Slow Deep with euni

Why would I speed up or slow down something that is long form?When you say - you should love yourself….what do you mean?Tell me in sentences and paragraphs. Tell me over and over again. Show me the parts of myself that beckon for love. Because the way that you love me opens the way that I love myself.And the way that you love yourself creates the connection between you and I in long form.But when you love in shortness, in small sentences, in simplicity - not simplicity from peace or ease - but simplicity for convenience - this is a fear of intimacy. Because intimacy requires devotion. And through devotion, we learn what it is to love ourselves well, wide - in every form.LET’S GO SLOW.LET’S GET DEEP.SLOWDEEP.CO Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

This is the final episode from the Sensory Playspace archives and SLOW/DEEP Podcast pre-season. It was such a special treat to be able to connect with and geek out with one of my favorite authors, Natasha NawaTaNeko. I’ve been building a relationship with rope, professionally, casually, and mainly through platonic intimate connections for the last 4 years. What has felt truest to me is the understanding, knowing, and responsibility to hold agency no matter what role one plays in the power exchange. I received her book, Somatics for Rope Bottoms as a gift from a rope partner I tied with as they were passing through town a few years ago. It’s been a resource for me, not only with rope + kink, but in my work as a somatic practitioner overall. I hope you enjoy this time with Natasha as much as I did. The first season of the SLOW/DEEP with euni Podcast will be coming out end of October. We will be expanding how we intimately explore all parts of life and bringing in some new and familiar guests to dive into rich, contemplative, curious conversations to inspire living life most authentically. But for now, give this episode an listen and leave a comment, share with a friend, and subscribe on your favorite platform. SHOW NOTES:• Intro: Meet Natasha • The journey from a conventional life as a lawyer to discovering somatic work, rope bondage, and writing a philosophical book about embodiment and personal truth. • Empowerment, personal safety, and the ability to surrender power while maintaining control. • Internalizing safety vs. external frameworks or authorities• Intersection of somatic work, kink, and personal growth• Kink and creating safe container for exploring intense feelings and sensations•  Rope bondage, learning to relax into pain, and maintain softness• Connection between pain and pleasure•  Setting intentions and the transformation of relationship with pain • Consent and ethics in kink and the value of self-reflection and connection through somatic experiences• Self-awareness and clear intentions when engaging in rope and kink activities• Open communication, reflection after experiences and the value of exploring one’s desires and boundaries• Creating shared, meaningful experiences with others vs. seeking external imagery or fantasy-driven encounters. • Developing personal practices, reflective conversations post-experience, and deepening understanding and connection with partners• Intense kink encounter, highs and post-scene drops • The importance of slowing down and creating a supportive environment for future experiences• Feelings of harm, taking self-responsibility for personal healing, and also acknowledging the value of support and recognition from othersAbout Natasha:Natasha NawaTaNeko is a somatic coach, author, and educator. Drawing on her background in Sexological Bodywork under Joseph Kramer and over a decade of experience as a performer and educator in Kinbaku (Japanese-inspired rope bondage), Natasha integrates various somatic practices—such as breathwork, sound, touch, posture, non-verbal communication, and focused attention—into her teachings. In 2020, she authored Somatics for Rope Bottoms, a book exploring the potential of rope bondage for personal and intimate self-exploration.Find + connect with Natasha:Web: ropesomatics.com and discoverkinbaku.comSubstack: substack.com/@nawatanekoInstagram: @nawatanekoStay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by Qolaj Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

This episode dives into what it is to create shared leadership that centers ethics, community values, consent forward practices, and repair after harm in community and sex positive spaces. I had a chat with Jules Purnell last year after meeting them during a peer professional gathering online for intimacy professionals. Their take on how to hold the complexities of both harm and repair in the same space while finding solutions to expand community rather than pull it apart caught my attention. SHOW NOTES:• Intro: Meet Jules• Working as a sexuality educator, focusing on supporting queer and trans survivors of sexual harm. • From crisis support to hands-on healing work through surrogate work and intimacy coaching. • Exploring the importance of emotional experiences in learning• Significance of human connection and emotional expression in deep personal growth and healing.• Intersectionality and the creation of unique identities vs. stacking different aspects of identity. • Intersectionality impact on people’s experiences and access to self-expression•  Creating spaces for people to connect emotionally to find a sense of liberation• Safety in community spaces and personal growth• Developing internal safety within oneself with intersectionality and hidden aspects of identity such as disability and trauma. • Self-trust in healing and personal development, especially when exploring new lifestyles or experiences• Intensity in BDSM scenes and significant emotional drop • Slut-shaming by a friend and isolation• Building self-trust and starting slowly in BDSM experiences• Exploring how people on a more liberated path may face negativity from others who haven’t unlearned their own shame• Restorative justice as an approach to address harm, trauma, or violence by attempting to make things right and applying to various situations, from personal conflicts to more serious harms, particularly focusing on sexual harm in her practice.