Sexuality is often seen as a commodity in today's society, which removes its sacredness. The disconnect has led to generations of people not enjoying their birth experience. Sheila Kamara Hay shares how letting the sexual energy flow from our bodies as opposed to resistance allows for magnified pleasure. Tune in to learn about sensual expansion and how we can activate pleasure within the body to support the progression of your labor. Sheila emphasizes the power of tapping into our natural design and how pleasure is an innate part of our process. Sheila is an Ecstatic Birth visionary and advocate, training birth practitioners in transforming the landscape of birth from pain to pleasure. A leader in the pleasurable birth movement, she believes that childbirth has the potential to be one of the most transforming, empowering, and enjoyable experiences in a woman’s life. Sheila is the creator of The Ecstatic Birth Training Sessions, a multidisciplinary digital program empowering women to create pleasurable childbirth experiences.

In this episode:

Sheila Kamara Hay discusses the disconnect between birth and sexuality and how the Ecstatic and Orgasmic Birth movement is working to change that. Sexuality is used as a commodity in today's society and it's important to reconnect it to the sacred. Debra and Sheila discuss the importance of sexuality and how it is often hidden in the shadows, with a lot of shame attached. Reprogram your subconscious beliefs and what we learned about birth through resources such as the film Orgasmic Birth! Pleasure is a powerful tool to nourish your body and support you through the process of childbirth. Sensual expansion is learning to access pleasure from within your own body. This can be done through practices such as breath, sound, movement, and visualization. Our physiology, our anatomy, and our hormonal systems point out that pleasure is an innate part of our process. Start to connect with your body more to move through life more effectively. Follow your body's wisdom, including mental rational wisdom, primal wisdom, and experiential wisdom.

Key Takeaways:

Birth is sexual - reclaim the connection between birth and sex Look for images of beautiful births and reflect the kind of experience you want Reconnect sexuality to your body’s sacredness Pleasure is not the reward - it is part of the process Your own experience with your sexuality is important when preparing for birth Pleasure supports both the mother and the child during early postpartum days and throughout parenthood Observe the subtlety of sensations and feel the connection Understanding your own body and sexuality can empower you in other areas of your life

Tweetable Quotes:

“Birth is the culmination of the sexual act… We conceive with our sexual bodies, and we birth with our sexual bodies.” - Sheila Kamara Hay “There are so many reasons, people aren't enjoying the experience of childbirth. But a big one is a lack of understanding of this connection that we are birthing with our sexual bodies. And we need to honor that aspect of our design, in order to be able to birth in ways that feel better, because just like sex can be really pleasurable, or really painful, like birth is the same thing.” - Sheila Kamara Hay “Learn how to use your sound to access pleasure in your body, to access the sexual energy, to let it flow as opposed to resisting.” - Sheila Kamara Hay “We are biological beings. And if we just look at our physiology, our anatomy, and our hormonal systems, then we can understand that pleasure is an innate part of our process. It's an innate part of our design.” - Sheila Kamara Hay