Embracing Your Sensuality with Krystal Taylor

What if embracing sensuality could transform your life? Join me as I welcome Krystala, a dynamic content creator, certified Tantra yoga instructor, and intimacy coach, to the Tea Tasting Room for a deeply enriching conversation.

In this episode, we embark on an exploration of sensuality, distinguishing it from sexuality while emphasizing the importance of feminine energy, especially as we age. In this episode, we also dive into the sacred interconnectedness of sexuality, sensuality, and spirituality, challenging societal beliefs that often obscure the true nature of our bodies and sexual energy.

Krystal is a certified tantra yoga instructor who specializes in educating and supporting individuals toward sexual wholeness. Her unique coaching approach involves sharing ancient yogic philosophy and ancestral practices, as well as her own sensual, down-to-earth techniques.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey, my friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. I am happy to be here with you here in the Tea Tasting Room. I hope you would have done something for yourself that you would in the last week, whether it's drink more water, moisturize your face, go for a walk just to rest, whatever it is. Just do something that you can pour into yourself, especially when it comes to our mental and emotional and, of course, physical well-being.

Speaker 1: 0:48

For me, I am still working through being back here in the US. It's been roughly what? Two weeks since I've been back and let me tell you, I am still trying to adjust to life here, because I went home for three and a half weeks and forgot how to act. I was fed, I was taken care of by my parents. I was just living the ideal island life, to be quite honest with you, but I am working through that little bit of a sadness that I have now that I'm back, but, of course, I'm here to serve you and I want us to ensure that we're doing something for ourselves as we continue to transform every aspect of our lives. For me, like I would have mentioned in the previous episode, these next six months are going to be very, very intentional and across all boards it's going to be intentional Everything that I do, and I know I said it at the beginning of the year that I want to make sure that everything that I do is intentional. But let me tell you these next six months, like I had a revelation while I was back home in Antigua, and these next six months are going to work I was going to set me up for success as we gear up for 2025. So I really want to ensure that I encourage you to do something for yourself.

Speaker 1: 1:53

All right, today's episode I am very excited, as I'm always excited whenever I have a guest here in the Tea Tasting Room. What we're talking about? Embracing sensuality, and that's something that I couldn't wait to record this episode with Crystal, because she's just so knowledgeable, she's so good at what she does, and just so that we all can learn about sensuality, what it means from a spiritual standpoint, from a mental and even emotional standpoint as well, and I think this episode captured all of that. I just made sure I gave Crystal all the room to speak because I didn't want to cut her cause. I was like a little child in school, soaking up everything she was saying and I walked away from the episode feeling really energetic or energized, and I was also just, I felt put into, and I know you guys will feel the same way. So let's get into today's episode.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. Like I mentioned earlier, we have someone very special and yes, I know I always say this about my guest, but she is special because I've been watching her from afar and when I sent that email and she said yes, I feel like my heart dropped out. And this is the first time hearing this Crystal. I feel like my heart like. When I got the response, I dropped the phone. I was calling my sister. I was like, oh my God, this girl. She really replied to me a little old me, you know, but I am happy to have you here in the Tea Tasting Room and we are very nosy people here, crystal, so we want you to spill the tea. Tell us everything you possibly can about yourself and what got you into this, this work?

Speaker 2: 3:22

Okay, so, um, so, just talk about myself. All right, I am living in Brooklyn, new York, and what am I doing here? I'm a transit, been here for about four years. Four years ago I decided to like, follow my dreams and move to New York. It was like kind of like a 20 year old life dream.

Speaker 2: 3:42

Yeah, like I had an internship here in college and and I finally decided to go for it after I got divorced. So I got divorced, uh, four years ago. Um, I was a stay at home mom and I was like you want kids? Okay, I'm gonna let you keep kids. My kids are a little older. I have a brand new years ago, and a lot of it came from just exploring my sexuality. Ironically, around 2011, I took yoga teacher training and I took yoga teacher training as a beginner and it just completely like rocked my world because I didn't know that there was a whole science behind spirituality. Like I grew up as a christian and you know in a very religious environment, which I don't.

Speaker 2: 4:34

I don't knock it, but, um, this, there's a there's a different way of looking at spirituality that I had never heard of, but it resonated, resonated with me. And I know yoga. I thought yoga was just exercise, basically. So when that kind of opened up my mind and as I continued to explore, I just went down a rabbit hole of unlocking like all the kind of these suppressed emotions that I had inside of me as a woman, and it made me think about my life and was I doing things just because people wanted me to do them, or was I doing things because I people wanted me to do them, or was I doing things because I wanted to do them?

Speaker 2: 5:07

And it took a while to like get out of that frame of mind. And I still feel like sometimes I struggle with okay, is this my decision, or am I doing this Because I think this is what society has told me? But that's yeah, it's been a long journey and this is kind of like this has been like a big pivot that passed for you. So, and I've just been sharing my journey and teaching as a content creator and yoga instructor and what else do? An intimacy coach ever since.

Speaker 1: 5:37

You know it's funny. You said that you know sometimes you struggle with if you're making a decision for yourself or for what society tells us. Let me tell you I am sure I still struggle to this day with that. Even having this conversation with you talking about this on the podcast, I'm like do I need to be doing this? What are the Christian people who I know follow me? What are they?

Speaker 1: 5:58

going to think you know, and it's so crazy because I grew up in the Caribbean and you know from the Caribbean and from a black household in general. Sometimes you know Because I grew up in the Caribbean and you know from the Caribbean and from a black household. In general, sometimes you know Christianity, the church, everything comes into play and sometimes we are oftentimes scared to even have certain conversation and I'm like how can I work in reproductive?

Speaker 1: 6:13

health and sexual health, and I'm teaching individuals about their bodies, so why am I afraid to talk about it in public?

Speaker 2: 6:19

You know what I mean. Also, you are a grown woman. You know one thing that I realized after having three children I still didn't even know my body very well, I didn't understand my erogenous zones or if I had vaginal orgasms or any of those things, and I was like that's kind of sad because I had a whole, like three whole children come out of my vagina Right. And I'm a grown woman. It's like okay. That in itself, I think for women as a whole sometimes is like an issue, you know.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Yeah, we tend to forget. So I'm glad you gave me that reminder because every now and then you know you're going to learn you can talk about whatever you want to talk about, you can be who you want to be. But then sometimes, every now and then, that little girl comes into play. Like you know, you go up in the chair. What your parents are going to say, what are your family, what people battle, and it's so crazy that the pressure that we put on ourselves as a way of how we were raised, or even from society in general, you know. So, like having this conversation here, I will say I was nervous, I went like five minutes in. But something about your energy, girl, let me just say that, something about your energy that, like the shoulders that were tense, they're not relaxed. I want you to just know that you have that calming energy in it. So I really do appreciate that.

