Hello hello! We're finally back to the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast and I’m so happy to have Kayla Branstetter on today! Kayla is an English professor, TEDx speaker, researcher, and the author of Don't Be an Athena. Through her writing and research, she’s creating space for conversations that too often get pushed aside, helping women feel seen, heard, and less alone in their experiences. I loved getting to hear more about the story behind her book, the work she’s doing to challenge shame and silence around women’s health, and the incredible heart she brings to everything she creates. I know you’re going to get so much out of this conversation!

In this episode:

• Why storytelling helps women feel less alone
• The importance of creating spaces where women feel seen and heard
• Why period education and body autonomy matter for the next generation
• The lasting impact of shame, silence, and medical gaslighting
• The meaning behind Don't Be an Athena
• Why believing women can change the way we respond to trauma

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration. Visit InstantHydration.com and use my exclusive code RACHEL33826 for 40% off your order!**

Connect with Kayla
Website: kaylabranstetter.wpcomstaging.com
Instagram: @kbranstetter87
Get her book: kaylabranstetter.wpcomstaging.com/dont-be-an-athena-book-orders

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hello, hello! Welcome back to the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast! I’m so happy to have Laura and Morgan here today! These two have dedicated so much of their work to helping people better understand their bodies and access information that far too many of us were never taught. Through their work in sexual health, midwifery, hormones, and body literacy, they’re helping people build trust in themselves and approach their bodies with more curiosity, confidence, and compassion. This was such a thoughtful conversation, and I know you’re going to take a lot away from it!

In this episode:

• The lack of education around hormones and cycles
• How cycle tracking can build body awareness
• The importance of body literacy
• Why every hormonal experience is unique
• Common myths about cycle phases
• Tracking apps pros and cons
• Why hormone education should start earlier

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Wellness Sexpertise with Rachel Maine. Visit pure.shop/shop?sh=V9S5E8R and use my exclusive code MY9PU44 for 15% off your order!**

Connect with Laura & Morgan
Instagram: @ItsLauraAndMorgan
Website: ItsLauraAndMorgan.com
The Cycle Book can be found anywhere you buy books

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hello hello! Welcome back to the Owning Your Sexual Self Podcast! This week’s guest is the incredible Suzanne Noble, host of the wildly popular podcast Sex Advice for Seniors and one of the most refreshing voices out there when it comes to sex, ageing, pleasure, and relationships. Suzanne brings honesty, humor, confidence, and so much lived experience into this conversation as we talk about what it really looks like to stay curious, connected, and sexual later in life.

In this episode:

• Sex and sexuality after 50 and 60
• How menopause can impact desire and arousal
• The stigma around older adults being sexual
• The myth that sexuality has an expiration date
• How sex can become longer and more intentional with age
• Redefining relationships later in life
• Exploring kink, BDSM, and sexual creativity later in life

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration. Visit InstantHydration.com and use my exclusive code RACHEL33826 for 40% off your order!**

Connect with Suzanne
Podcast - Sex Advice for Seniors
Website - SexAdviceforSeniors.com

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hey hey! Welcome back to the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast! This week I’m joined by Jim Benson for a really powerful conversation around male pleasure, intimacy, embodiment, and connection. Jim has spent more than two decades helping men become more confident, present, and skillful lovers through his work in tantra, coaching, and somatic based sexuality education. He brings such a refreshing perspective to conversations around sex, shame, performance, and pleasure, and I absolutely loved where this discussion went.

In this episode:

• Why many men never learned intimacy skills
• How porn impacts connection and presence
• Routine sex versus embodied sex
• How shame and trauma affect sex
• Balancing pleasure and connection
• Using breathwork to increase pleasure
• Creating intimacy through touch and breath
• Why sex can get better with age

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Foria. Visit ForiaWellness.com and use my exclusive code MAINE20 for 20% off your order!**

Resources
How to Talk to Your Man About Sex
Sensate Focus 101
The 3 Minute Game

Connect with Jim
Website: AwakenedMasculine.com

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

This week I’m joined by the incredible Nicole Lange to talk all things fertility, nervous system, and whole body healing. Nicole is an acupuncturist with over 20 years of experience specializing in reproductive and emotional health, and her approach is unlike anything you typically hear in fertility. She blends traditional Chinese medicine, trauma informed care, and a deep understanding of how our bodies function to help people reconnect with themselves. The way she talks about fertility shifts it out of pressure and into pleasure, and I cannot wait for you to hear her perspective.

