Suspension

Suspension is advanced rope bondage in which a person is lifted partly or fully off the ground, their weight held by the restraints — usually in the Japanese shibari/kinbaku style, using rope, hard points, and a rigging system. Beyond the striking aesthetics, it creates intense sensation, total helplessness, and the surreal experience of floating in another's care. It's the technical peak of bondage: demanding, spectacular, and genuinely hazardous. Partial suspension (some weight still on the ground) is a common, lower-risk step toward full. It overlaps with shibari/kinbaku, bondage, and predicament play.

For the suspended person, being lifted and held entirely by rope is a profound surrender — weightless, helpless, and utterly dependent on their rigger's skill and care, often reaching a deep, floaty headspace. For the rigger, the craft, responsibility, and beauty of holding someone in the air are intensely absorbing.

A skilled rigger builds supportive rope harnesses, attaches them to secure overhead hard points, and gradually takes the person's weight — partially or fully — adjusting for balance and comfort while monitoring them constantly. Sessions are usually short and carefully planned.

This is high-risk and not for beginners — nerve damage, falls, and positional problems are real dangers. Learn from experienced riggers, use rated hard points and gear, keep suspensions short, and check constantly for numbness, tingling, or circulation loss (come down immediately if they appear). Never suspend around the neck, keep safety shears ready, never do it alone or unmonitored, and always keep a safeword and signal.