Speaker 2: 7:27

Thank you, thank you. Yes, I was more about the intention. Right, like I'm not trying to do it and you aren't either, I would assume it's not trying to do anything to hurt anybody.

Speaker 2: 7:37

You're just trying to understand more about yourselves, more about that part of life which is important If we want people to have balance and, like we don't want to necessarily promote promiscuity right, we don't want people being harmful to themselves or to others, but that comes with being educated. You have to understand what you're dealing with in order to make good decisions about that part of your life, and that just takes maturity and being able to speak it in a very honest, intentional way, like I. And being able to speak it in a very honest, intentional way, like this, is all you know positivity. It's not about, you know, trying to get people to do things that are harmful to themselves or anybody else.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Yeah, that is true, and I think the more we realize that, the better we can be as a society. To be quite honest, right? Well, we're here to talk about embracing our sensuality and sexuality and all these different things and sometimes I talk with the different the same meaning between sensuality and sexuality, which are, you know, they're not necessarily the same. So what does sensuality means, or what does it mean to you, and why is it important, if you think it is for overall wellbeing?

Speaker 2: 8:40

Yeah, I think sensuality usually is referring to the senses.

Speaker 2: 8:43

A lot of times it's like, you know, smell, taste, touch, yeah, all those, you know intuition, and so I guess, when it comes to intimacy, we think of those things that kind of heighten the senses to, that make us feel good, you know, really embodying, like in being, let's see, present, you know, and fully embracing, I guess, the physical reality of those senses.

Speaker 2: 9:13

Because, you know, a lot of times people will get in their head, when it comes to things that are related to intimacy or eroticism and or things that even feel good, just pleasure period, like there's this negative connotation with pleasure, a lot of guilt, whether it's eating something that tastes good or buying something that you really like, because oftentimes we get caught up in Well, I'm not going to say we get caught up, but we're afraid of being addicted to something or we're afraid of overindulging in something. But pleasure is really good and when I think of sensuality, I think of an experience with the senses that brings us pleasure and that can happen through eating a really good meal or that can happen through, like, being intimate with yourself or someone else. It could, you know, it can happen in a variety of ways and, of course, pleasure and sensuality is important because if we can feel things and enjoy life through our physical reality, then why are we, even humans?

Speaker 2: 10:13

Like? What's the point? Just like if everyone took all your senses away and you were constantly in your head all the time and couldn't feel anything through your body. And then, on top of that it was at all, never, ever, then why would you have any motivation to do anything? It's extremely important you wouldn't want to do anything.

Speaker 1: 10:36

You know it's funny. You said that as it relates to how can we even live if we're not able to feel or sense things For me, and don't judge me. Judge me, crystal, please, when I'm thinking about sensuality. To be honest, sometimes there's no. I'm trying to tap into my feminine energy more because, you know, I'm getting old. I'm like I'm 34, just turned 34 two weeks ago. I'm like girl, get together you know.

Speaker 1: 10:58

but my, I guess for me, my understanding as it relates to sensuality like I'll see friends or I'll see people on social media because you know we live in a social media age, to be honest and I'm like, wow, that person, like you know, okay, they're so sexy, but you can see something that's sensual about them, like it's just effortless, whereas for me now I think that I'm fighting really hard to tap into that energy, or tap into that aspect of myself where I'm not sexy can be you know're dressed half naked, but for me that's not what that means.

Speaker 1: 11:24

But sometimes I see a lot of people equate being sexy to having wearing a short dress or showing more skin or thighs or your boobs, whatever it is, and that's okay. Nothing is wrong with that too. You know, you do you. But I think sometimes in my younger years I often associate sensuality and sexuality, or being sexy as the same thing, but sexuality or being sexy as the same thing. But as I got older, you know they're all, they're all different.

Speaker 1: 11:47

But how is there a way for you to teach us I mean, it could be here, not necessarily just because we got to sign up for your classes and whatnot but how can one tap into this sense, that sensual energy, so that it can be, they can feel empowered, but not have to try that hard, because I hate thinking that, oh, you're so sensual and I mean, oh, you're so rough, you're so sensual. And I mean, oh, you're so rough, you're so hard. I think about you as, um, it's soft, or. You know, I'm tired of hearing that. To be honest, when it comes to myself, I'm just going to keep it real. So how can one tap into that sensual energy? Like, where does that even come from?

Speaker 2: 12:16

Yeah, I think that, first of all, like, don't worry about what anybody else is saying, right, facts yeah, who cares? But I think sensuality is about authenticity and it's about like being able to be in your body. I think a lot of sensuality and divine femininity is about embodiment, it's about the earth, it's about nature and feeling comfortable in your skin and feeling comfortable in anything that has to do with nature and your senses. So when? And you, you talked about a lot of topics, so there's a topic of you know that you brought up about, like what is sensuality? And then maybe what's the?

Speaker 2: 12:58

difference between sexuality and sensuality. Yeah, for me, sexuality has a lot to do with more like your eroticism and your hormones, kind of like, also kind of the way you express the feminine or masculine aspect of who you are, because you know, sexist can also mean like, if you are embodying, like a more feminine aspect of reality versus a masculine aspect, and it doesn't necessarily have to do with genitals or it can so with sexuality. I think it's more like your eroticism. It could be more like you know, that kind of like nature, that erotic nature. But it also can be the way you express extremely kind of like more extreme femininity versus masculinity. But it's a very, I feel like it's a very fine line between the two and it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 2: 13:53

I know, with sensuality though it doesn't really have to involve like intercourse for sure, right to like embodying femininity and sensuality, I think it's about just being comfortable in your own skin, being comfortable in your body, connecting with nature. I think that's the. To me, that's the core of it. So I think a lot of people get caught up in images and maybe what like if you're showing skin or not. But you can, you can see somebody.

Speaker 2: 14:25

So let me ask you cause like this is the way I would refer to like say I don't know if you've ever been to a strip club before but let's say you go somewhere where you see two guys dancing, right, what is sexy to you when you see, or sensual or sexy to you when you see a man or a woman dancing, that's like attractive.

Speaker 1: 14:48

Ooh, that's a great question. That's a great question, Crystal.

Speaker 2: 14:51

I think.

