The Somatic Lab
by PleasureFWRD
Our mission: Help women come home to their body, release unprocessed emotions, regulate their nervous system, and release stored tension by moving gently, shaking softly, and connecting emotionally.
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The Experience
Sometimes your body doesn't need another mindset shift.
Sometimes it just needs to move.
Somatic Shake & Release Night™ is a playful, energizing 60-minute experience designed to help you release accumulated stress, regulate your nervous system, and reconnect with your body through intentional movement.
If you've been holding it all together for everyone else, this is your invitation to let go.
You may even surprise yourself with how good "weird" can feel.
You'll Experience
🌿 Shake to Regulate
Learn why shaking is one of the body's natural ways of releasing stress and restoring balance to the nervous system.
We'll explore guided shaking practices that encourage:
Nervous system regulation
Stress release
Increased energy and circulation
Emotional expression
Greater body awareness
No dance experience required.
No rhythm required.
Just a willingness to move.
🌬 Guided Somatic Sequences
Move through gentle, progressive shaking exercises combined with breathwork and low-impact movement to help your body safely discharge built-up tension.
You'll also explore:
Micro-release stretches
Grounding practices
Body awareness
Breath regulation
Gentle integration
🎉 Joyful Integration
End the evening with a playful community ritual that celebrates regulation, laughter, and connection.
This may include:
Free-form shaking
Gentle partner mirroring (optional)
Laughter prompts
Music and movement
Grounding through sight, sound, and touch
A collective deep breath to close
You'll Leave With
A simple somatic shaking practice you can use anytime
Greater awareness of how your body holds stress
Practical tools for nervous system regulation
Reduced tension and increased vitality
A renewed sense of freedom, playfulness, and self-trust
Good to Know
Length
60 Minutes
Designed For
Women
Experience Level
Beginner Friendly
Dress Code
Wear comfortable clothing you can move freely in.
Your body already knows how to let go.
Sometimes it just needs permission to move.
A low-stimulation, rest-forward evening for women who are tired of being told they need to do more to feel better.
Together, we'll slow down, soften our nervous systems, and rediscover the healing power of intentional rest.
This is your invitation to pause, breathe, and simply receive.
A low-stimulus, rest-forward night for women who are tired of being told they need to do more to feel better. We’ll slow down, softer our nervous systems, and experiment with true rest. Parasympathetic activation + spacious rest Soft somatic stretch + mat movement. Gentle live sound healing + guided rest.
I really like the direction. It feels modern, calming, and different from a typical sound bath. I'd just refine the copy so it flows a little more naturally and sounds more like a PleasureFWRD production.
🌙 Sound Bath & Somatic Rest Ritual Night™
The Somatic Lab™
A PleasureFWRD Production
The Experience
A low-stimulation, rest-forward evening for women who are tired of being told they need to do more to feel better.
Together, we'll slow down, soften our nervous systems, and rediscover the healing power of intentional rest.
This is your invitation to pause, breathe, and simply receive.
You'll Experience
🌿 Parasympathetic Activation & Spacious Rest
Begin by gently shifting your body out of survival mode and into a state of safety through breathwork, grounding, and nervous system regulation practices.
🌾 Soft Somatic Stretch & Floor Movement
Explore gentle, accessible movement to release tension, reconnect with your body, and prepare for deep rest.
No flexibility or experience is required.
🎵 Live Sound Bath & Guided Rest
Rest comfortably as you're immersed in live sound healing and a guided meditation designed to support relaxation, restoration, and nervous system recovery.
Allow yourself to simply listen, breathe, and receive.
You'll Leave With
A calmer, more regulated nervous system
Reduced physical and emotional tension
Greater body awareness
Practical tools for creating moments of rest throughout your week
A renewed sense of calm and presence
Good to Know
Length
60 Minutes
Designed For
Women • All Experience Levels
Dress Code
Wear comfortable clothing and bring anything that helps you rest comfortably.