• Acknowledgment that everyone has both hurt others and been hurt, adopting a restorative lens in daily life, and developing a practice of apologizing and repairing relationships when necessary• Complexities of sex, relationships, and emotional connection • Challenges of navigating consent, communication, and emotional vulnerability in sexual encounters, particularly in hookup culture• Emotional expression, including crying during sex, and feeling safe with a partner to fully express oneself• Lack of emotional care in casual connections• Honesty, naming intentions and capacity for commitment•  Misleading another, miscommunication or subtle consent violations and reflect on one’s own role and clarity of intentions• Complexities of consent and communication in relationships• Creating space for honest conversations about personal desires and boundaries, • Spectrum of consent and self awareness in navigating intimacy and sex • Personal growth in sexual experiences • Pushing boundaries, self-discovery, growth, and expansion with psychological readiness and aftercare• Intimate play parties, closing ceremonies, and aftercare. • Restorative practices for alt sex and kink spaces • Education and facilitated dialogue for those who have violated boundaries and/or been harmed. • Humility, nuance in personal truths, and healing • Inclusive spaces that focus on ethos and behavior vs. strict identity requirementsAbout Jules:Jules Purnell, M.Ed. is an AASECT certified Sexuality Educator, Restorative Justice facilitator and practitioner, and emerging hands-on Intimacy Coach. Their educational background and expertise includes LGBTQIA+ cultural inclusion and awareness, BDSM/kink, and ethical non-monogamy. They have received training in Sensate Focus from the Integrative Mind Body Therapies and have presented for the Surrogate Partner Collective. They have been featured on podcasts such as NPR’s Life Kit, Sex Ed In Color, Loving Without Boundaries, and more. Their writing has been featured in Trans Bodies, Trans Selves and Sex Meets Life, as well as many others. They currently teach as a lecturer in Sociology and will be entering into a PhD program for Social Justice Education in the Fall of 2025.Find + connect with Jules:Web: julesmpurnell.comSubstack: substack.com/@jmpurnellLinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/julesmpurnellStay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by Qolaj Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published, 6/19/25This episode we dip our toes into professional cuddling and the curation of authentic intimacy. We discuss what cuddling is, less known things about intimacy discovered in professional settings, and misconceptions of being a touch therapist.We had a chat with professional Cuddle Therapist, Keeley Shoup about all things cuddling. This conversation opened up our eyes to what happens behind closed doors during a cuddling session, bravery in vulnerability, safety, and new layers of intimacy that we haven’t explored. Go ahead and give it a listen.Did this chat hit something for you? Leave a comment on this Substack post to continue the conversation. Share this episode with your friends/lovers/family and let’s find more ways to get our of our heads and drop deeper into our body centered pleasure through intimacy, healing + kink.Listen on:SPOTIFYAPPLEYOU TUBEABOUT KEELEYKeeley has been a Cuddle Therapist since 2015, she is the co-owner and CEO of Cuddlist and sits ont he board of directors for Cuddle Party. She is a fierce advocate for therapeutic touch professions of all sorts and is a boundaries and consent educator.Find + connect with Keeley online at:keeleyshoup.com youtube.com/@YourCuddleTherapistTikTok @YourCuddleTherapist Stay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by QolajSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published June 2025.How do we live and love when we have never truly existed in deep connection with ourselves? Last night I spent some time reflecting on the versions of who I have been and how they have been dying as I prioritize centering myself in my own life.Love isn’t a boundless pursuit. It’s an adventure that unfolds when we give and receive from a place of groundedness within our truest self. Not to say that love isn’t available in other places or other forms. But the love I am currently pondering, playing with, practicing, and expanding are the layers of love that don’t come at a sacrifice of self for the sake of potential with another. It’s a love that doesn’t request for us to forget or unknow the weird, wild, and messy parts of ourselves. It’s the type of love that we give to ourselves in the simplicities of every day life and the routines, rituals, practices, and commitments that we dedicate to ourselves for deep nourishment of our body-mind-heart-soul.Journey with me into and through a little mindspin and reflections on codependency and love and my personal journeying and movement away from self abandonment into discovery of new ways of loving. Enjoyyyyy.Are you ready to shift the ways you are feeling into and experiencing intimacy, pleasure, play, and love. Drop into 21 days of self guided practices that will help you shape your own unique blueprint for intimacy.Stay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by QolajSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published, February 12th, 2025.I’ve been posting ASK/TELL ME ANYTHING for a while now to my social feeds. It’s been something that has given me a great sense of connection + pleasure in a place that often makes me feel isolated and numb. Social media originally was designed to connect us, but the ways in which we now navigate news media, advertising, and AI in the social spheres, it has become for me (and I’ll say likely many others) overwhelming and uninspiring. I love connection. If you haven’t been able to tell. And what I love most about Substack is that it feels fresh and the people here move with an open heart and curious mind. It feels possible to connect in ways I have not found on the