Speaker 1: 14:51

for me, what I would look at cause I'm crazy is, I guess, how they're moving their body, how you can tell that you can read their body language, that they could either be into each other or they're just having a good time. But sometimes you can just tell when that that's the way you move your shoulder or your waist or how you're looking at that person, because sometimes I feel like you know, it's like a look. If you're dancing with me and I'm looking at you in a way, for me I would assume that there's some sort of chemistry going on or that that would be more sensual. I think it's just how you move your body. That, to me, would define that sensuality.

Speaker 2: 15:28

Right. So that's what I would say too. It's about embodiment, right. It's about being comfortable in your body. It's about confidence. It's about I love that you brought up chemistry so you can have chemistry with someone else, but you can also feel chemically like alive as well, right, there's times where you feel like blah and then there's times where you just like, say, you have really good sex or you just got off a roller coaster. You're like Whoa, like you're just like alive, Like that.

Speaker 2: 15:57

That magnetic energy, I think, is also very it's like sexual magnetic energy is sexual energy, but that's the sensualized more like I'm confident in my body, I feel good in my body. I move fluidly. You know I'm not stagnant or like I don't. I move in an intuitive way. You know I move with grace, you know, and that's going to look different in everybody, but it's authentic, like when it's authentic, someone can recognize it's magnetic, it pulls you in, it's like you want to be a part of it, because it's just like fluid.

Speaker 1: 16:32

I'm so sorry, you know why are you telling me Sorry, Listen, life, life happens right. Baby needs to be quiet. No, no need to apologize. He didn't teach room because Tanya loves the kids. She works with kids every day so no need to do that, that's fine, don't worry about it. So can you share like something personal, if you can, like some personal experience where embracing sensuality had like a positive impact on your life?

Speaker 1: 16:59

when I had um something positive sexually yeah, from a sensual standpoint, like even when you embraced your sensuality because, like, how did you get to a point where you knew, okay, you know what, I can embrace my sensuality, this is who I am, I don't give a f, I'm grown. And how did that impact your life? In a positive way or even negative, but I don't think it should be negative, but you can, yeah no, I would say that, definitely.

Speaker 2: 17:26

Where's that? There's so many experiences. So I'm a yogi, like yogi down to the bone, and when I say that is that my body is a compass. So when my body opens up or it heals whether it's through a yoga practice where I'm doing postures, or I've been an athlete all of my life Whenever I know my body is opening up and healing, I know I'm going in the right direction.

Speaker 2: 17:53

And when I started to get serious about my yoga practice, I started doing a lot of hip openers, because I realized my hips were extremely tight Well, what organs are in your hips? Your reproductive system? And so I unlocked a lot of suppressed energy just through opening my hips. And then, as my hips opened, I started to sway the more. I even um, you'll appreciate this Like, after a certain point in my practice, I that I connected, or somehow energetically aligned, with another girl that was running with me and she was bohemian, and she was like let me teach you whining, I want to teach you whining, yes, and so I had got into that and it just, it just made me feel more alive.

Speaker 2: 18:34

And when you become more alive, your perspective changes, especially as a woman.

Speaker 2: 18:38

You start to tap into your desires and you start to awaken in a different way. I think it's almost the difference, especially when you're talking about men or women, actually, but I focus a lot on women because a lot of times we're taught to suppress that energy or we're taught that it's for someone else, and so we don't make decisions based on what we want. Desire is not just about desiring sex. It's also about desire, like what makes you feel good as a person, your purpose in life, what do you want to do for a living? What relationships do you want to be in, whether it's friends or, you know, romantic ones.

Speaker 2: 19:13

So I started, it started to tap into, like what does crystal want as an individual? So you know what are my desires, and so it completely turned my world upside down. You know, that's what I have learned, or what Tantra teaches is that your sensuality is connected and your sexuality is directly connected to your intuition. So that's why you have, like, a lot of people who have been assaulted. You know, and I just want to warn people like I don't want to trigger anybody, but if you've ever been assaulted.

Speaker 2: 20:05

A lot of times you lose your voice and you're not sure of what's best for you when you're making decisions around that area of your life. And then sometimes it can happen more than once. You know, but it's because you. It's hard for you to speak up because it's so connected to your intuition and your voice. So, and people don't understand that I'd be like why you didn't say nothing, da, da, da da. Well, when you violate somebody, it takes away their voice, in a sense, and it makes them question do they even know how to make the best decisions for themselves?

Speaker 2: 20:40

So when you awaken in a healthy way, when it comes to your sensualized sexuality and it's an empowering thing because it can be disempowering if you are violated or it has, you know there's there's dark and light to everything. Sexuality is no different. But if it's empowered and it's something that happens naturally, like with a spiritual context, what I like to say then it helps you with your decision making. It helps you, like listen to your inner compass, your gut instincts are more alive, you trust yourself more, and then you just start to make decisions that are more aligned with, like what you as an individual really, really want. You know, and so it can change your life. It's changed my life completely. And I hear you talk about you know, and so it can change your life. It's changed my life completely.

Speaker 1: 21:26

And I hear you talk about. You know spirituality, and I'm thinking about that intersection or interconnection as it relates to spirituality, sexuality and sensuality. Can you touch a little bit on that as it relates, especially from the spiritual standpoint? Because I think for me, hearing you talk and just doing research over the last couple of years as well, I think sometimes we lose out on the fact that we need to be a little bit more spiritually inclined, at least for me, and I'm not going to speak for anybody else, but that's what I'm thinking.

Speaker 1: 21:53

Because again you know, you grew up in the church and you have a certain mindset that you've been raised with or you're hearing certain things from a Christian standpoint. This is not knocking my Christian brothers and sisters standpoint. This is not knocking my christian brothers and sisters, but I'm realizing as well now that I'm learning to tap into my, the spirituality aspect of of myself, because it's, it's deeper than just, hey, let me read the bible, let me go to church on a sunday or saturday, whatever day you go to church, but it's, it's deeper than that. So how connected? What is? It is sexuality and sensuality, as it relates to our spirituality as well. How can we begin that practice in a sense, where it's not shun it, because sometimes we talk about spirituality and sometimes it has a negative connotation, for what reason, I do not know. But how connected are those? What's at the intersection of sexuality, sensuality and spirituality?

Speaker 2: 22:37

Yeah, the first thing I always like to mention now, at least lately is that when I, if I mentioned orgasm, or if I mentioned, like, just the reproductive system and the hormones and testosterone, like why does that exist? We did not create that People will be like well, how do you make sex sacred? Or how do we? You know, it's like you're, it's already sacred. You didn't create it. God created it, so that means it's already divine. The only thing that makes it not divine is anything that we put on it. That's not divine. So like if someone tells you it's bad, or if someone uses it to hurt someone else, or if someone says your vagina smells or it's nasty or whatever, that is what makes, I guess, it bad in quotation. Do you know what?

