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
Somatic Check-In & Journaling™ is a gentle 60-minute experience designed to help you tune into your body’s sensations, emotions, and responses—and begin building the skills to care for yourself with greater awareness and compassion.
This isn’t about fixing your body or interpreting every sensation.
It’s about slowing down long enough to notice what is present and becoming more curious about what you may need.
Experience Flow
🌬️ 40 Minutes | Somatic Flow & Breath Awareness
Begin with a guided practice that invites you to slow down, arrive in the present moment, and reconnect with your body.
Together, we’ll explore:
Grounding and present-moment awareness
Gentle breath awareness
Accessible somatic movement and stretching
A guided body scan
Noticing areas of tension, ease, energy, activation, or numbness
Developing awareness without judgment or pressure to change what you notice
Every practice may be adapted to your body, comfort, and personal range of motion.
✍️ 10 Minutes | Guided Somatic Journaling
Use thoughtfully designed prompts to translate what you noticed into words.
You will not be asked to diagnose, explain, or make meaning from every sensation. Journaling offers an opportunity to reflect with curiosity and notice any needs, boundaries, emotions, or questions that may be present.
🌸 10 Minutes | Reflection & Integration
We’ll close with a gentle group reflection to help you integrate the experience.
This may include:
Optional sharing—always an invitation, never an expectation
Reflecting on what you noticed or what surprised you
Identifying practical ways to incorporate body check-ins into everyday life
Choosing one intention to carry with you into the week ahead
You’ll Carry Forward
A simple body check-in framework you can use in everyday life
Greater awareness of sensations, emotions, and stress responses
Journal prompts for continued self-reflection
A more compassionate and curious relationship with your body
A personal practice for noticing what you may need
Good to Know
Length
60 Minutes
Designed For
Women and femme-aligned adults, ages 18+
Experience Level
Beginner-friendly. No previous somatic or journaling experience is necessary.
Dress Code
Wear comfortable clothing that allows for gentle movement, stretching, and seated reflection.
What to Bring
A journal, writing utensil, water bottle, and anything that helps you sit or rest comfortably.
Touch
Mayra does not provide massage, tissue manipulation, or intimate or erotic touch. This experience does not require participant-to-participant touch.
A Note About Emotional & Physical Safety
Mayra facilitates through a trauma-informed lens and can hold grounded, compassionate space for emotions that may arise. You will never be pressured to disclose personal information or explain what you notice.
Every practice is invitational and may be modified, paused, or declined. You are always welcome to rest, step outside, or stop participating without explanation.
If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or injury, prone to dizziness or fainting, or living with a condition that could be affected by breath or movement practices, please consult a qualified healthcare professional before participating.
Somatic Check-In & Journaling provides somatic education, gentle movement, guided reflection, and journaling. It is not psychotherapy, trauma treatment, medical care, physical therapy, or crisis support.
The more often you pause and listen, the more familiar your body’s language may become.
The Experience
Awareness • Sensation • Ritual • Self-Connection
Somatic Pleasure Mapping & Ritual™ is a guided, body-aware experience designed to help you slow down, notice sensation, and explore what feels comforting, pleasurable, neutral, activating, or supportive in your body.
This experience approaches pleasure as a broad and personal part of being human.
Pleasure may be warmth.
Movement.
Softness.
Stillness.
Texture.
Breath.
Space.
Comfort.
Energy.
Or the experience of recognizing what your body does—and does not—want.
Rather than searching for more pleasure, you’ll practice noticing what is already present and develop a personalized ritual that supports a more intentional relationship with your body.
This is a nonsexual, clothed, self-directed experience.
You remain fully in control of what you explore.
You’ll Experience
🌿 Arriving in the Body
Begin with gentle breath awareness, grounding, and accessible movement.
You’ll be invited to notice how you feel in the present moment without pressure to relax, change, release, or interpret what you find.
There is no correct way to experience your body.
Curiosity is enough.
🗺️ Guided Body Scan & Somatic Pleasure Mapping
Move through a guided body-awareness practice and begin creating a map of your personal sensory landscape.
