Life Turned On: Stories of Sexual Self-Discovery in Midlife & Beyond

Learning to Receive Care, Support, and Pleasure 

In this final episode of the Receiving series, we explore why receiving is one of the most important—and most uncomfortable—skills in intimacy.

Through a personal story of illness and a deeper look at how women are conditioned to give, this conversation reveals why pleasure, desire, and erotic life require something many of us have never practiced: receptivity.

When the body learns it is safe to receive care, support, and sensation, intimacy begins to come alive again and we begin to live with more coherence.

To learn more about the RECEIVE Retreat in Italy CLICK HERE.

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@thepleasureatelier.ss

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In this episode, we explore the kind of wanting many women have been quietly trained out of — not achievement or performance, but honest, embodied desire. The kind that feels vulnerable to admit.

We talk about “desire smuggling,” the subtle ways we hide what we want to avoid rejection, and how naming our desires builds self-trust, intimacy, and aliveness — even when the answer is no.

Your wanting isn’t selfish or dramatic. It’s information. It’s integrity. It’s the doorway back to feeling turned on by your life.

To Learn More About the Receive Retreat CLICK HERE.

@lifeturnedonpodcast

@thepleasureatelier.ss

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We’re between podcast seasons, but I didn’t want to disappear on you completely, so I’m dropping in with a short mini-series on a theme that keeps surfacing in my life and work: receiving.

In this episode, we explore why receiving can feel uncomfortable — even selfish — especially for high-capacity, high-achieving women.

If you’re the planner, the emotional anchor, the one everyone relies on, this conversation is for you.

We talk about:

• Why we default to giving
• How cultural models of extraction shape women’s relationship to desire
• The connection between receiving, nervous system regulation, and sexuality
• Why generosity without replenishment becomes depletion

Giving is beautiful. But when you do not know how to receive — emotionally, energetically, or sexually — your generosity can quietly turn into exhaustion.

Learning to receive is not indulgent. It is what makes your strength sustainable and your relationships reciprocal.

Click here to learn about the Receive Retreat.

Follow us on Instagram:

@lifeturnedonpodcast

@thepleasureatelier.ss

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In this special episode, Kayla Moore and Shauna Stewart reflect on the magic and transformation that unfolded at the recent Shed Retreat. They share intimate behind-the-scenes moments, the unexpected breakthroughs, and the profound sense of connection that emerged as a diverse group of women came together to share, heal, and transform.

From guided meditations and deep, vulnerable conversations to singing circles that cracked hearts open, this retreat created a space where participants could return to themselves — and to each other — in powerful new ways.

Want to join the next retreat?

Join the SHED Retreat Waitlist - Release the rules. Reveal what's real. PNW.

Join the RECIEVE Retreat Waitlist - Feel what it's like to live inside pleasure. Tuscany.

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It's the season finale and we're reflecting on what it truly means to shed, not just as an act of personal transformation, but as a collective one.

Our sexual self-discovery isn’t isolated; it ripples through our relationships, our communities, and the wider culture. When one of us reconnects with our body and our pleasure, we shift the field between us.

Follow us on Instagram

@lifeturnedonpodcast 
@linger.u

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show

In this episode, Shauna talks with Ericka Day, founder of Erica Day Rising and co-founder of The Kind Teacher, about the transformative role of psilocybin in healing, motherhood, and shedding old stories. They explore the balance between masculine and feminine energies, vulnerability, and the science behind using psychedelics for personal growth. 

Welcome to Season Four. We’re not just talking about shedding—we’re doing it. In our bodies, our breath, our choices, and our stories.

If you're feeling the pull to go deeper this season, here are a few ways to connect beyond the podcast:

Connect with our Guest Ericka Day

Instagram: @erickadayrising

Website: erickadayrising.com

Follow us on Instagram

@lifeturnedonpodcast 
@linger.u

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show

(CW: Sex trafficking.) In this episode, we talk with coach and trauma-conscious practitioner Joanna Arai about what it really means to reclaim intimacy with yourself. Joanna shares her path from survival and disconnection to deep embodiment and pleasure, all while never having experienced orgasm. Through vulnerability and self-honesty, she’s cultivated a rich, beautiful sex life rooted in presence, not performance. This conversation explores how true intimacy begins within and how self-connection can transform every part of how we love and live.

Welcome to Season Four. We’re not just talking about shedding—we’re doing it. In our bodies, our breath, our choices, and our stories.

If you're feeling the pull to go deeper this season, here are a few ways to connect beyond the podcast:

Connect with our Guest Joanna Arai

IG: joanna.arai
FB: arai.joanna
email: [email protected]

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show

 This Kinktober, we’re shedding one of the biggest myths about pleasure — that kink isn’t for “people like us.” Shauna shares her journey from accidentally “coming out” as kinky at a professional dinner to discovering how kink is really about presence, play, and freedom. A story of curiosity, courage, and reclaiming desire — both in intimacy and in life. 

Follow us on Instagram

@lifeturnedonpodcast 
@linger.u

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show

Shauna and guest Melissa Schafer explore how diet culture fuels body shame, restricts pleasure, and disconnects us from ourselves. Together, they share personal stories and practical wisdom on cultivating food neutrality, body compassion, and a more liberated relationship with our bodies. 

Welcome to Season Four. We’re not just talking about shedding—we’re doing it. In our bodies, our breath, our choices, and our stories.

If you're feeling the pull to go deeper this season, here are a few ways to connect beyond the podcast:

Connect with our Guest Melissa Schafer at melissashafer.com or @_melissashafer_ on Instagram.

If this conversation resonates, we encourage you to also learn from and follow other powerful voices leading this work: Virgie Tovar, Ericka Hart, Glo V. (Nalgona Pride on IG), Shana Minei Spence (thenutritiontea on IG), Christina (encouragingdietitian on IG), Chrissy King, Lucie Vallee, Summer Innanen, Sonalee (thefatsextherapist on IG), Caleb Luna (dr_chairbreaker on IG), Vinny Welsby, Aubrey Gordon (yrfatfriend on IG), and Stephanie Yeboah.

Follow us on Instagram

@lifeturnedonpodcast 
@linger.u

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show

Guest Natalie Blair shares her journey through perimenopause, burnout, and disconnection—and how bioidentical hormone therapy reignited her energy, libido, and joy. As an ASSECT-certified sex therapist, she now helps others reclaim their sexuality. Together we explore how intention, authenticity, and connection can transform midlife into a life fully turned on. 

You can connect with our guest at @authenticallyyou_sd and www.beauthenticallyyou.net

Follow us on Instagram

@lifeturnedonpodcast 
@linger.u

Register for the SHED Retreat
A weekend for women ready to release the rules and reclaim what’s real.
👉 SHED Retreat Website

Join the RECEIVE Retreat Waitlist
A luxurious, slow, deeply restorative retreat designed to support you in receiving rest and pleasure. This experience will remind you what it feels like to fully be.
👉 Receive Retreat Waitlist

Work with Shauna 1:1
Explore private coaching opportunities to reconnect with your sexuality and live a more turned-on life. For individuals and couples.
 👉 Coaching with Shauna

Learn More About Ziva Meditation
This is the method that helped resolve my 8-year health issue and radically changed my relationship to rest, anxiety, and presence. Highly recommend.

Try the Free Masterclass:
 “How to Reduce Stress, Overcome Anxiety and Improve Sleep (in 15 Days or Less)”
 👉 Ziva Masterclass

Explore Ziva Online:
 The full meditation program that changed my life (and my sex life, yes for real).
 👉 Ziva Online

Support the show