The Somatic Playground
Moving at the Rhythm of Connection and Trust!
Classes are typically $30 presale / $40 at the door.
Buy a pack of classes at a discount and come anytime you want! Passes have no expiry date are valid until used up!
"Oh my goodness, I have so much fun attending these events!! Now Monday nights are one of my fave nights of the week. 🤣
The Somatic Playground is a friendly and supportive place to explore many fun, body- and awareness-based connection activities. So often I noticed myself contemplating things I learned or connections that moved me during the event. It’s such a nourishing and community connected way to grow and develop in really playful and empowering ways! I’m grateful and will keep coming back." ~ Carley
"Facilitated exercises have created a comfortable space to explore ourselves and engage in deeper interactions with others. The building of the Somatic Playground community, and its varied range of teachers, has given us a path into exploring other communities in the Bay Area. As a couple, it’s been a wonderful place to learn about ourselves and our relationship" ~ Kai & Eric
"I had high expectations because of my experience with the work of the producers of Somatic Playground and I was NOT disappointed. I wanted to go deeper into what's possible within the realms of sensation, creativite expression, and attunement to myself and others. Relatable facilitation, great models for conscious relating and body presence. I comenoutbof the classes totally alive with an amazing experience of soft and juicy self intimacy and awakend connection to myself and others." ~Katharine
"I love Somatic Playground because it enables me to try out different skillsets in a group of likeminded individuals and hosts week after week building a community and learning while we do it. Every week is different but hinge upon similar goals to connect more deeply with people through targeted exercises, games, and frameworks created by the diverse array of highly skilled facilitators. // There is something for everyone through Somatic Playground, whether you’ve been immersed in somatic workshop spaces before, are comfortable with sensual, or you’re brand new, nervous, or are wanting a beginner space, different classes offer different levels and interests making it accessible to a diverse array of folks. There really is space for everyone no matter how you identify or what other types of events you attend. // My favorite part is often being able to discuss and debrief, which happens in each class in between exercises and time for open play. It’s a really incredible space and I’ve made some deep friendships through it, learned skills, and healed parts of myself and am excited to continue on in this wonderful community." ~ Elle
"I've really got a lot out of this series, appreciating the variety of approaches from the facilitators. They've brought me movement, stillness, breath, depth. I've found better connection with my own inner experience, and I'm enjoying the company of a community of somatic fellow travelers!" ~ Joseph
"I attended a class at The Somatic Playground to get out of my comfort zone and meet positive people. I was scared because it was the first time exploring a more emotional side of me and I was doing it in front of strangers. I couldn’t have chose a better place. Every one was so open minded and accepting of me, I felt safe and comfortable the whole time. It was an unforgettable experience!" ~ Brian
"The Somatic Playground hosts workshops that create a safe and welcoming environment where participants can dive deep into introspection while having embodied connections. From the beautiful rope workshop to the "Play Your Way to Authenticity" workshop, each experience is a testament to the care and creativity of the facilitators. The combination of trust-building activities, guided meditations, and interactive games create a sensory based journey and camaraderie among attendees, leading to the feeling of genuine community." ~ Heather
"Thank you so much for organizing the Somatic Playground a second time. When I started attending last fall my partner and I were just beginning to explore more movement and somatic awareness activities. I came to the workshops initially intending to connect with others in ways that I was not yet conversant. As each workshop is different, with a full-fledged teacher sharing their passions and skills, I have left each one filled with a broadened sense of community and support in finding out together just how deep and full and mysterious living can be. The work here is important as it brings together many teachers and students to explore the beauty of being fully alive." ~Kent
What is the Somatic Playground?
✨ Weekly Monday classes with some of your favorite SoulPlay teachers and more!
✨ A place for you to learn, embody, and grow somatic, primal, emotional, and energetic intelligence!
✨ A space to co-create community with a common language around relating & intimacy!
✨ An opportunity to slow down, connect, and move at the pace of connection and trust!
✨ A time to play, move, and dance together!
Join us for a series of collaborative exploration at The Somatic Playground!
These in-person events take place on Mondays 7-10pm
Get ready to immerse yourself in a unique experience of connecting with yourself and others in a playful, expressive, & intimate way. Through various somatic exercises and activities, you'll discover new ways to move, connect, let go, and build trust with those around you.
Whether you're a seasoned dancer or have never stepped foot on a dance floor before, this event welcomes everyone. We're cultivating a thoughtful space to explore your body's language, express yourself freely, and connect with like-minded individuals.
In the Somatic Playground, we will cultivate a community of somatic attunement and relational intelligence. Each week, a different facilitator will guide you on a journey of research, play, and practice, honing your abilities to dive into your somatic, emotional, primal, energetic, and relational bodies - learning to listen through touch and taste the pathway of motion. An open jam will follow as a way to continue exploring together sparks and curiosities from class.
So, mark your calendars and come join us at The Somatic Playground for an evening filled with exploration, movement, touch, and connection. Don't miss out on this opportunity to let loose, meet new people, and discover the joy of moving at the rhythm of connection and trust.