most popular platforms. And, even more so, it feels like a playground. A place for trying and exploring. So I’m going to attempt a weekly ASK ME ANYTHING podcast/video where I dive deeper into questions that come through from the collective + community. I’ll share what the initial conversation is in the post and I’ll hop on the Substack video to dive in in real time. This ASK ME ANYTHING piece will be unedited and, true to the form I want it to take, will hopefully feel more like an open conversation than a calculated response to sell you something (or anything). The intention is purely to connect, inspire deeper thinking, and to share ideas in dialog through this digital world. These ideas, thoughts, opinions are my own unless otherwise credited and are informed by my lived experiences and influenced by my study, work, and mentors, and musings. Take what resonates, leave the rest. If you want to join the conversation - leave a comment below or hit us up in the chat. Click the play button and let’s dive in. From the notes:It’s important for me to say and for you to understand that my skills and expertise in this work is because I do this work every single day with and on myself. I study + train from others work. I meet with a therapist, a coach, a trainer, and other practitioners. I go to classes. I practice + use somatic tools and refine and define them to be most beneficial for me. I have hard conversations. I hurt peoples feelings and try to make space for repair. I close my heart and open it again and again. I forget boundaries and have to create new ones. I cry, I rage. I love, I play.I am skilled at this work not simply because I read about it. Or study others misery, pain or desires from theories and classrooms. Or even because I just hold space for others to work through their challenges + expand their edges. My expertise in this work comes from the ways I dedicate to being in deep relationship with this work, life + others. I am diligently learning more about intimacy + relationship through my own life in every single way and create the space to feel, experience, rewrite, and expand what I discover.Stay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at euni@slowdeep.coSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published, October 24th, 2024.What I’ve grown an awareness of that is more bitter than sweet is that it’s nearly impossible to take space for what we need in this life and in the world. In this present moment in time, the world seems to be spinning faster than many of us can keep up with. And many are struggling to ground into the every day world. Many of us are shedding and searching for what is coming next. Holding pain and sadness beneath the surface and putting on a face that hides the truth of what they’re confronting deep inside. The blessing and struggle in this is a knowing that we are not alone. And a knowing that too many people are moving through the hardships right alongside us. And such is the human journey - a never ending exploration of change. And we’re back live! Whew, the time away this summer was needed. Although I didn’t get the chance to step fully away and hit pause on my whole life - taking space away from intimacy + healing work really expanded both my perspective and my capacity. It gave me a lot of space to think about what I had been doing and what was it that I wanted to experience and expand upon moving forward. I held space for some shedding and healing and am excited to move into the fall + winter seasons ahead with more lightness and inspiration to really refine the ways we explore intimacy, healing + kink together. There’s so much to tell you about. But what is at the surface today is to introduce + name the space that we all weave in and out of. The space in between. Transitional, liminal space. The place where we surrender to change, grief, shedding, and defeat. It’s the place that lives in the middle of what was and what is becoming. This is what bridges us in growth. This is what we’ve been doing inside the Self Study Lab since 2019. Transforming over + over again. Leaning into our learnings and letting go of the lessons we have learned. Opening up curiously towards the unknown. Leaning into creating over + over again. We’ve been holding space for all to exist unapologetically and to deepen the ways we connect with ourselves + one another through friendship + romantic love. Stay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at euni@slowdeep.coSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Audio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by Qolaj Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Connecting with owning our own sexual pleasure through solo sex. We had a chat with Jordan D'Nelle from the non profit organization, Something Positive for Positive People, a support resource for people navigating herpes stigma.In this episode we talked about:• The difference between self pleasure, solo practice, and masturbation.• Importance of masturbation and the claiming of your own pleasure.• Why do we maturbate, self explored benefits, and the balance of healthy and unhealthy practices.• Masturbation for avoidance.• Queerness, societal perceptions, and expectations on sexuality.• Women, sex drive, desire, shame, and mix-matched libido.• "Sexpectations" and externalizing expectations for fulfillment of needs.• Why we have partnered sex.• Mutual maturbation.• Getting what you need and the orgasm gap in heterosexual relationships.• Expanding what sex looks like and having sex for achieving pleasure.• Defining and creating language for what sex is to you.• Honoring what your body wants, not forcing for pleasure, and practicing self consent in solo play.• What does it feel like when the body is inviting you in verses resisting.• Slowness, breath, and taking your time with sex.• Guiding into the body through breath and round breathing for awakening and expanding sexual and sensual energy.