It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”).  The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the  in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.  So, Valentine’s Day offers the PERFECT opportunity to express to a Loved One just how strongly you love him/her.

How might you do that?

Here are 14 creative ideas for you:  Valentine’s Day — Special Ideas of Love to let your Loved One know how deeply you care.

Have you and your partner been looking for practical ways to strengthen the power your of your relationship. Do you want to go beyond a strong sexual relationship? Do you wish to enhance your intimacy?

Here are 4 tips for enhancing your Sexual Intimacy and Relationship Strength:

1. Find Balance: Finding the balance between relationship, family, work, friends, and personal time may be a challenge. However, where your relationship is concerned, it is an endeavor that is well worth the energy invested to allow it to happen. Healthy relationships require your active presence. Being present in your relationship takes you to make plans, you to provide attention and you to follow through. So, get out your schedule and begin to create balanced time for those elements of importance — be sure to include time for talking, time for sexual pleasuring, time for dating, time for romance and time for sexual satisfaction.

2. Strive for Similar Values: As a couple, you do not have to agree on everything. Such variety can add spice to your partnership! However, having similar values — such as, the importance of spirituality, of friends and other social-support systems, of sexuality and sexual expression, of community volunteerism/giving, of honesty, of hard work, of fidelity, of investing/spending — can add significantly to the accord in your relationship. If you and your partner are at odds on core values, begin to communicate about them. Pay attention to what you do share in common and to what originally attracted you to each other. See where you already have a meeting of the minds. Then, investigate options for compromise.

3. Disagree Agreeably: If you find yourself and your partner on different sides of a decision, do your best to engage in honest listening. What is honest listening, you might ask? Honest listening is sincerely trying to hear your partner’s point of view. It’s listening without thinking up additional arguments. It is being open to differences. It is sincerely caring what your partner is feeling and thinking. If both of you feel strongly, consider agreeing to disagree. Better yet — continue to discuss and learn from one another until you create a new solution that is win-win for you both!

4. Celebrate Your Love: Be sure to include intimacy in your relationship. Sex is important in a loving relationship. It is the glue that holds the partnership together in joy and provides it with support in times of discouragement. In addition, the physical act of sex becomes even more powerful when it unites your emotions and mind and spirit with those of your beloved. Uniting in these ways requires that you each offer a 24-7 attitude of support and agreeableness to one anther. It requires being kind, attentive and loving to one another throughout the day.

I urge you to use these ideas over and over to enhance your sexual intimacy and strengthen your relationship.

Frequently, I’ve had people say to me, “Breathing — what’s the big deal? If I’m alive, I’m breathing — right?” S/he were using this as a proof that there was NOTHING WRONG with his/her breathing. In other words, s/he were indicating her/his belief that the only thing that could go wrong with breathing is to stop it all together.

This could not be further from the truth. The truth is that effective breathing is essential to health and well-being.

There are no substitutes. There are no alternatives.

Oxygen is more crucial to our life than is food or fluids. On most days, we can safely go hours without fluids (Note: I don’t advise doing this). If there is a good reason, we can go days without food (Note 2: I don’t advise doing this, either).

We cannot go 5 minutes without breathing.

That is how vital oxygen — and breathing — is to our existence. You cannot do without it! However, sometimes, people try to do so!

It is quite common for people, under extreme stress, to hold their breaths. It is routine for people who are tired to breathe shallowly. Neither of these lead to ample oxygen to adequately serve the needs of the body.

When your body is deprived of adequate oxygen, it subtly tenses up. It does this specifically because it is getting dangerously low on such a crucial necessity!

Such tensing of your body increases stress on your system. This is exactly the OPPOSITE of what is needed for stress reduction.   When you want to enjoy intimacy with your partner, relaxation — the lack of tension — is the most delightful of prerequisites!

So, the solution is simple: You can begin to purposely breathe d-e-e-p-l-y and s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y. Taking ten slow, deep breaths begins to reverse the stress that was imposed by shallow, rapid breathing. Taking fifteen slow, deep breaths begins to speed you on your way to successful stress reduction.

And the beauty of this is that you have EVERYTHING you need, with you this very minute. Right now — this very minute — try it out!