Recommended to Bring
Blanket
Water bottle
Journal
Rest isn't something you have to earn.
It's something your nervous system deserves.
The Experience
Awareness • Ritual • Lasting Self-Care
A guided somatic experience designed to help you reconnect with your body's natural capacity for pleasure, identify areas holding physical and emotional stress, and create a personalized ritual that supports nervous system regulation and deeper self-connection.
Rather than searching for more, you'll learn how to experience more by slowing down and listening to your body.
You'll Experience
🌿 Guided Body Scan & Somatic Pleasure Mapping
Using breath, body awareness, and gentle somatic practices, you'll explore your body's unique landscape of sensations.
Together we'll identify areas of:
Ease and openness
Physical tension
Emotional holding
Stress patterns
Safety and regulation
Pleasure, comfort, and vitality
🌸 Design Your Personal Somatic Ritual
Co-create a simple, sustainable daily ritual that helps translate your somatic practice into everyday life.
Your ritual may include:
Breathwork
Gentle movement
Self-touch (non-sexual and grounding)
Sensory practices
Mindfulness
Journaling
Rest
Intention setting
The goal isn't perfection.
It's consistency.
You'll Leave With
A personalized Somatic Ritual tailored to your needs
Greater awareness of your body's stress and pleasure patterns
Practical tools for nervous system regulation
A deeper connection to your body and emotions
A sustainable practice to support everyday well-being and a more connected intimate life
By the end of this session, you'll leave with a personalized somatic ritual designed to support your nervous system, deepen your relationship with your body, and nurture a more connected intimate life.
Pleasure begins with presence.
The more connected you become to your body, the more available you become for intimacy, joy, and authentic connection.
What if your body wasn't something to fix, judge, or constantly negotiate with?
Many women spend years criticizing, comparing, ignoring, or fighting their bodies without realizing how much energy it requires.
Changing the Conversation with Your Body is an experiential workshop designed to help you develop a more compassionate, respectful, and connected relationship with yourself.
Through somatic practices, guided reflection, evidence-informed education, and meaningful conversation, you'll explore how body image, self-talk, perfectionism, and cultural expectations influence the way you experience your body.
Rather than striving to love your body overnight, this experience invites you to begin with something more accessible:
Curiosity.
Because meaningful change starts with the conversations we have with ourselves every day.
You'll Experience
• Guided somatic practices
• Self-compassion exercises
• Reflection & journaling
• Body awareness
• Gentle movement
• Small group discussion
• Practical daily practices
Perfect For
Women who struggle with self-criticism, body image, perfectionism, comparison, or who simply want to cultivate a kinder relationship with themselves.
Healthy boundaries aren't walls—they're one of the clearest expressions of self-respect.
Many of us were taught that saying "yes" makes us kind, helpful, or loving.
But over time, constantly putting others before ourselves can lead to exhaustion, resentment, and disconnection from what truly matters.
Healthy boundaries are not about pushing people away.
They're about creating relationships where honesty, respect, and care can grow.
Boundaries & Self-Respect is an experiential workshop that helps women understand boundaries as an act of self-awareness rather than self-protection alone.
Through evidence-informed education, somatic practices, guided reflection, and interactive exercises, participants will explore how boundaries reflect our values, needs, energy, and capacity—not our worth.
Together, we'll examine why boundaries can feel uncomfortable, how guilt often appears when we begin changing old patterns, and how to communicate limits with confidence, compassion, and clarity.
Because boundaries are not about controlling other people.
They are about honoring yourself while remaining connected to others.
You'll Experience
• Somatic awareness practices
• Personal boundary assessment
• Identifying where resentment begins
• Exploring values, needs, and capacity
• Boundary communication practice
• Interactive partner exercises
• Guided journaling
• Home integration practice
You'll Leave With
✔ Greater clarity about your personal boundaries
✔ A deeper understanding of why boundaries can feel difficult
✔ Practical language for communicating boundaries
✔ Increased confidence navigating guilt
✔ Greater self-respect and relational confidence
Perfect For
Women who struggle saying no, often overextend themselves, feel guilty prioritizing their own needs, or want to create healthier relationships rooted in honesty, respect, and mutual care.