• Hot take on sex and solo sex as a medical professional outside the office• Stresses and different aspects of health impact, and seeing sexual health as an indicator of overall health.About Jordan:Jordan D’Nelle inspires women to find power in their sexuality and create a pleasure filled life in and out of the bedroom. She is a Pleasure Positive Intimacy Coach, Physician Associate, Sexual Health Educator, speaker and the Founder of the Vaginas, Vulvas, and Vibrators Podcast. An award nominated and top 100 Podcast. Her goal is to have taboo conversations about sexuality, sexual intimacy, women’s health and relationships that specifically affect women. She wants to help normalize women’s sexual health and create a safe space for women to feel validated. She has been featured in Cosmopolitan magazine, Women’s Health Magazine, and many other podcasts. In her 13 years of experience, she has helped many woman overcome shame and have better intimacy with themselves and their partners.Find + connect with Jordan online at:jordandnelle.cominstagram.com/jordandnelleFree Guide to Foreplay: Foreplay.jordandnelle.comStay connected with us:Show lineup: https://www.selfstudylab.com/sensoryplayspaceSubstack Resources, Community + Announcements: https://sensoryplayspace.substack.com/Instagram: https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.com Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published, June 4th, 2024.What makes a relationship rich and sustainable? IMO - Space holding and reciprocity in relationships is vital. This has grown into something that is also a non-negotiable for me and admittedly as a person who has lived most of their life giving with a lot of pleasure and ease, and holding a lot of fear and refusal in the taking and receiving, it’s a dedicated practice that begins with how I show up with myself before I even connect with anyone else. I remember hearing this quote from Brené Brown a few years back that softly stuck as a reminder to try to find balance in both the ways I connect with other, but most importantly, it was an invitation to dive deeper into truer vulnerability. Vulnerability not founded on agenda, power, control, or imbalances in reciprocity. This quote came back up recently in a book I’ve been reading, Claim your Power in the chapter on The Benefit of Letting Go. Brené says, Until we can receive with an open heart, we’re never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgement to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attachment to giving help.I have experienced relationships in ways of connection with agenda more frequently than I have connection from a place of exploration, curiosity, creativity, collaboration, pleasure, play, and expansion of purpose + love. I have sought out relationships to fulfill my “role” of being able to take care of or fix another in exchange for love. I’ve experienced being pursued by another to fill the void of loneliness, to avoid what they needed to face, and to take in order to feel powerful to overshadow ways they’ve felt weak before. I’ve found myself in relationships playing out roles - mirroring the recreation of the ways I’ve felt unseen, unloved, and abandoned by the ones I loved. The truth is, we all move through life playing out our childhood stories until we become aware of them. And in the moments that we do, we get the opportunity to slow down, take a look at who we’ve become over all these years, and to lean into our courage and creativity to create the life, love, and relationships we want the most. Reciprocity has become something that has allowed me to connect, heal, reclaim, and release in relationships. Reciprocity has created space for deeper and more fulfilling ways to relate build on a foundation of connection and not what one person does for the other. Reciprocity has given me spaciousness to heal by allowing me to move through fears, insecurities, and provided ways that I could relax, rest, and use my voice to speak my truths. Reciprocity has helped me reclaim agency over my entire self. Especially when connecting with others. It’s given me space to know that I can receive without being owned and give without feeling entitled to take ownership or expect in return. Reciprocity has given me space to release past experiences that have become compasses for how I move through the world. It’s allowed me to soften, let down my guard, and release the protective response that often comes out as control. Through practicing reciprocity as the foundation for relationship building, I have been able to experience more connectivity and intimacy and fulfillment in every type of relationship no matter if it is casual, platonic, professional, romantic, or sexual.Have a listen to Episode 3 from The Sensory Playspace archives. Here I have a little chat about Reciprocity in Relationships and leave a comment in the substack post to share what you’re taking away. Share this episode with your friends/lovers/family and let’s keep the conversation going.SHOW NOTESIn this episode we talk about:* Relating creates possibility* Exploration reciprocity across different relationship dynamics* What does reciprocity feel like?* Green flags in relationships and reciprocal connections* Intentionality in connection* Giving permission and leading by example* Honesty, directness, and the courage to tell the truth* Practicing active listening and creating space for really understanding what is being said* Connection from a place of acting beyond the bare minimum, creating space for desire, pleasure and authenticity in feeling* Allowing and creating space for self connection, individuality, and separateness * Giving and receiving abundantly * Permission to practice connecting and showing upLET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by QolajSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Sensory Playspace! So happy you're here. A little nervous chatter from euni to help you settle in. Stay connected with us:Show notes: https://www.selfstudylab.com/sensoryplayspaceSubstack - Resources, Community + Announcements: https://sensoryplayspace.substack.com/Instagram: https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