In this episode:

• The difference between treating parts of the body versus the whole person
• What happens when trying to conceive starts to take over your life
• How the pressure around fertility can build without you realizing it
• Why your body needs to feel safe before it can shift into reproduction
• Why changing patterns takes time and doesn’t happen overnight
• The role pleasure plays in supporting your system
• Why sex can start to feel like pressure instead of connection
• Ways to take the pressure off and bring some ease back in

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Wellness Sexpertise with Rachel Maine. Visit pure.shop/shop?sh=V9S5E8R and use my exclusive code MY9PU44 for 15% off your order!**

Connect with Nicole
Website: LifeHealingLife.com
YouTube: @TheBabyYouWant

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast! This week I’m really excited to have Jessica Idione here! Jessica is a licensed and certified relationship and sex therapist who works with both couples and individuals using a trauma informed, somatic, and evidence based approach. She’s known for reframing relationship myths and helping people make sense of dynamics that often get labeled as incompatibility. This is one of those conversations that can really change how you understand what might be happening between you and your partner.

In this episode:

• How couples often interpret challenges as incompatibility
• The role of the nervous system in connection and conflict
• The connection between emotional and physical responses
• Simple ways to slow things down and reconnect
• Different ways desire can show up for people
• The importance of communication and checking in with each other
• How curiosity can shift the way you understand your partner

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration. Visit InstantHydration.com and use my exclusive code RACHEL33826 for 40% off your order!**

Connect with Jessica
Instagram: @JessicaIdoine
Retreat Instagram: @ECRetreats
Website: JessicaIdoine.com

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hello and welcome back to the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast! This week I’ve got Dr. Jordan Barber on the show and I’m so excited for you to hear this one. Dr. Barber is a doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine who specializes in pain and takes a biomechanics driven approach to pelvic health. He works closely with pelvic floor physical therapists and brings a much needed focus to men’s pelvic health, an area that’s often overlooked and misunderstood. His work with dry needling and the nervous system offers a different way of understanding symptoms that people aren’t getting clear answers for, and you can feel how passionate he is about bringing more awareness to this space.

In this episode:

• Men’s pelvic health and why it’s often overlooked
• How pelvic pain impacts daily life, relationships, and self esteem
• Common symptoms like urinary issues, pain with sex, and erectile dysfunction
• What dry needling is and how it targets muscle and nerve function
• What a session feels like and how quickly people may see changes
• The role of the nervous system and stress in ongoing pelvic symptoms
• Where to start when seeking help and how to advocate for proper care

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Foria. Visit ForiaWellness.com and use my exclusive code MAINE20 for 20% off your order!**

Resources
AseDirectory.com
MyopainSeminars.com
r/PelvicFloorNeedling

Connect with Dr Barber
Socials: @JBarberLAC

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com

Hello! We're back with another episode of the Owning Your Sexual Self podcast! This week I’m so excited to have Lorina here on the show. She is a somatic intimacy coach, certified Somatic Experiencing practitioner, and PhD student in human sexuality, with over 25 years in the healing arts and a deep focus on somatic intimacy. She blends multiple modalities to support trauma informed, pleasure inclusive work, and is the creator of the Held and Fulfilled program, helping people build deeper intimacy, stronger boundaries, and a greater capacity to receive, which is exactly what we get into together in this conversation.

In this episode:

• How somatic work connects to sexuality and intimacy
• How early experiences shape patterns around pleasure
• The impact of performative sex and disconnection from the body
• The four Rs of fulfillment: recognizing, reaching, receiving, and releasing
• Why receiving pleasure and support can feel difficult
• How to create safe spaces to practice boundaries and desire
• How pleasure supports nervous system regulation
• The impact of disconnection from pleasure on mood and creativity

Thank you so much for listening! Don't forget to share on your social media and tag me if you loved this episode!

**This episode is sponsored by Wellness Sexpertise with Rachel Maine. Visit pure.shop/shop?sh=V9S5E8R and use my exclusive code MY9PU44 for 15% off your order!**

Resources
Get Lorina's free mini-course, Nourished: The Neuroscience of Receiving Beautifully at https://tinyurl.com/3sfjcj4h

Connect with Lorina
Website - LorinaManzanita.com

Support the show

Connect with Rachel!
Instagram: @The_Rachel_Maine
Website: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertise
YouTube: YouTube.com/@OwningYourSexualSelf
Facebook: Rachel Maine
Email: therachelmaine@gmail.com