There's a gift you can give your partner that'll blow both your minds, bring you closer as a couple, possibly give you a glimpse of spiritual enlightenment — and won't cost you a penny. At least, that's according to the authors of these guides to tantric sex, an ancient sexual discipline inspired by Buddhist philosophy.

Tantric sex comes in a variety of forms — it often comes up in discussions of the Kama Sutra sex positions — but as a general rule, it is a much longer, slower, more conscious and more spiritual version of your average do-the-deed encounter.

Tantric sex involves aspects of meditation, yoga, and mindfulness and often requires a great deal of restraint — all in the service of elevating sex to an exercise of the soul as well as the body.

If you're interested in introducing more spiritual sex to your bedroom, here are three essential books that can show you how OMG amazing tantric sex can be.

1. Introduction To Tantra — Buddhism in the bedroom

Lama Thubten Yeshe's authoritative text explains the spiritual foundation of tantric practice, making complex Buddhist theories on desire, purity, and happiness accessible and inviting. He provides a history of the practice, including its links to Kama Sutra, which has its beginnings some 2,500 years ago and explains the ways in which tantra is seen as both a transformation of human desire and a direct route to enlightenment.

"Through the proper practice of tantra," he writes, "all of our energies ... are harnessed to accomplish the greatest of all transformations. This is our evolution from an ordinary, limited, and deluded person ... into a fully evolved, totally conscious being of unlimited compassion and insight."

2. 28 Days To Ecstasy For Couples — a basic primer 

If you're new to the spiritual path or you're just looking to try something different in the bedroom, 28 Days To Ecstasy For Couples by Pala Copeland and Al Link lays out a beginner’s course to mastering tantric techniques. Taking into account the realities of daily life, the authors boil down the practice — which is infamously time-consuming — to four weeks’ worth of 20-minute sessions. The exercises retain the spirit of tantric practice while aiming to cultivate greater intimacy and consciousness in the bedroom.

They’re also probably best paired with the regular shebang, as it were — otherwise on Day 13 you’ll have to call it quits after a round of soft breathing and whispered endearments.

3. Urban Tantra — for the Fifty Shades lovers

Maybe you'll spring for the heavier stuff. Sex expert Barbara Carrellas' Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century is a street-smart, hard-edged take on the practice "for modern sexual explorers desiring to push past their edge in search of the great cosmic orgasm."

Introductory chapters teach readers to breathe properly, identify their chakras and cultivate resistance — an essential component to successful tantric practice. She devotes later chapters to "solo tantra" and expert orgasms (such as "the fire breath" or "the clench and hold"), as well massage techniques. Wannabe Anastasias will be pleased to find a section on tantric BDSM.

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