GUILD: Unpacking Our Cultural Norms and Myths About Pleasure

Title: Unpacking Our Cultural Norms and Myths About Pleasure

Presenter: Dawn Serra, Body Trust Provider and Body Coach (she/her/hers)

Description:  Pleasure is one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes our lives worth living, and yet pleasure is simultaneously vilified and hyper-performed at a cultural level. Too often pleasure is seen as something to earn after we have achieved a certain level of success, as something suspect, or as a reductive euphemism for sex. Pleasure can be incredibly complicated and foreign to those who have experienced trauma, eating disorders, or who live in marginalized bodies (queer, fat, disabled, trans, nonbinary, poor, BIPOC, etc). Yet, an embodied pleasure practice can not only support us in healing trauma, but help clients (and us) to connect with ourselves, our bodies, our lives, and our loved ones in more mindful, intentional, and meaningful ways. Join us as we unpack cultural norms and myths about pleasure and explore practical, simple strategies and concepts for helping clients to connect with pleasure on their journey towards more autonomy, freedom, and connection.

Learning Objectives: Based on this presentation I …

1.  …explore embodied pleasure as a pathway toward presence, boundaries, and connection.
2.  …identify common barriers to pleasure and simple practices that make pleasure more accessible for clients.
3.  …learn how pleasure is a powerful tool for connecting with agency, dignity, and autonomy.
4.  …Understand the important parallels between pleasure practices and grief practices.