Speaker 2: 23:26

I'm saying but you didn't make your genitals, you didn't even create the hormones that give you a libido. You did of like how we want to play together and all that stuff. All of these things are divine in nature, and the only things that make it not so is if it's harmful, if it's out of balance, if it creates disruption in your life. Otherwise, there's nothing wrong about it. And so, in order to start to kind of release things that are not aligned with divinity because that's what it is things that aren't aligned with God, things that aren't spiritual you have to kind of reassess like where did this come from? Why do I think something's wrong with my body? Why is there issues with nudity? Now, there's a time and place for everything, but just in general, why do I? Where, where did I hear this stuff from? Who? Who gave me this program that told me that my breasts or something was wrong with them? They were too small?

Speaker 2: 24:42

They were too big or that the natural smell of my womb was a problem, or that just whatever we're taught, you know you have to start to reassess and investigate, like where does that stuff come from and what context was it taught in or passed down in? And then you know and reconnect with that, with yourself, and like, has your body ever done anything wrong to you? Have you done something sexual that's harmed you? Okay, well, what happened? And was it the relationship and lack of communication that was the problem? Or, you know, were you just ignorant in how to navigate certain situations or was it the act itself? That's just a sin and that's why you had an issue Like a lot of it is just removing things that are societal based, that really have no spiritual context themselves.

Speaker 2: 25:40

you know but the body is not something that the man made. So you know.

Speaker 2: 25:47

You understand what I'm saying so, I like to start there with people like, very simply, like, let's start to think about this in a very practical way. Yeah, this stuff come from, and if you go really, really back in history, you'll find a lot of it comes from colonizers. A lot of it comes from a lot of yeah, a lot of it comes from colonizers. A lot of it comes from populism. A lot of it comes from people who have specific agendas and I don't want to stir anything up with people who believe in the Bible, because I know there's a lot of good stuff in the Bible. There's different versions of the Bible, right, there's King James version and there's all these different versions. And King James, who is that? You know, that's a person from another country, I think, maybe from England or whatever, and they had particular agendas and so they wrote certain things in the context where they wanted the people to go and do just like you have different cultures that they want women to be more conservative or they want men to do certain things. And I'm not saying that those things are bad, but there are reasons, outside of the fact that your body is just bad or sex is just bad, that people write certain things. They write these things because they want civilization or they want people to act a certain way because they move a certain direction.

Speaker 2: 26:59

And I'm not saying that stuff is good or bad. But again, if you are living the individual life and you are living your life on your own terms, you have to take what actually is practical for you, because if you're not living in the 1500s or in 30 BC, then it may not be practical for you. You know what I'm saying. It may not really make sense. So that's what a lot of it is, and you can get deeper into the fact that there's practices where sexual energy can help you expand consciousness and stuff. But I like to just start there. Like, let's talk about, like you know, where do we learn this stuff and where does it actually come from?

Speaker 1: 27:41

Yeah, and in standing that in that theme, as it relates to talking about sensuality and societal norms, I will say I was having a conversation with someone a couple of weeks ago and I think we were just talking about sex and just embracing and accepting who you are and, you know, loving your body at every stage. And I remember them saying, because they were much older than me, and they were saying that you know, they have a healthy relationship with their children and one child was afraid to masturbate, right, and she again is a Christian woman and she was saying that she explained to said child you know what, nothing is wrong in doing that or exploiting your body, because if you don't know what you want or how things feel, then how can we expect someone else to do that? Right, and I'm saying this story out again. I can't believe it, but how we have this perception crystal as it relates to our sensuality or sexuality and society. So how can we, you and myself, unless anyone listening how can we challenge these norms? Because again we can go back to the history of times. There's just certain things. People had their own agendas. As we're coming to see, they pick and choose how they want us to live, but as you become more self-aware, how can we challenge these norms, where one?

Speaker 1: 28:53

We're not necessarily talking about the importance of consent or even being body literate and I mentioned that because I have a nonprofit organization that we primarily focus on, like menstrual equity, menstrual health, reproductive health but one of the things that we do we're talking to individuals from ages eight and up and we're talking about consent. And again, in my culture I come from the Caribbean sometimes we don't want to talk about sex at a certain age. We don't even want to talk about periods at a certain age, crystal, to be quite honest, because we've been known that, oh, if you're seeing your period, what we'll say? Oh, you're too fast or don't go have sex. And sometimes you know someone seeing their period doesn't equal. You're going to have sex of consent because we have trusted adults in our lives or people who we think we can trust.

Speaker 1: 29:42

We have people who are older than us and if at a young age, I don't, I can't tell you respect my boundary or don't touch my hand without consent, whatever it is, then I think we're setting our children, or even the future generation, up for for not so not for success, because you're telling me I should accept. Oh, you're touching me because you're older than me that means I should.

Speaker 1: 30:00

So how are we able to challenge these norms? Because then now, if we're telling each other, oh, be quiet, have somebody do whatever they want to do with you, and then, at the same time, when we should be encouraging the healthy conversation about you know what sex is or what you know how to embrace who you are, where you are. It doesn't matter how old you are.

Speaker 1: 30:16

Of course you're going to get that education at the level that someone can understand right, but I think I think for me, made from experience, it's just that when you're telling me, oh, something is always no, no, no, no, no. Now, when you get to a point in your life where you want to experience certain things, you don't even know what to experience, because what I've been told not all my life. Or I've been told that having sex or wanting that desire is wrong, or it's negative, that no one about an age where I may want to explore, I know I don't know how to, because society has told me that you know what that's not good for you. So how can we challenge these norms as it relates to embracing our sensuality and sexuality in today's society?

Speaker 2: 30:51

Yeah, I think um. You said a lot I did. I can't help it.

Speaker 2: 30:58

I think it just starts with conversations right, like such a conversation, what you're doing, having enough courage to invite somebody on that, you know might be not within the societal norm and having a public conversation about it, starting a podcast. I think that we're kind of the gatekeepers for the children, like keeping them safe. Men should be protectors, but I think a lot of times it's women who have to kind of stand up and protect children. And when it comes to especially intimate topics like this, I think women have to kind of take the lead on that, because I think it's several reasons. One, we bring children to this world right, we have that power. Also, just men tend to be in general and I don't want to sound sexist or anything, but they tend to be a little bit. I find a little bit more, we'll just say, distracted when it comes to sexual energy, like their energy is a little bit different.