Our Community Agreements
As teachers, facilitators, and participants, while we support everyone engaging with sovereignty (making good choices for themselves and others), we also understand that trauma has a huge influence on people's behavior and experience, so we are trauma informed in the ways we teach, engage, and/or participate in these classes. We also recognize and continue to learn to be aware of the power dynamics that exist or might arise as we engage, and seek to level the playing field of power whenever possible, and engage with utmost attunement, care, and consideration for each other.
Erotic energy may emerge but is not the goal. Sensual touch is welcome - we are exploring all that is possible in terms of how we relate to each other through sensing. Sexual touch and intoxication are not a part of this container.
Diversity and Inclusion
For each class series, we seek to include a diverse group of facilitators to express the full range of humanness, bodies, and experience around race, age, gender, identity, sex, sexual orientation, and more. Some series may appear at first glance to favor some subgroups, and while may be accurate that this is what was available at the time, we continue to include facilitators who fit all of these subgroups.
Similarly, and in collaboration with the Plura App/Community, we seek to include a diverse group of humans and celebrate all experiences, bodies, and identities, especially of those who have historically been less favored or appreciated.
Please reach out with any questions.
Refunds or Transfer
If it ever turns out that a class isn't for you or that you missed a class for any reason, we'll be happy to either refund you or allow you to come to a future class instead. No problem 🫶
No one turned away for lack of funds, text/whatsapp (+14155050786) or email us (thesomaticplayground@exquisite.love) to chat!
Organized & Hosted by Philippe Lewis
Tickets
Nov 4
Nov 11
Nov 18
Nov 25
Dec 2
Dec 9
Dec 16
Dec 23
Dec 30
Jan 6
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
Feb 2
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
Classes
Nov 4 Heather Atles: Dimensions of Touch Workshop [Forest Love EB]
Explore the nuanced experience of consensual, stimulating, sensual (not overtly sexual) touch in the ""Dimensions of Touch Workshop."" This class offers a safe(r) and supportive space for participants to become attuned to their own bodily sensations and those of their partners, enhancing their understanding of consent and boundaries. Through eye contact, non-verbal communication, and a variety of touch techniques, attendees will foster deeper connections and learn to express their desires and boundaries confidently. Join us to experience the playful and sensual aspects of connection in a respectful and inclusive environment, emphasizing the values of community and self-awareness.
Heather Atles is a trauma informed Relationship, Sex, and Intimacy Coach who works with couples, individuals, and polycules to design and create the most luscious, empowering, nurturing intimate relationships possible. She has over 20 years of experience in shame resiliency, pleasure exploration, embodied breath work, and non-traditional relationships. Along with a degree from Emerson College, she has trained with the Somatica Institute, the Human Awareness Institute, Mastery in Transformational Training, The Pathway, Landmark Education, Insight Seminar, and more. She has extensive experience with modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Byron’s Katie’s “Work,” Non-Violent Communication, and The Courage To Heal.
Heather has worked as an entertainer, community organizer, corporate trainer, and motivational speaker. However, nothing brings her more joy than having a positive impact on people’s self-image, embodiment, and relationships. She has dedicated her life to personal growth, self-actualization, and service to others.
Nov 11 Mike Gillerman: Presence Through Play [Forest Love EB]
Deepen your presence & strengthen your intuition through the joy of play!
🧠 Do you overthink things? Do you wish there was an easier way to quiet your brain and stay in the moment?
Learn how to use the power of play (inner kid, not sexy adult😁) to connect to the same deep, focused flow states as meditation. Through guided somatic exercises, visualizations, art and improv, you’ll explore what it’s like to play purely for the sake of it–and the freedom that comes from letting go of the result.
🧘♀️Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or have been unsuccessful with traditional forms of meditation–you’ll learn playful ways to quiet the mind and open to possibilities. You'll uncover your natural authentic play style so play becomes easier and discover how to use improv principles to create deep authentic connections with others. You'll leave feeling more empowered, creative and have FUN doing it! 🎉Mike Gillerman is a neurospicy🌶️ facilitator, ADHD coach, improviser & artist with a passion for flow. A former graphic designer; he now helps others connect to and live from their own creative, authentic expression so they can reach their full potential. He's a featured facilitator for FLOWN—a startup that helps remote employees use flow to increase their productivity, has over a decade of experience in mindfulness and meditation practices and has developed workshops to help others improve their focus. In his free time he loves writing music, relaxing in GGP and losing himself at Ecstatic Dance. 🕺
Nov 18 Sasha Wright: Polarity Play [Forest Love EB]
This workshop invites participants into conversation and congruence with our internal parts. We will weave principles of Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy & Internal Family Systems parts work into an immersive guided venture to get in touch some of our resources, vulnerabilities, and protectors from the inside out. This workshop focuses specifically on polarizations within the system: parts that can feel at odds and create internal conflict in our psyche. Embodied explorations will allow us to feel the contours of these seemingly opposed aspects of our deepest truth, gain insight into how they actually work together, and cultivate greater harmony within. Participants will be guided to greet these unsung heroes of the subconscious with curiosity and care, and will have opportunities to moderate level of participation at every turn. This intimate inquiry will include inner explorations, relational revelations, and opportunities to resource and integrate the gems we unearth together.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based model of psychotherapy that restores wholeness by addressing and integrating one’s multiple inner “parts.” It is based on the premise that all parts contain valuable qualities and our core Self knows how to heal. https://ifs-institute.com/
Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy integrates principles of nonviolence and mindfulness with a comprehensive and experiential body-centered methodology. https://hakomiinstitute.com/Sasha Wright, LCSW is a somatic psychotherapist, an avid dancer, and an earthy soul enamored with the natural world. Her gift is to guide people into shared experiences of creative connection and embodied aliveness. Curiosity, experimentation, and attunement are her allies. Sasha leads dance workshops and retreats involving contact improvisation, authentic movement, nature-connection, and other conscious dance modalities. Sasha guides embodied earth-based rituals where dropping into body wisdom and synching to natural rhythms connect people to an authentic experience of their own magic and meaning. Sasha has been practicing psychotherapy in the East Bay for over a decade, and is trained in both Hakomi and IFS. She provides somatic psychotherapy that supports inner alignment and the mindful embodiment of one’s wholeness.
