Ignite Intimacy

After 121 episodes and 3 years since launching and producing the Ignite Intimacy Podcast I have chosen to pause the podcast indefinitely. It’s a choice I’ve been avoiding until I realized, it’s ok. Release FOMO, let it go, discover what else is ready for my love and attention.    This has been quite a journey with thousands of listeners tuning in week after week and tens of thousands of downloads from all over the world!! I jumped for joy to see listeners from Saudi Arabia, Kenya, New Zealand and Brazil!! Wow!! And, to run into people I’ve known through the years who tell me they’ve been tuning in, that they’re getting something from the content we’ve created and shared, that they’re trying new things with their lovers and partners and that their intimacy IS being ignited!    And, to the people who courageously reached out to disclose their Herpes status for the first time to ME. I honor and SALUTE you!! And, I’ve been deeply touched by your courage.    This is all more than I could have bargained for.    It

  The path to long term romantic partnerships has been something that’s baffled me through the years.    I’m fascinated hearing stories of how two people come together and ultimately choose each other.    Join coaches, entrepreneurs and speakers, Dorota Stanczyk and Esmond Baring and I as we discover the sometimes awkward and unclear path to romance, intimacy and long term partnership through vulnerability and curiosity on Episode 120 of Ignite Intimacy!!   About Dorota and Esmond:  Dorota Stanczyk is a visual artist, creative director, documentary filmmaker, speaker and writer. Her passion is to combine fine arts with personal growth. In 2019 Dorota co-founded NYOUDE with the intention to inspire individuals, and couples, to realise that true self-expression, with the willingness to be vulnerable, open and courageous are the keys to a deepening of the connection, the love, and the trust in our relationships. Dorota offers intuitive coaching sessions that focus on unblocking our power to create exactly the

Wowzas!!! This episode is AWESOME! Terry Real is a fantastic, brilliant and super special human being. His energy and light are so enjoyable, present and powerful.    This conversation is so organic, flowing, fun.. And, I hope this energy transfers to you as you listen.    Terry is sharing some SERIOUS knowledge and wisdom from his 25 years working with families and married couples. We also have a deep conversation about men, toxic masculinity and the patriarchy, dating and communication. He is dishing the goods and I HIGHLY recommend you tune in!   Join us for Episode 119 of Ignite Intimacy!!   About Terry:   Terry Real is a nationally recognized family therapist, author, and teacher. He is particularly known for his groundbreaking work on men and male psychology as well as his work on gender and couples; he has been in private practice for over twenty-five years. Terry has appeared often as the relationship expert for Good Morning America and ABC News. *Special Announcement*  Terry has recently reopened

Erica Force is on a mission to create more sexual freedom and empowerment for the world.    I’m sure glad she exists!    Her Instagram feed (see link below her bio) is filled with short and sweet messages of self love, empowerment and sexual freedom.  Join Erica and I as we have an in-depth conversation about cuckolding, sexual freedom, empowered sexuality and birth control on Episode 118 of Ignite Intimacy!! About Erica Erica Force is a woman who believes in the power of knowing & loving yourself. Studying under Dr. Melissa Jones of Sexology Institute in Texas, Erica quickly jumped into getting certified with Sex Coach U under Dr. Patti Britton & Dr. Susan Kaye founder of Institute For Mind Body Therapy.  Erica’s sexuality has evolved in numerous directions over the years, as she’s found a passion for female/male bisexuality in heterosexual relationships and alternative relationship lifestyles such as polyamory, BDSM, and Kink. Connect: Instagram - @sexuallectual  Website

Miki Agrawal is someone I’ve had my eyes on for a while. She is a bold, brilliant and powerful woman.  And she’s a twin!! She and her sistar, Radha, launched the innovative period underwear brand ‘Thinx’ turning a multi billion dollar industry on its head.  I’ve been both intrigued and inspired by her journey and I’m super excited that we synced up for this conversation today.  Join Mom, Disrupt-Her author, social entrepreneur and all around Goddess Powerhouse, Miki Agrawal and I as we go in on innovating from products to your love life, disrupting mega industries with new concepts and movements, keeping your butt clean, embracing our vulnerability, twins, motherhood and creating a foundation from which long-term romantic relationships can and grow and thrive on Episode 117 of Ignite Intimacy!   About Miki   Miki Agrawal is a serial social entrepreneur. Recently named Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2018, she is the founder of the acclaimed farm-to-table, alternative pizza concept called WILD, co

