Missionary/Man-On-Top Position

The Missionary position was named after the 19th century Christian missionaries who believed that the man on top was the only natural and proper position for intercourse. This position is the most commonly used sex position for many reasons. It is a very intimate and romantic position with a loving and caring atmosphere, giving a more heightened sensual and emotional experience to both partners. Couples can see the expressions of their partner and know that the they are being satisfied. The Missionary position requires little suppleness or flexibility, allowing the couple to remain relatively relaxed and avoid fatigue.

Missionary is an ideal position for women who liked to let their partner have control, the man can control his depth of penetration while the woman can relax and enjoy the lovemaking. Being taken like this is highly exciting for some women particularly if the man is in control and makes everything happen. This position offers full-body contact allowing a couple to kiss each other all over and exposes the woman nipples so they can be sucked or caressed which arouses many women.

A relatively quick male orgasm can be achieved if desired. For a man who fears losing control of his ejaculation he can control his thrusting and speed delaying his orgasm and prolonging the lovemaking. A woman is able to either hasten or delay both her orgasm and that of her partner through voluntary, rhythmic flexing and relaxation of the pubococcygeus muscles surrounding her vagina.

This is a great position is great for couples trying to get pregnant because penetration is very deep, especially if the woman draws her thighs right back to her chest and holds her legs behind her knees. Doing this provides the best chance of sperm being deposited deep in the vagina at the neck of the womb. If the woman also stays laying down after sex with a pillow under her hips, the sperm has the best possible chance of entering her cervix.

How it works:

In the Missionary position the woman lies on her back while her partner is on top entering between her legs. If the man is not too heavy he can lie flat on his partner and grind on her pelvis bringing stimulation to her clitoris. The man has limited use on his hands in this position but the woman can use her hands freely to caress the man or stimulate her clitoris.

The depth of penetration can be changed in the Missionary by the woman drawing her legs up towards her chest at various heights; wrapping her legs around him resting on the back of his upper shins or thighs, around his buttocks or back, or over his shoulders. By altering the angle of her thighs to her tummy, the woman can change the degree of penetration and find the right angle to give her the best sensations while the man can stays in the same position. When positioned like this the man can stimulate the woman's cervix with the tip of his penis while the she can contract and relaxing her pelvic muscles bring sensations to the man which can be extremely exciting for him.

There are some variations that can be done with the Missionary position:

• the woman can raise her legs high straight up resting them on her partners shoulder, this is referred to as the the 'butterfly' sex position and allows very deep penetration.
  
  
• a nice teasing stimulation is for the man to kneel and raise his partners buttocks onto the lower part of his thigh and the woman crosses her ankles behind his back as he penetrates her.
  
  
• for the couple that enjoys deep thrusting during sex the woman can lay back over an edge of a bed with legs open while her partner leans forward penetrating her, resting most his weight on his arms.
  
  
• to stimulate some usually untouched parts of the woman's pelvic organs the woman should lie on her side and raise her leg up while her partner cuddles into the front of her body and penetrates her on a angle.
  
  
• by pulling one of the woman's leg back to her chest the man can penetrate her reaching her pelvis and stimulating her ovaries. This can be tender for some women so care should be taken.

Some disadvantages to The Missionary position can be:

• manual stimulation of clitoris can be quite hard for the partner
  
  
• the man having most control leaving the woman to be submissive is not enjoyable for some women
  
  
• this position can be bad for men with premature ejaculation as it sometime produces a quick male orgasm
  
  
• the weight of the man can be uncomfortable for the woman, to reduce this the man can support himself on his arms and knees which can become tiring for him
  
  

Variations of Missionary positions

The Plough

The G-spot Revolver

The Arch

CAT

Vertical Missionary

The Butterfly

Jumping Frog

Chain Lifts

The Cross

Back to the list of different positions

---