The time has come for Sensory Playspace to take a beat. I’ve been contemplating what it is and what it would be to “rebrand” for a while and I’m ready to take the leap. We’re moving towards what feels more authentic, expressed, and expansive of the magnitude of my artistry in it’s truest forms. I’ll be over the next week or so rebranding the digital spaces to build the foundation for SLOW DEEP to come to light. Some things to look out for:* The podcast will be relaunched with the new name. We’ll run episodes pretty quickly as we work our way through the pre-season episodes that were created on Sensory Playspace. The new season will begin early fall. * I’ll be sharing more frequently with audio notes + youtube to explore more audio and video creation and expression alongside my essay and educational writing.* I’m finding braver ways to intermix my art in every form and releasing the pressure to be a brand or do good marketing or make perfect things to keep up with the demands of content, favortism, algorithms, and being click bait. I want to devote my time to creating what feels curious, true, interesting, and real. * Although I will always go through spurts of creating often and then moment where I barely create, I want to center opening towards prioritizing feeling truer in the ways I am creating and connecting in what I expand into the world - including, and especially within the digital spaces and the places that I create to share with all of you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for experiencing, exploring + opening up to curiosity and the desires to slow down and go deeper - even in this face paced digital space. with love,euni Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

For the sake of letting my mind experiment with expression through words verses the tips of my fingers for a while. I have been thinking for a few weeks now how I wanted to end a lot of things. Pivot, create shifts, open up towards more. Every day that has passed has pushed me deeper into myself. Into my insides. Held me more honestly in softness and compassion that I didn’t think I needed or even knew. A salve that was created for holding us through deep loss, transition, and griefs.I have been wondering in so many ways - how much longer until I can settle into becoming the most of myself. Will I ever be fully expressed in all that I am. Will I always hold myself in a form of filtering just to ensure I make it through. Just to make sure I get by.My dad always says things like enough to survive. Because he has a sense of peace and comfort with survival. With being close to that edge. He has lived a different life than me. And is paving the lines for a different path. So sometimes the ways in which I experienced knowing how to feel peace is so different than his. Because my peace comes from giving my soul a space to feel into this human experience. My peace comes from my ability to dream and express and experience deeply. If I examine from many angles, I’m certain I will find clinging within the last sentences that I just wrote. But in this moment, I am okay with that. Not a clinging from a place of ownership or control. But a deep deep knowing that I want to experience more. To feel into another sense of knowing and existing that I haven’t quite yet. There’s this way that I feel content with my commitment to living more fully by opening my heart wider and letting intimacy become my guiding point through life. It feels scary. Honestly, a little unhinged. But what else are we going to do if we don’t let our hearts take the stage and become the main character in this play that we call our life? So, even if it doesn’t make it past the first season - I am going to practice in that space with all of you for a little bit.These last few months I’ve learned through the language of my body about love in a whole new way. Some things my body had to say to me:• When euphoria is reached, it’s impossible to not let the tears freely fall from my eyes. • Love really only looks like being present with whatever is right in front of you and allowing vulnerability to peel back the layers that give you armor to guard your heart. • Love can find and hold patience through chaos of fear and shame. • Time doesn’t determine depth in love. • Love can carry intimacy across many chapters of life and all the ways in which relationships find new shapes. • It doesn’t matter what we decide to do with our time - we’’ll never be able to escape the force of being called to intimately know, express, and become our most authentic self. • Intimacy isn’t performed. It’s not forceable. It just happens when we are not trying. When we stop responding. When we quit performing. When we are just existing with all of our fears, failures, desires, and insecurities laying out on the table to be seen. It’s in the ways in which we open up wider to another and give them glimpses of who we are at a deeper level, body-mind-heart-soul. And how we ponder the things we hear from the other and instead of losing, we become more of ourselves. • Love is leaving space between others and deepening the space experienced within self. • Intimacy is knowing what it is to be comfortably settled and find stillness in being uncomfortable without needing to create chaos purely for the sake of control. It’s finding practice and routine in the mundane every day things and pleasure in the subtleties that exist in every day life and the moments that happen naturally purely because we soften into allowing ourselves to experience feeling and a bravery to say yes over and over again. This weekend (Saturday, 10:30am PT) I reopen the digital doors to INBODY LAB Group Mentorship. I’ve moved it to the Substack + it’s accessible for our paid subscribers. It’s the space where you’ll find all the mindmaps, blueprints, meditations, frameworks, and replays of the live labs. It feels special to share this with you. Not from a place of survival or even security through the collection of financial resources. But as a way to been in deep reciprocity, mirroring, and commitment to one another in exploration and depth within intimacy.Thanks for riffing + mindspining with me. A Place to Become:We’re charging ahead with the vision to open our physical space this coming summer! We’ve begun the process to make this possible and your help and support will be an intricate part of making this a reality. This studio will be unlike any other place you’ve experienced and will be a place for this work, our collective groups, and greater visions to evolve, become, and belong. Each month we’ll share more about the progress, plans, and sticking points so that you can be involved every step of the way. Profits, donations, and contributions collected through Self Study will go towards the bringing this space from a dream into reality.Love this work? Help us open our physical space summer 2025!