The road to this knowledge was a long one, and I have made mistakes along the way, but thankfully, not one person ever got seriously hurt. I started about seven years ago, I had a lady as a part-time slave, and we
were both discussing fantasies, after a long afternoon of hard play. Apparently, we had both run into the same picture on the internet, since we had last seen each other, and realized it had given both of us that tingly feeling we all are so familiar with. I am an extremely inventive and handy man (i.e. Paul the toolman), so I started strolling through the alleys of hardware stores, and sporting goods stores, picking up chains, ropes, hooks, winches and the like. It took me about two weeks to built my first crude hand-powered inversion unit, but when I was done, I was struck with the fact I had no idea how to attach my slave's ankles to the bar hanging from the ceiling. All of a sudden I remembered a friend?s use of gravity boots, back in the eighties, for his back pain. I found them on the web, a week or so later I had them in my hands, and they were itching to put the whole thing to use. We all want our subjects to be comfortable while they are being ?abused?, plus one must be comfortable in order to endure the pain one desires.

I now have a power winch in my attic, it so much easier to raise/lower my subject, therefore it is also much safer, and you can stay with your subject, while they are going through the frightening experience of being raised or lowered. There is a plethora of safety issues one MUST consider before jumping into this type of play.

First you must be absolutely certain the apparatus will not dislodge from the ceiling, by weight testing. I suggest you consult an engineer from amongst your friends; my winch is actually attached to many things up in the attic.

Second you make certain the boots, or whatever you use to suspend your subject, will remain secure to the bar they will be suspended from.

Third, I highly suggest you suspend yourself, so you can identify all the stress/pressure points the body will be feeling, especially with longer suspension.

Fourth, one cannot be suspended for long periods at first, just like exercising, one has to build up stamina a little bit at a time.

Fifth, when playing with a larger subject, the time you can play must be shorter, due to increased tress on the ankles, and other joints in the body.

Sixth, be aware that there is blood rushing to the head, and the sinuses might get stopped up, depending on the person, but those feelings should go away with time and experience.

Seventh, the gravity boots were intended for people with lower back pain problems, but a weak lower back is not capable of extended inversion; the result can be permanent lower back pain.

As you see there are many things to think about, and I have not even covered it all, that information is only available to those who spent a month with me in the Mentor program.

Think safety, play safe, ask your subject for feedback during play, make them ?tuck and roll? during lowering, in order to land them on their shoulders and to keep from hurting the back.

Reprinted with permission from the archives of the SAADE Gazette.