sashawrighttherapy.com
inbodyritual.com
Nov 25 Prateek Singhal: Attuned, slow, arousing touch [Forest Love EB]
We move so fast in our lives that we forget to slow down and breathe. There is so much juice that exists within these layers of slowness. This workshop will be an exploration of these layers, guiding participants through various forms of touch, reminding everyone to slow down and revel in the nectar of attunement, presence, love, and care! We're used to arousing our erogenous zones in our pleasure practices, but we often do not pay enough attention to the rest of our body, which deserves equal amounts of love. A fully aroused body is a portal to bigger experiences and orgasmic explosions.
This workshop will have participants pair up for exercises and we will switch partners often. Please bring a blindfold with you to surrender more to the experience.Prateek is a lover of deep, heartful, intense connections that arise from our body and are sustained by our breath. He's on a mission to spread heartfelt orgasmic pleasure, conscious sensuality and sacred sexuality through exercises that allow every fiber of our body to be witnessed, loved, and caressed. Prateek has produced and led several small scale events, and he is ready to take the next step and share his gifts with the broader community." "I don't have a website for my work as I'm quite new to it.
Dec 2 River & Chuck: Connection Games for Lovers & Singles [Forest Love EB]
Singles welcome!
Do you want to up the intimacy with an established partner? Maybe some distance has developed or things have simply gotten stale. Maybe you want to get off to a really sexy and fun start with a new lover. You’ve done the consent and STIs conversations, which are important but not that sexy and can often put you in your head.
How do you get back into your body and back to sexy? These games will help you drop into physical connection in an easeful, embodied way. You will learn a few different connection exercises that incorporate communication, disinhibition, presence, and attunement– and touch! Gain clarity on your Venn diagram of yes’s, no’s and maybe and set yourself up for a terrific time.
Expect experiential learning, practice with multiple partners, and a mix of heart-connection and playfulness.
Chuck’s passion is to empower people to bring more pleasure and sensuality into their lives. He combines lessons from the Somatica® Institute, the Orgasmic Meditation community, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and developmental psychology to teach about touch, emotional intimacy, and hidden routes to pleasure. As a facilitator, he is skilled at creating a container of safety, acceptance and eroticism that lays the ground for deep transformation and freedom. Chuck’s a certified Somatica Sex And Relationship Coach, Orgasmic Meditation Life Coach & Trainer, and NLP Master Practitioner.
River Black (she/they) is a Sacred Intimate and a Somatica-certified sex and relationship coach. As a sexual healer, they believe all bodies are sacred. They create loving presence, witness without judgment, and hold space for transformation to emerge. As a coach, River teaches workshops on embodied boundaries, consent, and polyamory and sees clients on Zoom and in her practice in Berkeley, CA. She founded the first-ever Sex Workers Student Union while in grad school and is passionate about ending sexual shame, expanding the menu of options, and creating more avenues for pleasure."Insta: ariverblack
Dec 9 Rachel Currie: Hypnotic Heart Activation [Forest Love EB]
Rachel will be facilitating self-regulatory tools to optimize the participants overall sense of self... providing spaciousness and cultivating the compassion muscle starting with self-regulatory hypnotic tools. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and empowering people to feel in control of their experience is precedent in both private and group hypnosis sessions. This workshop will begin with tools to empower the participant, by learning how to create a hypnotic suggestion/an affirmation that allows the subconscious to easily and effortlessly digest. This will promote ways to release limiting beliefs around personal desires by activating end state energy and cultivate heart coherence, novelty, and dopamine without the critical faculty of the mind interjecting.
This workshop will include but not limited to:
⭐ Tools to self-regulate (science backed self-directed neuroplasticity)
⭐ Thought pattern interrupts
⭐ Sustainable forms of movement/free form movement
⭐ Shaking medicine
⭐ Expanding awareness by noticing resistance through proprioception without judgement
⭐ Foster awareness in what you truly and deeply desire
⭐ Guided visualization to support your personal manifestation
This session is designed to integrate your relaxing experience as a sustainable mindset to empower you in all the places you need it the most.