Go ahead — notice how you are feeling this very moment. Then, begin to take 15 slow, deep breaths. Just inhale deeply to the count of 4 — 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 — and, then, change the cycle. Now exhale deeply to the count of 4 — 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 — and, change the cycle back. Proceed in that way for 15 slow, deep breaths.

Now, notice how you feel as a result. What do you notice?  When you breathe and relax with your partner, do you notice that your sense of closeness — of bonding — increases?

That’s right: Your stress has begun to diminish; your relaxation has begun to increase. And best of all: This allows you and your partner to begin feeling even closer, even more in the mood for enjoyment!

To maintain a good, solid sexual relationship, it is important that you and your partner take the time to communicate openly about sex. In the midst of busy days, this can be a challenge! Challenging or not, it is important that you and your partner invest time and energy to enhance your sex talk.

Here are “6 Essential Steps to Effective Sex Talk” to help your sex communication be more beneficial:

1. Be Careful About How You Say What You Say: Let’s say that you you want something particular from your partner — perhaps you want a change in attitude or practice. To increase the probability of securing the agreement of your partner to your suggestion, frame it as a request for something new. Do your best to refrain from framing it as a fault.

Most of us do NOT like to be told how badly we do something. We respond defensively to such commentary. Defensiveness will work against you and your partner achieving harmony and agreement.

2. Maximize the Positive: Compliment your Partner freely. Doing so sets a positive atmosphere for further discussion.

3. Minimize the Negative: Whenever possible, avoid criticism and casting blame. Most of us do NOT respond positively to criticism. We respond much more favorably to compliments and acknowledgment!

To state a suggestion in a way that makes it easier for your partner to respond agreeably, avoid criticizing and use “I” statements. For example, rather than saying, “You don’t know how to please me,” you might try, “It would be more pleasurable for me if you did that this way”.

4. Allow for Differences: Neither of you always has to be right! Each of you has your own style and expectation … and these might not be identical. Keep your partner’s point of view in mind when addressing your sexual concerns.

5. Negotiate: This step is important to unlock sexual stalemate. By allowing for differences, you are on the path to compromise. Openly, show your willingness to consider alternatives to your requests or to negotiate a solution that will satisfy both of you.

6. Use Engaging Body Language: While you are talking, be careful of what your body language is communicating. Your body language can convey a huge amount of emotion.

Focus on allowing your body to express calm and relaxation. Maintain good eye contact. Periodically, touch your partner in a loving way to remind him/her of your commitment to work things out.

I encourage you to use these techniques over and over to enhance your sexual communication and enliven your sex talk.

Have you ever wished for more intimacy with your partner? If so, you are already part-way there! The very act of having an idea is a powerful stimulus to start creating action in the direction of that idea. So, the very act of having a desire for a more intimate relationship can start activating behaviors in that direction.

What actions? … you might be wondering. This is an important question!

Each of the following 6 Tips to Create More Intimacy are based on A-C-T-I-O-N. To reach a specific result, it is important to act in ways that create that result! These 6 Tips are —

Tip #1. Talk together about your relationship: To increase intimacy, communication about what is important to each of you is essential. Such communication allows each of you to better understand the important priorities that each of you have. Communicating in this way begins the process to bring the two of you closer, physically and emotionally.

Tip #2. Make a list of actions that promote the closeness you desire: As you discuss what is important to you, begin to write down what you can do — and what your partner can do — to work together to increase closeness. For this step, focus on specific behavioral tasks that can be enjoyed together.

Tip #3. Have your partner make a list of actions that promote the closeness s/he desires: As your partner discusses what is important to her/him, have s/he write down what each of you can do to work together to increase closeness. For this step, focus on specific behavioral tasks that can be enjoyed together.

Tip #4. Plan time to spend together: ‘Remember when you were dating? During that time, both you and your partner made a habit to coordinate your schedules. Why? So that the date would actually happen — so that you and your partner would end up at the same place at the same time! This is still an important step for you and your partner to plan … so it is guaranteed to happen.

Tip #5. Agreement to do at least one thing on each of your lists: That’s right — you are going to start simply … with just one, each!

Tip #6. Implement your mutual plan: When that prior-agreed-upon date and time arrive, you follow through and enjoy time together. During this time, each of you do at least one thing on your partner’s list.

I invite you to use these tips over and over to create even-deeper intimacy with your partner. Your relationship is very precious! Caring for it — maintaining it with consideration, time, energy and love — is essential for it to thrive!