Speaker 2: 31:58

So, women, I think women can be more reserved just because we're taught to be, but I think also because our sensuality and our sexuality is more inner, it's more. It's that our energy is started from the inside, right? So like, yeah, we need to feel safe, we need to be mentally kind of intrigued and emotionally intrigued before we just fully open up. I know that there are some women that they step into their masculine and they can be like, okay, I don't care. But I think in general, women are built because we carry the children Innately. We are built to be a little bit more careful emotionally when it comes to like something so deep and intimate as intercourse, and so we usually have more of a heart to be protectors of children.

Speaker 2: 32:49

And so, and for just the innocence, right, and the naivety of, like, other generations that are coming before us or people that just may not know, and so we need to not be afraid to speak up, embrace our own sensualities and understand our own bodies and then talk about it. Like you said, talk about consent. That's big. You can't talk about consent if you don't think your sexuality even belongs to you. How can?

Speaker 2: 33:12

you say yes or no. If someone's saying you don't even have a right to touch your body, you don't even know what you want, you don't even understand your body in general, so what do you? How are you going to give consent on what's right or wrong?

Speaker 2: 33:25

But that's why not all men in general, but toxic patriarchy prefers that because you, you, you constantly available to them and whatever their wants and needs are societal, and it goes as deep to me as capitalism. Like we're going to tell you what's sexy, you need to buy this, you need to wear this, we, you know, we're going to tell you what's beautiful and what's attractive, instead of you understanding that that comes from, like, an inner confidence and having autonomy over your body and being able to move fluidly in it and be magnetic, just because you're in touch with yourself, you know. So I think it starts, yeah, with women like us.

Speaker 1: 34:04

Honestly, All right. So I want to shift gears as it relates to reconnecting with our bodies and desires, because I've had quite a few people just in a random conversation, keep talking about that need to have that male attention or just want to have that desire from someone else. And I know you've mentioned Tantra yoga before, so tell us what that is and how? Like, what role does it play as it relates to mindfulness and enhancing our sensual or sexual awareness?

Speaker 2: 34:32

Yeah, that's a great topic that you brought up, because a lot of times I think, when we think about our sensuality or sexuality, we think as it relates to being in a relationship or like attention that we're getting from other people. But all of that energy and the way we express it and the way we experience it actually comes from ourselves, and then usually we attract other people because we're you know, we become more magnetic, because we're you know we become more magnetic. Tantra in general is funny because my daughter she's 19 now, my oldest daughter and she was like mom, what do you do? She was like you know, she's another age. And I was like yeah, well, you know, I started like a Tantra yoga instructor, intimacy coach, and she's like you want to know what Tantra is. She's like yeah, yeah, I want to know what tantra is. She's like yeah, yeah, I want to know what tantra is. And I explained it to her. I explained to y'all too. So tantra is a spiritual science. That's how I like to explain and I think that's what it is. Um, it's not just about sex and it's not just about sensuality.

Speaker 2: 35:34

So before people had religion as a spiritual practice, people used nature to understand spirit. So we knew we were human beings when we got here, like when we got past, I guess, the ice age or whatever, which I don't even know if black people are in the ice age, but that's another conversation but just in the beginning, right when we became consciously aware and were able to think creatively, one of the first things we think about and I know this is true not just historically, from reading texts, because people write texts and who knows what's true but I know, as a child, in my most pure thoughts, I used to think about how did I get here, where did I come from, where do human beings come from? And so I think it's just a natural thought, it's a pure thought. So when humanity got to that place where we were eating we're chasing after food so hard and all this stuff we started to think about where do we come from? And so in order to figure out where you come from and why you even exist, you kind of have to trace things back to spirit and to God, you have to go back to the beginning. And so for them to try to figure that out, they studied nature, they studied the plants, because everything in life is a cycle, there's a seed, it goes in the ground and then there's sprouts and there's fruit and the weather changes. There's a cycle. The solar system there's a cycle. There's certain stars and the moon is this and that. So they started to pay attention to cycles and they developed their spirituality or their spiritual practices around nature, and so tantra is like a word that comes I think it's like a 580 word that comes from gathering those types of practices into like one science from those times.

Speaker 2: 37:25

So it's it's a very vast science, but in general it's about expanding consciousness. It's about liberation and expansion so that you can understand spirit more and like where it comes from. Like where it comes from. The difference between like a religion, maybe other practices, with Tantra is that the idea is that you're using nature to kind of understand that, and a big part of nature as a human being is your actual physical body, right. So when you're talking about ancient India, you're talking about practices and understanding spirit that are through nature, in your body. You have practices that fall under tantra, like yoga, the actual postural practice. You have meditation and even dealing with psychedelics to kind of expand your mind through consuming certain foods, like. All of these things are physical practices, right, but they are to expand the spirit. There's an actual science behind expanding the spirit. That's what Tantra is about. And then within Tantra, just like you have different schools and different disciplines under the umbrella of certain philosophies. The sacred arts can be found in that as well.

Speaker 2: 38:38

So it's like okay, another big part of the beginnings of religion and spirituality when we were very, very young in humanity is like how we got here, right? So birth how does a human being come out of a woman's vagina? A woman must be directly connected to God. Okay. And then, when they start to figure out that there's a sperm and an egg involved and there's an energy that's involved, well, can this energy be used for something else other than just creating children? This sexual energy was explored through just trial and error and just like being enlightened and meditating.

Speaker 2: 39:20

And all of this energy can also be used to create things in our mind and manifest things and also expand our consciousness as well, because this energy, this creative life force, is what they called. It exists in everything. It's how plants are made, it's how animals are made, it's how planets are made, and so it's the science of all of that. But a lot of people focus on the sex part. Yeah, because I think we don't have in our own Western world or our modern world. We don't have hardly anything to pull from that says that sex is sacred, or how do we connect spirituality with sexuality. Tantra is one of the only schools of thought or philosophies that were like oh, we heard over here that sex actually can be spiritual, so that's really intriguing.

Speaker 1: 40:12

Yeah, so what would be some challenges that individuals could potentially face when they're trying to reconnect with their body, their desires? Because, again, we're realizing that sex can be spiritual. Not many people know that. Somebody probably listening to this episode may not even have known that sex can be spiritual. It is, and many of us, again, because we tie things to so many different other things that it's very hard to come from that mindset.

Speaker 1: 40:41

But what are some common challenges you've seen with the individuals you work with and even for myself and people listening, that they might face when we're trying to reconnect with our bodies and our desires?

