Sensory deprivation can make any sensation on the skin feel more intense.
Good sex is a lot about sensations: the smell of your partner, the taste of his tongue, the sensation of their fingers on your skin, the sound of his voice and, of course, the appearance of his appealing body. But add a blindfold and become more attentive to the other senses: you can lie down, relax and enjoy the wonderful things you can hear, smell, touch and taste.
For some, that is enough. But other fetishists like to push this even further: they engage in what is called sensory deprivation play, an activity that involves the restriction of one or more senses. Eyes are easy to restrict; so are the ears, either with earplugs or with headphones that emit a neutral sound. It is hard to remove the smell, but you can block other smells with a leather mask, for example. You cannot eliminate the sense of taste either, but you can use a gag so that the receiving person cannot talk. For the sense of touch, many like to tie the hands tight with duct tape or put them in special gloves.
Sensory deprivation helps you disconnect
If you have ever been in a sensory deprivation tank, you will have an idea of what it is all about. If you haven't tried it yet, think of it as a form of relaxation: when you remove stimuli that come from the outside world, it is easier to release yourself from anxiety, stress and automatic reactions. Many spas are equipped with sensory deprivation tanks, or "floating tanks", with water at body temperature.
Sensory deprivation facilitates access to your inner world: your thoughts, feelings and imagination. Some people enjoy its meditative appearance because they cannot use outside senses to distract you.
A path to the power play
Many fetishists enjoy the meditative state that comes along with the play of sensory deprivation. However, the power play is involved: the submissives to whom the senses have been restricted become very dependent on their Dominator for any activity: moving and arranging things becomes difficult without being guided by eyes and hands. Without ears, even knowing where your partner is at one time or another, becomes a challenge.
When we are deprived of our senses we become very vulnerable, which strengthens the bond of trust between partners. Being "at their absolute mercy", erotic feelings are enhanced, especially when sensory deprivation is doubled by bondage. Dominant people can easily position the submissives for comfort (or not), for sexual activity, for impact play, or simply for their viewing pleasure.
An acquaintance told me:
"The last time I participated in the play of sensory deprivation, I ended up on all fours in my living room with my partner's feet on my back. I still had my ears free, so I could listen to the TV show he watched while he was using me as a foot chair. I was blindfolded, with a gag and hands clenched in my fist, fixed with duct tape.
After a few minutes, my mind started to float. I have lost track of time and space. I focused on my breathing, on the strength of my abdominal muscles to support my partner's legs and on what I felt in my legs and arms. I could have stayed like this for hours, curiously observing how my body reacted to this task of endurance, watching my thoughts go through my mind.
I arrived at this state only in my best moments of Zen meditation, after an hour of staying immobile on a pillow"...
How to start sensory deprivation play
If you want to try sensory restriction, I encourage you to start slowly with a single restriction at first; blindfold is the one that usually is used to begin. Next time, you can add a gag or earplugs. Earplugs are different; some let some sounds reach the wearer, while others block almost any sound. To have the hands restricted, it is a very difficult step for some people more than for others.
As some people have a hard time restricting their senses, so it is good to start easy. Always choose a safety signal: if you have a gag so that your partner can hear you and release you if something is wrong. For example, three shakes of the head or tapping with a fist work well.
Talk to your partner about his and your limits to make sure you are on the same page. And if you or your partner doesn’t like sensory deprivation, don't worry. There are a lot of other fetish things to try!