Pleasure and Trauma: Nervous System Regulation for Orgasm and Sexual Presence
Orgasm and sexual awareness can be a complex experience (or non-experience) for many people. Trauma of all kinds, including the culturally traumatic soup we all swim in, has a huge impact on our ability to feel the sensations and emotions of our bodies, especially in connection with other human beings. Many of us experience too much inhibition, too little inhibition, or an inability to relax and be present during sexual intimacy. These three protective mechanisms become encoded into our bodies based on our life experiences. It is so liberating to be able to soothe these old patterns and open up to the pleasure and connection that we long for. Sexual flow, sensation, emotion, and closeness become more nuanced and fulfilling the more our bodies can live in their natural, resilient rhythms. During this presentation I’ll discuss the Organic Intelligence model of nervous system regulation. As a group we’ll work with three healing steps towards nervous system health: Orientation, Orientation to Pleasure, and Finding Rhythms. Participants will be empowered to use these techniques beyond the presentation session to deepen and expand their capacity for sexual presence.
Hannah Ebner has a passion for helping people connect more deeply to themselves and to each other. She offers Organic Intelligence sessions for trauma resolution and Heart Rhythm Meditation for embodiment, self-regulation, and spiritual growth. She is the Assistant Director at The Montessori Schoolhouse, volunteers with the Alternatives to Violence Project in prisons, and facilitates the Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education program for various age groups. She received her BA in English Literature from Carleton College in Minnesota, and her M.Ed. from St. Catherine University. In 2015 Hannah completed a two-year training in Heart Rhythm Meditation with the Institute for Applied Meditation on the Heart and has continued to meditate, attend trainings and retreats, and teach community meditation classes since then. She offers one-on-one and couples sessions in her private practice, Human Being Consulting, here in Tucson.