Rope Podcast

As is now the tradition at Christmas time, Fox and Mya revisit all the interviews on the Rope Podcast during the year and ask their guests what their favorite rope scene was. Discover how they do rope in their personal life, what touches them, and what stays with them. Merry Christmas!

“My main motivation is to improve the literature. People need to know what we do is okay…. hearing all the ways people experience pleasure in rope, whether it’s athletic, or meditation, or grounding, or that complicated pain-pleasure, I just love that.” @-Ropeology- Fox and Mya love to deepen their understanding of rope. When they came across Zoey (@-Ropeology-), a BDSM researcher who also does rope, they knew they wanted to talk to her. Zoey is keen for rope and BDSM to be understood better by those who do academic research on it, and in this interview, Fox and Mya talk to her about her findings, particularly around rope bondage practice and community, and the sociology of rope, as well as getting to know more about Zoey’s personal rope journey. In the episode, discover: ◦ Zoey’s personal rope practice as a switch ◦ What the current academic literature says about rope ◦ How rope sub-culture is experienced and how people feel about rope ◦ Zoey’s research on community and how rope connects people beyond their local physical city and country ◦ How Fetlife is used by the rope community versus other platforms like Instagram ◦ How members of the rope community often go through a change cycle in their experience of rope ◦ The pros and cons of practicing rope in public community spaces versus private spaces ◦ The way that people talk about the “complicated pleasure of rope” ◦ Her ideas on future research

In this vulnerable episode, Fox and Mya discuss the challenge of chronic pain in rope, inspired by a listener - a rope bottom with fibromyalgia. Both Mya and Fox have some chronic health issues which include the symptom of chronic pain, and they share some of their own challenges as a rope top and rope bottom in this context, as well as some ideas for handling this. In the episode hear them discuss: * The challenge of trying to understand where pain is coming from when in rope * Spoon Theory and how it relates to rope * How chronic pain might impact you as a rope top or rope bottom * How chronic pain impacts your body image * How the dichotomy of ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ pain might not be helpful, and a better question to ask * Practical things to help you do rope when you are handling chronic pain * How the constraints of chronic pain can support creativity * Scene negotiation when you have chronic pain * And a lot more!

“I can’t emphasise enough how good of a learning tool I think self-suspension is. Of course you learn tying techniques, but also skills relating to the experience of being in rope. As a person in rope, self-suspension is an invaluable tool: to lab your preferences, to learn to differentiate between warning signs of damage and sensations that are intense, but not harmful.” Shay Tiziano CW: Mentions self-harm, domestic abuse. Shay is the author of Tying and Flying: Bondage for Self-suspension, BDSM and sexuality educator, medical professional and host and facilitator of many kink events. One of our most-asked for interviews, Mya and Fox are also big fans of her online performances and classes, and were thrilled when Shay agreed to come on the podcast. Though the podcast focuses on self-suspension, as Mya and Fox will attest, there’s plenty of useful ideas for ropes bottoms and tops too In the episode, discover: - How Shay got into self-suspending initially - The role of intention in self-suspending and how it makes a difference to your practice - Flow, self-suspension and different feeling states it can create - How Shay works self-tying into partnered play - The skills self-suspenders might need before going in the air - How to mitigate the risks of self-suspension, especially some that are less well-known - What can rope tops and bottoms learn from self-suspending? - Why she thinks a spotter is critical for self-suspenders, and great practical tips to help spotters - Circus rope - what is it, and how the BDSM scene needs to embrace it more

The 30Q Rope Challenge was created last year to gather and explore a diversity of people in the rope community’s experiences with rope. So many thanks to everyone who completed it so far! This is the second part of a two-episode special Fox and Mya discuss (without sharing any details from any individual respondents) themes and the most popular answers to questions that included: * Rope in the mouth - hot or not? * Favourite music during rope? * Which do you like more: how rope looks or how rope feels? * Do you like rope marks /burns / bruises? * Favourite body part to tie/be tied? * Dyed rope or natural color? If dyed, what color(s)? * Biggest influence in rope? The podcast hosts loved these episodes, and exploring the answers of their wonderful listeners and rope community. There were plenty of surprises - check out the episode at the links below now to listen!

The 30Q Rope Challenge was created last year to gather and explore a diversity of people in the rope community’s experiences with rope. In this, the first part of a two-episode special on the results, Fox and Mya discuss (at an aggregate level, with no one’s experiences shared apart from their own!) themes and what the most popular answers were from the community to questions such as : * What was your first rope experience? * Weirdest rope experience? * Favourite tie? * Sexual or non sexual rope? Why/ when? * Favourite suspension orientation? * Favourite kink to mix with rope? * Indoors or outdoor rope? * Do you like pain with your rope? * What do you like to wear for rope? * Scariest moment in rope?

Fox and Mya both have their own ‘rope user manual’ - a document they share with potential rope partners to share key information about the rope they each do. This episode talks about the concept of a rope user manual, and in it, the Rope Podcast hosts discuss: * Why you might have a rope user manual, and what purpose it can serve * The kind of topics you might address with it * What a rope manual can and can’t do * Their own manuals and what they do - and don’t - include and why * The different purpose and intent of their personal rope manuals * What they’ve seen others include in rope user manuals

Fox and Mya discuss the Ebi position in this episode, and how it can be used. Fox enjoys this tie a lot, while Mya more ’suffers through it’ - which Fox feels is perfect! In the episode hear them discuss (along with a bit of silliness today!): * What it looks like * What to watch out for in terms of safety and risk * Why and when to use the Ebi * How the Ebi builds suffering in Semenawa in different ways, and how to intensify this * Suspending the Ebi versus using it on the floor * How we’ve used an Ebi in scenes

“There are a lot of different variations in terms of human anatomy. Certain nerve pathways are quite set…and a lot of the anatomical studies show the variation in the nerve pathways is very small. But other nerves have large variations, therefore you can’t really tell where, because in 80% of the population the nerve pathway will be in this area +/- 1cm, but then in the other 20% you can have 7 different variations in the same nerve pathways.” WoodenTiger Wooden Tiger is a polyamorous, pansexual relationship anarchist who dabbles in ‘correctional sadism’ using rope bondage, along with a host of other kinks including pressure points, rough body play, knife play and firecupping. He draws on knowledge from experiences teaching physiology and anatomy at collage level, many years of martial arts and his training and practice as a registered acupuncturist. In addition, Tiger is one of the facilitators of Friction Live. Fox and Mya have enjoyed his classes on at @FrictionLive, and wanted to explore the brand of sadism he pairs with rope: In the episode, discover: - The similarities between Hojojutsu as practiced as a modern day martial art and within Shibari - What is ‘Correctional Sadism’ and what techniques does it include - Why he doesn’t let the bottom in this kind of scene go into subspace - How listeners can improve their understanding body mechanics to make their rope better - How he negotiates and then decides on what kinks to pair with rope - The kind of feedback he likes in a scene - How to get started with pressure point play safely - And finally - some of Tiger’s favourite pressure points to use with rope so you can get started!

Not many of us live in a world where we get to do rope all day, so in this episode Fox and Mya discuss: How do we manage rope in our daily lives? In the episode they explore some of the ‘real world’ obstacles that can get in the way of doing rope, and consider ways to work around these so you can fit rope into your life in whatever the way you want it. In the episode they consider challenges such as: * The space you have available to do rope * Money and the costs that can be associated with rope * Health issues and how to manage these * Kids and romantic partners * Family and friends * Finding a rope partners * Time and how to fit rope into your busy life