A gentle 60-minute Somatic Lab designed to help you tune into your body's sensations, emotions, and nervous system—and begin building the skills to care for yourself with greater awareness and compassion.
I love the direction you're taking this. Making it 60 minutes also makes it much easier for women to fit into their schedules and lowers the barrier to trying a Somatic Lab for the first time.
I'd refine the language just a bit to make it feel more editorial and aligned with PleasureFWRD.
🌿 Body Check-In & Somatic Journal Lab™
A gentle 60-minute Somatic Lab designed to help you tune into your body's sensations, emotions, and nervous system—and begin building the skills to care for yourself with greater awareness and compassion.
Experience Flow
🌬️ 40 Minutes | Somatic Flow & Breathwork
A guided practice to help you slow down, regulate your nervous system, and reconnect with your body.
Together we'll explore:
Grounding and arriving in the present moment
Breath awareness and nervous system regulation
Gentle somatic movement and stretching
Body scan
Noticing areas of tension, ease, activation, and numbness
Developing awareness without judgment
This isn't about fixing your body.
It's about learning how to listen.
✍️ 10 Minutes | Guided Somatic Journaling
Using thoughtfully designed prompts, you'll translate what you noticed in your body into words.
🌸 10 Minutes | Reflection & Integration
We'll close with a gentle group debrief to help integrate the experience.
This includes:
Optional sharing (always invitation, never expectation)
Reflection on what surprised you
Practical ways to incorporate body check-ins into daily life
One intention to carry with you into the week ahead
You'll leave feeling more grounded, more connected, and with a simple practice you can return to whenever life feels overwhelming.
You'll Carry Forward
A simple body check-in framework you can use anytime
Greater awareness of your nervous system
Increased ability to identify sensations and emotions
Journal prompts for continued self-reflection
A deeper sense of connection with yourself
The more often you check in with your body, the less you'll have to wonder what you need.
Pleasure isn't something you earn. It's something you learn to notice. Rediscover pleasure as a daily practice by learning to notice what brings you alive in ordinary moments.
When was the last time you experienced pleasure without feeling like you had to earn it?
For many women, pleasure has become something reserved for vacations, special occasions, or the rare moments when everything else has been taken care of.
Work comes first.
Family comes first.
Responsibilities come first.
Somewhere along the way, many women stop asking one simple question:
What brings me alive?
The Pleasure Practice is an experiential workshop that invites you to redefine pleasure—not as indulgence or escape, but as an essential part of living well.
Rather than focusing solely on sexuality, this experience explores pleasure in its many forms: the warmth of the sun on your skin, meaningful conversation, nourishing food, music that moves you, creative expression, restful moments, laughter, beauty, movement, intimacy, wonder, and yes, sexuality.
Through evidence-informed education, somatic practices, guided reflection, experiential activities, and community conversation, you'll begin noticing how pleasure supports emotional wellbeing, resilience, connection, and overall quality of life.
Together, we'll challenge the belief that pleasure must be earned and explore what becomes possible when we intentionally create more moments that nourish us.
Because pleasure isn't a luxury.
It's part of being fully alive.
You'll Experience
• Guided somatic awareness practices
• The PleasureFWRD Blueprint
• Sensory exploration exercises
• Reflection and journaling
• Group discussion
• Guided movement
• Identifying personal pleasure barriers
• Designing your own daily pleasure practice
You'll Leave With
✔ A broader understanding of what pleasure truly means
✔ Greater awareness of the moments that bring you alive
✔ Practical ways to incorporate pleasure into everyday life
✔ A personalized Pleasure Portfolio™
✔ Permission to prioritize joy without guilt
✔ A simple daily pleasure practice
Perfect For
Women who feel disconnected from joy, overwhelmed by responsibilities, curious about living more intentionally, or who want to reconnect with pleasure in everyday life—not just during special occasions.
