Around the World on a Butt Rainbow
This is intended to accompany Shay’s Around the World on a Butt Rainbow class and is not stand-alone material.
Terminology
We will refer to the “tyer” and the “person in rope” or “PIR” – this is to be inclusive of self-tyers and avoid implying a power exchange dynamic of any sort in partnered tying.
There is no magical harness that is perfect for every person in every suspension all of the time.
Just as arms-in harnesses (TK, arms front, tengu, tenshi, strappado, etc) absolutely don’t work for me, this harness won’t work for some folks.
This is not a “fluffy” hip harness – it’s quite advanced from a being-in-rope perspective, and recommended only for flyers who have extensive experience being in hip harnesses.
There is a trade-off between support and mobility – harnesses that offer more support tend to restrict mobility. This minimalist harness offers little support, but does not restrict mobility.
We have seen this harness work for folks with all different body types!
The most important factors are habituation, solid rope tying technique, body awareness, and masochism.
Communication and Negotiation
Start with intention. What type of rope will you be doing?
Consent, including specifically discussing areas to touch or avoid.
In partnered rope, tying lower-body harnesses involves the tyer’s hands around the flyer's genital area. Be sure to explicitly agree on guidelines for this.
Wardrobe choices
For this particular sequence, in which the hanger slides along the harness as the PIR transitions, I highly recommend that the flyer wear snug leggings.
Clothing will change the sensation of the rope (this could be for good or for bad, depending on the PIR’s perspective).
Having a layer of fabric between you and the rope can improve comfort (by reducing rope-to-skin friction) and reduce rope marks.
Cotton
More similar to tying on skin.
Synthetic
Often slippery and more difficult for friction-dependent ties such as futos.
Especially when using synthetic rope over slippery leggings, you must tie tightly to prevent slippage.
Loose fabric is difficult to tie over. If you wear leggings, they should be snug.
It is generally best to avoid clothing with embellishments such as buttons, zippers, and jewelry.
Harness Theory
Six things hold harnesses in place (these are interrelated concepts, and they play together in complicated ways):
Harness structure (anchoring around body parts, bands attaching to each other, knots)
Tension
Friction (jute on skin > nylon on leggings)
Squish
Proportions (rope wants to move from thick places to thinner ones, or stay on thinner ones)
Limb angles (consider a column tie on the thigh if the leg is horizontal vs. the knee sharply angled up.)
All bodies are good bodies.
Different bodies create different considerations for harnesses.
The Butt Rainbow Thigh Tie of Doom inherently has little structure, so you’re relying on the other 5 factors.
As a framing mechanism, let's think of assigning “harness staying vibes,” where a 10 is “God themself could not move this harness one millimeter,” and 0 is “I draped this piece of rope over my ankle.” If we inherently have fewer vibes in particular areas (for example, not being a squishy human), then we need to add vibes in other places (such as using more tension). If we want to tie nylon over leggings, we need to make up those friction vibes somewhere else. Etc.
Where to get more vibes
Structure
“Seatbelt” add-on (keeps knots from sliding backwards)
Anchoring to a chest harness
Tension
Consider flexed vs. relaxed muscles, inhale or exhale
Relax the leg that is being tied
Since nylon rope stretches, it is more difficult to get tension vibes with nylon than with hemp.
Tension should be set to the underlying bone and muscle. On areas with more “squish,” rope generally needs to be tighter than on areas with less “squish.”
I find that the more uncomfortable my lower-body harnesses are on the ground, the more sustainable they are in the air, so I tend to tie them extremely tightly.
I am quite squishy on my lower body.
I like to be very dynamic, and tight harnesses are less likely to shift under these conditions.
I dislike the aesthetic of rope harnesses stretching away from my body
Friction
Consider wearing cotton leggings rather than synthetic ones
Use hemp or jute rather than nylon
Limb angles
Avoid raising the legs vertically; a more horizontal thigh angle will help the harness stay in place.
Placement
This is very individual! People’s nerves are in different areas and vary in sensitivity and vulnerability.
If unsure of your placement preferences, consider scheduling a session to experiment with different options.
The way a hanger is attached to a harness will have a major impact on the way the harness loads, whether the bands shift, etc.
Wrapping Turns
Up to a certain point, adding extra wraps can dramatically decrease focal pressure and will make your bondage significantly safer and more sustainable.
The force applied in this way can be quantified as pounds per square inch (PSI) (or Pascals), and this factor will make a huge difference in how sustainable (and safe) your bondage is.
There is a point of diminishing returns with this calculation. Once you get beyond about three wraps, your payoff decreases, and it also becomes more difficult to maintain uniform tension.
