In this episode of Universal Intimacy on ⁨@TempleofLoha⁩ host Josephine Lauer sits down with Ashley Summers and Nicole Sonnefeldt, co-founders of the upcoming women’s empowerment retreat UNLEASHED: https://www.thisisunleashed.com/ taking place in Chicago on February 21, 2026. Together we explore the deeply personal journeys that led Ashley and Nicole to create a trauma-informed, sex-positive space for women to reconnect with their fullest selves.Ashley shares her evolution as a photographer, creative, and mother, weaving together her background in therapeutic recreation and her path from religious shame to embodied self-expression. She reflects on how boudoir photography became a powerful tool for trust, vulnerability, and helping others feel truly seen—what she calls her “ultimate kink.”Nicole brings her perspective as a coach, former therapist, and sex-positive activist. With a background in counseling psychology and trauma-informed modalities, she opens up about her experiences with polyamory, pansexuality, and the challenges of navigating professional boundaries while honoring her own sexual authenticity. Her transition from therapist to coach allowed her to work more freely with individuals, couples, and polycules seeking expanded ways of relating. The conversation culminates in the vision behind UNLEASHED: a retreat designed to help women unlearn shame, soften into connection, and experience open-hearted community. UNLEASHED offers a somatic, trauma-informed flow—combining movement, reflection, and intimate workshops—to support deep feminine connection, surrender, and self-acceptance. This episode is an honest, expansive dialogue about 3 women's journey thru sexuality, creativity, healing, and what becomes possible when women are supported in showing up as their whole selves. We cover topics including, Ethnical Non-Monogamy (ENM), The Power of Community, Competition vs. Support between Women, Trauma and Touch and Co-Regulation.Register for the retreat at: https://www.thisisunleashed.com/

Use code "PODCAST" for an 11% discount off ticket price

Lana Shay is a lifelong holistic living advocate, medicine woman, psychonaut, and practitioner of the Tantric arts whose journey weaves together sensuality, spirituality, and deep healing. With a background spanning integrated holistic medicine and psychedelic-assisted therapies, Lana brings a bold and embodied perspective shaped by transformation, devotion, and lived experience. In this episode, Lana shares her path of guiding others toward holistic living through alternative healing, erotic arts, plant medicines, entheogens, and a profound connection to Source. Her unique lens explores what it means to be deeply seen, nourished, and loved—blending sex, food, and healing into a sacred, intentional way of life. She also introduces The Pure Way, her philosophy and company born from the fusion of ancient wisdom, modern wellness, and personal integrity. At its core, The Pure Way is about harmony: sensuality and spirituality, discipline and pleasure, self-awareness and sacred relationship—offering a pathway to embodied wholeness and conscious living.You can her weekly writings and audio transmissions on Substack: https://substack.com/@lanashayFollow along for more on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamlanashay/

Welcome to Season 2 of Universal Intimacy! On this episode, I welcome Selene Ashé: a multi-disciplinary artist, erotic dancer, author of The Diary of a Bad Bitch: True Stories of Sensuality, Self-Discovery, and Spiritual Alchemy, and the mastermind responsible for "Conscious Cabaret" a sober cabaret that seeks to provide a safe space for erotic artists to express themselves fully and to cultivate presence for all involved using the magic of Eros.

In the following conversation, Selene takes us on a journey through her life and shares the wisdom she has gained along the way. She speaks to how her Cuban roots have influenced her relationship with her own sensuality and expression, her firsthand experience with listening to the wisdom of the body, how having trust in herself and her art has transformed her life and so much more. Selene is a wealth of knowledge for women seeking to face their shadows, stand in their power, and honor their creative artistry.

To see more of Selene, you can find her at:

https://seleneashe.com/ to find her current offerings

https://www.instagram.com/sutra_musa/ to follow her dance practice

https://www.instagram.com/seleneashe/ to follow her writings

https://www.tiktok.com/@seleneashe to see her silly day-to-day antics

If you would like to learn more about Selene’s journey towards embodiment, you can find all of the juicy details in her book, The Diary of a Bad Bitch: True Stories of Sensuality, Self-Discover, and Spiritual Alchemy, available online at: https://www.amazon.com/Diary-Bad-Bitch-Sensuality-Self-Discovery-ebook/dp/B0F6T9DNZR