No previous experience is necessary.
Discover how expanding your capacity to receive joy, pleasure, and goodness can transform the way you experience everyday life.
Have you ever noticed how quickly you move past the good moments?
You finish a project and immediately think about the next one.
Someone gives you a compliment and you brush it off.
You finally have time to rest—but instead you feel guilty.
You experience a beautiful moment, yet part of you is already worrying about what comes next.
For many women, the challenge isn't that pleasure is unavailable.
It's that fully receiving it feels unfamiliar.
Letting It Be Good is an experiential workshop that explores one of the most overlooked aspects of wellbeing: our capacity to stay present with joy, beauty, connection, and goodness without rushing past them, minimizing them, or feeling like we have to earn them.
Through evidence-informed education, somatic practices, guided reflection, experiential exercises, and meaningful conversation, you'll begin recognizing the patterns that interrupt pleasure and discover practical ways to remain present with the moments that nourish you.
This experience isn't about creating a perfect life.
It's about learning to fully experience the life that is already unfolding around you.
Because sometimes the greatest act of self-care is simply allowing a beautiful moment to be enough.
You'll Experience
• Somatic practices for receiving pleasant experiences
• Guided mindfulness and sensory awareness
• Reflection on guilt, productivity, and worthiness
• Interactive partner exercises
• The neuroscience of savoring and positive emotion
• Journaling prompts
• Group discussion
• Daily pleasure integration practices
You'll Leave With
✔ Greater awareness of what interrupts your enjoyment
✔ Practical tools for savoring meaningful moments
✔ Increased comfort receiving joy without guilt
✔ A deeper understanding of your relationship with pleasure
✔ Daily practices for expanding your capacity to experience goodness
Perfect For
Women who struggle slowing down, feel guilty resting, move quickly from one achievement to the next, or want to experience greater joy, presence, and appreciation in everyday life.
Understanding how you show up in relationships begins with understanding yourself.
Every relationship tells a story—but before we can understand our relationships with others, we first need to understand the patterns we bring into them.
Relationship Patterns is an experiential workshop designed to help you explore the ways your past experiences, beliefs, nervous system, communication style, and relationship habits influence the way you connect with others.
Rather than focusing on blame or fixing relationships, this experience invites curiosity.
Together, we'll explore why certain interactions feel effortless while others leave us feeling misunderstood, disconnected, or emotionally drained. Through evidence-informed education, somatic practices, guided reflection, and meaningful conversation, you'll begin recognizing the relational patterns that shape your everyday life.
Whether you're single, dating, partnered, married, navigating family relationships, or simply wanting healthier connections, this experience offers practical tools for building greater awareness, emotional intelligence, and authentic connection.
You'll Experience
• Guided somatic awareness practices
• Reflection on relationship patterns
• Introduction to attachment and nervous system responses
• Interactive learning activities
• Journaling prompts
• Small group discussion
• Practical relationship tools
• A personal reflection practice to continue at home
You'll Leave With
✔ Greater awareness of your relationship patterns
✔ A deeper understanding of how your experiences shape connection
✔ Practical tools for developing healthier relationships
✔ Reflection prompts for continued learning
✔ Greater compassion for yourself and others
Perfect For
Women who want to better understand themselves in relationships, improve communication, develop healthier connections, and build more intentional relationships in every area of life.
Healthy relationships aren't built in extraordinary moments. They're built through everyday choices that create trust, connection, and belonging.
Strong relationships rarely happen by accident.
They are built through countless everyday moments of curiosity, honesty, repair, appreciation, play, and intentional connection.
Relationships That Thrive is the culminating experience of the Relationships pillar, bringing together everything explored throughout the series into a practical framework for creating healthier, more connected relationships over time.
Through evidence-informed education, somatic practices, guided reflection, experiential exercises, and meaningful conversation, participants will explore the habits, mindsets, and relational practices that help relationships continue growing through life's many seasons.