I was in my favorite mezcaleria in San Miguel de Allende recently when my friend said, ‘You need to meet my friend, Lauren. She wrote a book about Sex and love and your podcast is about sex and love. You two should do something together!’  And, the rest is herstory ;) Lauren and I hit it off immediately. When she told me she wrote a book about the lovers she had soon after arriving in this gorgeous central Mexican town after breaking up with her former partner of 10+ years I was hooked. I had to learn more about this gorgeous, bold and brilliant woman and her stories of sex and love here in San Miguel! Join author, lover and soul adventurer, Lauren Leonardi and I as we share about the journey of love, letting go, waking up to the loss of desires unfulfilled, the path to self love and choosing our sexual liberation in the face of it all on Episode 116 of Ignite Intimacy!! About Lauren Lauren Leonardi is a native New Yorker and writer, living between central Mexico and south Florida.  After years of corpo

I learned about Lora Haddock after attending the CES trade show in Las Vegas this past January. Lora is part of a movement of brilliant, bold and creative women launching business in the Sex Tech and sex toy space with a focus on woman’s pleasure, gender equity and entrepreneurship.    When I heard that Lora’s company ‘Laura DiCarlo’ was awarded a CES Robotics Innovation Award which was then rescinded because the product was deemed immoral, obscene, indecent and/or profane, plus she was not allowed to exhibit on the floor during CES I knew we had to dive into this on Ignite Intimacy. The product itself supports people with Vaginas to have blended orgasms. Nothing obscene about that from my viewpoint!    So please join entrepreneur, trailblazer and innovator, Lora Haddock and I as we explore the world of sex tech, female entrepreneurs, gender equity, blended orgasms and pleasure on Episode 115 of Ignite Intimacy!!!   About Laura     Lora Haddock has over a decade of experience in healthcare, and after an

I was introduced to Dakota Chanel through Damiana Rahshelle after a serendipitous meeting in Los Angeles. Dakota is deeply connected to the sacred waters of our planet and those of our inner bodies.  Dakota has been on a journey of healing sexual wounding, spending time in celibacy, and now embracing a deeply sensual partnership with herself and her life partner as she journey’s into full self and erotic expression.  Join Water Priestess, Mystic and Writer, Dakota Chanel and I as we dive deep into the oceans of our inner waters, the sacredness of water and human fluids, the flow of our sexuality and consciousness and our connection to all that ebbs and flows on Episode 114 of Ignite Intimacy! About Dakota Dakota Chanel is an Ordained Water Priestess, Mystic, and Writer. She knows in every cell of her being that we are the children of the most beautiful love story in the universe. She guides woman into their own gnosis through 1:1 mentorship journeys, group programs & retreats. Dakota lives heaven on ea

I’ll always remember when I was broken to the core, at the very beginning of a long healing journey to mend a shattered heart and soul, and my twin sis and I got into a massive fight outside of her little home in Haiku, Maui. She said, ‘You have to love yourself, Laura!’    I had no idea what she meant. I couldn’t even place it… there was nothing to compare it to or balance it off of. I had no idea what she was talking about.    Self Love.   13 years ago I began the journey. One foot in front of the other.   And, although this episode is not about the specifics of what brought me to my knees and thus home to myself, it is about a self care practice that I’ve generated over the last few years that was completely foreign to me and has supported me on a daily basis to get connected to gratitude, my body and the magic within each day.   So join me, your hostess with the mostess, Ms. Laura Aiisha, as I share my morning self care routine, which alleviates anxiety, grounds me in my body, generates gratitude and elev

Craig Cullinane has been on a powerful journey of healing shame in his own life while also providing access to that healing for students of the New Body Electric School. This episode flowed so beautifully and is filled with discovery, connection and bravery.  Craig and I offer a simple yet powerful exercise for each of us to tap into our own pleasure and our own self care at the end of the episode. So tune in and take it all in for a journey into healing body shame, erotic shame, the power of prioritizing pleasure, self love practices and worthiness on Episode 112 of Ignite Intimacy! About Craig   Craig Cullinane is a Faculty member and the Managing Director of the New Body Electric School, the mission of which is to offer expertly guided educational experiences grounded in the erotic and its integration with the sacred, to foster transformative personal and communal healing. Craig is a social justice and diversity educator, having received his Master's degree in Intercultural Management from the SIT Grad

