The Embodied Relationships Workshop revisits key concepts and practices covered in the Foundation and Anatomy of Arousal Workshops and takes that connection to ourselves and our bodies to the next level of application - relationship to others.
Mindfulness and sensation tracking is our on-going practice and foundation, reaffirming that listening to and bringing unmuted awareness to our primary relationship…our bodies…. is where the most self acceptance, safety, and pleasure resides. This skill is especially essential as we face engagement with others!
The brake-accelerator model of sexual arousal continues to inform our awareness of our genuine “yeses” and “noes” at any given moment, and thus question what specifically turns us on and off in intimacy.
We’ll look into our “core erotic theme” to identify the central driver(s) behind psychological arousal and how it manifests in our relationship choices and sexual engagements. Recommended reading for this section is The Erotic Mind by Jack Morin, especially Chapters 1 and 2 and “The Sexual Excitement Survey” in the appendix.
You’ll come away from this weekend with a clearer understanding and acceptance of who you are in relationship, and why. You’ll recognize your triggers, and your yearnings. You’ll have access to the more the subtle levels of relating, and how often your body has one desire, one reaction, and your mind another. You’ll know more clearly what you want and need (along with what you don’t want) from intimate encounters, and why. As you get clear about your authentic desires, you’ll be able to ask for what you want from your partner, and you’ll know how to coach them if they don’t succeed the first time… and the second. And if it takes three times, you’ll have skills for handling triggers and disappointments when they arise. No matter what happens, you’ll be present in your body, loving and attending to yourself with your full embodied presence, acceptance, compassion and love.
We’ll introduce five new skills and practices for creating interpersonal awareness and full embodiment within our intimate relationships:
GIVING AND RECEIVING
We’ll learn to give and receive three different types of sensual touch, ask for what we want and need in romantic engagements, and give feedback and encouragement in a way that builds trust. Along the way, we’ll learn to articulate our specific touch profile.
BOUNDARIES
We’ll learn how to set and keep good boundaries and turn disappointment, vulnerability, difference and wounding into greater intimacy and connection.
TRIGGERS
We’ll practice a powerful and effective method for spotting, naming, managing and responding to triggers as they appear in relationships.
FLIRTING AND IMPROVISATION
We’ll witness and practice the basics of a heart and body-based approach to improvisation, flirting and seduction, which are also the basics of embodied lovemaking.
ROLE-PLAY
We’ll push the edges by exploring through role-play three types of sexual engagement: Romance, passion, and dominance/submission. Together with what we’ve learned about our core erotic theme, we’ll identify our specific erotic profile.
And if any of these topics scare you, know that at every moment you are “in choice”, and we respect at all times personal edges and boundaries with complete acceptance and without judgment. This is not a program that expects anyone to “push through” anything. We will explore these exercises with gentleness, reverence for past wounds and a healthy dose of playfulness! This workshop is open to people who are single, couples and poly couples!