The Best Masturbation Positions for Masturbation May
May is Masturbation Month – and before we get into positions, tips, and techniques, I want to invite you to reflect on something:
When was the last time you actually enjoyed masturbating? Like, really savored it. Stayed curious. Tried something different. Treated your body like it was worth slowing down for?
For most people, solo sex has become a bit of a routine. Same position, same rhythm, same result - functional, sure, but not exactly expansive. That makes sense. Nobody teaches us how to masturbate well. We figure it out quickly, quietly, and then just... keep doing that thing forever.
But here's what I know from working with people on their pleasure: your body is capable of so much more than your go-to move allows. The position you masturbate in affects everything – blood flow, muscle engagement, nerve stimulation, the quality of sensation, even the kind of orgasm you have. These aren't small differences. They're the difference between going through the motions and actually arriving in your body.
So this May, I want to invite you to approach self-pleasure as genuine exploration. Not a task to complete. Not a box to tick. But a real, unhurried opportunity to learn something new about what feels good for you.
Is Masturbation Healthy? (And Why You Should Switch It Up)
Yesss, and not just physically. Masturbation is one of the most underrated forms of body literacy we have. When you slow down and actually pay attention during solo self-pleasure, you start to learn things about yourself that no partner ever could: what kind of touch you respond to, what pressure and rhythm feel best, what you've been craving without knowing how to ask for it.
Research consistently links regular masturbation to reduced stress, better sleep, improved mood, and a stronger relationship with your own body. It also builds sexual confidence that carries directly into partnered sex. The better you know yourself, the more clearly you can communicate your needs, and the more pleasure becomes available to you.
Switching up your positions takes this even further. Different positions change the angle of stimulation, engage different muscle groups, and activate nerve endings you might not be reaching with your usual approach. If you've ever felt like you can only masturbate in one position, that's actually a sign that your body has untapped potential waiting to be explored - and how exciting is that?
Why Masturbation Positions Matter More Than You Think
It's really hard to have a pleasurable masturbation session if you're not in the right head-body space, or if your body is tense and disconnected. Before we get into specific positions, there's something more fundamental worth saying: take a deep breath, arrive in your body, and actually create the conditions for pleasure rather than rushing toward an outcome (reaching an orgasm).
Beyond mindset, position matters because of simple physics. The angle at which you stimulate yourself changes, and which nerve endings are activated. Prone positions (lying on your stomach) create pressure and friction that feels completely different from lying on your back. Seated positions give you more control and precision. Standing engages your core and can intensify sensation. These aren't minor differences; they can be the difference between a mediocre experience and a genuinely surprising one.
Best Masturbation Positions to Try
The Classic: On Your Back (Best for Easy Access)
The most common starting point for a reason – lying on your back gives you full access to your entire body, easy use of both hands, and the ability to completely relax into sensation without holding yourself up. Most of us start here. Most of us also stay here, doing the same thing every time, wondering why it feels a bit flat.
To get more from this position, slow down significantly. Use one hand to explore other erogenous zones while the other does the work. Try relaxing your jaw – this actually releases tension in the pelvic floor and allows for more blood flow and sensation to the genitals. And instead of defaulting to the same motion, actually explore. Different pressure, different speed, different strokes. Your body responds differently on different days. Give yourself permission to find out how.
Prone Position (Best for Grinding)
Lying on your stomach is one of the most underexplored masturbation positions, and honestly, one of my favorites to recommend to people who feel overstimulated by direct touch. In this position, you can grind against your hand, a pillow, a toy, or a surface – creating full-body pressure and friction rather than localized stimulation.
The pressure here is more diffuse, more spreading, and it engages the glutes and inner thighs in a way that heightens overall arousal rather than zeroing in on one spot. If you tend to rush through masturbation, prone naturally slows you down. The body just doesn't let you grip and go in the same way. That's actually the point.
Seated and Leaning Forward (Best for Control and Precision)
Sitting upright – either in a chair or cross-legged on a bed – and leaning slightly forward changes the angle of stimulation in ways that can feel completely new even if you've been masturbating for years. This position works particularly well with toys or vibrators, because you can control exactly how and where stimulation lands with a level of precision that lying down doesn't allow.
Leaning forward engages the core and creates a slight pelvic tilt that intensifies sensation for many people. It also keeps you alert and present in a way that horizontal positions sometimes don't. If you notice your mind wandering during solo sex, try sitting up. The uprightness alone can bring you back into your body.
Standing (Best for Shower Play)
Standing – particularly in the shower or bath – is genuinely underrated, and I think it's because we don't associate standing with pleasure. But the combination of warm water, standing tension, and complete privacy creates a different sensory environment than anything you'll find lying in bed.