Health Considerations
Especially relevant medical conditions include diabetes, asthma (where is the inhaler, if applicable?), any issues with blood clotting, joint problems, heart conditions, aneurysms, pre-existing nerve damage and vulnerability, fainting/syncope, and seizures.
A good question is: “What medications do you take?”
Butt Rainbow Nerve Overview
This is a very brief overview. We recommend the links at the end of this post for a more detailed description.
While lower-body harnesses tend to be relatively safer than those that involve the arms, nerve damage can still occur!
Muscle and fat tend to be protective.
This statement is based on sources including (not an exhaustive list):
Studies on intraoperative positioning and nerve compression injuries
“…the risk of lower limb nerve injury was greatest in patients of low BMI” – Peripheral nerve injury arising in anaesthesia practice
Articles on specific types of compressive nerve injury, such as this one
Incidence for other injury modalities, such as: “Nerve injuries were diagnosed in 2.6% of upper extremity trauma patients and 1.2% of lower extremity trauma patients.” – Incidence of Nerve Injury After Extremity Trauma
The legs generally have more muscle and fat than the arms, and are generally less vulnerable to nerve injury. Lower body nerves tend to be less superficial than upper body nerves, and those that are superficial tend to be sensory only.
Very thin and less muscular folks tend to be more vulnerable to nerve injury.
Sensory vs. motor nerve damage
The vast majority of nerve injuries we’ve heard involving lower body harnesses are sensory only, but motor injuries (such as foot drop) are possible in rare cases.
Consider your risk profile. No one can make decisions about acceptable risks for you.
Nerves won’t be in the same spot for everyone!
Six significant factors contribute to bondage nerve injuries.
No matter how experienced everyone involved is, a nerve injury can happen, even without anyone doing anything particularly “wrong.”
Nerve damage is cumulative. Minor injuries may not show symptoms, but may make you more vulnerable to future damage.
Specific nerves for this tie:
Butt Rainbows avoid pressure on the anterior hips, thereby limiting risk to that location of the LFCN and the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves, which are also vulnerable below the iliac crest.
Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN)
Anecdotally, this seems to be the most common injury from hip harnesses. The LFCN originates directly from the lumbar plexus and is vulnerable where it passes under (or in rare cases over) the inguinal ligament just below the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and on the anterior thigh.
Compression of the LFCN is medically known as “meralgia paresthetica” and can also be caused by tight pants/belts.
More at risk in face-down suspensions or when there are knots/hitches on the front of the thigh/hips.
Sciatic
The sciatic nerve could be compressed in the gluteal region or, even less commonly, in the mid-thigh. Anecdotally, this is a rare injury in bondage. However, if you have a history of sciatica, be extra mindful of it.
Anterior femoral cutaneous nerve (AFCN)
Risk seems higher in a face-down position, especially when the PIR bends at the hips, and the rope is pressing directly on the crease between the thigh and body.
Femoral
This nerve descends beneath the inguinal ligament parallel to the LFCN.
It may be vulnerable to damage positionally, in a forward-bent (“bow”) or "ebi" position, or when the body/thigh is hyperextended (as in a back-bend-type position).
It may also be vulnerable to pressure from a rope at the crease where the thigh meets the trunk, where the nerve is relatively exposed on top of the femoral head.
Being in a “face down” position in a hip harness, with pressure around the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and the front and top of the thighs at the crease, seems to be another riskier position.
Consider moving thigh wraps lower (away from the crease) to potentially decrease risk.
Symptoms and assessment:
The LFCN and AFCN are purely sensory. Symptoms include numbness and pain in the thigh (on the lateral side for LFCN, on the front of the thigh for AFCN).
Symptoms of sciatic nerve damage include weakness and sensory loss affecting most of the lower leg. Some people also report a sensation of coldness.
Femoral nerve – Symptoms include an “itching” sensation and numbness to the inner leg/thigh, especially around the knee.
Harness Hang Syndrome, as it were
Concerns about “harness hang syndrome” come up not infrequently when discussing lower body harnesses. While this is definitely a real thing (OSHA talks about it quite a lot), in a bondage context, it is often a red herring in the sense that it is a very narrow niche issue.
Of note, the term “suspension trauma syndrome” is often preferred, as “it is not really the harness that is at issue.” – Fatal and non-fatal injuries due to suspension trauma syndrome: A systematic review of definition, pathophysiology, and management controversies
In an extremely specific set of circumstances (upright position with the legs fully dependent and immobile), blood pressure can drop, leading to syncope. Harnesses that block venous return from the legs may contribute to this. If a person is left passed out and hanging upright, this combination of factors rapidly becomes extremely dangerous or even deadly (lactic acidosis plays a role; lots of details here).