Are you ready to learn new ways to become more open hearted and optimize how you are feeling? Let's become even more aware of your internal landscape despite what is going on in your external reality. Afterall dipping into your heart space.. now... will optimize your pleasure receptor sites in your brain;)Rachel is a wellness practitioner and the founder of her business, Thriving in Theta. She has her B.A. in Sociology, is a RYT-200 Vinyasa and Yin-Yang Yoga Teacher, 15 years of classically trained ballet, a Certified Hypnotist, and a Certified Integrative Subconscious Coach. She is trauma informed and has a mission to empower others around their journey in self-discovery and healing. Rachel has invested in her continuous education to provide many different tools and resources to equip participants with safety and care in their wellness journey. She works with private clients primarily online and facilitates workshops and pop-up classes in various corporate settings. She has led retreats as well as supported other facilitators around the world with her expansive skillset in self-directed neuroplasticity, compassionate space holding capacity, and subconscious integration. Rachel’s mission with her yoga classes, hypnosis workshops, hypnotic events, and 1:1 clients is to cultivate a safe container to heal.
She does this by empowering participants to experience and obtain sustainable and accessible tools for self-regulation and provides a spacious practice for all levels to navigate. Her embodiment classes bring an experience for the participant to explore their proprioception while actively becoming more aware of their internal process both consciously and subconsciously. Rachel is an advocate for learning, growth, exploring nuance, and being deeply open hearted. She is excited to be here and cannot wait to breathe, dance, and move into activating heart coherence and feeling deeply free with you.https://www.instagram.com/thrivingintheta_hypnosis_yoga/
Dec 16 Fruit & Be: One Rope Play [Forest Love EB]
One Rope Play is a practice of rope bondage that as you guessed, involves one rope. It is a beautiful foundation for both rope beginners and an approach that highly experienced riggers find to help deepen their practice. It’s a way to get out of your head about tying knots, focus on the connection and following intuition/impulses in the moment.
You’ll learn how to manipulate someone's body and support them into positions that feel safe, secure and a sense of being held, to allow for letting go and surrendering. You’ll get to experience both roles, being the one creating the experience and the one receiving.
This will be a partnered practice so you can either come with someone or the first few exercises will allow people to build some trust/rapport and eventually sink into the rest of class with.
All rope will be provided for the playshop.Be (pronouns Be/Bee’s) is passionate about the intersection of embodied movement/dance, sensuality/sexuality and kink/BDSM. Be is committed to creating spaces centered around safety, inclusivity and permission for play, exploration, growth, and healing as a means of becoming more fully who we are. Be is currently most excited about creating a new dance culture aptly named Everything Everywhere All At Dance. www.EEAADance.com
www.RopePlay.Dance
www.YourKinkCoach.com
Fruit (they/them) is an Identity Exploration Specialist — both personally a crusader for expansion, playfulness, and expression through creativity, and as a champion and inspiration for others to do the same. Fruit embraces multiple mediums, roles, projects, and versions of themself and funnels their experience into their facilitation.
Their experience is grounded deeply in dance, yoga, and identity play through the lens of fashion. They started facilitating personal growth and development in 2019 and are now stepping into facilitating that in ways that are closer to their heart in the realms of attunement, embodiment, connection, somatics, kink, intimacy, and play.
Dec 23 Philippe Lewis: The Art of Sensation Play [Forest Love EB]
In this fun, hot and playful class, you and your partner will begin to expand your repertoire of touch skills and role play. First, you will learn simple yet powerful embodied ways to interact somatically with others such as caresses, nails, bites/nibbles, light hair pulling, grabbing, kissing, light spanking, pushing/pulling, wrestling/pinning, flirting/teasing, and more. Next, you will discover and practice fun roles to embody while using these skills such as an animal, the god*dess/human, the nymph, the fairy, and the satyr.
This practice is much like learning how to communicate with your lover in a language of physical touch, pleasure, and sensations. You will have the opportunity to “speak” to each other through the combined various touch skills and role play and will be able to "read" your lover’s responses through breath, movement, sound, and touch. And as you become more and more fluent in this language, the result will be greater and deeper ease in communicating through touch and play and better listening to your partner when it comes to connecting with their body and making them feel loved and cherished in your dance.
Consent/Sovereignty: All skills and roles will be taught in a container of consent to make all engagements pleasurable and powerfully transformative for everyone.
Who: This class is both for single and couples. Friends coming with friends with the desire to practice these skills is also great.
What to bring/wear: Participants should wear comfortable clothes that allow access to the body and skin. Optionally, you can bring a belt or sarong for one of the exercises.
“It was so great to take your class on sensual touch.... I learned a lot and I’m sad to have missed you’re other class! I can’t wait to talk with you more. I really appreciated your dynamism, realness and sense of humor!”
