Heather Tries Meditative Rope Bondage to Find Peace and Achieve Zen | New York Post

Finding peace through rope bondage might seem questionable, but Brooklyn-based rope mistress Erin Houdini believes that the practice is a form of New Age kink, and she intends for it to bring peace to the stressed-out New Yorkers flocking to her for private and group sessions each month.

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Although Houdini's roots in bondage were inspired by her love for BDSM, she insists that the rope bondage she offers her students is more about pushing the practitioner, lovingly called the "bottom," to explore other states of consciousness than it is about having a sexually erotic experience. But of course it should be noted that if you're interested in the latter, that can be arranged.

From 'Bondage helps me relax'

Bree is not the only stressed-out New Yorker who finds mental peace through bondage. Jefferson, 52, who puts on the monthly storytelling night Bare! (sort of a smutty Moth), likens it to a baby finding comfort in being swaddled. During times of stress he ties his legs together and mentally checks in. His girlfriend practices full-on Transcendental Meditation with scarves binding her arms to her body in order to engage more fully.

“Bondage is about pushing you to other states of consciousness,” says Chris Donaghue, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based psychologist, sex therapist and author of “Sex Outside the Lines” (BenBella, out now). “You let go and the rope provides you with something to focus on. Some people need the rope to get into this state.”

Bree adds that what she takes away from her bondage sessions comes in handy in her unbound life. “As I’m being elevated,” she says, “I recite a poem to myself or repeat a mantra and I breathe into the experience. I’ve learned to do it during stresses in my day-to-day life. In the midst of chaotic moments, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and recite the poem to myself — just as I would when suspended. It takes me outside of my body for a minute and gives me a new perspective.”

Jefferson during bondage meditation. Annie Wermiel

A 32-year-old Park Slope, Brooklyn, woman who goes by the name Erin Houdini and teaches biweekly roping classes in her apartment has experienced both sides of the bind. Though she’s usually on the tying end these days, she has used bondage in a way that completely transcends its sexually charged trappings — and she remains grounded.

When being fettered, she says, “My favorite thing is to be hogtied — with my wrists and ankles attached from the back — and then being left alone.” Explaining that these solitary sessions can go from 10 minutes to two hours, she adds, “After my movement gets taken away, troubles and worries fade. I come out of it and feel as if I had been in a deep sleep. It’s one of the times in which I feel completely rested. It goes beyond sexuality — way beyond it.”