Relationships | Health & Wellness

Reflexology Tips for a Better Sex Life

reflexologytips 300x199 Reflexology Tips for a Better Sex Life As a reflexology and massage expert, people often ask me if there are “sex points” on their feet that can be stimulated to turn on their partner (or themselves). The answer is YES! One of the most important aspects of reflexology is that it provides you with an awareness of your body’s organs, muscles, structures, and systems. More than just a fabulous foot massage, it’s been used for centuries to stimulate organs, restore the body’s natural equilibrium and jump start it’s own healing ability. Reflexology is an easy-to-use, natural therapy that can be done by anyone, anywhere, anytime…and it can give your sex life the boost it needs.

For a better sex life, try touching the following areas on your partner’s body and on the corresponding reflexology areas on the feet:

Sexual Hot Spots

1. Brain: The brain is the largest sex organ in the body, so make sure to hit this hot spot. Run your fingers through your partner’s hair and massage the scalp to relax the mind and awaken the senses.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On both feet, rub the fleshy part of the big toe (behind the nail), to stimulate sensory receptors, improve circulation & even relieve/prevent headaches. It’s said that 90% if sex takes place in the mind, so get “sex on your mind.”

2. Ankles: The inside & outside of the ankles are sensitive spots with many nerve endings that correspond directly to the most important erogenous zones of the body.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: The Vagina and Penis and the Uterus and Prostate, the ultimate hot spots of the body, are located on the hollow areas just under the ankle bones on the inside of both feet. Pressing here is a direct energy channel to these responsive sexual organs. Start gently with slow thumb circles to unleash your partner’s hidden passion.

On the outside of both feet, located on the hollows just under the anklebones, are the reflex areas to the Ovaries and Testicles, sensitive areas that are vital for reproductive health. Press here to help PMS, fertility, strengthen libido and improve performance.

3. Breast/Chest: Relax your partner’s chest & stimulate the network of nerve endings in the breasts. Stimulating the nipples can significantly affect the genitals and get things going quickly. Tip: Smaller breasts are more sensitive while larger breasts can be stimulated more forcefully.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On the soles of both feet, located in the middle/upper part of the foot, lies the reflexology area that corresponds to the chest and breast. Massaging here can actually send waves of energy to the sensitive nipples and also penis and vagina as well.

4. Stomach: The stomach is one of the most sensual places to touch both men and women. The area between the pelvic bone and belly button encourages blood flow to the entire sexual region. Arouse and excite your partner by focusing here. Run your tongue from her bellybutton down to her infield. Along the way, massage her stomach and hips.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On the soles of both feet, press along the inner edge of the middle part of the foot. This can relax the stomach and improve the circulation in this area. A light touch here is very arousing.

5. The Back: Caress and gently massage your partner’s back, especially close to the spine, which is rich with nerve endings. Touching it, specifically the lower back, during intercourse will stimulate her even more.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On the soles of both feet, press along the inner edge of the feet from heel to toe. This can loosen your spine to improve circulation & blood flow to the sensitive nerves of the back. Pay special attention to the lower back, the area from the heel to the middle of the foot along the inner edge. This can awaken chakra energy and relieve/prevent backaches.

6. Ears: Your ears have as many sensitive reflexology areas as the hands and feet. Gently massaging them with your fingers and even licking or nibbling the earlobes can arouse your partner. In addition, as the mind is the largest sex organ in the body, setting the scene with music is an oft-overlooked step in getting the kitty to purr. Research shows that music can activate the same brain structures that are aroused during sex. So pay attention to the ears

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On the soles of both feet, press gently on the area at the base of the fourth and fifth toes. Press here to open passageways, stimulate the ears and hear your partner better.

7. Eyes: Delicately kiss her eyelids, forcing her to close her eyes and enjoy the sensation. Why stimulate the eyes? Because the thin skin of the eyelids is similar to that of the scrotum – both lack subcutaneous fat, pushing the nerves close to the surface. So, eyelids are as sensitive as balls, who knew?!

Corresponding Reflexology Area: On the soles of both feet, press gently on the area between the base of the second and middle toes. Stimulating here can improve eyesight.

8. Legs & Hips: Begin by gently kissing the backs of her knees, then follow by caressing and massaging the legs and hips. Every square inch of skin contains more than 1,000 nerve endings. So no inch of her should be ignored. And skin that rarely sees sun is extra-sensitive.

Corresponding Reflexology Area: Press along the outer edges of both feet, starting at the middle of the foot and moving down towards the heel. The front of the hips, inner thighs and just above the knee are sensitive erogenous areas for men and women. Massaging this area will get the blood flowing in these areas & loosen up the hips.

