The swan. The lotus. The monkey. Double kangaroo scissor kick. Someone spent way too long in the kiddy section of the zoo.

Very few people remember these names when heading for the bedroom. The majority of people would burst into giggles if asked to do the tortoise. Nevertheless, what each name represents is important to consider as we learn to pleasure our partner/partners. Every funky name is a different sex position.

I want to stress at the very beginning that no one position is THE ONE position for all people. Some people enjoy lying on their backs most often. Some prefer standing; others like it best with their head between their partner’s thighs. It’s all a preference and one that can and sometimes should change from time to time, sex act to sex act, minute by heavy breathing minute.

This guide is meant to serve as a quick overview and general foundation of basic positions that can be greatly varied and enhanced to create the thousands of other positions that almost any person can enjoy.

Let us begin with the position that is usually credited as the most common and arguably the earliest practiced the missionary position.

Though often seen as boring and commonplace, this position has a lot of great benefits. Done either anally or vaginally, this arrangement has two partners facing each other with one partner on top of the other. It offers great eye contact, potential clitoral stimulation (if the thrusting of the partner on top is done in a rocking motion) and a large degree of control and movement for the partner who is on top. Both partners can engage in kissing and licking as well as some limited exploration of each other’s bodies with their hands and sex toys.

The next basic position is spooning. This arrangement calls for two people to lie next to each other on their sides, with one partner’s back facing the other’s front. This allows for the partner in back — the inserter — to encircle/spoon the person in front while in anal or vaginal sex. In this position, both partners can move rather freely depending on the hold the inserter has on the receiver, and both can also use their hands and/or toys to stimulate the genitalia of the receiver.

Sitting arrangements are also basic foundations of sex positions. This can be accomplished with one partner sitting in the lap of the other sitting partner or with one partner lying down as the other partner sits across their genitalia — a move usually referred to as the cowgirl position. In these positions there is a lot more movement and freedom in caressing different body parts. There is also greater control for both partners, with the partner on top having more say in speed and angle.

Moving more vertically, there are the kneeling positions. Generally known as doggy style, one partner is on their hands and knees while the other partner kneels or stands directly behind the receiver as they engage in vaginal or anal sex. This position offers greater leverage for the inserter as well as more freedom of movement to increase speed and force of thrusting. It also allows easy access to chest, anus, vulva, penis, feet and/or sex toy.

The most upright position is standing. Both partners can stand on different levels of furniture, simply side by side or with one partner held up by the other partner. Based on the variation of movement and body type, genital contact will also vary.

Let’s not forget oral positions. Whether one partner orally stimulates the other partner on the anus, vulva or penis, or both partners do so simultaneously — termed 69 — these positions add another level, texture and intensity to sex acts.

All of these positions can be enhanced and changed. Whether the partner on top sits up on their partner in the missionary position, turns to face the other partner in the spooning position, pivots in the sitting positions or is turned upside down in the standing positions, all of these variations can change depth, angle, pressure, blood flow and overall pleasure. Adding different furniture or multiple partners can also excite these positions.

Not all positions will increase pleasure or lead to orgasms. What is important to remember, as pointed out in one of Mary Kouba’s earlier columns, is to focus on what pleases us and our partner or partners. Simply because a sitting position doesn’t give us a screaming orgasm doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be thrown into the mix. Variety and a different order can add more spice and adventure to our sex life.

Follow Goldilocks’ advice when trying a new position, especially for the more complicated ones. The first time we are likely to be focused on getting into the position, and it may feel uncomfortable as we adjust our bodies. The second time we are likely to laugh at how absurd we look. The third time our bodies will be able to find the position more quickly and we can begin to focus on the way that our bodies feel, to see if the position fits just right.

Please keep in mind when changing positions and partners that for every hole and partner changed so must the condom or sex dam. Adding more lube between positions can also help enhance the acts as fluids are decreased. Just remember: NO oil around latex condoms or dams.

There are names galore for different positions of the body during sex. What we should remember as we contort ourselves into our favorite pose is that adding a new position can create new sensations and feelings that may not have been discovered yet. So try out the tortoise — you may like it.

Nicolette Pawlowski is a Sex Out Loud facilitator and a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in educational policy studies. If you would like to see your burning sexual question answered in a Hump Day column, e-mail any questions to [email protected]