What is the meaning of breathplay? Breathplay, also known as breath control, refers to playing with the breath in BDSM. It is about restricting the dominant person’s breathing and controlling it. People who have this fetish enjoy having their breathing restricted or exercising control over it. This game creates a special feeling of euphoria and anxiety due to the lack of oxygen.
Why do we practise breathplay?
The technical term for this fetish is asphyxiophilia. It describes the fetish for breath control for sexual arousal. This term is mainly used in psychological circles and in a legal context. In the past, it was often regarded as a sign of a psychological disorder in the area of sado-masochism. For the dominant person, the appeal of breathplay lies mainly in the control over another person’s breathing and life. This creates a sense of trust and control. For the person with restricted breathing, there are many physical stimuli. Breathing control causes a lack of oxygen in the brain, which leads to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. This can lead to the release of adrenaline and endorphins, known as happiness hormones, in some people. This creates an intoxicated state in which you feel euphoric, disinhibited and insensitive to pain.
Physical reactions such as dizziness, a rushing of blood in the ears and an increased body temperature can also occur. These sensations can be additionally arousing in combination with sexual activity. After the end of the breathing reduction, you may experience aching, crying and coughing. Many people also find this feeling of release appealing. In addition to the physical aspects, the strong feeling of power also plays an important role in breathplay.
However, this type of play can also cause strong feelings of dependence and even anxiety or fear. Being submissive is a particularly intense form of submission and accordingly creates a strong bond with the dominant person, usually a dom. This bond can become even more intense if both partners breathe in and out deeply together after or during the breathplay. Breathing together can also help you to wind down again after the session. The association with breathing freely together is very strongly anchored.
Safety during breathplay: what to look out for
There are important aspects of breathplay that you should be aware of. It is a practice that should not be practised without sufficient experience and prior knowledge. It is not just edge play, but a game with your own life. Inappropriate or poorly executed breathplay can lead to injuries and long-term damage.
It is fundamentally important never to perform breath reduction alone or on yourself. Autoerotic asphyxia, i.e. breathplay on its own, leads to many injuries and even deaths every year. Never experiment with breathplay on yourself, as the risks are too high without proper supervision. If you want to explore breathplay with another person, attending workshops on the topic is highly recommended. BDSM seminars and martial arts seminars, like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), provide valuable, safe techniques. It’s crucial to understand the medical risks and be aware of your partner’s physical condition. Always have the emergency number ready before a breathplay session.
It is obvious that breathplay is dangerous. Apart from possible emergencies, there are many other things to consider:
- Consent: Discuss consent and boundaries before engaging in breathplay.
- Dangers and techniques: Choose a technique that you feel safe and comfortable with. Discuss expectations and establish a maximum duration.
- Communication: Establish clear hand signals for communication, as the mouth may be covered during breathplay. Be open to adapting techniques and positions.
- Safety: Establish a safeword and non-verbal safety gesture. Discuss aftercare.
- Emergency preparedness: Keep a telephone nearby for emergency calls. If unconsciousness occurs, place the person in the recovery position and check for breathing. If the person doesn’t regain consciousness within two minutes, call emergency services immediately.
Safety mechanisms for the Breathplay
Safety is a challenging issue with breathplay. Nevertheless, there are ways to make this type of play safer. In addition to the preparations mentioned above, it is essential to have a safeword. However, breathplay requires a non-verbal safeword, also known as a safe sign:
- Tapping or tapping, as it is known from sports: light strokes with the hand or legs against the body of the controlling person to recognise the gesture.
- An object that can make noises and is dropped or pressed when needed: A biscuit, dog toy or similar. These can be pressed or shaken. The squeaky duck is particularly suitable as it can simply be squeezed and then released when it runs out of air. It therefore does not need to be actively moved.
- Make body contact or stretch out part of the body: If body contact is lost or a part of the body, often an outstretched arm, drops, this signals a stop. This method can be particularly functional when a wrestling grip is applied from behind.
Different forms of breathplay
There are various ways to practise breath control. Breath control means not only preventing breathing, but also making it more difficult to breathe. For example, kinging, i.e. dominant oral sex, can be used. Nose and mouth squeezing, either with the hands or with the thighs or chest, is also common. Leather or latex gloves can also be used for this purpose.
Breath control without additional equipment
However, there are other ways to control breathing than you might first think. For example, breathing together in many forms of meditation and tantra creates a connection between people. Breath control can also be done as a command, without physical influence. This could mean that the dominant person forbids the submissive person to breathe or determines that they only breathe together, either particularly deep and long breaths or short breaths. There is also the possibility that the dominant person holds their breath and the submissive person has to imitate this.
There are also other variations in combination with other types of play. For example, a vibrator can be held against the genitals for as long as the air is held. Another scenario would be to place a candle in front of the submissive’s face and a punishment follows when it is “exhaled”. There are people who like to feel the dominant person’s breath. For example, the dominant person can breathe directly into the other person’s mouth so that only stale air is inhaled. Some doms fill their breathing air into balloons and let the submissive person breathe through the balloon. This is a form of play that is often combined with the smoking fetish, the preference for smoking.