Speaker 1: 40:52

Because for me, before you answer, for me, I am thinking I want to have a healthy relationship with my body when it comes to sex, because sometimes, you know, I think, once you become sexually active, some of us sometimes may end up using our bodies as a way to one cope or just to please someone else for so many different reasons. So then that's an unhealthy relationship to have with sex, because it is a beautiful thing but sometimes, again, because of society, it has that negative connotation with it. But then at the same time we lose that positive energy that comes with the idea of sex or even being as intimate. So what can we do essentially to reconnect with our bodies, whether it's through sex or choosing not to have sex, whatever it is? From a general standpoint, what are some challenges that you see and how can we do? What can we do to overcome those challenges?

Speaker 2: 41:40

Well, I guess the answer to the first question is like what challenges can someone face? I think that the first one is that there's probably a misunderstanding of like what it means to. We'll just say be sex positive, right?

Speaker 2: 41:56

Sex positive does not necessarily mean that, all right, I'm just going to go out and have sex and explore, right, or it can be, but it's really important. No matter what you do Like, I think the general consensus and this is going to sound super cliche is just keep God first, right, and that's, I think, how you stay safe. But God is not. I don't think we need to think of God as like a white man sitting on a throne saying don't do this, don't do that. When I say keep God first, I'm saying like, keep your things that make you healthy, that grow you, that make you feel more connected spiritually to something outside of yourself, whether it's your ancestors, whether it's just spirit, whether it's love, the energy of love, and usually you know that by the fact that you're growing and expanding and you are healing. So you're moving through traumas and you're understanding yourself better. Maybe you're having there's actual fruits of the spirit. So, when you feel more compassion and kindness and patience and you have your wisdom growing, if any decision that you're making is moving you in that direction now, that doesn't mean that that's not going to come with challenges, but in general, you feel your body's getting better and stronger, you're accepting yourself, you're accepting others, you're more kind to yourself and you're more kind to others. Those are the things that you need to be thinking about when you're making decisions right, so that you just apply that to your, to sex positivity, because the challenges I think that people might run into when they think about sex positivity in general, or like embracing the inside of themselves as maybe overindulging, maybe you know hyperactivity, or you know, or just doing things from a physical aspect right, and there's nothing wrong with just physical pleasure, but depending on what traumas or misunderstandings that you have or triggers that you have, those things may come up and sexual energy is very powerful. That's why a lot of times people are scared and mourn against it. Because if you don't grow up learning how to handle that energy or having an inner compass, or someone stripped you away of your choice, or you've been assaulted or you've just been manipulated in some type of way, if that gets triggered through sex, you can be attached to it to a point where you are addicted or you are wounded to a point where you are dependent on it or like there's a lot of stuff going on, but most of it doesn't have to do with sex. Most of it has to do with. Ok, you need to heal and understand mentally and emotionally what's going on with you before you engage in further activities. Right, and I'm not necessarily promoting celibacy till you feel like you've completely healed yourself, but you need to have a certain amount of awareness before you just decide. I'm going to go to the next level with my exploration, but that takes having an inner compass, that takes following your intuition, and so some of that is trial and error, but what you don't want to do is suppress it. What you don't want to do is ignore it. What you don't want to do is say, well, I might act one way, this way, and then act this way in the dark, when you know, when nobody's watching.

Speaker 2: 45:16

The idea is that you read books, you educate yourself, you listen to podcasts like this. There's a lot of literature out there that people don't even know about. Like I said, tantra a lot of people don't know about Tantra and the ideas behind it. There's even a philosophy called Taoism. That's from the ancient Chinese. It's like their version of Tantra. So it's just a lot of these teachings just need to be put out there and people need to be exposed. And so one thing that I really love about Tantra is they have a system that's called the chakra system. I don't know if you ever heard of it.

Speaker 1: 45:48

Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 45:49

Right, and so it's kind of like a way of understanding the tree of life. And so the tree of life is like the spiritual anatomy, if you will. So like we have a physical anatomy, like you've got your skeletal system and your muscular system and all that stuff. Well, your chakra system is kind of like your spiritual anatomy and there's seven major parts of this system and one part has to actually do with, like, your pelvic center and it's called your center.

Speaker 2: 46:21

Yes, so that has to do with your reproductive organs and all the energy physically and mentally and emotionally, that's associated's okay. How emotionally are you feeling? How spiritually is this affecting you so you can assess that? So, like a chakra that's your sacral chakra. A sacral chakra that's out of balance or inactive or it's suppressed might indulge in overeating or may be indecisive or may have a hard time understanding what you want or don't want, or you may be dealing with a lot of guilt and shame.

Speaker 2: 47:13

None of those things specifically have to do with doing something or not doing something. It's about how you're reacting or responding when you're going through life or going through something or after you do something right. It's not about what you're doing or what you're not through life or going through something or after you do something right. It's not about what you're doing or what you're not doing. It's about how is this affecting you when you're doing it. How is your chakra responding to what's going on? There may be some healing that needs to go on, so there's shame and guilt around, say, having oral sex?

Speaker 2: 47:45

Is the oral sex bad, or is there something that taught and triggered you to think that it's bad and so, when you have the experience, it's more harmful than good philosophies and teaching that actually are practical and how to like heal yourself. That's when you can kind of get over some of those roadblocks and not get caught up in maybe the more negative side, which would be hyperactive and over, excessive and addictive and you know all of those things.

Speaker 1: 48:21

Yeah, it's funny you mentioned that because I had a pelvic floor therapist on the podcast a few weeks ago and for me mentioned that because I had a pelvic floor therapist on the podcast a few weeks ago and for me I often say I don't breathe like the regular person, I don't know what is it that I'm holding in crystal, but I just often find myself like really tense and it came to a point in a way, you know, I just I don't even breathe anymore, but I know I'm tense.

Speaker 1: 48:41

So she was talking about how to breathe and the different exercises we can do one to get more in tune with our body but also to relax that pelvic floor, that pelvic muscle, because sometimes it's the muscle or part of the body that we can't necessarily see. But it's also important, and you know it's very important as it relates to us as women in general from a reproductive health standpoint. So you mentioned that. I want to ask you if there's any specific exercises or practices that you can share to help us become more in tune with our sensuality. You know, whether it's breath work or any sort of sensory explorations, whatever it is that we can become more in tune with our sensuality.