”While at a conference in Hawaii, I was fortunate to attend a workshop facilitated by Philippe. This workshop focused on very light BDSM techniques pretty much for beginners although I cannot say that everyone in attendance was a beginner. I certainly was very new to this aspect of play and I found it fascinating. Philippe demonstrated many techniques (biting, nails, pulling hair, spanking and more) — all things that can either be extremely sensual or very scary to the recipient depending upon how they are delivered and the conversation that takes place ahead of time. Philippe was masterful at describing the conversation for agreement and then demonstrated each technique with a different volunteer from class. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and found it to be stimulating, sensual and informative. Plus, I was the hair pulling model and I found it to be much more yummy than I anticipated. Check Philippe Lewis out! He’s fun and hot!”
— Laurie Handlers, ISTA Lead Facilitor ~ ButterflyWorkshops.comPhilippe is a passionate relationship educator and founder of Exquisite ❦ Love. With a mission to empower men and women in making informed and positive choices for themselves and their partners, Philippe guides individuals on transformative journeys to become sovereign beings through the art of connection, trust, consent, intimacy, and love. Drawing from the profound insights of attachment theory, he helps people explore the depths of human connection and understand the dynamics that shape their relationships.
Philippe's impact in the realm of personal growth and self-discovery extends far and wide. As a co-founder of The Journey to Secure, he fosters a supportive community of like-minded individuals on a shared path of growth and an earned attachment style. Additionally, his role as a coordinator with the International School of Temple Arts, showcases his dedication to fostering open-mindedness and personal exploration.
Over the years, Philippe has been instrumental in founding vibrant communities that tackle essential topics. The Open Relationship Community, the Attachment Community, and the Consent Community provide safe spaces for individuals to engage in emerging discussions, redefining societal norms, and promoting healthier relationship dynamics.
Philippe is also well known for the creation of a vast array of conscious play spaces and playground such as Club Exotica, Love Underground, The Erotic Playground, and the FireLight micro-festival, as well as embodiment spaces such as The Somatic Playground where participants can find and learn about how to relate with each other at all levels.
While Philippe's professional accomplishments are inspiring, he cherishes a role that brings him immense joy and growth - that of a proud and loving father to a 13-year-old teen. This cherished relationship teaches him the invaluable lessons of surrendering to love and embracing life more fully with each passing day.
Philippe's life's work revolves around illuminating the path to enriched human connections and fostering a more compassionate and understanding society, one relationship at a time. His dedication to personal growth, coupled with his commitment to empowering others, sets him apart as a true visionary in the field of relationship education.
Join my Announcements WhatsApp group: www.bit.ly/4fMV38H
See my Offerings page: www.exquisite.love/this
Also…
Club Exotica page: www.clubexoticapresents.com
Love Underground Announcements: www.bit.ly/4bmv5H4
The Erotic Playground Announcements: www.bit.ly/3xPgVih
Website: www.exquisite.love
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/exquisiteheartlove/
News, Events, Classes: www.facebook.com/groups/exquisiteheartlove/
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/fuzzyp
Instagram: @exquisiteheartlove @scorpiodreaming
Dec 30 Jeremy Daw: Emotional Cardio [Forest Love EB]
Emotional Cardio builds emotional resilience to meet the many challenges of modern life. Using a holistic and integrative approach to both body and mind, it guides participants on a deep exploration of their emotional systems and builds resilience by connecting them to the whole Central Nervous System (CNS) for a more easeful and effective way of meeting the world on its own terms.
Some popular tools which claim to be effective at emotional regulation teach students to treat all emotions as equivalent and to ‘release’ them with certain exercises. Such practices miss the mark in two fundamental ways: first, because not all emotions are the same; and second, because it is not actually possible to ‘release’ emotions (nor would you want to if you could). Emotions are more like muscles: first because the point is to strengthen them instead of ‘release’ them, and second because full body health requires different exercises to train different muscle groups - just like emotions. Consequently, EmoCardio teaches each of the six primal emotions in turn, so that participants can become fluent and easeful in every possible emotional expression.Whether you’ve begun a new spiritual path, a new relationship or are merely seeking better tools to navigate your complex life, Emotional Cardio gives you the tools to build your own personal resilience through a holistic and integrative approach to your CNS.
Jeremy Daw is an author and facilitator who lives on sacred land in northern California. As a graduate of both Harvard University and Highden Mystery School, he brings a unique approach to spiritual questions which bridges between the intellectual and esoteric. He is the creator of the Emotional Cardio program for emotional resilience and the author of five books, most recently his historical novel, The Erotic Gospel. You can find him at eroticgospel.substack.com.
Jan 6 ✨ Victoria Angel Heart: New Year Embodied Intimacy Activation [Forest Love EB]
Would you like for 2025 to be a year filled with more pleasure, more connection, and more intimacy?
Start the year off right with this New Year Embodied Intimacy Activation, where you’ll experience tangible tools for deepening connection, embodying open hearted presence, and enhancing the giving/receiving of touch.
Do you wish you knew the right questions to ask to get someone to open up, or the best ways to touch someone so they melt in a puddle of bliss?
Would you like to feel activated and ready to experience deep intimacy with another beautiful soul, no strings attached?
Do you yearn for connection that you’re just not getting from dating apps?
Have you wondered how you can up-level your skills so your intimate encounters leave your partners coming back for more?
