The Art of Relating

Ep. 22: Divine Union For Lovers — Sacred Sexuality, Somatic Trauma Repair & Erotic Attunement with Rahi Chun and Ariel Szabo

Rahi Chun and Ariel Szabo are somatic sex educators, sexological bodyworkers, and co-creators of Divine Union For Lovers, bringing 30+ years of combined expertise in genital de-armoring, somatic trauma repair, and erotic attunement to help couples access the depth of connection their bodies are actually capable of. We talk about what happens when sexuality gets divorced from the sacred. About the difference between objectification and genuine attraction — and how each one feels in the body. About how our attachment wounds and nervous system patterns show up in our most intimate moments long before we ever get to lovemaking. IN THIS EPISODE: * How sexual trauma and attachment wounds shape our erotic patterns as adults * The eight pillars of intimacy and why slowing down is the foundation of everything * One-way touch practices and what they reveal about our capacity to receive * The difference between objectification and attraction — felt in the body * How the male gaze becomes a survival response and what it takes to unwind it * Plant medicine, ceremony, and how it supports somatic sexual healing * Non-penetrative lovemaking and expanding the body's capacity for erotic states * Shadow work, role play, and how sacred containers can create reparative experiences for sexual trauma * What actually sustains desire and intimacy in long term relationship * The distortion of sexuality in our colonial capitalist culture — and what sacred sexuality looks like instead DivineUnionforLovers Self-Paced Course [https://rahichun.com/divineunionforlovers/] 3-Day Immersion [https://divineunionforlovers.mykajabi.com/divineunion-retreat] Song Ayla Nereo "Seeds [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EKvXE40MoEB7yBy1uspcm?nd=1&dlsi=dc05670c44b544e8]"

Ep. 21: Healing Sexual Trauma and Reclaiming the Seductress with Kate Phillips

In this conversation I sit down with my best friend Kate Phillips — transformational performance coach, filmmaker, and guest teacher inside Awakening the Wild Woman — for one of the most honest conversations I've ever had on this podcast. We talk about how sexual trauma creates the seductress as a survival response. About the difference between seduction as a tool of survival and seduction as sovereign, vital expression. About carrying the predator inside us long after the original harm is done — and how it shows up in the committed relationships we've been working so hard to call in. We also get into our righteous rage. The Epstein files. The crimes that happened to us personally. And why we're done making our pain palatable. In this episode: * The seductress archetype — reclaiming her from harm and shame * How sexual trauma creates the seductress as a survival response * The Epstein files and systemic male violence — and our justified rage * Carrying the predator inside us and how it shows up in committed relationships * The difference between seduction as survival vs seduction as sovereign expression * Shadow work, intentional hedonism, and healing through performance and play * The wounded masculine and what we actually need from men * Speaking directly — not making our pain palatable This episode contains explicit personal disclosures including sexual assault. Please listen with care. Kate will be leading us through shadow embodiment and reclamation of the seductress archetype inside Awakening the Wild Woman this May. Enrollment is open through May 12th. We begin May 21st. JOIN AWAKENING THE WILD WOMAN Learn More + Book a Call [https://www.somatic-spirit.com/awakeningthewildwomanapply] GET MY FREE MALE GAZE DETOX Sign Up [https://www.somatic-spirit.com/malegazedetox] KATE’S FILM “YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF” Watch Now [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJjcSqZ5G1k] SONG: Ayla Nereo “Seeds” [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EKvXE40MoEB7yBy1uspcm?nd=1&dlsi=ff37aabc20074e56]