* Join the Sensory Playspace community on Substack and subscribe to receive posts directly to your inbox.Subscribe here:* Contribute to the Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/fd148755* Book a session: http://selfstudylab.com/sessions* Attend a class, workshop or lab: http://selfstudylab.com/classesFind/follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.com Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

This episode we dip our toes into they ways the body responds to stress, trauma, and shame show up in the body and impact one's sexuality. We discuss various aspects of women's health, including the impact of trauma, the importance of self-discovery, and the connection between physical and emotional well-being. This conversation touched on topics such as sexual expression, intimacy, and the significance of building a healthy relationship with one's body, while also addressing common health issues and the need for community support in navigating these areas.SHOW NOTES:• Intro: Meet Brittney • Physical connection to the body• Pelvic floor issues and sexuality • Self discovery and body connection • Pelvic floor issues and understanding connection with the body• Sexuality and periods• Emotional safety and physical intimacy• Hormonal birth control and the impacts on mental health• Trauma, the bodies response to it• High desire for sex and self fulfillment • Understanding one's bodily functions in relation to the bladder and the pelvic floor• Stress, emotions + energetic stories and the connection to the pelvis• Learning about the body and navigating shame, grief, sadness, and anger• Relationship to anger and rage• Trauma stored in the body• Pain, infections, irritations, surgery, scars, urgency, hip pain, reproductive issues, and discomforts in the pelvic area and taking care of the body as a preventative method• Claiming your power and surrendering into self compassion and the reality of what is•  TTC, pregnancy, pressures on sex + timing, and accepting the course • The ways we build a connection with our bodies creates opening• Intimacy in every form and connectivity to the body• Showing up for self with open curiosity, presence, and availability to hear bodies expressions• Merging of wellness from a holistic lens and rituals around navigating sexual expressions• Play vs. performance and pace• Resistance and self pleasure• Experimentation and sex lab• The healing impacts of being messy• Beginning to build better body liberation, agency + choice Get full access to Sensory Playspace by Self Study at sensoryplayspace.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Let's dive into one of our favorite topics: intimacy, pleasure, and play. euni dissects one of her signature classes + workshops and the foundation of what it is all about. Come drop in with us and open space for exploration, self-discovery, and living more intimate, pleasure centered, and playful lives in every possible way. Get full access to Sensory Playspace by Self Study at sensoryplayspace.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published 1/6/25I met Christine during quarantine as a student in her Ayervedic Postpartum Caretaker program. This was my first training as a doula and birthworker and set a foundation for not only how I cared for others, but how I learned to become more committed to healing and loving rituals with myself. We’ve stayed connected over the years and have been able to evolve and find ways to continue exploring our gifts, passions, and purpose-filled work together over time. I no long serve individuals and families as a birthworker, but the information I learned has been able to be translated to other elements of my work to support people outside of and beyond reproductive windows.This talk with Christine was a beautiful expansion and reflection of her journey through motherhood and a caretaker for community - exploring her connectivity to her own relationship with intimacy over time. I look forward to continuing to evolve and weave back together with Christine as time passes - sharing wisdom learned as we move from one chapter of life into another - reflecting on what has been learned, what stories have been rewritten, what shame has been healed, and all the things we uncover as women, mothers, and guides to leaning into agency, love, and collaboration with our bodies over time. Let’s dive into how we view, experience, and communicate intimately through reproductive transitions. We had a chat with Christine Devlin Eck, Director + Instructor of the Center for Sacred Window Studies about intimacy after birth.Have a listen to Episode 8 of The Sensory Playspace Podcast to explore (and expand) how we view intimacy in parenthood and throughout postpartum. Did this chat hit something for you? Leave a comment on this Substack post to continue the conversation. Share this episode with your friends/lovers/family and let’s find more ways to get our of our heads and drop deeper into our body centered pleasure through intimacy, healing + kink.SHOW NOTES:In this episode we talked about:• Intro: Meet Christine• The evolution from birth photography into somatic + sexual healing work and the influence from Sacred Window Studies• Sex, pregnancy, postpartum, and how the body changes after birth• Our sexuality and intimacy in postpartum is a highly individualized experience• Doing the inner work to create what we want to feel • The letdown of expectations not being matched to what others project the journey would be• Creating conscious care