Corinne Loperfido is one of a kind in every sense. I remember first meeting her in a loft building in downtown Los Angeles where she was living at the time. When I walked into her place it was like the most beautiful explosion of creative expression, color, sound, sensuality, bold imagery, pussy power jewelry just enveloped me and drew me in. I HAD to know this wild and wonderful woman!   We’ve stayed in touch and now two years later have connected worlds between New Orleans (where Corinne is living out of her van at the moment), and Los Angeles (where I was visiting), to record a conversation for y’all!   Join Corinne and I as we go in on a conversation that dips in and out of embodying bold, clear and powerful communication in our relationships, toxic masculinity, freedom of self expression and movement, courage, creating a zero waste lifestyle, recreating our societal funk, choice, personal power and more on Episode 111 of Ignite Intimacy!   About Corinne:     Corinne is a true Renaissance woman, current

I recently met Estrella Jaramillo at a conference for health and technology companies and was immediately taken by her energy and presence.    Estrella has been focusing for the last several years on building and creating tools and services to support women to deal with the anxiety and stress related to their bodies, sexuality and gender equity. Because we’ve been focusing on sexual health in March and will shift our focus to how we view, treat and take care of our bodies in April, this is a perfect bridge between both conversations.    Please join us for a powerful conversation where Estrella and I discuss women’s sexual health, the pelvic floor, anxiety, body image and tackling taboos on Episode 110 of Ignite Intimacy! About Estrella Estrella Jaramillo is the Cofounder of B-wom, a digital health solution for women. She is a passionate women's health advocate who aims to eradicate the anxiety women suffer when it comes to their bodies and their intimate issues. Estrella conducts women's health workshops and

Lauren Weiniger is a powerful lady who knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship, investing, startups and technology.  The idea for Lauren’s latest company is out to disrupt the STI screening space giving anyone access to testing and sharing their results with chosen partners, empowering us to get tested and disclose! Join Entrepreneuer, advisor and tech enthusiast, Lauren Weiniger and I as we continue our ‘Making Disclosure Sexy’ conversation from SXSW about sexual health, the power of technology to get tested and share your results with partners and how to practice safer sex in the digital age on Episode 109 of Ignite Intimacy!!   About Lauren     Lauren Weiniger is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of SAFE, a personal sexual healthcare company that has created the easiest way to get tested for STIs and verify the health status of potential partners. The SAFE App lets people import their STI results from almost doctor, clinic, or lab for free, and show their verified status privately on thei

Wow Ignite Intimacy Community!!! What an honor and amazing experience it was to record this episode LIVE from the SXSW stage in Austin TX this weekend!! Tune in for an open, transparent, empowering conversation about sexual health, STD testing, receding a positive STI diagnosis and how to take care of yourself, how and when to disclose your STI status and dispelling the myths and stigmas around STI screening and Herpes on Episode 108 of Ignite Intimacy! And, THANK YOU for tuning in week after week. We love you and wouldn’t be here without your love and support!!  Please subscribe on iTunes and leave us a rating and review so that more people can know about this podcast!   About Our Guests:   Courtney Brame:   Courtney is a podcast host who has coordinated a space of understanding for other humans living with and/or affected by sexually transmitted infections. He hopes that sharing his experiences can help others find a new, positive perspective and flourish despite their diagnoses. Connect: Instagram: @H

I had the pleasure of seeing Doug Braun-Harvey speak at Esther Perel’s event in NYC last November. His energy, authenticity and approach to sexual health lit something up inside of me.    Because of our upcoming podcast recording at SXSW focusing on Making Disclosure Sexy I knew I wanted to feature this brilliant, loving and powerful man for all of you to experience.   Join us as we have a dynamic conversation about addiction, sexuality, the power of learning and facilitating sexual health conversations, consent and pleasure on Episode 107 of Ignite Intimacy!!   About Doug     Doug Braun-Harvey is a sexual health author, trainer, and psychotherapist who bridges sexual and mental health and facilitates organizational change. He co-founded The Harvey Institute, an international education, training, consulting and supervision service for Improving health care through integration of sexual health.  A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor and Certified Sex Therapist, Doug has b

