The Art of Relating

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.

• 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

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Song

Ayla Nereo "Seeds"

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.

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Ayla Nereo “Seeds”

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

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@trulie_julie_

Song:

Ayla Nereo “Seeds"

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.

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Ann’s Letter’s From the Program

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Radical Aliveness Principles

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Song:

Ayla Nereo “Seeds"

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. 

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Song: 

Ayla Nereo “Seeds" 

This is the other side of the story. 

In this deeply honest follow-up to “Avoidant Men CAN Heal,” we hear from Brittany—somatic experiencing practitioner, attachment re-patterning guide, and James’s partner—about her lived experience navigating anxious attachment, rupture, and the long, disorienting path of healing. 

We talk about what it felt like when James said “you’re not the one” in front of a room full of people, how heartbreak cracked her open, and what it really took to rebuild herself—body, mind, and spirit—after the breakup. 

Brittany shares the tools that held her through the spiral, the rage and tenderness she had to reclaim, and how practicing devotion (not just processing) changed everything. 

We explore:

→ The somatic reality of anxious attachment and what healing actually feels like

→ How to tell the difference between a boundary and an ultimatum

→ Why spiritual compatibility matters—and why it doesn’t mean sameness

→ What intimacy practice looks like now in her marriage to James

→ How relationship can become a sacred, daily path to presence 

This conversation is a balm for anyone who’s ever clung to crumbs of connection, doubted their worth, or wondered if they’d ever feel safe in love again. 

If you're healing, holding on, or learning how to let go—this one is for you. 

Work With Brittany 

Touching the Earth Somatics

Song: 

Ayla Nereo “Seeds" 

In this intimate, soul-bearing conversation, James Nepenthe Frank—Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, dharma teacher, and former monk—shares the journey of transforming from emotionally unavailable and intimacy avoidant to a man fully devoted to love. 

We discuss the alchemy of group somatic work, radical honesty, and the quiet, relentless devotion of spiritual practice. 

Together, we explore how healing attachment is not just psychological—it’s spiritual. How relationship, when met with courage and reverence, becomes a living altar. A path to awakening. A place where even avoidant men can heal. 

If you’ve ever felt stuck in longing, shame, or old relational patterns, this conversation will remind you: it’s never too late to choose love. 

Tune in for a transmission on grief, transformation, and the sacred possibility inside every connection. 

Apply for James’ Mens Group 

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Radical Aliveness Group Docuseries 

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Song: 

Ayla Nereo “Seeds" 

Catherine Quiring had me on her podcast Who We Are & What We Need to chat about the somatic path of healing, my 6-month program Awakening the Wild Woman, the role of Saints, Goddesses and archetypes like Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc and Persephone on my path, and what has crystalized in my practice lately from my Sacred Pilgrimages.

I guide my friend Jenny into her body during a live session to explore the complicated relationship she has with money. Her body’s wisdom shows us the generational wounding that needs to be honored and healed in order for her to move forward in her life to receive abundance and reciprocity. 

Apply for my 3-Month 1:1 Mentorship: 

Somatic Spirit Journey 

Song: 

Ayla Nereo “Seeds" 

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Sara, founder of Women Rising, 15x award-winning documentary filmmaker, mentor, speaker, and soon-to-be debut author with HarperCollins. Sara is also the visionary behind the first-ever sociological study exploring the link between women’s empowerment and autoimmunity in America. In this episode, Sara shares her powerful journey from self-abandonment to reclaiming her voice and becoming her own advocate in the healthcare system. Learn practical strategies to advocate for your health, uncover the root of unexplained symptoms, and transform from the "good girl" into a cycle-breaker. 

Follow Sara on Instagram: 

@sarahirschbordo 

Work with Sara: 

Email 

Work with me 1:1: 

Somatic Spirit Journey 

Song: 

Ayla Nereo “Seeds"