Standing engages the leg muscles and core, which for many people heightens overall arousal and contributes to more intense orgasms. The shower also removes any cleanup anxiety, which, for a lot of people, quietly gets in the way of fully letting go. Waterproof vibrators work beautifully here, or simply let the water pressure do its thing. This is also a great option if you find it easier to stay present in your body when you're upright rather than horizontal.
Side-Lying (Best for Low Effort, High Sensitivity)
Lying on your side with your knees slightly bent might sound unremarkable, but it's one of the most underappreciated positions going. It requires almost no muscle engagement, which is exactly why it works – a body that isn't holding itself up can fully surrender to sensation.
This is my go-to recommendation for anyone who wants to explore without an agenda. The side-lying position makes it easy to stimulate multiple areas simultaneously, and the gentle compression of the inner thighs adds sensation without any additional effort. If you've been approaching masturbation as a task to complete, this position gently dismantles that. There's nowhere to rush to from here.
Female Masturbation Positions to Explore
Something worth saying before we go further: so many women have spent years learning to masturbate quickly, quietly, and efficiently – often out of habit, sometimes out of shame, sometimes just because nobody ever told them they were allowed to take their time. These positions are an invitation to do the opposite. To be slow. To be exploratory. To treat your own body with the same quality of attention you'd want from a devoted partner.
Legs-Up or Pillow-Supported Position
Lying on your back with your hips elevated – a pillow works beautifully, or a dedicated sex wedge for more precise angles – changes the angle of internal stimulation and makes the anterior vaginal wall, where the clitoral complex extends internally, significantly more accessible.
Most people have no idea how much difference hip elevation makes until they try it. It also increases blood flow to the pelvic area, which heightens sensitivity in a way that's immediate and noticeable. If you've been using toys for internal stimulation and feeling like something is just slightly off about the angle, this position is almost certainly the fix.
Grinding Position (Using a Surface or Toy)
Straddling a pillow, a rolled towel, or a toy and grinding against it creates a completely different quality of stimulation – diffuse, full-contact pressure rather than the pinpoint intensity of direct touch. Many people find this produces a more whole-body arousal and a different quality of orgasm entirely.
A tip I give my clients: instead of going directly to the clitoris, spend time awakening and arousing the inner thighs and labia first. Once the body is genuinely warmed up, grinding draws stimulation exactly where it's wanted, without overwhelming it. Let desire build before you meet it.
Seated on a Chair
Sitting on the edge of a chair with feet flat on the floor is a grounded, controlled position that more people should try. It allows for deep concentration and focus, makes it easier to stay connected to your breath, and gives you full conscious control over every variable – pressure, angle, speed, stroke.
Alternate which fingers you use. Vary from feather-light to firm. Try circular motions, up-and-down strokes, and side-to-side. The chair gives you enough stability to be genuinely curious rather than just trying to hold a position.
On Your Stomach (Prone)
For women, prone masturbation creates pressure across the entire vulvar area simultaneously rather than isolating the clitoris. The orgasms that come from this tend to feel different in quality – more spreading, more whole-body, less like a peak and more like a wave.
Experiment with your hand placement, a pillow, or a toy beneath you. Try varying the rhythm of your hip movements – slower, faster, circular, rocking. Your body will tell you what it wants if you give it the space to communicate.
Doggy Style (On All Fours)
Kneeling on all fours and reaching back or beneath yourself changes the angle of stimulation significantly and makes certain areas more accessible than they are when you're lying flat. It also engages the back, core, and glutes in a way that, for many people, adds a visceral, physical quality to arousal that more passive positions don't produce.
Squatting (For Penetrative Toys)
Squatting over a toy or dildo gives you control over depth, angle, and pace that no other position can match. It engages the pelvic floor muscles naturally, which intensifies sensation and can make orgasms feel more powerful and full-body. If you've been curious about what different angles of internal stimulation actually feel like, start here.
The common thread across all of these positions is this: your body responds to being met with curiosity rather than urgency. The position is just the container. What fills it is your attention.
Male Masturbation Positions to Try
Men are rarely taught to approach self-pleasure with any real intentionality. The cultural script is quick, functional, and goal-oriented. These positions are worth trying not just because they feel different, but because they build a different relationship with your own arousal – one that gives you more control, more range, and more awareness of what your body actually does.
The Edge-of-Bed Position
Sitting or lying at the edge of the bed gives a freedom of movement that's harder to achieve when you're fully on the mattress. Wider range of motion, easier access to the perineum and other erogenous zones, and greater ability to use both hands.
Try switching between your dominant and non-dominant hand – the sensations are often surprisingly different. Start with lighter grip pressure than you think you need and build from there. And if you tend to rush toward ejaculation, practice edging here: bring arousal right to the edge, then back off. Rebuild. Repeat. What you're training is not just control, but range – your body's capacity to sustain and expand pleasure rather than just sprint to the finish.
