The Ecology of Intimacy podcast: Sex, Love, Intimacy & Relationship Coaching for Women and Mothers.

What if the next stage of your healing isn’t another certification, another practice or another thing to fix, but learning how to actually live your life?
Join me in this beautiful and wildly honest conversation, as I sit down with Transformational Coach Manjit Khalsa to explore what happens when we stop treating ourselves as projects and begin to trust our own inner knowing. We talk about the performative side of spirituality, the subtle ways we give our power away, and the surprising “expansion crisis” that can arrive when you’ve done so much healing that you no longer know what comes next.
Together, we explore what it means to choose aliveness, make space for joy without guilt, question the stories and labels that limit us, and become curious about what is actually true for us now.
Manjit shares her journey from living inside other people’s expectations to claiming her autonomy, embracing simplicity and creating a life oriented around what genuinely energises her.
We also dive into the nervous system, breath, embodiment, spiritual identity, the pressure to keep healing forever, and the possibility that you may already have integrated more than you think.
This is a conversation about coming home to yourself, trusting your own authority and discovering that perhaps the most radical spiritual practice of all is simply being fully, unapologetically alive.
 
===GUEST LINKS:
FREEBIE: 7 Days of Miracles: https://tantriclove.myflodesk.com/miracleguide 
Book a call: https://calendly.com/manjit-coaching/magical-you?month=2026-09 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love_manjit_/ 
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/       •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/     •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB      •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980     ===....
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.Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

Why do so many women believe they're broken when it comes to desire?
In this episode we explore one of the most misunderstood aspects of female sexuality: the difference between spontaneous and responsive desire. Drawing on contemporary sexology, neuroscience, nervous system science and embodiment, join me as I unpack why so many women have spent years measuring themselves against a model of sexuality that was never designed to reflect the female body.
Together, we'll explore the role of emotional labour, stress, safety, relationships and context in shaping desire, why libido isn't something we can force, and how learning to listen to the wisdom of the body can transform not only our intimate relationships but our relationship with ourselves.
If you've ever wondered, "What's wrong with me?" this conversation offers a compassionate and evidence-informed invitation to ask a very different question.
 
Topics explored include: responsive desire, spontaneous desire, female libido, neuroscience, nervous system regulation, emotional labour, relationship dynamics, embodiment, sexuality, intimacy and human flourishing.
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/    •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/    •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB      •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980   ===......
Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

Why do so many us struggle to answer one simple question: What do you really want?
Join me in this episode as I explore the hidden history of women's desire through the lenses of anthropology, neuroscience, feminist history, embodiment and sexology.
Together we'll trace how culture, patriarchy, religion, economics and invisible emotional labour have shaped women's relationship with their bodies, boundaries, pleasure and self-trust.
This is not simply a conversation about sexuality. It's about sovereignty, flourishing and the conditions that allow women to truly come home to themselves. So if you've ever wondered why saying no feels difficult, why self-abandonment feels familiar, or why your deepest desires can feel so hard to hear, this episode offers a compassionate and deeply researched new perspective.
Topics explored:
Women's history and the evolution of patriarchy
Desire, embodiment and self-trust
The neuroscience of adaptation and nervous system safety
Invisible emotional labour and motherhood
Rest, pleasure and human flourishing
Feminist thinkers including Gerda Lerner, Silvia Federici, bell hooks, Adrienne Rich, Carol Gilligan, Tricia Hersey and Adrienne Maree Brown
Why healing is ecological, not merely individual.
 
If this conversation moved you, please leave an up-to 5 star review and rating on Apple Podcasts, it's a free and meaningful way you can support this work. 
 
===VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/    
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/  •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB     •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980 
 ===......
Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

What if consent begins long before sex?
In this deeply personal episode, I explore consent as something much bigger than just a sexual skill. I explore it as our relationship with our own bodies, our boundaries, our sensations, our authority and our capacity to remain connected to ourselves while staying in relationship with others.
This episode is, in many ways, a love letter to my daughters, and to the little girl I once was who never received this kind of embodied education.
We talk about the seemingly ordinary moments where children learn whether their "no" matters. A hug they don't want to give. A boundary that makes an adult disappointed. The subtle pressure to be polite, agreeable, accommodating or “good”.
Because these moments teach children something profound: whether they are allowed to belong to themselves, or whether belonging requires them to abandon themselves.
We explore self-consent, bodily autonomy, boundaries, coercion, nervous system regulation, emotional responsibility and why learning to tolerate someone else's disappointment can be such a powerful act of sovereignty.
I'll also talk about what this means for girls and boys, how parents and trusted adults can become a child's “backup nervous system”, and why it is never too late to begin this work ourselves.
Because consent isn't something we suddenly teach when a child becomes old enough to have sex.
We've actually been teaching it all along.
And perhaps the most beautiful lesson we can offer is this:
Your body belongs to you and it's part of the conversation. You can listen to it. You can trust it. And you never have to abandon yourself in order to stay connected.
We don't teach children autonomy by telling them they have a voice. We teach it by showing them what happens when they use it.
If this conversation moved you, please leave an up-to 5 star review and rating on Apple Podcasts, it's a free and meaningful way you can support this work. 
 
 
===
VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/     
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/   •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB    •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980 ===.
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....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

In this profoundly moving episode of The Ecology of Intimacy, I sit down with author, educator, and domestic violence advocate A.E. Lee, whose memoir One of the Lucky Ones tells the story of surviving years of coercive control and intimate partner violence.
Together we explore the hidden realities of abusive relationships that so often go unseen. Amanda shares how abuse rarely begins with violence, but with a gradual erosion of confidence, isolation, gaslighting, and fear that leaves even the strongest women questioning their own reality.
We discuss why leaving is often the most dangerous time, why survivors are so frequently disbelieved, the failures of the justice system, and the lasting impact of trauma on both mothers and children.
Most importantly, this conversation offers hope. Amanda shares what healing has looked like, how she learned to trust again, and why no survivor should ever have to navigate this journey alone.
Whether you've experienced abuse yourself, love someone who has, or simply want to better understand the complexities of coercive control, this is an essential conversation about compassion, courage, and the possibility of life after survival.
 
Content Note: This episode discusses domestic and intimate partner violence and may be distressing for some listeners. Please listen with care.
 
===GUEST LINKS:
Website: https://authoraelee.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoraelee/ Book: https://authoraelee.com/books/one-of-the-lucky-ones/ 
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VILATES•Website: https://www.vilates.com/      •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/   •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB     •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980    ===
....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

In this episode I talk about what I call: "The Great Theft" which is the systematic disconnection of women from their bodies, their pleasure, their sensuality, and their innate aliveness.
Drawing on the work of Dr Helen O'Connell, Tricia Hersey, Adrienne Maree Brown, trauma research, somatic healing, Tantra, and nervous system science, I begin examining how patriarchal systems, productivity culture, and generational conditioning have shaped our relationship to rest, sexuality, pleasure, and self-worth.
This episode is an invitation to stop asking, "What's wrong with me?" and begin asking a different question:
"What have I had to disconnect from in order to survive?"
 
So if you've ever felt exhausted, numb, disconnected, overwhelmed, or like you've somehow lost yourself beneath the weight of modern life, this conversation is for you.
 
Some of the key topics covered are: feminine embodiment, female sexuality, somatic healing, nervous system regulation, burnout recovery, intimacy, Tantra, women's wellness, trauma healing, pleasure, self-trust, embodiment, erotic aliveness, patriarchy, relationships, emotional wellbeing.
 
 
 
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VILATES•Website: https://www.vilates.com/    •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/  •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB   •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
 
 
 
 
===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.
 

