“Yes, I was infatuated with you: I am still. No one has ever heightened such a keen capacity of physical sensation in me.”
-Sylvia Plath
Definition
Sensation play is comprised of activities that simply give physical sensations to your partner. This can be done by inhibiting other sensations or just by causing sensations through touch and sound. The idea is to allow your partner to really feel their body and what is happening to it. It can be pleasure inducing or pain inducing. It can involve withholding and confusing the senses, such as alternating between spanking and feather touch.
Sexuality of Sensation
In our modern world, many people complain about not getting enough out of their sexual experiences, about lackluster orgasms, low libido, or impotence. Sensation play is a sexual experience that is not just about sex. The entire point is to get you more connected to your body and really feel what is happening inside your own skin. Emotionally it is also a great tool for intimacy building, as one partner is focusing their energy on another partner entirely. The effects tend to be physically arousing, so even if the original intention was not to have sex it can often lead to sex, and really good sex for that matter, since the person who received the sensation play has become more connected to their body and more emotionally connected to their partner.
Safety
Typically there are no special safety precautions when it comes to most sensation play. If the play involves more pain stimulus then you need to be cautious of abrasions, scratches, swelling, and any other injuries. It is a good idea to keep a first aid kit around. For either the pleasure or pain side of sensation play it is a good idea to have a safe word. A safe word is a word that when said stops all activity immediately and without question. Remember that even pleasurable sensations can be physically or emotionally overwhelming, so a safe word is a good idea.