This can be prevented by moving the legs/contracting the leg muscles and/or by avoiding prolonged upright suspensions with legs in a dependent position.
This is one of many really good reasons to never leave someone alone in bondage (or to self-suspend alone). If a flyer passes out in rope, they need to be gotten down to the ground safely and quickly (not left hanging for many minutes, which can be deadly).
Body Awareness and Habituation
Differentiating warning signs of damage from intense but not dangerous sensations is a crucial skill for being in rope.
Pain is entirely mediated by the brain. Pain is your brain’s somewhat paranoid guess about how much danger you’re in.
Many factors moderate pain response! For example:
Fear or lack of confidence increases pain perception.
Doing something to yourself decreases pain perception. (Studies on college students zapping themselves support this.)
Swearing increases your pain tolerance.
It takes time to build up a tolerance to the “intense sensations” and emotions/fear associated with rope—your body learns that you felt all the things and then survived, and actually, that was fun!
This is related to the concepts of hedonic reversal and benign masochism, a term coined by scientist Paul Rozin referring to the “enjoyment of negative bodily reactions and feelings in the context of feeling safe, or pleasure at “mind over body.””
In the circus community, this is sometimes called peripheral desensitization.
This is the same process by which people learn to like spicy food (no one is born liking ghost peppers), riding roller coasters, or watching scary movies.
Inventory your body. Is anything tragic happening? Are you being damaged? If not, try to relax into the sensation, breathe, etc.
When continuously exposed to a fixed stimulus, neurons become steadily less sensitive to it until they stop responding. Anything habitually encountered tends toward invisibility—the more we see a thing, the less we see it. This is like putting on a sweater that feels scratchy at first but is no longer noticeable after a few minutes.
You can also build a tolerance to spinning—this has been studied! “It is a defining characteristic of human sensory and motor systems that they habituate with repeated use…with repeated sessions on a centrifuge, the experienced symptoms of motion sickness become less severe” – Adapting to Artificial Gravity at High Rotational Speeds, NASA Astrophysics Data System, 2002.
That quote also makes a great mantra; I use it all the time when I’m in a challenging self-tie.
Hands-On
Partial
I highly recommend giving the Butt Rainbow Thigh Tie of Doom a “test drive” in a partial.
1) Hang your hardpoint low so that it can be reached while kneeling on the ground and tie off the BRTTD from a kneeling position.
2) Lie back, with your shoulders on the ground, to experience face-up loading.
3) Practice sliding the hanger along the thigh cuffs into an inversion position. Things that help:
Wearing snug–fitting, slippery leggings. Without this, skin and hair will pinch and catch, and you will build some character.
Spreading your legs. If your legs are together, the hanger cannot slide.
Quicker transitions may make this sliding easier than slower transitions.
Use rope with less friction (nylon rather than jute/POSH).
4) Practice flipping through into a face down.
5) You can even try getting into a Figurehead shape. Note that decent from a Figurehead tends to an uncontrollable face plant by default, so be sure you have a plan to safely exit, such as putting down one arm, coming into a kneeling position, having a partner support you, etc..
Sequence
Prep: hang your hardpoint as high as possible, while still being comfortably reachable to the flyer. Tie an upper body harness that can load from the front or the back, and the BRTTD.
1) With the flyer in a standing position, attach the chest upline from the back of the harness.
2) Raise the BRTTD from the front.
Consider adding a foot or thigh cuff for support, if needed. This can help with the lift and decrease intensity on the back of the thighs.
Try different tie-off heights.
The flyer can lean back into the chest line for a seated or face-up shape, or allow their body to twist into a torsion.
If you want to try an inversion, ensure the BRTTD is high enough to keep the head off the ground. You will be lower in this harness than one attached from the front!
3) Flip into a face-down
This can be tier-led or flyer-driven
Lead with your shoulder and follow with your leg
The relative heights of the chest and hip lines will determine how deep of a scorpion shape this ends up being.
4) Lower the chest harness to go into an inversion.
Do not do a drop unless you are absolutely sure of your height and have negotiated drops.
From here, consider adding foot rope and exploring dynamic movement – legs out, corkscrew, front pike, behind.
5) Attach the chest low from the front, and lower the hip line to a level face-up.
This is a great position in which to use a suspended person as a swing…
From here, you can experiment with partials or come down.
Harness tutorials
Longer tutorial, Butt Rainbow Thigh Tie of Doom
Attaching a hanger to the Butt Rainbow
