Whether alone or with a partner, edging is a means of prolonging the pinnacle of pleasure. While slow masturbation or general teasing may only focus on the journey itself, edging is about recognising the destination and staying as close to it as possible without reaching it.
As with all aspects of sexuality, communication is key. With a partner, it’s about communicating what helps you get close to climax and how close you are to it. The better you understand your body and how close you can get without going over the edge, the better you’ll be at communicating with a partner on how to do it to you and when to stop to hold it back.
When edging alone, it’s about understanding your body and learning the sensations of when you are right on the brink. The better you get at reading your body, the better you’ll get at preventing your orgasm. At first, it may be simply how much you need to slow down to prevent climax, then it may be discovering how close you can get before it overcomes you, and then how short of a rest between bringing yourself to the brink again. Over time, you’ll get better at prolonging the edging experience, culminating in even more intense masturbation sessions and orgasms.
A question posed on PleasureTorture.com frequently asked questions: “How do I edge Myself?”
Edging and orgasm denial is all about control, so practice will always be the best way to build that level of control. The first aspect of masturbation is about engaging the mind and imagination. Focus on the things that turn you on the most, those deepest fantasies, while you just explore yourself without touching those most sensitive places. Focus on teasing those areas until you cannot wait to touch them. This way, you’ll not only find yourself ready to focus so much more on your body but also find yourself so much more in tune with your sensuality.
Masturbation is all about exploring what pleasures you the most, so don’t focus so much on orgasm itself. Instead, simply let your fingers fulfil the desires of your imagination for as long as possible. Whether it takes 10 minutes or 1 hour, the point is about enjoying every moment of your play and every inch of your body in this state.
Once you feel that pleasure begin to crescendo, that’s when you need to control yourself and stop yourself from climaxing – holding yourself from tipping over that ‘edge’. To do this, either slow the stimulation down or stop touching entirely.
It will take a lot of practice to keep yourself on the frustrating side of orgasm and not going over, but the more you hold off, the more intense that orgasm will be. Though like anything exciting, the practice is part of the fun. By slowing down when you feel it rising or simply taking little breaks between strokes of yourself, you can prolong the sensations. Try setting a timer for yourself (for example, 10 minutes) where you will hold back your orgasm until the time is up by slowing down as you reach that pinnacle and holding yourself on it for a few seconds, then stopping. Once you feel the orgasm receding, do it again right away.
Once the time is up, you can let yourself orgasm. Now you’re ready to build upon it. If you managed to last the full 10 minutes, as an example, then next time, try 15 minutes. Failing to hit the target can be part of the fun, being as the forfeit is an orgasm (if you want to punish yourself for failing, maybe you could abstain from masturbation for a few days or longer than usual).
For those who may edge but always ensure it ends with an orgasm, you could use the ‘Orgasm Roulette‘ link repeatedly until you are given the instruction to climax.
Whereas those practicing more long-term denial would click the ‘Orgasm Roulette‘ link once, follow the instruction and then wait until the next day to try again in the hopes that release will be granted.
Edging or orgasm denial?
Whether there’s a big difference between the two terms depends on the length of denial. Some may need to always end their play/masturbation session with an orgasm, while others may enjoy abstaining from orgasm entirely for a day or longer. The length of time and circumstances always depend on the individual’s liking. As with all aspects of sexuality, you must base it on what feels right for you. Some people may be able to edge for hours and hours, but if you feel discomfort when you edge that isn’t simply sexual need/frustration, then absolutely allow yourself to climax to relieve that.
When it comes to health issues, there aren’t any concerns with edging or orgasm denial other than simply your own level of comfort and likings. It’s just about adapting your play to your own body. What can be an area to be cautious of is excessive masturbation. This isn’t specific to edging, but edging could cause for an increase in the amount of masturbation, which could lead to issues such as desensitisation (whether from toys or manual stimulation). This can cause for increased difficulty in things such maintaining erection or reaching climax (or becoming over-reliant on vibrators, meaning other forms of stimulation become less effective).
Overall, edging should enrich your sexual life; if it starts to take away from it, then it’s time to back off a little in how often or how long you engage in it.
Below are a couple of links to articles further detailing the world of edging:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/vbjb5j/what-is-edging-better-orgasms-sex