Do you wish you were more connected to your own heart instead of being stuck in your thoughts all the time?
If you you wish you were more confident in giving/receiving intimate touch, think you could be a better listener, or you just want to feel more connection between your thinking mind and feeling heart, this workshop has something for you.
No matter your relationship status, this workshop will empower you with tools you can carry through 2025 and beyond. Through touch, breath, sound, deep listening, and presence practices, you will feel more intimate with yourself and each person you meet. While no sexual touch will happen in this workshop, the skills learned are transferable to the bedroom!Victoria Angel Heart, M.Ed, CMT-P, is a passionate pleasure permissionary, dedicated to empowering folx to embrace intimacy within themselves, their relationships and with all of life. She’s the founder of Heart Integrative Healing and Tap Into Freedom: Psychedelic EFT. Alongside her work as a plant medicine and embodied intimacy guide, she weaves her original “hypnotic hymns” and empowerment anthems as a permissionary of song and full embodied expression of feeling. She organizes engaging music and intimacy events regularly throughout the Bay Area. Victoria believes in the power of the transformative healing that occurs when we connect with ourselves and embody intimacy, together.
Jan 13 ✨ Philippe Lewis: Kitty Cat Contact: A Feline Primal Play Class [Forest Love EB]
Come Play! Come Learn the Original Contact Dance of Cats!
The non-verbal language of cats is renowned for its nuance and diversity, so much so that it can take years for humans to master this beautiful art. And indeed, it is a language familiar to humans, often much more than actual humans non-verbal language. But this cat language is similar enough to human’s that it is easy to learn for those who are still in the dark. In fact, many people interact non-verbally more often and in more complex ways with pets than they do with other human beings, so it is a good starting point for a common language of touch between lovers.
In this playful romp of a class, you will learn the …
★ Mastery of the mysterious feline gaze
★ The elaborate dance of the their walk, movements, and body rubs
★ The beautiful and nuanced language of their touch
★ The intricacy of their meows and purrs (and one special trick to turn you into a cat magnet)
★ Their top-secret missions to take over the human world (and how you can join their ranks)
★ A beginner’s vocabulary and codes to instantly become a cat’s best friend (even if you’re really a dog person)
★ How kittens are much more dangerous than adult cats (even as they are cuter!)
★ And much, much more…
And underneath the playfulness of this class, you will discover the deeper more primal world of feline animals, how they express sovereignty, how they care for each other, and how they learn to own their own safety in the context of play and engagement with each other.
Don’t wait to become friends with the greatest slyest animals on the planet, join us and become their ally with your own inner feline friend!
“I came to Philippe’s cat workshop because a friend recommended it and because, being cat like myself, I was curious. What I experienced was a brief moment in another world, the cat world, where slightly altered rules allowed for new forms of interaction.
This playful edgy experience was not only fun, but left in me and imprint to take back to the human world. While it felt incredibly alien being in it, the reality is that cats are mammals too and not that different from us. So the amount that translated back into my human life was even more shocking than the experience itself.
To use less cryptic language I can say that I gained tools to escalate a friendly relationship into something sensual and intimate, tools to enforce boundaries that I was only meekly asserting previously, and a felt sense of freedom to play out my choices without remorse.”
— Evan
Philippe is a passionate relationship educator and founder of Exquisite ❦ Love. With a mission to empower men and women in making informed and positive choices for themselves and their partners, Philippe guides individuals on transformative journeys to become sovereign beings through the art of connection, trust, consent, intimacy, and love. Drawing from the profound insights of attachment theory, he helps people explore the depths of human connection and understand the dynamics that shape their relationships.
Philippe's impact in the realm of personal growth and self-discovery extends far and wide. As a co-founder of The Journey to Secure, he fosters a supportive community of like-minded individuals on a shared path of growth and an earned attachment style. Additionally, his role as a coordinator with the International School of Temple Arts, showcases his dedication to fostering open-mindedness and personal exploration.
Over the years, Philippe has been instrumental in founding vibrant communities that tackle essential topics. The Open Relationship Community, the Attachment Community, and the Consent Community provide safe spaces for individuals to engage in emerging discussions, redefining societal norms, and promoting healthier relationship dynamics.
Philippe is also well known for the creation of a vast array of conscious play spaces and playground such as Club Exotica, Love Underground, The Erotic Playground, and the FireLight micro-festival, as well as embodiment spaces such as The Somatic Playground where participants can find and learn about how to relate with each other at all levels.
While Philippe's professional accomplishments are inspiring, he cherishes a role that brings him immense joy and growth - that of a proud and loving father to a 13-year-old teen. This cherished relationship teaches him the invaluable lessons of surrendering to love and embracing life more fully with each passing day.
Philippe's life's work revolves around illuminating the path to enriched human connections and fostering a more compassionate and understanding society, one relationship at a time. His dedication to personal growth, coupled with his commitment to empowering others, sets him apart as a true visionary in the field of relationship education.
