so you’re into erotic chocking?
Hi, i’m velvet, i’m a somatic sexologist with experience in bdsm.
The intention of this post is not to yuck your yum but to remind you that with any kink activity, it is important to follow the principles of rack: risk aware consensual kink and prick: personal responsibility and informed consensual kink.
Breath play or erotic asphyxiation more broadly involves controlling or restricting a person's ability to breathe.
Erotic "Choking" may involve different things:
Air restriction: pressure on the airway itself
Blood restriction: pressure on the vessels that supply the brain
They are done differently. the feel different. They carry different risks. And people often don't know which one they're doing which is a problem. the body doesn't forgive guesswork when airflow or blood circulation are involved.
When blood circulation or airflow to the brain is interrupted:
The brain is starved of oxygen, even briefly
Unconsciousness can happen in seconds, often without warning
Pressure on the neck can trigger dangerous heart rhythm changes
Injuries to blood vessels can cause strokes, sometimes hours or days later
Oxygen deprivation can cause cumulative harm over time, even when everything seemed "fine in the moment"
Death or permanent brain injury are real risks and possible outcomes.
Stroke, memory loss, cognitive changes, cardiac arrest. Some of it may show up immediately. Some of it may show up days later, or accumulates unsuspected over years before becoming more serious.
There is NO way to do this safely.
Tt is Not safe even if you're careful. It is Not safe even with a safeword.
This is one of the highest risk activities in kink. there is no foolproof method to do it.if you choose to engage with it, either administering or receiving, it is paramont that you understand the risks involved first.
Being risk-aware is not the same as being risk-free.
What experienced practitioners actually do is mitigate risks: reduce it. this does not eliminate the risks.
And meaningful risk mitigation isn't something you learn from a carousel, a TikTok video, porn or a partner who "has done it loads of times."
It comes from training, in-depth, hands-on education from people who deeply understand breath play, the anatomy and the risk of this activity.
Consent has to be informed to be consent.
If you don't understand the risks in depth, you cannot meaningfully consent to this. And you cannot hold someone else's consent responsibly either.
"I trust you" is not informed consent. "I've seen it in porn" is not informed consent. "I've done it many times without any issue" is not informed consent.
So what should you do if you want to do it?
Seek out training by professionals and experienced practitioners.
Learn from educators with years of experience teaching this specifically
Learn from multiple practitioners, one perspective is never enough
Ask educators about their background, their approach, and what they don't know
Kink education exists. Use it.
Seeking appropriate education does not mean you will be able to practice it safely. remember there is no way to practice choking safely.
What it will equip you with is information that should help you make informed decisions about whether this is something you want to engage with and if so,how to mitigate (not eliminate) the risks.
Your desires are important. so are your brain, your health and your life 🖤
Look after all of them.
