Embrace your Spark + Explore your Authentic Sexuality

The following blog is the written transcript of an insightful interview with Heather Craig (MEd., MSc., RP) about her upcoming workshop, “Embracing the Spark.”

In this interview, Heather discusses the goals of the workshop, the benefits of reconnecting with authentic sexuality, and the unique exercises designed to support women with rediscovering their true sexual selves. This workshops is specifically tailored for women aged 30+ providing a supportive space to explore and embrace their sexuality at various life stages.

Tell us about your upcoming workshop!

So the workshops called embracing your spark, and it’s all about either connecting for the first time or reconnecting with authentic sexuality as it kind of makes sense in your world.

I find a lot of people either group in a space where they had sexual kind of like put upon them, either in really active ways like grow in a church that hasn’t pretty show my opinions about what was considered moral or a deadly sin or how you were supposed to be with your body. Or maybe you just kind of grew up in a household that like we didn’t talk about sex and so you gained your left and even from the internet or from your friends or from media. And maybe it’s left you feeling like you don’t understand and what good authentic sexual expression looks like for you. Maybe you’ve gotten stuck in roles of performing and you think that this is something that you do for your partner and not really for yourself. Or maybe there is even a time in your life where you feel like you did have it together, you feel like you’ve had a good relationship with your sexuality and it was good, it was expressive, it was easy to connect to.

And then life has happened…

And suddenly you don’t know where that person is anymore. want to reconnect to that part of yourself.

How come this workshop is for women 30+ years old, more specifically?

So we set the age range as 30+ which I know feels like a really big range, but if we imagine the women who would be coming to this workshop, we thought about people who are maybe entering motherhood for the first time or finally have kids that are sleeping through the night and they actually have some time and energy to get back to themselves a a little bit.

This might also be a time in your life when you’re experiencing perimenopause or going through the menopause transition, you might even be through it. You might be retiring and moving into a different phase where you just have more time and energy and you want to reconnect with a different part of yourself.

Also for many women by the time being until like 30, 40, 45, 50, you’re just kind of tired of doing things for other people, and you want a little more for yourself.

How will this workshop be of support to women with embracing authentic sexuality?

I know “authentic sexuality” is a really big terms, so what we’ve created this space to do is give space for women to come together with other women who are experiencing similar, different, but similar challenges and desires in their life. And so we can actually figure out what is authentic for you – what feels you genuinely good.

How do we separate performance from pleasure?

How do we reconnect to our body if it’s changed in ways we don’t recognize our understand?

How do we forgive our past self for not knowing any better?

It’s a little hard when you do group therapy because if we if we had too firm an outline of what we’re talking about then it wouldn’t serve the actual people who are coming up. So I’m excited that Sheila and I are creating a space where people can talk about what is real and true to them and I know that we’re going to be able to be responsive with education and exercises that’s responsive to where people’s needs are at.

And I think there’s something really special about doing this in a group of environment. I know a group therapy can sound intimidating or scary, this is such a personal topic but so often when I work one on one with individuals it’s really clear that they have no idea other people feel this way And because I’m a therapist, I get to sit with other people and see other people talking about  the exact same things. So getting to share this deeply private personal experience with other people and learning you’re not alone, learning you’re not the only one facing this challenge, not the only one who feels like you’ve never known what sex can be for you or you have no idea how it fell away from your life. That can be a really healing experience just like creating that community for yourself.

What’s an example of an exercise you’ll bring to the group?

Yeah, so one of the exercises I’m really excited about is “cleaning out your closet.” So we’re going to look at, this is very Marie Kondo, P.S. We’re going to look at some of the ideas we’ve held around ex, our bodies, our values, what sex is supposed to look like, what sexy is supposed to look like. And we’re going to see if those values and ideas still fit us, and if we still like the way it fits, we can keep it. If it does not spark joy, we can really sit with love. And sometimes we even need to do a little tailoring, so maybe we take something that almost fits, we’re going to tweak a little bit, and then put it right back in the closet.

What makes this group unique?

I know I’m supposed to pitch to you that this group is different, and it’s unlike any other one you’ve been to before, but the truth is that a lot of people who do this work and do this exploration can they do it well.

I hope what we bring is humor, authenticity, and the knowledge we have. Myself, I have 20 years of doing sex education experience, so I love being able to be responsive to the people and what my clients tell me is that my authenticity and embracing-ness of my own awkward that help them feel like they have permission and space to be real and awkward and authentic because like listen awkwardness is part of sex and anybody who tells you it isn’t is selling you something.

So I’m excited about this space that we will create and I think the space that we create will really work for people that show up for it.

Also, there’s a workbook. [Laughter].

“Embracing the Spark” is scheduled for Saturday October 26, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with other women seeking to reclaim their pleasure and better understand their sexuality.

To sign up for the group, please feel free to contact our Client Service Team by email (info@blisscounselling.ca) or by phone (226-647-6000). You may also book directly through Sheila’s schedule.

Don’t miss out on this chance to reconnect with your true self – sign up today!