Join my Announcements WhatsApp group: www.bit.ly/4fMV38H
See my Offerings page: www.exquisite.love/this
Also…
Club Exotica page: www.clubexoticapresents.comLove Underground Announcements: www.bit.ly/4bmv5H4
The Erotic Playground Announcements: www.bit.ly/3xPgVih
Website: www.exquisite.loveFacebook Page: www.facebook.com/exquisiteheartlove/News, Events, Classes: www.facebook.com/groups/exquisiteheartlove/
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/fuzzyp
Instagram: @exquisiteheartlove @scorpiodreaming
Jan 20 ✨ Lara Maykovich: Sound Body / Sensual Body [Forest Love EB]
A self healing vocal ritual to cleanse your being with sound and activate your cells to resonate at your highest frequency. This class is a sound and movement exploration that connects us to our authentic sensual selves, to each other and to the interconnected mandala of Oneness. We will draw on Chakra toning, nature inspired Butoh dance, sound healing, vocal exercises, poly- rhythms, and more.
Lara Maykovich is an accomplished vocal artist and seasoned instructor, dedicated to fostering deep, expressive connections through voice. With over 25 years of performance experience, Lara has developed a unique approach rooted in global musical traditions, including Bulgarian, African, Brazilian, and Cuban influences.
Lara is best known as the front woman of Afro-beat ensemble Aphrodesia, with whom she performed across West Africa and shared the stage with legends such as Femi Kuti at Lagos’s famed Shrine.
Lara holds a BA from Naropa University in Psychology and Interarts—a degree she describes as "ritual performance art"—where she first explored African and Afro-Caribbean music. This exposure deepened her appreciation for the voice as a healing and unifying force, and she developed a distinctive poly-rhythmic sound. Her use of the mbira, a traditional Zimbabwean instrument, exemplifies her commitment to connecting voice, culture, and natural healing practices.
In her teaching, Lara emphasizes the transformative power of vocal expression. She integrates techniques from her "Sound Body" practice, a self-healing vocal ritual utilizing chakra tones and harmonics to clear the body and connect to heart-centered awareness. Her work has been recognized in vocal ensembles across Boulder and San Francisco, where she founded “Hella Hella Acapella,” and has performed at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and other prominent venues.
Lara’s teaching style blends technical skill with a profound focus on personal growth and communal harmony, inspiring her students to harness the power of voice to find their authentic sound and foster meaningful connections.
Jan 27 ✨ Mihyun Lee: Relationship & Movement [Forest Love EB]
The purpose of this workshop is to identify the psychological implications of relationship patterns through Contact Improvisation practice. Participants explore the interconnectedness between interpersonal relationship patterns and Contact Improvisation practice. The materials are based on Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis (LBMA).
Participants will:
- learn movement qualities and patterns
- explore their relationship patterns and dynamics
- have a chance to consult relationship challenges with the group to explore different patterns in the dynamic that may serve the relationship better.
Mihyun Lee studied Korean Dance, Counseling Psychology, and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis. For about 30 years of practicing dance professionally shaped her understanding of the primal nature of the body and its expression.
Under the theme of Polarity and Integration, she supports people to integrate various lived experiences through polarities such as past and future, implicit memory and explicit memory, felt sense and logical sense, etc.
As a Somatic Movement Therapist, she serves individuals, couples, and groups both in San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. She facilitates 6 sessions of bi-weekly Somatic Movement Group Therapy called "Relationship and Movement" starting on 2/5/2025. As a Mental Health Clinician, she serves 0-5 years old clients with their families at a community based organization in Alameda County.
instagram: kinesiopsychotherapy
website: www.movementflow.org
Feb 3 ✨ Magalí Clazón: Dancing with Animal Spirits [Forest Love EB]
Dancing with your animal spirit serves as a guide, bringing messages from the Universe to help guide you on your life path as you dance to your truthful heart.
You will connect with the capacity for powerful insights through your body in motion.
Magali and the invisible world will guide you on a conscious dance journey with organic house-curated music, allowing you to express, release, and relieve your emotions.
We gather to connect with the underneath world, to move, heal, feel, and make sound! You are invited to align the mind, heart, body, and spirit.
What to Expect/ What is being offered:
Creating and entering into a sacred space, opening the four directions of La Rueda Medicinal Andina, we begin the journey by exploring our inner landscapes, enabling us to embody our emotional state. The medicine movement expands our senses to surrender and emptiness so we can express our animal power and let ourselves emerge. Dancing as a pack manifests the healing process, from our wildest and fiercest instincts to embracing our tenderness. At the end of each practice, we can share our journies in a safe container.Founder of Movimiento Creativo & Ocean Dance, Magalí is a Movement Artist born in Argentina who developed her hospitality and wellness career as an Ontological Senior Coach and Yoga, Dance, and Mindfulness Teacher. For the past 15 years, she has dedicated herself to the learning and practice of somatics and movement. Her long experience in hospitality, traveling the world, and corporate life allows her to facilitate unique transformational body experiences.
In 2020, Magalí moved to San Francisco, California, to deepen her Somatics and Conscious Movement studies. Since then, she has been immersed in practices involving nature and shamanism to integrate her mind-body work into the realms of the spirits.