About the Author

Michelle Ebbinis the creator of Sexy Love Sox™ — one-size-fits-all, unisex socks, showing the actual reflexology areas to the body’s erogenous zones, that are guaranteed to boost sex drive, improve sexual performance and enhance intimacy in relationships.

Find out more and read more amazing tips from Michelle at MichelleEbbin.com

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Giveaway: Hands on Sexy Feet Kit

hands on sexy feet Giveaway: Hands on Sexy Feet Kit We told you about Michelle Ebbin’s Hands on Sexy Feet book and reflexology kit a few days ago. Now, we’re giving away one of the kits which come with a guide to awakening hidden pleasure points and a handy set of “Sexy Love Sox” — which give you a visual guide of where to massage your loved one’s feet to stimulate pressure points intended to deepen your intimate connection.

Want to win this sexy kit? Just enter below — leave a comment about your tips to a better sex life for your chance to win! We’ll also give you additional entries for Following Gloss on Twitter and Facebook. See below!

Do You Have Toxic Friends? 84% of Women Do!

toxic friends 300x200 Do You Have Toxic Friends? 84% of Women Do! Do you have a “poisonous pal”? According to a survey of more than 18,000 women by SELF.com and TODAY.com, 84% of women have at least one venomous friend who has brought toxicity into the relationship through belittling, backstabbing or judging. And, despite the negative feelings, 83% of us keep the friendship going because it’s too difficult to end it.

“More than 8 in 10 women say they have a toxic friend – a social vampire who sucks their time and joy – yet nobody admits to being a bad friend themselves,” said Julia Sommerfeld, senior editor for TODAY.com. “Unlike family, we get to choose our friends, so it’s a bit surprising that so many of us hang on to people that make us unhappy. Our results are a healthy reminder to surround yourself with friends who support and fortify you – and also, to look at your own behavior and make sure you are truly a friend worth keeping.”

So what makes a friend toxic? Here are the top five traits:

The “Narcissist” – 65 percent of people have endured an egomaniac pal.
The “Chronic Downer” – 59 percent of people have a friend that is overly needy and emotionally draining.
The “Critic” – 55 percent of people have become friends with someone that is overly critical.
The “Underminer” – 45 percent of people have a friend that delivers backhanded compliments.
The “Flake” – 37 percent of people have a friend who is reliably unreliable.

Tell us: do you have friends that could be considered toxic? Why do you keep the relationships going?

Gloss How-To: Find Fitness-Minded Friends

fitnessfriends 300x225 Gloss How To: Find Fitness Minded Friends I remember the days when finding friends was as easy as starting a new school year. Making real friends as an adult, however, isn’t quite as easy. Sure, we don’t have to worry so much about playground bullies, but finding people that share common interests can be downright awkward. If you’re an active person or someone who’s trying to forge new healthy habits, finding friends who are fitness-minded can be a great boost.

Healthy Tipping Point has some great tips for how to pick up friends at the gym. My favorite ideas from the article are paying attention to ear buds (if someone is listening to music, they’re probably not interested in chatting) and arriving for fitness classes early. I had a great gym once upon a time. (I’ve moved and I still miss that gym. Sob.) While I never made any friendships that extended beyond the gym, I met several women in my kickboxing class and we used to arrange times to meet at the gym and workout. Not only did it make the gym more enjoyable, it was an excellent motivator — there’s no way I could beg off my workout when there were friends waiting on me.

You can also forge fitness friendships by signing up for a team sport. After weekly practices and games, you’re bound to find some friendships that really last. If you’re ready to take the friendship off the field, ask some of your teammates to meet you for a jog or strength training outside of your typical practice sessions. And, let’s face it, I don’t know too many teams who aren’t willing to go out for a drink after a game.

If you’re new to fitness, you can also encourage a neighbor to join you on walks or bike rides. It’s a great way to bring your conversations out of the backyard and can give a new dimension to an existing relationship.

Gloss How-To: Make Sex a Priority

sex Gloss How To: Make Sex a Priority You work overtime, help the kids with their homework, drive to and from soccer practice, make dinner, pay bills, clean up…and you’re still supposed to make time for sex with your spouse? Keeping things spicy while keeping up with your responsibilities can seem difficult at times, but it just might be critical to the health of your marriage.

Jenny Block, author of Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage, says the key is to “keep your sex life at the top.” There are no set rules for how often you have to have sex or even what a healthy sex life means to you. But you need to communicate with your partner and decide what your basic sexual needs are. Then, those needs have to become a priority.