Why do we keep attracting the same relationship patterns, even when we desperately want something different?
Today I'm joined by internationally renowned Trauma Recovery expert, bestselling author, and licensed Mental Health Counsellor Riana Milne to explore how childhood trauma shapes our adult relationships, attachment styles, self-worth, communication patterns, and capacity for love.
Drawing on more than 26 years of clinical experience, Riana shares her Top 10 Childhood Traumas framework and explains how experiences such as emotional neglect, abandonment, bullying, addiction in the family, criticism, and unstable caregiving continue to influence our lives long into adulthood.
If you've ever wondered why the same struggles keep showing up in your relationships, or why love sometimes feels harder than it should, this conversation offers profound insight, practical tools, and a hopeful path forward.
Because healing your past may be one of the most powerful ways to transform your future.
 
 
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GUEST LINKS:
Website: https://rianamilne.com/  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachRianaMilne 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RianaMilne/videos 
Podcast: Lessons in Life and Love
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VILATES•Website: https://www.vilates.com/     •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/  •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB    •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980 
  ===
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...Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

What if the reason you stay in a relationship that hurts you has nothing to do with love and everything to do with self-worth?
In this deeply honest conversation, I’m joined by relationship coach Heather Melville to explore the hidden dynamics of toxic relationships, emotional abuse, self-esteem, body image, intimacy, and healing.
Drawing from her own journey of leaving a long-term toxic relationship and rebuilding her life from the ground up, Heather shares the turning points that helped her reconnect with herself, reclaim her confidence, and discover what healthy love actually feels like.
Together, we explore why so many women struggle to trust their needs, how criticism erodes self-worth, the connection between intimacy and emotional safety, and why healing isn't about becoming perfect, it's about learning to come home to yourself.
We also dive into self-pleasure as self-care, body acceptance, boundaries, solo travel, and the courage it takes to choose a different future.
If you've ever questioned your worth, felt trapped in a relationship that no longer serves you, or wondered whether healthier love is possible, this conversation is a powerful reminder that healing is possible, and that you deserve more than just survival.
 
 
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GUEST LINKS:
Website: https://www.healthyrelationships.info/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthyrelationships.coach/ 
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/   •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/ 
•Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB  •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980  ===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.
 

What happens when the spark fades in a long-term relationship?
In this deeply honest conversation, I’m joined by Elana Auerbach, author of The Sure Thing: A Pleasure Practice to Revive the Spark, to explore why desire often changes over time, why intimacy doesn’t sustain itself without intention, and how pleasure can become a powerful practice for creating deeper connection.
Together we discuss the difference between spontaneous and responsive desire, the hidden resentment that can build around sex in long-term relationships, and why taking responsibility for your own pleasure can completely transform the dynamic between partners. We also explore pleasure as a form of personal liberation, nervous system regulation, and even social change.
 
So whether you're feeling disconnected from your partner, navigating a season of low desire, or simply longing for more aliveness in your relationship, this conversation offers a practical and deeply hopeful roadmap back to connection.
 
Resources Mentioned:The Sure Thing: A Pleasure Practice to Revive the Spark by Elana Auerbach
 
===GUEST LINKS:
FREE GIFT:
A guided journey to deepen with your wild, sensual self and connect with your passion and desire!
https://guide.surethingexperiment.com/wild-sensual-self
Website: https://surethingexperiment.com/ 
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/ElanaAuerbachAuthor/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elana.auerbach 
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/
•Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB
•Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
  ===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

What if your depression, burnout, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm wasn’t your body betraying you… but your body communicating with you?
In this episode, I’m joined by former Chemical Engineer turned Mind-Body Mentor Alisha Kapani to explore the profound connection between emotional suppression, nervous system healing, feminine energy, embodiment, chronic illness, self-worth, and the power of receiving.
After experiencing severe depression for five years, Alisha shares how her healing journey completely transformed the way she understood emotions, sensitivity, feminine energy, abundance, and the body’s innate wisdom. Together, we unpack why so many women live disconnected from their bodies, trapped in hyper-independence, survival mode, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and chronic stress, and how healing begins when we soften enough to actually feel.
This episode explores:
why emotional suppression creates illness
the difference between “wallowing” and welcoming emotions
why women struggle to receive support
the hidden cost of hyper-independence
healing shame and worthiness wounds
feminine embodiment rituals for everyday life
and how reconnecting to your body can radically transform your life.
If you’ve been feeling exhausted, emotionally numb, disconnected from yourself, trapped in survival mode, or longing to feel more alive, sensual, safe, and deeply nourished within your own body, this conversation is for you.
This episode is an invitation to slow down, soften, and remember that healing isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about learning how to finally listen to the wisdom already living inside you.
 