for transitions • Being well, healthy balance, and well cared for creates vitality and sexuality• Choosing to parent and transitioning your identity and being of service • Presence in your body and the how we experience and try new things• Finding new ways to connect and be intimate• The hardships faced in postpartum while healing• Lacking trust in the body and the inability to open intimately with your partner• Choosing the journey, connection, and exploration and sharing our bodies and the ways this evolves with the traumas of the body experienced through pregnancy• Allowing yourself be with whatever is present, even the hard things• Communicating about your experience with your partner• Honoring one another’s needs without words• Dropping into presence with another, figuring out what they need, and mirroring it back to them to create a sense of safety and vulnerability• The dance of verbal and non-verbal communication• Navigating the changes and taking charge of your body in postpartum• Entering into new phases and the exploration as a sexual person over time and phases of life • Meeting your partner and supporting their navigation of the postpartum journey to create feelings of intimacy• Collaboratively meeting needs and holding our own space• Severing of what was established and inability to create something meaningful after birth in relationship• The sacred window and intentionality after birth to expand into bringing new opportunities in• Curiosity of elevating the spiritual aspect of intimacy with a partnerAbout Christine:Christine’s passion is in elevating care of self in order to amplify care for others. She is a busy mother to 4 boys and practices her skills daily in support of the divine feminine. Christine is an Ayurvedic Health Consultant, a Birth and Postpartum Doula and the Founder of the Center for Sacred Window Studies, an education platform for Conscious Postpartum Care inspired by Ayurveda and other universal traditions found around the world. She established the Universal Mother Principles as a way of accessing the foundational qualities of giving and receiving effective care for self and others. The Center for Sacred Window Studies certifies caregivers from around the world in the Conscious Postpartum Caregiver Online Certification Program and the Sacred Window Postpartum Training + Embodiment Retreats. Christine hosts the Sacred Window Podcast and builds awareness and support for postpartum and transitional feminine care via monthly events and continuing education for people passionate about the postpartum window and sustainable caregiving. Christine is featured on many podcasts, publications and summits including USA Today, Orgasmic Birth and Birthing from Within.Find + connect with Christine online at:sacredwindowstudies.comInstagram Instagram.com/sacredwindowstudiesFacebook facebook.com/sacredwindowstudiesAccess a Free Class: A Sacred Journey into Accessing True Postpartum CareStay connected with us:LET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP.Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/slowdeep.coQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by QolajSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Connecting with intimacy and expanding how we view, experience, and communicate sexually. We had a chat with Michelle Renee, a Platonic Surrogate Partner about the spectrums of sex.Have a listen to Episode 7 of The Sensory Playspace Podcast to explore (and expand) what the spectrum of sex can mean for you with us. Leave a comment in the Substack post to continue the conversation. Share this episode with your friends/lovers/family and let’s find more ways to get our of our heads and drop deeper into our body centered pleasure through intimacy, healing + kink.Listen on:SPOTIFYAPPLEYOU TUBESHOW NOTES:In this episode we talked about:• Intro - Meet Michelle• Asexuality - what it is • Surrogacy Partners - what they do • Creating a nurturing space for a client to do the work that needs to be done• The repression around the imperfections in sexuality and empowering people to find a safe space within themselves• Betty Dotson and empowerment in sexuality• Professional cuddling, platonic touch, and healing unhealthy past relationship attachments• Betty Martin and The Wheel of Consent• When to introduce touch and creating a safe container within yourself• Feeling into a familiar experience in a new way. • Exploring intentional connections and learning our own patterns and quirks• Responsive Desire + Spontaneous Desire (Come as You Are)• Creating space for an empowered yes in the way it’s needed• The reality of how sex actually happens (vs. what you see on media)• Reflecting on did I really enjoy this or did I enjoy the idea of it?• Demisexual, sapiosexual and how we’re turned on from connection beyond physical attraction• Professional cuddling and sex coaching• Setting a foundation for sexual experiences that people can take outside of the room• Clarity and setting a limits on what is a yes and what is a no• Embodying your truth and allowing yourself to grow across a spectrum in your sexuality and in the work• The evolution of self through self exploration• Asexuality, fraysexual, compulsory sexuality, aphantasia, the spectrum, and what does that even mean• Holding space for others and holding space for ourselves, ego vs. autonomyPhoto credit: Mr Arash About Michelle:Michelle Renee (she/her) based in San Diego, is dedicated to helping clients discover their true Self. From her personal journey, Michelle knows that love heals. Michelle has combined her 8+ years of experience as both a cuddle therapist and a surrogate partner to create a hybrid form somatic relational repair. She affectionately welcomes clients into her Human Connection Lab, where she supports them in relational healing through experiential touch, unconditional positive regard, celebrated agency, and authentic connection. She is also the founder of SoftCockWeek.com and hosts The Intimacy Lab podcast. Find + connect with Michelle Renee online at:meetmichellerenee.comhumanconnectioncoach.cominstagram.com/meetmichellereneeeStay connected with us:Show lineup: https://www.selfstudylab.com/sensoryplayspaceSubstack Resources, Community + Announcements:Instagram: https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.com Get full access to Sensory Playspace by Self Study at sensoryplayspace.