Breathplay with suitable equipment
Wearing very tight clothing is suitable for restricting breathing. Corsets are very popular for this, as is wrapping the upper body with fabric, rope or film. This reduces freedom of movement and the volume of inhalation to the space provided by the material used. Neckbands or neck corsets can also make breathing more difficult.
Closing or covering the mouth with bondage ropes or adhesive tape is also popular. There are also inflatable gags that close the mouth completely. When using gags or ballgags, however, it is important to pay attention to the saliva. Some people are unable to swallow in the open-mouth position or tend to choke quickly.
Choking
One of the best-known forms of breathplay is writhing. Feeling another person’s hand on your neck can be arousing for many and express dominance. However, there are many wrong approaches to this method. The neck harbours many risks as it is where the carotid arteries, trachea and spine run, all sensitive organs. Contrary to what you see in many films, you should never simply apply strong pressure to the front of the neck when “safely” weighing. This is where the air tube is located, which should never be able to withstand strong pressure. You should also never use your own body weight to increase the pressure when a person is lying on their back and being cradled. The risk of causing major damage if you lose your balance is simply too high.
A basic distinction is made between air and blood chokes, i.e. the squeezing of the airways or pressure on the carotid arteries and the vagus nerve. Regardless of whether this exercise is performed by hand, with a belt, scarf or rope: It is extremely dangerous. In practice, there are often mixed forms, which sometimes makes it difficult to assess the exact consequences.
Air flume / air choke
When air choking, pressure is exerted on the trachea, i.e. the windpipe. This consists of cartilage tissue and ligaments and is therefore very sensitive. The larynx is also located here and can be crushed or injured. A crushed trachea can be life-threatening and a crushed or broken larynx may require a tracheotomy. However, the procedure often shown in films is complex and difficult to perform in reality. Therefore, this type of weighing should be avoided. Even slight pressure can cause symptoms that can last for several days, such as a raspy voice, hoarseness, coughing or difficulty swallowing.
Blood choke / Bloodchoke
Bloodchoke involves applying pressure to the sides of the neck where the carotid arteries and vagus nerve are located. The pressure on these areas triggers the carotid sinus reflex. This leads to a feeling of lack of air, dizziness and light-headedness, and even fainting. However, it is crucial that the carotid arteries are never fully occluded, as even a few seconds of lack of blood supply to the brain can potentially cause permanent damage.
Techniques such as the rear naked choke (an arm around the neck from behind), the guillotine (similar to a “headlock”) and the triangle choke (the head of the strangled person between the arm of the strangled person and a leg or arm) are somewhat safer than hand strangulation. Nevertheless, it is important to familiarise yourself thoroughly with the correct technique and its application.
Extreme forms of breathplay?
Breathplay can be practised in different ways and some of them are very extreme. These forms require special equipment and are definitely not suitable for beginners. The practices mentioned here should only be carried out with thorough instruction and appropriate safety precautions.
Plastic or film
The image of a plastic sheet over the head is also familiar from film and television. Plastic covering the face, mouth and nose can quickly close the airways. The visual, haptic, psychological and physical impression is intense. If some air is released, one or two shallow breaths may be possible. However, plastic is incredibly dangerous as it cannot be controlled. It is often difficult to estimate how much air is actually left. Processes such as taping or wrapping the doors and reopening them can take a long time. During this time, the person involved may faint and vomit into the tissues, which can be extremely dangerous. The same applies to foil wrapped around the head or mouth and nose. Without restraint, the person can at least tear the bag and let air in themselves in an emergency.
Masks
Latex or gas masks are very popular with fetishists, for whom the look, feel and material of the masks are important in addition to the ability to control breathing. These masks restrict or block the air supply by covering hoses or openings. Many of these masks often also provide a feeling of sensory deprivation, such as loss of hearing or sight. With masks with tubes, the attraction is that a few last breaths can be taken through the tube before you have to breathe more and more shallowly until it is finally no longer possible. In contrast to other methods, the motor function of the mouth and nose is also restricted, so that facial expressions and gestures are often no longer clearly recognisable. In such cases, it is particularly important to agree on non-verbal safewords.
Waterboarding
Waterboarding doesn’t just exist in the James Bond film, but is also a very common practice in BDSM. There are various ways to carry out waterboarding – for example, by immersing a person or their head in a basin or bucket of water. Covering the mouth with a damp cloth alone makes breathing considerably more difficult. This is often exacerbated by pouring water over it, which completely prevents breathing. Another option is to direct a continuous stream of water at the airways. But be careful! Waterboarding is very dangerous and can lead to panic attacks and long-lasting trauma. Water in the lungs is life-threatening. It is not for nothing that waterboarding is known as a method of torture and should therefore not be approached naively or recklessly.
Powerlessness games
There are people who seek the thrill of being played to the point of fainting. These are extremely risky edgeplay scenarios that must be carried out with caution and care. Fainting, even if it is short-lived, is a protective reaction of the body to survive. If someone faints, it means that their life is in acute danger.
Legal perspective
Unfortunately, such dangerous practices in BDSM can lead to conflicts with German legislation. If breathplay leads to permanent damage or death in the worst case, this practice is considered immoral in law. Even if both sides are in favour of this form of play, this does not always absolve the performer of all responsibility. This applies in particular to extreme forms of breathplay. It is therefore essential to be fully informed in this area and to act under safe conditions.
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