 
 
===GUEST LINKS:Website: https://www.alishakapani.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/alishakapani Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisha_kapani/ ===
VILATES•Website: https://www.vilates.com/  •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/  •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB  •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980  
===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

What if your sexuality was a pathway into deeper aliveness, intimacy, healing, and liberation?
In this rich and expansive episode, I’m joined by Tantra educator, Sensualist, and Author Luna Agneya to explore the profound teachings within her book The Liberated Sensualist: The Modern Tantrika’s Guide to Embodied Awakening.
Together, we dive into the deeper philosophy of Tantra beyond the clichés and unpack what it truly means to live as an embodied, erotically alive human being in the modern world.
This conversation explores liberated sensuality, nervous system healing, and the transformative power of the erotic as a spiritual path.
We discuss:
Nondual Tantra and embodied awakening
The difference between performative sexuality and authentic erotic embodiment
Somatic healing and trauma-informed intimacy
Female pleasure, arousal, and liberated sexuality
Nervous system safety and emotional intimacy
Why desire fades in long-term relationships
Deep bliss, sensual liberation, and erotic aliveness beyond the bedroom
This conversation is an invitation to move beyond shame, performance, and disconnection and into a more liberated, embodied, emotionally honest relationship with yourself, your body, your pleasure, and your capacity for intimacy.
If you’ve been longing for a deeper conversation around Tantra, embodiment, sexuality, healing, and the erotic, then this episode is for you.
 
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GUEST LINKS:
Book: https://www.lovethatliberates.com/liberated-sensualist-bookCourse: https://www.sensualarts.school/ For Leaders/Facilitators: https://www.evolvingeros.com/ Substack: https://lovethatliberates.substack.com/ 
 
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/ •Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/ •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB •Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980 
===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

In this deeply personal and politically charged solo episode, I explore the systematic deconstruction of women’s sexuality, sensuality, and erotic power through the lens of feminism, nervous system science, somatic embodiment, and Audre Lorde’s groundbreaking essay Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.
Join me as I unpack the difference between objectification and true erotic embodiment, the long history of patriarchal control over women’s bodies, the medicalisation and pathologising of female sexuality, and why so many women feel disconnected from pleasure, desire, and aliveness.
I also explore the wisdom of pre-patriarchal goddess cultures, sacred sexuality traditions, and the profound healing available through trauma-informed somatic work.
This episode is an invitation to remember that your body is deeply intelligent. And reclaiming your pleasure, your voice, and your erotic sovereignty may be one of the most radical acts of healing available to us.
Topics include:
Audre Lorde and the erotic as power
Patriarchy and women’s sexuality
Nervous system safety and embodiment
Sexual shame and objectification
Tantra, Taoism, and female pleasure
Erotic sovereignty and reclaiming desire
Female sexuality beyond performance
If this conversation moves something in you, please leave a review and share the episode with someone who may need it too 🩶
 
 
===
VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/
•Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB
•Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
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....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

Join me in this deeply expansive episode as I sit down with Therapist, Psychedelic Integration Guide, Filmmaker, and host of the Sex, Psychics & Psychedelics podcast, Jane Garnett, for a conversation that completely reframes sexuality, intimacy, pleasure, and feminine aliveness.
Together, we explore the hidden stories women carry about sex, desire, performance, orgasm, relationships, and what it really means to feel alive in your body. This episode is an invitation to unlearn the scripts of patriarchal conditioning, perfectionism, and performative sexuality and return to what feels true.
Jane shares powerful reflections on:
Why sexuality is not something you “achieve” but something you listen to
The pressure many women feel to be endlessly orgasmic, available, and sexually “successful”
How intimacy deepens when we release expectations and surrender to sensation
Why midlife often becomes a portal into sexual reinvention and truth
The importance of permission, rest, softness, and slowing down
This conversation is soulful, provocative, liberating, and deeply human. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, confused by your changing sexuality, or exhausted by the pressure to “get it right,” this episode will feel like a long exhale.
Because maybe your sexuality was never meant to fit inside a script.
Maybe it was always meant to evolve.
 