Speaker 2: 49:19

That's a great question, and you're talking about the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is so important because it's like the foundation of our core, but it's also like and Tantra teaches you that it's like the pump for your sexual energy as well, and so we need to also broaden our idea of the importance of sexual energy, like your libido and all of those things are also the drive for your will, your creativity. It's also like helps you with incontinence, like if your pelvic floor is not functioning well, it can cause problems with your posture and not being able to, like, hold your bladder. You know being weak and things like that. It has to do with pleasure and so when it comes to practices, and breathing is number one, like learning to breathe properly, and that's one thing that in my Tantra practice I was taught, the first thing, that one of the first practices that we did was actually Yoni breathing, and Yoni is like an ancient Tantra word, we'll just say for the womb, and it means like creative life center. So there's all these beautiful words, too, for the reproductive organs, because they have a spiritual and they have a physical meaning, whereas where we grew up it's just a physical thing, but we practice yoni breathing, where we connect our breath with our. It's like pelvic floor contractions, but we breathe with it intentionally and invite, like the feeling of desire and, you know, pleasure along with it, and it's very relaxing and it's very meditative. So that's, that's one practice that we do. I need to.

Speaker 2: 51:01

I've been meaning to make a video recording, you know, guided, but that's one thing that you do and I can say like, say, just in general, if you wanted to try it, you know you can close your eyes, give yourself a few seconds to a minute to relax like your whole body, and then just visualize your room and your pelvic floor, try to relax it.

Speaker 2: 51:27

And that means like releasing your jaw and taking some deep breaths, and just imagining your pelvic floor is like a flat muscle and it has like four corners, and just imagine it relaxing right, imagine it becoming really flat and not tense and just releasing with your jaw, relaxing your mouth, taking a deep breath, and then, once it's relaxed fully, then you inhale and you squeeze, so you lift the pelvic floor. Imagine lifting it up and then you exhale, and then you lift and you exhale, you know, so you do that. It's just, it's really just Kegels, but it's more intentional Kegels. And when I do the guided meditation practice like, I add mantras and visualizations and things like that, but that's just, it's just really intentional breathing and relaxation and then just the tight and releasing and then think about conjuring up that energy. You can even breathe and think about pushing the energy up to your heart, you know, and then, exhale back down to your

Speaker 2: 52:36

moment, yeah, and and when you were thinking about and when you were saying, like people wanting to know, like the difference too between, like, seeing sex as something spiritual or sexuality or sexual energy, it's also being able to connect that energy to your heart, right?

Speaker 2: 52:52

Yeah, the heart is kind of what's the bridge to everything that's compassionate and love, everything you know. But a lot of people can't do that because they don't see it as something loving and spiritual. But if you can connect that energy genuinely and authentically with what's going on in your heart and it's a light heart, not a heavy heart, not a heart that sees evil and judgment and everything, because the heart can be hardened too, right, and because there's sorrow and pain and fear but when you don't fear your sexuality and you see it as something, just see it as it is it just is Like if you tell a kid this is another practice that I like to do with people I always say, like what was your first experience with your sexual energy? A lot of people say, oh, I remember I lost my virginity. No, I'm not talking about that.

Speaker 2: 53:42

I'm talking about when you were like. For me it was maybe when I was three years old and maybe I was rubbing my clit up against something. I was like whoa that feels good I didn't think it was bad. I didn't think it was. I thought it felt good and it was exciting.

Speaker 2: 53:55

But there was not this connotation of like oh, I'm sexy now yes no, it was just like oh, wow, that was a cool feeling, like when you're're able to I mean as an adult, obviously we know there's other ways to use it and things like that but if you can backtrack to that place when you're doing this type of practice and have that innocence, that lightheartedness about it, that is when it becomes kind of sacred again, because you don't see it anything other than, oh, just like a divine energy that came from god, just like everything else no, that is.

Speaker 1: 54:28

That is so true, and sometimes, again, it's just it's crazy how the things that we did when we were younger, because we were so innocent, and then, in the blink of an eye, we were just taught.

Speaker 2: 54:38

Oh, just yeah, it's it's it's.

Speaker 1: 54:39

I'm saying it's, it's so crazy. But, as we get ready to wrap up, I want to talk about like, know, relationships and communication and sensuality and self-care in our daily lives. So I and this is just me and my curiosity you know what are some ways in which we can maybe provide some tips to navigating when it comes to mismatch sensual desires, especially when it comes to relationships, because, again, one by yourself you're able to explore and know what you could potentially want or what feels good. But then, when you have a partner now like, how how can we, I guess, mend or fix the mismatched sensual desires and communicate to our partners about what we like and what we don't like? Because I think sometimes we're in a relationship and you think, okay, this person I assume a person is going to like this, because we're not having that communication, we're not having a healthy communication about what we like it's just you know what this is.

Speaker 1: 55:31

This is what we should be doing from an intimate standpoint. Neither one of us is saying you know what I didn't like that, what you did to me yesterday or last night, can you do something else, like we're not having that healthy communication, and then it just leaves room for disappointment, for the energy shifting and then, before know it, you're no longer in the relationship because we couldn't communicate our sensual desires as well. So what are some ways in which we can create and harvest that healthy communication but also be able to lean into that mismatch sensual desires that we may end up having for whatever reason, for no fault of ours, you know, it just happens.

Speaker 2: 56:03

Yeah Well, first I want to say which I know this may not feel comfortable for a lot of people, but when you are in the courting phase I'm old when the time is right, there should be conversations about intimacy before you're intimate. Like a lot of people, I think, rush into intimate physical intimacy without like talking about it, like if you are, and I and I actually told this to my oldest daughter because she I don't think she's had sex yet, but she's in college and I know she's talking about it.

Speaker 2: 56:35

She's had a boyfriend for a couple of years and and she didn't really want to have the conversation I talked to her about every now and then. But I'm like if you don't want to talk about it, then you shouldn't be having it like if I think you have adults too, adults that aren't virgins, right, or that are more experienced.

Speaker 2: 56:53

They get in these situations because they don't before you, um, or even like, get super, super serious with somebody. Just in a playful way I'm not saying first dates, maybe not even second date. You know you have to go with the flow and you have to intuit when it makes sense and reading people, but you don't want to be in a situation where you have no idea what somebody likes and what they don't like, and you also can't be afraid to say what you like and you don't like. And that comes with, I think, like being comfortable in your own skin, right, like we were talking about before, with self pleasure and stuff. Like you need to be able to communicate what you like, feeling comfortable, without a lot of shame and guilt about it. Right, that's first and foremost, before you know when you start. But for those of us who are already in relationships, I think that you need to be able to get used to to to saying the things that you like and like, maybe to yourself, maybe writing them down and being honest with yourself. I think a lot of people have a hard time being honest with themselves and then, when you want to take it to your partner.