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Living more pleasure centered lives requires dedicating time to being intentional in the ways you connect with play.How do we live more pleasure centered lives? By finding and expanding our connection with play beyond escapism. There’s nothing wrong with escaping to play - it’s actually amazing and needed. But if we are only experiencing play from a place of escaping our every day life, it can become a connection that may leave us feeling high highs and low lows and a sense of emptiness and a lack of fulfillment because it isn’t sustainable or accessible in our every day lives. In this episode we’ll talk about how to create space to play to allow it to take up space in our every day life which can increase our overall happiness, joy, and pleasure. Have a listen to Episode 4 of The Sensory Playspace Podcast to explore (and expand) what solo sex can mean for you with us. Leave a comment in the Substack post to continue the conversation. Share this episode with your friends/lovers/family and let’s find more ways to get our of our heads and drop deeper into our body centered pleasure through intimacy, healing + kink.Listen on:SPOTIFYAPPLE YOU TUBE SHOW NOTES:In this episode we talked about:* Play as* Escapism* Creative Expression* Exploration* Connection* Shifting Narratives + rewriting stories* Play in a time centered container vs. play with an end goal* How to create a container for play:* Set your intention* Find and create external space / the container for play* Set, name, and identify your boundaries, edges, and desires* Drop into your body* Witness, listen, and follow energy, expression, feedback, and creative fantasies* Leave space + time for come down* Aftercare* Set space to try again - in similar or different ways* Integration space + time to observe + feel what is shifting on your body-heart-soul-mind Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Originally published, June 4th, 2024. This episode really set a bar for the caliber of conversations I wanted to have. It was a pleasure getting to drop in with Courtney and explore across many topics that tie to our culture, backgrounds, and commonalities from lived experiences. There’s much admiration to those who devote their time and livelihood to following and advocating for that which they feel passionate about. Since this conversation, I’ve witness Courtney bloom into his work with a dedication like none other. He’s made significant progress with his work for advocacy, destigmatizing, and shame reduction around Herpes as well as continued to expand his education and skills to support the communities he is tied to and serves with expanding his wellness resources and offers.I hope to catch up with Courtney again soon and hash it out to see what we’ve come to know since our last conversation and continue exploring expansive conversations. Safety in Intimacy and Holding Space for Men with Courtney BrameWhat's it like to take up space beyond the stigmas of herpes? We had a chat with Courtney Brame (he/him) from the non profit organization, Something Positive for Positive People, a support resource for people navigating herpes stigma.SHOW NOTESIn this episode we talked about:• HSV and managing outbreaks through yoga + yoga therapy• Choosing to take up space and managing stereotypes and expectations as a straight, Black Man in the wellness community• The responsibility of holding cultural reverence, carrying this responsibility as a person of color, and being intentional in the environments we exist within• Boundaries, consent, and self ownership• Holding space for women in exploring communication, sex, relationships, and herpes diagnosis• Stepping into leadership and creating community with Black men exploring with curiosity, vulnerability, and emotional intelligence• Understanding and practicing the art of vulnerability• Dating, connection, and being a good conversationalist vs. communicator• How to make men feel heard, held, and softening safely into what it means to be a man/masculine in the evolution of society• Physical, mental + emotional safety in dating and connectionAbout Courtney:As founder of Something Positive for Positive People, Courtney combines his expertise as a 500-hour registered yoga teacher with his passion for destigmatizing herpes. Through SPFPP, he offers restorative yoga and meditation in support groups, enhancing holistic well-being for those living with herpes. As the host of the SPFPP podcast, Courtney shares inspiring stories of individuals navigating herpes stigma. He extends his advocacy to sexual health education and STD prevention, promoting stigma-free communication among healthcare providers and organizations. Driven to create a world where herpes discussions are empowering and stigma-free, Courtney's work at SPFPP is reshaping sexual health dialogue, offering a blend of wellness practices and empathetic advocacy to build a more understanding community.Find + connect with Courtney online at:Website: www.spfpp.orgInstagram: instagram.com/CourtneyBrameLET’S GO SLOW. LET’S GET DEEP. Work with me:slowdeep.coInstagram:https://instagram.com/selfstudylabQuestions, comments or topic requests/suggestions: email euni at hi@selfstudylab.comAudio engineered by Miko Aguilar, Music by QolajSLOW/DEEP is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Let your breath guide you into feeling deeper pleasure, play, and intimacy with movement. This guided meditation will open your curiosity to what it feels like to follow the flow of your breath and creating harmony and intentionality with the ways you move your body. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe

Explore creative expansion and feeling into your body through your breath with tension, pace, and depth of breath. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to SLOW/DEEP at slowdeep.substack.com/subscribe