Ep. 20: Unfreezing From Performance with Julie Anne Shapiro

What does your voice have to do with the male gaze? More than you think. In this conversation, I sit down with Julie Anne Shapiro — vocal sound healer, theatre artist, ritualist, community builder and guest teacher inside Awakening the Wild Woman — to explore the profound intersection of voice, performance, and somatic healing. We talk about what it means to stop performing for the gaze and start expressing from the body. About the difference between singing to be chosen and singing to be close to yourself. About containment, wildness, and why the most magnetic thing you can do is stop giving yourself away. In this episode: 1. Why your voice freezes when you're performing for approval — and what unlocks it 2. The paradox of containment: how holding your energy in actually makes you more magnetic 3. What musical theater taught us both about unfreezing from perfectionism 4. The "pick-me girl" pattern in performance — and in dating 5. How ritual theater and sacred sound healing reconnect us to our bodies 6. The balance of masculine and feminine in art, voice, and life 7. Why the most compelling performers aren't the most technically perfect — they're the most present 8. Working in nature as a somatic and vocal practice 9. The feminine without the masculine as a wildfire without containment Join Awakening the Wild Woman Learn more [https://www.somatic-spirit.com/awakeningthewildwomanapply] Work with Julie Learn more [https://www.j-shapiro.com/lessons.html?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio] Follow Julie on IG @trulie_julie_ [https://www.instagram.com/trulie_julie_?igsh=aTdnYTdlbDZqb2Y3] Song: Ayla Nereo “Seeds" [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EKvXE40MoEB7yBy1uspcm?si=686baaddd4344109]

Ep. 19: The Peace Work Happening in Israel + Palestine You Haven't Seen with Ann Bradney

I sit down with my teacher Ann Bradney, founder of Radical Aliveness, to talk about her ground-breaking work facilitating a two-year leadership training program in Israel that brings together Israeli Jews and Palestinians Within this program, Ann leads deep process groups where participants learn to hold intense emotions, face painful truths, and stay connected across seemingly impossible divides. The program began before October 7th—and even as terror broke out, leaders from both sides risked their lives to keep meeting. Amidst all the outrage and polarization we see in the media, this quiet, steady peace work has been happening behind the scenes, on the ground. Ann shares bittersweet, heart-wrenching stories of what unfolds when people from vastly different worlds choose to meet in their differences, stay with the mess, and keep coming back to one another with the hope of creating a different future for generations to come. We explore: →The core principles of Radical Aliveness: Knowing I Don’t Know, Being Willing to be Changed, Honoring Multiple Perspectives, Welcoming Everything, Cultivating a Non-Shaming Heart, and Do No Harm/Do Your Part →What it takes to hold real conflict without forcing resolution →How a group that began before October 7th continues to meet across checkpoints, grief, and fear →Why allowing difference—rather than sameness—creates the conditions for peace This episode is about courage, humility, and the quiet miracle of people staying in the room when the world says they shouldn’t. Support the Israel + Palestine Peace Leadership Program Donate [https://radicalaliveness.org/peace-leadership-program] Ann’s Letter’s From the Program Learn More [https://radicalaliveness.org/letters] Radical Aliveness Principles Learn More [https://radicalaliveness.org/principles] Song: Ayla Nereo “Seeds" [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EKvXE40MoEB7yBy1uspcm?si=686baaddd4344109&nd=1&dlsi=04c059f0e2784785]

Ep. 18: Real-Time Rupture Repair with my BFF Kate

This isn’t a conversation about relational repair—we’re actually doing it in real time.  Kate (my best friend of 22+ years) and I hit some big ruptures this past month. We were in an intensive training together, then went straight into a retreat that I hosted at my house. We were both at our limit… and we hit three big triggers that needed to be resolved later.  In this episode, we work through repair for these recent ruptures:  → When she missed her flight and I couldn’t show up how she needed → A trigger around money and unspoken expectations → A painful rupture at the end of a retreat day when we both needed totally different things  If you’ve ever felt afraid of conflict in your closest relationships, this one’s for you.  Work with me: Schedule a Discovery Call [https://calendly.com/somaticspirit/discovery] Book a Session [https://calendly.com/somaticspirit/1-1-somatic-spirit-session-clone-1] Song:  Ayla Nereo “Seeds" [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EKvXE40MoEB7yBy1uspcm?si=686baaddd4344109]