Too often, couples put their sex life to the bottom of the to-do list. When “take out the garbage” becomes more important than your sex life, it’s a sure sign things might be getting stale. A healthy sex life keeps you connected physically and emotionally with your partner.

The benefits of a healthy sex life extend well beyond your relationship as well. Sex is a great stress reliever, burns calories, boosts cardiovascular health and has even been linked to improved immunity.

How Often Do You Fantasize?

fantasy How Often Do You Fantasize? A little bit of fantasy is healthy for everyone. Even solid relationships have room for a little innocent fantasizing. But I have to admit I was shocked when I read an article about how often some men fantasize.

A contributor to Elle magazine who (shocker!) chose to write anonymously, wrote about what really goes on in his brain and the minds of his male friends. All of the men are in their thirties, happily married and some are fathers. One of the men confessed “My wife’s really smart. She’s got to have an idea how dominant sexual thoughts are in men, generally. But if she were to really think about how it’s constantly on my mind, she’d be very disappointed. She likes to think I’m more evolved than most men. But I’m not.” I’m not that man’s wife and even I’m a bit disappointed.

One man commented “There’s an evaluation of every woman that crosses my path.” Another revealed that he slows down to check out women as he’s driving and, alone in his car, he’ll say out loud “some really nasty comment you’d expect from a sexually repressed 80-year-old man.”

The author even went so far as to bring a clicker with him to public places to keep a tally and “quantify his urges.”

Sigh.

On one hand, it’s good to know that so many of us pass sexual muster with men. On the other hand, I’d rather my man only have eyes for me.

It’s a bit of a stereotype to think of men as lustfully checking out every woman. And it’s also a stereotype to assume women don’t do the same thing. After reading the Elle article, I tried to take notice of the number of men I spotted while running errands. Aware of what I was doing, I think I probably noticed more men than I typically would have. But my thoughts never strayed further than casually thinking a man was handsome.

How about you? Do you spot people in public and include them in your fantasies? As long as it doesn’t extend beyond monogamy, fantasy can be healthy — even fun! — in a relationship.

Hookups Can Turn Into Relationships

woman man sex Hookups Can Turn Into Relationships Throughout your life I’m sure you’ve had occasional make out sessions that didn’t necessarily turn into long term relationships. Let’s face it, we’ve all had our fair share of hook ups. Kissing is one thing, but common knowledge is that relationships that start out with sex normally don’t prosper much beyond a booty call.

While it may be true that the average relationship quality of those who wait to engage in sexual intercourse is higher, it may not be because of the sex at all. ”It’s possible for true love to emerge if things start off with a more ‘Sex and the City’ approach, when people spot each other across the room, become sexually involved and then build a relationship,” Sociologist Anthony Paik stated who studied an array of relationship surveys.

As long as both people are open to being in a serious relationship, it doesn’t really matter when they have sex. If you found yourself in between the sheets with your new man a little earlier than expected, don’t fret. You never know where it can still lead.

Gloss How-To: Find Out if You’re Settling for Someone

couplelaunging 300x199 Gloss How To: Find Out if Youre Settling for Someone Is he Mr. Right? Or is he just Mr. Here-Right-Now? Sometimes loneliness or a desire to just have that “plus one” to take to parties and weddings can make us overlook potential issues in our partners. But relationships are a big investment — not only of your time but of your emotions, too. To really find happiness with a partner, you can’t enter in to a relationship with low expectations.

What makes someone “right” for you is a bit difficult to define. In fact, the truly right person may come in a package you never expected. It’s important to keep an open mind when meeting new people and it’s also important not to write people off immediately. But, when you’ve been spending time with someone, there is a certain set of criteria they should meet.

Mira Kirshenbaum, a psychotherapist and the author of Is He Mr. Right? Everything You Need to Know Before You Commit, says a healthy relationship is based on five dimensions of chemistry:

- Physical chemistry or affection.

- Real intimacy or feeling “at home” with someone.

- The ability to have fun together.

- Trust and feeling secure with the other person.

- Mutual respect.

There are bound to be small annoyances and issues with your partner — and your partner is bound to have some small issues with you, too. Humans rarely fit together like puzzle pieces and that’s okay. But if you honestly assess your relationship and see that you’re falling short in one of the five areas, stop and think it over. Is it an area you can discuss and work through? Or is it an area where you just are never going to see eye to eye?

Deciding to let go of a relationship is never easy. But if you’re heart is set on Mr. Right, settling for Mr. Here-Right-Now will never be enough.