I was a little girl with long hair for most of my childhood. This meant ponytails, braids and barrettes, every day, for years. My first experience of being a submissive was in the fourth grade, when a boy I like tied one of my long braids to the fence I was standing near so quickly, so quietly, so deftly and with such complexity that I spend literally fifteen minutes with my friend Stacy trying to undo it.
She had seen the whole thing and, unbeknownst to me, had sanctioned it and even encouraged him to do it. I had to admit it was really funny. But my memory of the whole thing is, literally, tied up in my sense of being secretly thrilled that he, this boy I liked, would take the time and expend the mental energy to do such a thing, to trap me, as it were, to render me still.
It is this thrill of dominance and submission that still gives me a rush and a sense of excitement in bed when thinking about and experiencing sexual positions. While we can read through enough literature to know about missionary (man on top), "doggy style" (man takes woman from behind) and female superior position (woman on top) there are about as many variations on these as there are people.
One thing to keep in mind is that pain should never be a part of this playing process, unless you and your partner have agreed that it should be and have a word that you use if it goes to far, othewise known as a "safeword." If you are enjoying a position and it puts too much pressure on your back, for instance, you owe it to your partner and your own health to say something immediately.
Sometimes, however, something can feel weird to different or even slightly painful and then become intensely pleasurable as the moments pass. By communicating openly and honestly about how things are feeling, you will be promoting more experimentation and arousal as you try new things. For more on interesting positions as they relate to a woman's pleasure read 'Hot Postitions' here: http://honeymoons.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=honeymoons&cdn=travel&tm=18&f=20&tt=14&bt
Positions can allow us to play with our dominant and our submissive sides. We can curl up into a ball and be taken from behind. We can straddle our partner and ride him like a dominant cowgirl, or better yet, reverse cowgirl and touch him in new places... we can stand up, a leg on the bed and half-straddle our partner, or stretch our legs and lean all the way forward.... the various degrees of playfulness, humor, intensity and creativity are up to you. Get in touch with your own comfort level and imagination and let the positions develop accordingly.