We want more sex, and better sex. It’s a universal desire, driven by ancient brain circuits that drive procreation, and our primitive needs to be held, seen, and loved. We want – and deserve – more pleasure and less stress. Sex can be enlivening, relaxing, and fulfilling.

When you search for “sex advice” on the web, you’re offered 416 million websites to choose from. There is no shortage of people offering you help. Thousands of experts offer trainings in how to jazz up your sex life. What’s missing, however, is something essential – the real foundation and fuel for the best sex: safety and security.

Most young people, full of hormones, feel the desire for sex often, or constantly. They often lack wisdom and discernment. They don’t know with whom, or for what purpose these intimate connections are made. In the “hook-up” culture, sex can be as meaningful as a handshake.

As we mature into our thirties, forties, and beyond, physical and emotional safety become much more important to our sexuality. For women, especially, and for many men, sexuality and heart-connection are inseparable.

Most women feel that they can’t open their bodies or minds to a person they don’t trust. When they’re feeling safe, they can let down their guard. They become loving, sexy, and juicy with passion.

Men are built differently, since they’re driven primarily by testosterone and the desire to spread their seed widely. Men can feel lustful without needing to feel emotionally connected. Yet as they mature, and the testosterone drive slows down, they find the desire to be vulnerable, and open their heart to deeper intimacy, seeking safety in their primary relationship.

If you want to create a healthier love-bond, take our FREE, 5-minute “LoveStyle Profile Quiz.” You’ll get a customized 10-page report that will help you understand your unique LoveStyle™. Encourage your partner to take it, as well, and gain a new perspective on your relationship dynamics. It’s the first step in deliberately rewiring your brain for healthy love. Click here to take the Quiz.

Humans are born with the capacity to love – it’s built into our biological instincts and neurological wiring. Mammal mothers protect and nurture their newborns. Infants know what love feels like and what it doesn’t feel like. When babies feel secure and cared for, they can begin to trust others.

A safe environment allows us to thrive. Our mind and nervous system opens to the world. We become curious and playful. When others relate to us as a unique and precious treasure, our self-esteem soars. That’s the result of love at its best.

Anything that feels unsafe, or threatens us, produces fear and anxiety. Neuroscience has identified the brain’s response to high stress as fight or flight. Both reactions cause a tightening of the nervous system as it readies itself for defense or escape. When you feel anxious or insecure, it’s almost impossible to stay open to the source of your anxiety. The flow of passion and love gets turned off.

If your behavior causes your partner to feel anxious or insecure, they can’t feel their love, passion or desire for you. How often do you make your partner feel insecure through criticism, threat, or withdrawal?

Everyone wants more passion and romance, but few understand that romantic love is tied intimately to the feelings of safety, security, and being cared for. Most of us are confused about love. Our relationships are fraught with conflicts, threats of abandonment, and even abusive behavior. That’s not healthy love.

What we call Healthy Love is when you feel secure and peaceful in your relationship. You know instinctively that this is the way your relationship ought to feel. How often do you feel that way?

When your partner triggers you, your brain instantly reacts from your early childhood bonding pattern. Feeling unsafe causes a contraction. You put up a defensive barrier to protect yourself. This closes off your ability to receive and respond to your partner in a loving way.

Sometimes, you react to events from your past, or to your beliefs or expectations, rather than what’s actually happening. How you respond then impacts your partner, and they then react to how you’re reacting. This can initiate a downward escalation of upset, blame, and conflict.

If your partner responds to you with kindness and love, you can relax into your loving presence. When you feel secure and nurtured, your heart can open back up to the wonders of your partner and the beauty of the world.

In your relationship, you either feel mostly secure, mostly insecure, or a combination of the two. Your particular version is called your LoveStyle™. Your LoveStyle was shaped by your experiences with your parents and caregivers during your first years of life. These early programs are still affecting your adult relationships.

In our previous YourTango articles we described the 5 LoveStyles in detail. To discover your unique LoveStyle, take our free 5-minute quiz, the LoveStyle Profile (click HERE).

Secure love provides a safe container for two people to open up to each other in a vulnerable way. You share your scariest truths and feelings with each other, as well as your deepest passions and your magnificence. You can rest comfortably, trusting that you’ll be loved regardless of how you show up. This open-hearted acceptance is true intimacy. It’s the fuel for the safest and greatest sexual dance you can co-create in mutual love.

Our task is to learn as much as we can about creating healthy love, and to take steps toward re-programming our early insecurities and our negative bonding patterns. As you move toward a secure relationship, passion grows, intimacy flowers, and the best sex follows!