Insertion has never been an issue. I learned long ago how to do that without discomfort. I learned that my body can occasionally be fussy and uncooperative, and coercing it into submission is never useful or satisfying. Stoicism is a loathsome quality.
I started regular practice with the helix in April 2015. Practice sessions have been been easily integrated into my daily schedule, and have provided good reasons to abandon some less rewarding activities.
Much of the aneros new-user training material is devoted to breathing. The advice “keep breathing” is ubiquitous within the literature, and the word “relax” echoes endlessly. My first sessions were application of this advice.
Establishing and maintaining a comfortable deep-breathing cadence required more concentration and effort than I would have thought. I learned that I have a tendency to stop breathing while examining sensations. My mind presses a notional pause button to freeze the action and investigate. Some of my novel internal tingles at this first stage were partially attributable to mild hypoxia.
The second style of advice I found in the training material is that deliberate squeezing of muscles is not useful. My first tries with the MGX had obviously gone off the rails from the start, but I don't believe it was pointless. So long as the trainee understands that tensing muscles is not an orgasm cheatcode, the urge to flex should not be discouraged. Coarse movement is a necessary step in identifying separate muscles and refining their control.
I did a lot of internal flexing during my first sessions. At that time, the helix was less useful as an instrument of pleasure than it was as a manipulable object. I was as an infant grasping at a shiny item not because the item itself is desirable, but because the process of grasping is baffling and amusing. The helix decoupled a muscle's motion from anatomical purpose, and permitted examination of its ability outside the context of inhibiting or enabling excretory function. I do not regret letting the analysis hijack more than one session.
Continued training required some specialized equipment.
I found I like laying on my back in a knees-up position, but my feet slide around on the bedsheets. Holding my feet in place was distracting exertion and led to early fatigue. My solution is a pair of high-traction yoga socks.
The skills and techniques of yogists and anerosians are obviously complementary. Can it be coincidence that paraphernalia is useful to both groups?