Kneeling or Thrusting Position
Kneeling upright and using a thrusting motion, rather than just a stroking hand, engages the hips and core in a way that many people find dramatically changes the quality of sensation. It also brings the body more fully into the experience — less in the head, more in the physical reality of what's happening.
The way you masturbate trains your arousal and ejaculatory patterns over time. Most men have masturbated the same way for years, which means their body has learned a very specific pathway to orgasm. Changing the position, the grip, the pace – these aren't just variations, they're genuinely expanding your body's vocabulary of pleasure. And that carries directly into partnered sex.
Standing in the Shower
Same principle as above for women: the shower is its own erotic environment, and standing in it with the water running is genuinely different from anything horizontal. Warm water, privacy, standing tension, and sensory immersion can all lead to an incredible experience.
Use your non-dominant hand to stimulate other areas (the perineum, nipples, or inner thighs, for instance) while the other does the primary work. Vary the water pressure and temperature. Give yourself actual time in here rather than treating it as a quick stop.
Mutual Masturbation Positions for Partner Play
Mutual masturbation is one of the most educational forms of partnered sex, and genuinely one of the most underrated. Watching a partner pleasure themselves is a masterclass in exactly what they like – and doing it together creates a particular intimacy and arousal that is its own experience entirely.
Side by Side
Lying next to each other, facing the same direction or toward each other, allows for easy communication and the natural option to switch between self-stimulation and touching each other. Low pressure, deeply intimate, and a beautiful way to introduce this to a relationship if it's new territory.
69
The 69 position adapted for mutual masturbation – each partner stimulating themselves while being orally pleasured by the other – layers sensation in a way that combines self-knowledge with partner intimacy. It's a lot, in the best possible way.
On Your Partner's Lap
Sitting in a partner's lap, facing toward or away from them, each person self-stimulating, creates a depth of physical closeness and shared arousal that is hard to replicate any other way. You feel each other's breath change, energy shift, bodies respond. It moves both ways. It always does.
Other Ways to Upgrade Your Solo Play Routine
Incorporate Sex Toys and Arousal Gels like WOMAN Lust
Non-negotiable, for all genders. Lubrication reduces friction, increases sensation, and makes extended solo sessions significantly more comfortable and pleasurable. For prone masturbation, especially, lube changes the quality of sensation entirely – the difference between grinding and gliding.
pjur WOMAN Nude is a skin-identical formula that feels natural and lasts well, ideal for extended sessions or toy use. For a hybrid lube compatible with all sex toys, pjur TOY LUBE is an ultra-creamy formula with extra glide, specifically designed to enhance sensation during toy play. And if you want an added arousal boost, pjur WOMAN Lust creates a tingling sensation that many people find extends and deepens arousal in a really lovely way.
Use a Sex Wedge or Pillow for Better Angles
One of the simplest and most effective upgrades you can make. A sex wedge or firm pillow under the hips changes the angle of stimulation, removes the physical strain of holding a position, and makes certain erogenous zones significantly more accessible. If you've ever tried a position that seemed great in theory but felt awkward in practice, a wedge is almost always the missing piece.
Incorporate Sex Toys and Arousal Gels
Rather than using a toy the same way every time, try exploring with it first. Use a vibrator on the inner thighs, lower belly, and other areas before you bring it to the genitals. This builds arousal more gradually and produces more intense sensations when you do arrive, because the body has been building rather than jumping straight to the destination.
Arousal gels used alongside lube can heighten sensitivity in ways that make familiar stimulation feel genuinely new. Start with a small amount to see how your body responds before increasing.
Explore New Erogenous Zones
One thing I always encourage my clients to try: use a mirror to actually look at your genitals. Identify which areas produce which sensations when touched. This sounds almost too simple, but most people have never done it, and the self-knowledge it produces is genuinely useful, both for solo pleasure and for knowing what to ask for from a partner.
And don't limit exploration to the genitals. The neck, nipples, inner thighs, perineum, and lower belly – these are all erogenous zones worth incorporating. Your body's capacity for pleasure extends well beyond where most people look for it.
What Is the Best Position to Masturbate? Final Takeaways
The honest answer is: the best masturbation position is the one you haven't explored yet!
Your current go-to works because your body learned it. But learning is ongoing, and your body's capacity for pleasure is significantly larger than any single position or technique can access. Masturbation May is an ideal time to approach your solo sex life with genuine curiosity rather than habit – to slow down, pay attention, and let your body teach you something new.
Start somewhere unfamiliar. Use lube generously. Breathe slowly and consciously. Stay present to what's actually happening rather than rushing toward a predetermined outcome. The goal this month isn't a better orgasm. It's a deeper understanding of yourself. The better orgasms tend to follow naturally from that.
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