If this episode resonates, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs these conversations too.
 
 
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GUEST LINKS:
Website: https://www.bananajane.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebananajane 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebananajane
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/sex-psychics-psychedelics/id1564572945 
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/
•FREE RESOURCE Breast Massage Meditation: www.vilates.com/free-breast-massage-meditation
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/
•Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB
•Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

In this deeply intimate conversation, I’m joined by Sacred Intimacy Coach and Ordained Priestess Ashley Miley to explore what it actually means to come home to your body after trauma, disconnection, and years of learned self-abandonment.
We speak about the kind of healing that goes beyond understanding and into embodiment. The kind that asks you to feel what you have spent years avoiding. The kind that invites you back into your own nervous system, your own pleasure, and your own truth.
Ashley shares her personal journey through sexual trauma, emotional disconnection, and the long, often solitary process of rebuilding a relationship with her body. Together, we explore the difference between talking about healing and actually living it through sensation, breath, and presence.
This episode gently unpacks:
• Why talk therapy alone often isn’t enough for deep sexual and relational healing• How trauma lives in the body and why embodiment is the pathway forward • The role of the nervous system in creating safety for intimacy and pleasure• How we unknowingly build identities around trauma, and how to soften those identities• The truth about “coming home to yourself” and why it changes everything• What it means to move from seeking love externally to cultivating inner sacred union• How pleasure becomes a reclamation of power, not performance
This is a conversation for the woman who has done the work, read the books, tried to understand herself, and yet still feels a quiet distance from her body, her desire, or her sense of aliveness.
You're not broken.
There is nothing missing.
There is simply a deeper layer of you waiting to be felt.
 
 
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GUEST LINKS
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•Website: thesacredintimacytemple.com
•Join Email List Here: https://thesacredintimacytemple.com/email-list
 
 
 
 
 
 
LINKS
===
 
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/ 
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilates_/
•Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fs2KlkHNzICKAg2crZSMB 
•Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
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Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.

There comes a point, often in midlife, where something begins to shift.
You might notice it in your body first.A subtle disconnection. Or a sense that intimacy has become something you think about, rather than something you feel inside yourself.
And for many women, the question that follows is so deeply personal it’s rarely spoken out loud.
“Is something wrong with me?”
In this conversation, I’m joined by the Incredible Intimacy expert Susan Bratton, and together we explore what sits underneath that question with honesty, nuance, and care.
We talk about the difference between libido, desire, and arousal, not as clinical concepts, but as lived experiences inside the female body. We explore how many women have been shaped by conditioning that prioritised performance over sensation, and how that disconnect can quietly follow us into midlife.
This episode opens a different perspective.
One where your body is not failing, but responding intelligently. Where desire is not something you’ve lost, but something that you may never have fully met yet.
We explore:
• Why low libido is often a misunderstanding, not a deficiency• How female arousal actually unfolds in the body• The impact of cultural conditioning on pleasure and intimacy• Why pleasure can deepen and expand over time• How communication becomes a bridge back to intimacy.
 
Susan reminds us that this chapter of life is not about going backwards, it’s about meeting yourself in a new way, with more awareness, more honesty, and more permission than you’ve ever had before. So much so, that now, in her sixties, she's having the best sex of her life. 
So if you’ve felt disconnected, unsure, or even curious about what’s still possible for you in midlife and beyond, then this conversation will light a fire in your belly and let you know, that when it comes to sex and pleasure, there's always more!
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GUEST LINKS:
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Website: https://betterlover.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanbratton/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BetterLover
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VILATES
•Website: https://www.vilates.com/
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•Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ecology-of-intimacy-podcast/id1772602980
 
 
===....Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, medical practitioner, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this podcast. Copyright 2026 © Vilates, Pty. Ltd - All rights reserved.