Speaker 2: 57:54

I would say, first of all, you know, gauging their personality, like don't do it while you're having it, of course, like that's not the time to like say hey, you know, I didn't like this last time, or whatever. And, of course, like that's not the time to like say hey, you know, I didn't like this last time, whatever, try to do it. You know, when y'all are in a good mood and it's a good space, and you know you can just have like a really simple conversation, like, hey, you know, I was thinking that this might be fun to try, or I would like to maybe try something different. How do you feel about that? And be, yeah, I would say be tender, you know, be compassionate, try to be open hearted. I mean, if this is somebody that you love and you really care about it, it's, it's, it is.

Speaker 2: 58:35

It can be sensitive, but just try to do it, like during a time where you're not in the bedroom, especially if you think it's going to be sensitive, and say you know, I really would like to explore this. How do you feel about this? Or hey, last time, you know, this kind of wasn't that great for me, but I would like to try this, I think, especially for women. Like you don't want to just say you don't want something, or just say you're bored. Like you need to again explore and know what you want in place of that Like well, what are your ideas? And if it's something that's extreme to the other person, then you may have to try to meet them halfway, whatever halfway looks like yeah, you know, communication is is really as key, as cliche as it may sound.

Speaker 1: 59:15

If you, if you don't know what I want, how are you gonna please me, you know?

Speaker 2: 59:18

right so I think.

Speaker 1: 59:19

I think, when we talk about setting boundaries for everything in our lives, it should incur, it should encompass everything, not just some aspect. Oh, you know, let's respect my boundary for one thing but not the other. It should be across all boards. And I have two last questions for you. One, how can we incorporate sensuality into our self-care and daily life or daily practice? Because I know we have different self-care routines, but how can we incorporate that into our, our daily life, you know, from a mental or even emotional and physical wellbeing as well?

Speaker 2: 59:48

Yeah, so, and we talked about sensuality being, you know, very broad, you know as far as how we approach it.

Speaker 2: 59:55

So, um, I think it's just important that is authentic to you, like don't feel like you've got to do anything that you're seeing through media. I would say I definitely at one point was cultivating my sensuality through yoga, like when I was, I first started like really focusing on hip openers, then I started to sway my hips, then you know like I I would take walks in nature and do yoga outside and just really embrace, feeling the wind and the sun on my skin. And then there will be times where I incorporate, you know, rolling movements and just like really embodying what feeling good, what felt good to me, and not thinking about, like what it looked like or if somebody was looking at me like doing what felt good to my body so it can come through like an exercise or a daily dance or like yoga, Like a lot of.

Speaker 2: 1:00:51

it's about being fully present and fully into your body and just and taking the time to just like feel things. So that could come with like. That could mean like getting out the shower and oil on your body and looking at your body and giving yourself affirmations you know, positive affirmations about your body.

Speaker 2: 1:01:10

It could mean, I don't know, trying really sensual foods and or it could also mean like going to an expo and going to a class or reading a book. I remember at one point I was reading a lot of erotic novels. Me too. I think, as a woman, you just have to trust your intuition and when you're ready for more, you allow yourself. Trust that, okay, this is not a bad thing, I'm prepared for this, like, yeah, I want to do something different.

Speaker 2: 1:01:43

It's's gotta be tailored to you, though, but I just think, being fully present, listening to your issue, intuition, saying yes maybe, to some things that you aren't in control over, and you let somebody else kind of lead and create an experience for you, whether it's a teacher or a date or you know like that. I think that's a lot about what's femininity, too, which is I still struggle with that. A lot is like allowing yourself to have experiences where you're not in full control and you don't necessarily know how everything is going to play out, and that could be mean with dating and falling in love or a relationship. It could mean a career choice. It can mean like just taking a new class or but like just kind of going with the flow sometimes, and that can be a hard one.

Speaker 1: 1:02:29

No, I will say you just that last minute and a half. You literally was just talking to me. I know you've been talking to me the last hour but where I am currently in my life, that last minute and a half listen.

Speaker 1: 1:02:43

I needed that. I needed that, and I'm sure someone listening definitely needed to hear that as well, because it's so true, we gotta learn to be present, and that's that's one thing that I struggle with being present, because I'm always in my head thinking about what somebody else is gonna think, how's it gonna look, and then you end up missing out on, on embracing where you are in that moment, you know. Yeah, so well. I want to thank you, crystal, for joining me here in the tea tasting room. It's again a pleasure.

Speaker 1: 1:03:07

Like I said, when I sent that email and I got a positive response, I was like, okay, nothing can stop me now. And again, like I said, when I started this podcast today, I was tense and no, like you should see me right now. I'm so relaxed, I'm so relaxed and I do feel poured in too. So I hope my tea taste is what I call it when they listen to this episode, they also feel that way as well. But before you go, tell us how our listeners can connect with you, whether it's on your website, social media, if you have any upcoming workshops or have anything to offer us so we can ensure, because we know you come with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We want to ensure that we're supporting you so that we can support ourselves as well.

Speaker 2: 1:03:44

Yeah, well, I want to say thank you for having me. This has been a pleasure, and you can follow me on Crystal Tantric Yogi. That's my social media, like on Instagram, youtube, tiktok I just got on TikTok.

Speaker 1: 1:04:01

And then my website.

Speaker 2: 1:04:02

I know, girl, I just basically I'm more on the observing than posting, but I'm starting to post, yeah, and then on my website. My website is crystaltantrayogicom. I am five months postpartum, so I'm still just getting back in the groove of life period, so, but I hope to have some offerings soon.

Speaker 2: 1:04:23

But you can sign up for, you know, coaching. I'm. You know, if someone turns up, I schedule that in still. And what else do I have on my website? I do chakra balancing, I do couples work, so a lot of it's online. But if you're in the Brooklyn area, we can also set up, you know, in-person sessions.

Speaker 1: 1:04:43

So yeah, it's all on there. Yeah Well, thank you so much for joining us here and we hope to have you back sometime soon. And, of course, being five months postpartum and taking the time to talk to me, let me tell you that is. I appreciate it, cause I'm also a doula, so I know it's hard work.

Speaker 2: 1:04:59

You know, so this is a lot of work for you too.

Speaker 1: 1:05:02

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So thank you so much, and I wish you all the best and make sure you do something, at least this past upcoming week, for yourself, because I know, five months postpartum, everything's a lot baby.

Speaker 2: 1:05:12

I know, you know you got to factor in something for yourself. Yes, all right, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:05:22

Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.