, YourTango expert and marriage educator, Sherry Amatenstein gives some tips on how to get back into the groove of sex. After a lengthy recess in the bedroom, it will be like your first time again!