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Everyone knows the Kama Sutra is ancient India’s racy sex manual. The very title conjures up titillating visions of smiling maharajas cavorting with bejeweled naked nymphs.

But few Americans have ever read it—not even the “good parts,” the sexual positions that made the book famous. Meanwhile, the major English translation is a travesty. It dates from 1883 and was published just once in the U.S., in 1962. Its author, English army officer Richard Burton, tortured the text to shoehorn it into Victorian views about sexuality, notably the that only men experience sexual desire and pleasure, and that women are simply passive receptacles for men’s lust. The real Kama Sutra expresses much different—and more contemporary—attitudes.

Happily, in 2009, some 1700 years after the book first appeared, Oxford University Press published a little noticed translation by Wendy Doniger, a professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, and Sudhir Kakar, an …

1. The Kama Sutra isn’t a ‘sex manual’. Or at least, it’s not just that. In fact, only around 20% of the Kama Sutra concerns sexual positions – one section of the seven that make up the whole book. The section that does concern sexual positions discusses the use of nails (fingernails, presumably) in the bedroom, biting, moaning, and much else. One passage denounces oral sex as immoral, before going on to give detailed instructions as to how to perform it! Those wanting a more ‘full-on’ Indian sex manual might try the Ananga Ranga, composed in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. You know, if that’s your sort of thing.

2. The other six sections give advice on a whole host of subjects. The rest of the Kama Sutra concerns such things as: correct conduct, the acquisition of useful knowledge, how to get yourself a wife, how to make money, …

You’ve probably heard of the Kama Sutra before. (Perhaps circa 1999 while watchingAmerican Pie?) But this ancient Indian bible of sex positions offers way more than just a list of freaky moves to try. 

Here’s what you need to know about the mother of all sexual manuals.

“Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian textbook used to practice tantra, which means sacred sexuality in Sanskrit,” says Kama Sutra expert Markie Twist, Ph.D., associate professor in the human development, family studies, and marriage and family therapy at the University of Wisconsin, Stout.

Tantra follows two paths of training: Vama Marga (or the left-hand path), which is all about those acrobatic sex positions that would make your mom blush, and Dakshina-Marga (the right-hand path), which is about your energy, emotions, and the non-physical side of sex. So while the Kama Sutra book certainly has some explicit sex descriptions in there, …

You’ve probably heard of the Kama Sutra, the ancient Hindu text that’s basically an A to Z of sex positions. But you probably assumed that it’s full of awkward and ridiculously acrobatic positions that only the most limber among us would ever try.

Well, that assumption is incorrect, my friend. There’s a reason why the Kama Sutra has been a go-to sex position guide for thousands of years: it’s full of practical, actionable tips for couples who want to try something beyond missionary. Yes, some of them are a tad tougher than others, but it’s all about the attitude you bring to it.

“If you really want to try a certain position, you’re going to need a positive and excited energy that will make it fun and pleasurable for your partner, no matter what the angle,” says Laura Berman, Ph.D., a sex educator and sex therapist.

We asked experts for …

Kama Sutra positions all sound a bit gymnastic and exhausting, don’t they? Like Glastonbury, bongs and the captain of the rugby team, they’re the sort of thing you do in your uni days purely to say you have. But there are actually some real gems in there, and they don’t require you to have Olympic flexibility or aligned chakras to enjoy.

Clasping position

If you want to impress your partner with knowledge of the ancient sexual art but can only muster enthusiasm for the missionary, this one’s for you. More of a lovemaking move than a pie-eyed f*** position, this allows you to have full-body contact, and affords lots of kissing and eye contact. Read more: Sex positions for lazy men (that she’ll actually enjoy)

Lie your partner down, open her legs and simply enter. Apply some gentle rocking movement, and ease her legs slightly wider. It’s a good one …