Shibari Suspensions: A Step-By-Step Guide

Gestalta sets out to teach how to bind a model or partner so that they are suspended in the air.

This is a book for those who already have some experience with shibari and want to progress to exploring suspensions.

The book shows how to assess and prepare the suspension points, and goes into great detail about the safety aspects of suspending a person with ropes.

The book also goes on to show how to tie some fundamental harnesses and gives step by step guidance on how to perform various suspensions.

172 Pages

Gestalta is a British shibari teacher and performance artist. They were first introduced to shibari in 2007 and have been immersed in it ever since.Their approach to shibari teaching has evolved as the result of over a decade of practice on both sides of the ropes and a broad range of influences which they appropriate, mix and develop in their own practice. This has shaped their teaching style into one that seeks to reflect the experience of both tying partners on a deep level.

They have a strong belief that shibari should not be prescriptive and encourage students to explore it as a flexible set of tools; adapting each tie to the body of the tied partner, and to their needs and desires within each individual situation. Their teaching process aims to enable this by giving students a framework of the fundamental principles behind shibari; including safety, efficiency and fluency, but also body awareness, communication, and conscious consideration of their own experiences and motivations. They absorbed most of their technical style a natural process of observation and experience from inside the ropes of the people they were tied by as a model.

To date, they have performed and/or taught around Japan, Australia, and many European cities.