The Romantic Kiss

A kiss has been described as the height of voluptuousness. It has a lovely, luscious and lusty legacy.

Kissing is an act of quiet intimacy and often borders on the erotic. It can be brief and cool or lengthy and hot.

It can be highly romantic, building to a succulent crescendo of emotion and passion or passed off as something that is expected and therefore no big deal.

Any day is a good excuse for pucker practice.

Two pairs of lips are for kissing. It is an essential element for communicating love and affection in your relationship.

A kiss is a secret told to the mouth instead of the ear; kisses are the messengers of love and tenderness.

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."

Ingrid Bergman

A kiss speaks many different meanings to its lover; when it is missing, many interpretations as to the reasons for its absence surface. These interpretations can become invisible wedges that prevent love from expressing.

When love is present, kissing is an important part of expressing that love. Pay attention to it. Breathe. Relax. Slow down. Concentrate and engage the electricity in your body.

Kissing does not always have to be a prelude to making love.

Happiness is like a kiss - in order to get any good out of it, you have to give it to someone else.

A kiss is a pleasant reminder that two heads are better than one.

This story from Pravda, the Russian News Service, shows that even in the former Soviet Union, couples are rediscovering what we refer to as "The Mighty Kiss".

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In case you thought the kiss was little more than a "romantic handshake", we've decided to let you in on a little Russian research that shows that the kiss is so much more than a mere gateway to romantic expression. Here are just a few of the powerful effects the might kiss will have on you!

Kissing stabilizes cardiovascular activity, decreases high blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol.

Kissing prevents cavities and plaque build-up by stimulating saliva production while preventing gingivitis through the calcium present in saliva.

Kissing stimulates over 30 facial muscles which smoothes out skin and increase blood circulation to the face.

Kissing burns 12 calories per five-second episode and three passionate kisses a day will help you lose one pound!

"Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other."

Gene Yasenak

Kissing prevents the formation of the stress hormone glucocorticoids which causes high blood pressure, muscle weakening and insomnia.

Kissing does its part to vaccinate people from new germs. Saliva contains bacteria, 80% of them are common to all people with 20% unique to each person. By sharing saliva with a partner, you are stimulating your immune system to respond to the different bacteria you are being exposed to. The result is that your immune system creates certain anti-bodies to these new bacteria, which in effect vaccinates you against these germs. This process is called cross-immunotherapy.

Finally, you may not be surprised to know that kissing offers an express analysis of genetic compatibility. While you are kissing, your brain conducts instant chemical analysis of your partner's saliva and issues a "verdict" of your genetic compatibility. Think about it. Don't you know much more about what you like or don't like in a person after one kiss? And kissing is much more fun than taking a relationship inventory!

Oh, did we mention kissing also cures hiccups?

The next time you want to give your sweetheart the perfect gift, may I suggest that you use your lips to speak to your sweetheart instead of your wallet. Actions speak louder than words!

Kiss someone you love today!

Kissing School: Seven Lessons on Love, Lips and Life Force- Cherie Byrd - Enduring a terrible kiss can be more than just unpleasant. It can add tension to intimate moments, or worse, end a great romance before it even starts. After personally saving a relationship by teaching her partner how to kiss, Cherie Byrd transformed the experience into her successful Kissing School! program, in which hundreds of couples from around the world have since participated. Kissing School distills the workshop's most useful teachings, and quickly ushers readers beyond quick pecks and "Can you feel my tongue?" action to enter a realm of soul-stirring, heart-lifting, body-shaking kissing.

next: Jazz Up Your Relationship!