Reclaiming Pleasure: Embodied Joy in Trauma Recovery and Social Change

Session 1 — Healing Pleasure
Kai Cheng Thom · 2-hour experiential session

The fields of embodiment, trauma healing, and social change are rich in knowledge of trauma — but what do we know about pleasure? Through embodied practice, cultivate awareness of pleasure across all the body's senses, and explore the neurobiology of arousal, excitement, and bliss in relation to states of survival and trauma.

Session 2 — The Power of Pleasure
Kai Cheng Thom · 2-hour experiential session

Explore the revolutionary power of pleasure as a tool for individual and social change. As adrienne maree brown writes in Pleasure Activism, pleasure can heal us from the inside out — and shake oppressive systems to their core. This is the opposite of spiritual bypassing. Learn how to develop relationships and communities where pleasure is a resource for survival, resilience, and growth.

Session 3 — Sacred Sexuality, Somatic Sexuality
Kai Cheng Thom · 2-hour experiential session

Sexuality, desire, pleasure, and eros are intrinsic to the felt sense of being human — yet shamed and stigmatized in dominant culture, particularly for women, queer and trans people, and marginalized groups. Explore the lineage of Somatic Sex Education, Sexological Bodywork, and Sacred Intimacy — body-based healing professions rooted in queer resilience and resistance — as a path to the unfolding of your deepest self.

Session 4 — When the Body Says Yes
Kai Cheng Thom · 2-hour experiential session

In the shadow of pleasure lives the fear that our love and desire might be dangerous — to others, or to ourselves. Pleasure can redeem our most shameful selves, and we can redeem pleasure through consent, clear boundaries, and "sacred taking." Embrace the wild self's capacity for giving and receiving, and explore embodied frameworks like Betty Martin's Wheel of Consent.

• Cultivate awareness of pleasure through all the body's senses
• Understand the neurobiology of arousal, excitement, and bliss in relation to trauma
• Use pleasure as a tool for personal and collective transformation
• Build relationships and communities where pleasure is a shared resource
• Explore Somatic Sex Education, Sexological Bodywork, and Sacred Intimacy
• Develop skills in consent, clear boundaries, and "sacred taking"
• Apply Betty Martin's Wheel of Consent for embodied communication
• Reclaim pleasure as a path to Transformative Justice
• Sustain healers and activists through embodied joy and rest