Rather than searching for perfect relationships, this experience invites participants to intentionally create relationships where both people have room to learn, grow, change, and thrive.
Because thriving relationships are not built by extraordinary people.
They're built by ordinary people who continue choosing one another with curiosity, compassion, and intention.
You'll Experience
• Reflection on your relationship journey
• Identifying habits that strengthen connection
• Appreciation and gratitude practices
• Somatic connection exercises
• Visioning your healthiest relationships
• Interactive group activities
• Personal relationship roadmap
• Closing integration ritual
You'll Leave With
✔ A personal vision for the relationships you want to cultivate
✔ Daily practices that strengthen trust and connection
✔ Greater confidence navigating relationships through life's changing seasons
✔ A practical roadmap for continued relational growth
✔ A deeper understanding of what helps relationships truly thrive
Perfect For
Women who want to intentionally cultivate healthier relationships with partners, family, friends, colleagues, and themselves while continuing to grow throughout every season of life.
Question the stories you've inherited about pleasure, worthiness, desire, and what you're "allowed" to want.
Explore the beliefs you've inherited about pleasure, desire, femininity, success, and worth—and consciously decide which ones still belong in your life.
Long before we began making our own choices, many of us inherited ideas about who we should be.
Be nice.
Don't ask for too much.
Take care of everyone else first.
Don't be selfish.
Work hard before you rest.
Good girls don't...
Women your age shouldn't...
Mothers are supposed to...
Partners should...
Over time, these messages can quietly shape the way we experience pleasure, relationships, rest, ambition, sexuality, our bodies, and even our sense of identity.
Who Told You That? is an experiential workshop designed to help women gently examine the beliefs they've inherited—and intentionally choose which ones they want to carry forward.
Through somatic practices, guided reflection, experiential learning, journaling, movement, and evidence-informed education, participants will explore the stories that have influenced their relationship with pleasure, self-worth, femininity, desire, productivity, and belonging.
This workshop isn't about rejecting everything you've been taught.
It's about becoming conscious enough to decide what truly aligns with the woman you are today.
Because freedom doesn't begin when someone gives us permission.
It begins when we realize we can choose.
You'll Experience
• Somatic awareness practices
• Identifying inherited beliefs
• Family, culture, and societal message mapping
• Reflection and journaling
• Group discussion
• Values clarification exercises
• Guided visualization
• Personal liberation practice
You'll Leave With
✔ Greater awareness of inherited beliefs
✔ Practical tools for questioning limiting narratives
✔ Increased confidence making values-based choices
✔ Greater self-trust
✔ A clearer understanding of the life you want to create
Perfect For
Women navigating identity shifts, questioning old expectations, reconnecting with themselves, exploring pleasure without shame, or wanting to intentionally redefine success, femininity, relationships, and wellbeing on their own terms.
A gentle, low-impact group experience designed to help you reconnect with your body, regulate your nervous system, and experience the power of practicing in community.
Through breathwork, somatic movement, shaking, stretching, and guided meditation, you'll learn simple practices that support stress reduction, emotional regulation, and greater body awareness.
No experience necessary.
Just come as you are.
You'll Experience
🌬️ Grounding & Breathwork
Slow down, settle into the present moment, and begin regulating your nervous system through intentional breathing practices.
🌿 Somatic Movement
Explore gentle, accessible movements that increase body awareness, improve mobility, and release accumulated tension.
✨ Shake & Release
Experience guided shaking techniques designed to help discharge stress, restore energy, and reconnect with your body's natural rhythms.
🧘 Stretch & Restore
Slow, mindful stretching to promote relaxation, flexibility, and a greater sense of ease throughout the body.
🌙 Guided Meditation
Close with a calming meditation to integrate the practice and leave feeling grounded, regulated, and restored.
You'll Leave With
Simple nervous system regulation tools you can use at home
Greater body awareness
Reduced stress and physical tension
Increased emotional resilience
A deeper sense of connection with yourself and your community
Good to Know
Length
60 Minutes
Designed For
Adults • All Bodies • All Experience Levels
Dress Code
Comfortable clothing you can move in.