Paul Browde is a brilliant, beautiful and loving human being. I had the pleasure of witnessing Paul demonstrate a connection practice he uses with his couple clients at Esther Perel’s event in NYC last November. Paul blew me away with his energy, authenticity, generosity and grace. This man has a way with getting straight to your heart in his every way of being. We sat next to each other during the first part of the day and, getting to know each other a bit, I knew I sharing Paul and his work on Ignite Intimacy would be powerful. Join doctor, psychiatrist, storyteller and relationship therapist, Paul Browde and I as we do a deep dive into romantic relationships, listening, being with others, non judgement, connection, developing intimacy, the power of a simple apology and dreaming together on Episode 106 of Ignite Intimacy! *NEW* Listen through the end of this episode where Noelle, Scribe of personalized erotica, love stories, and poems will be sharing another one of her pieces with us. For more from Noelle

Damiana Rahshelle and I met as I was standing outside of Christina Weber's (Episode 65) annual fundraising event Feminine Weapon. I was immediately taken by her gorgeous energy, open heart and the love pouring out of her. We discussed self-love, the power of releasing, turning on our sensual energy and magnetism and I said ohhhh YES!!! We MUST have you on the podcast during the month of February when we’re discussing V-Day, self love and all of this juicy goodness! During this episode you will experience two deep meditations that we encourage you to create the time and space to dive into, with your journal available to write out anything that comes to you. It was so deeply healing for me to sit through these meditations with Damiana! Enjoy my conversation with Damiana Rahshelle as we go on a journey into the soul, into the heart and into the depths of the love, pleasure and joy that is available to us as we choose to begin each day creating and connecting to our magic within on Episode 105 of Ignite Intimac

Sara Yardeni has been traveling the globe exploring and experiencing ancient spiritual traditions. Mediation has become a gateway for her to deeper self love and acceptance, rewriting subconscious codes in order to attract more of what she desires and the power of self love. When she spoke with me about a meditation she does for her clients a light bulb went off! It was a no brainer, we agreed it could be super powerful for her to walk me through this meditation live on the line as I identify, clear and rewrite subconscious codes around dating, love and romance so that you, too, could join us in this meditation.  Join healer and spiritual pioneer, Sara Yardeni and I for a unique episode of Ignite Intimacy where she leads me through a meditation to identify, clear and rewrite subconscious codes around dating, love and romance along with a deep dive into relational contracts and self love on Episode 104 of Ignite Intimacy!  About Sara: Sara specializes in creating empowering experiences for people by integra

I’ve had a mixed relationship to Valentine’s Day through the years. When I was younger I remember the cards and classroom parties, and also the anxiety of whether the boy I liked would give me a card or show some sort of interest towards me on this special day of love. As I grew up and became an adult I realized that for many years Valentine’s Day carried with it feelings of sadness, disappointment, anger and frustration. Being mostly single in my adult life I haven’t had many boyfriends on Valentine’s Day, and the few times I had a boyfriend during the month of love they weren’t into the Hallmark holiday aspect of Valentine’s day.  Through the last few years my relationship has shifted towards Valentine’s Day. Instead of focusing on what I don’t have, my journey into self love has me enjoying the fun around this day of love instead of feeling bad about it. A few weeks ago I was inspired to bring together a group of folks for the first Ignite Intimacy roundtable to explore each of our relationships to V-Da

I met Stephanie Zuber at an Esther Perel event in NYC in November. The focus was the Masculinity Paradox, and the day was filled with powerful conversations about men, masculinity, sexuality, romance and more.    Intrigued by the work Stephanie is doing supporting couples and individuals in Ithaca, NY with sex, body and relational matters, and my own recent experience feeling a lack of sexual desire for a partner, it was a no brainer. We had to have a conversation about something many people experience in dating and relating - mismatched desire and sexless relationships.    Join Stephanie and I for a conversation that will support, inspire and encourage you to create more intimacy and rekindle your desire on Episode 102 of Ignite Intimacy!    About Stephanie   Stephanie is a licensed mental health counselor and sex therapist who hopes for a world that’s engaged in more self love and less erotophobia. Stephanie sees individuals, couples, those in multi-partnered relationships, and facilitates a sex & body