She combines her Somatics Arts in different settings, such as a Wolf Womb woman’s circle, Ceremonies Dancing with Animal Spirits, Outdoors Creative Movement Ocean Dance in Ocean Beach, and 1.1 Coaching Sessions in Nature. She brings music into every experience, creating curated playlists that reflect the natural rhythm of change.
Magalí founded Movimiento Creativo from a place of love and gathering with our bodies and ourselves to rediscover human connections through movement, music, and nature.
That is why she is inviting you to be part of this magical community.
www.magaliclazon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/magal%C3%AD-bel%C3%A9n-claz%C3%B3n-2a637b11/
https://www.instagram.com/magali.clazon/
Feb 10 ✨ River & Chuck: Get Your Flirt On: A Night of Embodied Connection [Forest Love EB]
In this workshop, you will be guided through a series of connection exercises that build toward sensual and flirty energy. Similar to a tantra puja or a speed dating event, you will be led in 1-1 interactions with other participants, allowing you to feel into their energy and connect with your own desires. Confront your fears and maybe even revel in your successes as you make new connections throughout the night. There will be a mix of energetic, touch, and verbal exercises.
Chuck’s passion is to empower people to bring more pleasure and sensuality into their lives. He combines lessons from the Somatica® Institute, the Orgasmic Meditation community, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and developmental psychology to teach about touch, emotional intimacy, and hidden routes to pleasure. As a facilitator, he is skilled at creating a container of safety, acceptance and eroticism that lays the ground for deep transformation and freedom. Chuck’s a certified Somatica Sex And Relationship Coach, Orgasmic Meditation Life Coach & Trainer, and NLP Master Practitioner.
River Black (she/they) is a Sacred Intimate and a Somatica-certified sex and relationship coach. As a sexual healer, they believe all bodies are sacred. They create loving presence, witness without judgment, and hold space for transformation to emerge. As a coach, River teaches workshops on embodied boundaries, consent, and polyamory and sees clients on Zoom and in her practice in Berkeley, CA. She founded the first-ever Sex Workers Student Union while in grad school and is passionate about ending sexual shame, expanding the menu of options, and creating more avenues for pleasure."
Insta: ariverblack
Feb 17 ✨ Kim Peirano: Dreaming Your Life into Reality: Guided Hypnosis & Somatic Practice [Forest Love EB]
This workshop offers a space to explore and clarify your core goals while building confidence and self-awareness through hypnosis and somatic practices. You’ll learn tools to overcome inner obstacles, align with your vision, and take meaningful steps toward realizing your personal and professional aspirations. This session takes participants on a journey to realizing their core goals and then clearing mental/emotional blocks to getting where they want to go. We will do a few mediations / self hypnosis sessions coupled with some movement practice / breathwork for a release of old stagnant energy and beliefs.
Kim Peirano, DACM, LAc, CHt is an experienced Transformational Coach, Hypnotherapist, and Acupuncturist who blends her expertise in multiple modalities to support clients through profound life transitions. In her practice, Courage to Transform, Kim specializes in working with clients experiencing major life changes, living with chronic pain and illness and those recovering from religious, spiritual and cultic abuse and trauma.
Kim's coaching sessions are deeply intuitive and personalized, fostering an environment of safety while encouraging clients to break through limiting beliefs and patterns. She integrates decades of techniques and education to guide clients toward self-discovery, empowerment, and transformation. Through hypnosis, Jungian depth psychology, shadow work, Five Element theory, somatic integration and more, she always offers a supportive and customizable approach to her clients.
Kim is committed to helping individuals reconnect with their true authenticity offering them the tools and support needed to navigate life’s challenges with clarity, confidence and integrity.
Feb 24 ✨ Heather Atles: The Science of Attraction [Forest Love EB]
Whether you're looking to enhance your romantic relationships, build confidence in social settings, or simply want to indulge in a fun and educational experience, this workshop offers a rare opportunity to understand the science behind attraction and intimacy. It’s a highly interactive experience that invites you to explore the power of your senses through guided exercises that include sound, taste, touch, smell, and sight. Perfect for individuals and couples alike, you'll leave with a deeper understanding of how sensory experiences can enhance your life and relationships.
Heather Atles is a trauma informed Relationship, Sex, and Intimacy Coach who works with couples, individuals, and polycules to design and create the most luscious, empowering, nurturing intimate relationships possible. She has over 20 years of experience in shame resiliency, pleasure exploration, embodied breath work, and non-traditional relationships. Along with a degree from Emerson College, she has trained with the Somatica Institute, the Human Awareness Institute, Mastery in Transformational Training, The Pathway, Landmark Education, Insight Seminar, and more. She has extensive experience with modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Byron’s Katie’s “Work,” Non-Violent Communication, and The Courage To Heal.Heather has worked as an entertainer, community organizer, corporate trainer, and motivational speaker. However, nothing brings her more joy than having a positive impact on people’s self-image, embodiment, and relationships. She has dedicated her life to personal growth, self-actualization, and service to others.
Location
Classes are all in the East Bay until the end of 2024!
Forest Love
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110 Forest Ln, Berkeley, CA 94708
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