What to Bring
Blanket (if needed), water bottle, journal, and an open mind.
Healing doesn't always happen in isolation.
Sometimes it begins by breathing, moving, and remembering that you're not alone.
Ready to come home to your body?
The Somatic Lab by PleasureFWRD is opening in Chicago as a small, intentional space for women who are ready to regulate their nervous system, deepen somatic embodiment, and take their wellness beyond the to‑do list.
Through March, April, and May, the Lab is hosting a limited series of free group events for up to 15 women per session, so the space stays intimate, safe, and grounded.
If you feel a soft “yes” to this—if you’re ready to feel softer, safer, and more present in your body, and you’re curious about how regulation lives in your desire, boundaries, and relationships—I’d love to meet you.
These events are also a gentle doorway into deeper work:
You’re welcome to stay with the free Lab events, or to explore going deeper with private sessions when you feel ready.
What People Are Saying
“After one Somatic Lab evening, my whole system felt different—like someone turned the volume down on my anxiety and turned the volume up on my body. The movements were so gentle but somehow went deep. I left feeling softer, grounded, and actually rested… without having to ‘perform’ anything.”
— L., 34, Chicago
“I’ve done years of talk therapy, but my first somatic intimacy session with Mayra showed me things my mind could never touch. We went slowly, tracked my body, and by the end I felt a sense of safety and warmth in my chest that I honestly didn’t know was possible. It’s changing how I set boundaries and how I show up in my relationships.”
— M., 39, Chicago
“Working with Mayra felt like a deep homecoming to my body. I came in feeling numb and disconnected, especially from my desire, and through gentle somatic practices she helped me reconnect with sensations I didn’t even know I was missing. I feel softer, safer, and more present in my body now—like I finally have a body that can say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ with clarity instead of chaos.”
— K., 31, Chicago
Your Questions, Answered
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The Somatic Lab is a studio space inside PleasureFWRD and hosted at Aesthetics Haus Chicago.
It’s for high‑functioning women to come together for low‑impact, body‑first practices that regulate the nervous system and deepen somatic embodiment.
Over March, April, and May, the Lab is hosting a limited series of free group events, with a maximum of 15 women per session, so the space feels intimate, safe, and intentional.
Note: Not all events are free; some are paid, curated events.
In each gathering, you’ll experience:
Somatic breathwork that calms your nervous system.
Gentle movement, shaking, and 3‑on/3‑off movement interval patterns.
Somatic stretching, floor‑based release, and guided stillness.
No fitness level, flexibility, or “experience” required—just a willingness to come home to your body.
If you leave these events feeling curious about how regulation lives in your desire, boundaries, and relationships, the Somatic Lab also serves as a soft doorway into 1:1 and couples Somatic Intimacy & Relationship Coaching at PleasureFWRD.
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This is for you if…
You feel exhausted but still wired, even when you “should” be resting.
Your body is tense, shut down, or numb, and your nervous system is on high alert.
You’re curious about somatic work but tired of confusing jargon and over‑produced vibes.
You want movement that feels gentle, accessible, and regulated, not punishing.
You’re open to exploring how nervous system regulation impacts your sleep, relationships, and desire.
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Inside a Somatic Reset Session or Lab Class
This is a 60-120‑minute somatic reset that begins with your nervous system instead of your to‑do list.
We blend somatic breathwork, gentle movement, shaking, stretching, and meditation so your body can recalibrate without pushing it to extremes.
No fitness level, flexibility, or “expertise” required.This is nervous system care, not a workout.
Grounding + nervous system check‑in
Somatic breathwork (down‑regulating, heart‑rate‑supportive patterns)
Somatic movement intervals 3 minutes on / 3 minutes off
Somatic shaking + micro‑release
Somatic stretch + floor‑based movement
Somatic meditation + integration + journaling practice
Community building
Womens circles