You may notice areas of:
Ease or openness
Physical tension
Warmth or coolness
Energy or stillness
Comfort or discomfort
Sensitivity or numbness
Curiosity
Neutrality
Pleasure
Boundaries
A desire for more, less, or no stimulation
Not every part of the body needs to feel pleasurable.
Neutrality, uncertainty, discomfort, and “I don’t know” are all valid information.
You will not be asked to expose, touch, or describe intimate areas of your body.
🌸 Self-Directed Sensory Exploration
Explore optional sensory invitations using objects, textures, temperature, breath, movement, and clothed self-touch.
You may be invited to notice:
Which textures feel comforting or interesting
Whether you prefer stillness or movement
How proximity, pressure, sound, or temperature affect your experience
When curiosity becomes enough
How your body communicates yes, no, maybe, more, less, or stop
Every invitation may be modified or declined.
Pleasure includes the freedom to recognize when you have had enough.
✍️ Create Your Somatic Pleasure Map™
Develop a personal reflection tool identifying:
Sensations that feel supportive
Environments that help you feel present
Areas where you notice ease, tension, curiosity, or neutrality
Sensory experiences you enjoy
Boundaries you want to honor
Practices that help you reconnect with yourself
Questions you want to continue exploring
Your map is not a medical, psychological, or pelvic-health assessment.
It is a personal awareness tool.
✨ Design Your Personal Somatic Ritual
Use what you discovered to create a simple ritual you can explore in everyday life.
Your ritual may include:
Breath awareness
Gentle movement
Clothed, nonsexual self-touch
Sensory objects or textures
Mindfulness
Journaling
Rest
Music or silence
Intention setting
A boundary or permission practice
The goal is not perfection.
It is creating something personal, realistic, and supportive enough to return to.
🌙 Reflection & Integration
Close with optional journaling and time to notice what you want to carry forward.
Sharing is always optional. You will never be asked to describe private sensations or personal experiences to the group.
You’ll Carry Forward
Greater awareness of your personal sensory landscape
More language for noticing pleasure, comfort, neutrality, boundaries, and discomfort
Your personalized Somatic Pleasure Map™
A self-directed somatic ritual designed around your preferences
Practices for reconnecting with your body in everyday life
Greater permission to listen when your body communicates more, less, yes, no, maybe, or stop
Good to Know
Designed For
Women and femme-aligned adults, ages 18+
Experience Level
Open to all. No previous experience with somatic practices, pleasure mapping, or sensory exploration is necessary.
Dress Code
This is a fully clothed experience. Wear comfortable clothing that allows for gentle movement and seated or floor-based practices.
What to Bring
Journal
Water bottle
Curiosity
Anything that helps you sit or rest comfortably
Touch & Sexual Activity
This experience may include optional, clothed, and self-directed touch intended to support sensory awareness and grounding.
Mayra does not provide massage, tissue manipulation, intimate or erotic touch, genital or breast contact, or hands-on bodywork.
There is no nudity, sexual activity, genital contact, breast contact, penetration, or participant-to-participant touch.
You may modify or decline any invitation without explanation.
A Note About Emotional & Physical Safety
Mayra facilitates through a trauma-informed lens and can hold grounded, compassionate space for emotions that may arise.
You will never be required to close your eyes, scan an area of your body that feels uncomfortable, discuss sexuality, disclose trauma, or continue an activity that does not feel supportive.
Every practice may be modified, paused, or declined. You may change positions, rest, step outside, or stop participating at any time.
Somatic Pleasure Mapping & Ritual provides somatic education, self-directed body awareness, sensory exploration, reflection, and personal ritual design. It is not psychotherapy, trauma treatment, medical care, pelvic-floor therapy, massage therapy, sexual services, or crisis support.
Pleasure begins with presence.
And presence begins with permission to notice what is true for you.
The Experience
Sound Bath & Somatic Rest Ritual Night™ is a 120-minute collaborative experience by PleasureFWRD and Higher Self Harmonics, thoughtfully facilitated by Mayra Chaidez and Patrice.
Mayra guides the somatic grounding, gentle movement, rest, and integration practices, while Patrice of Higher Self Harmonics creates the live sound journey that carries you into deeper listening and receiving.
Together, they create a low-stimulation, rest-forward evening for women who are tired of being told they need to do more to feel better.
We’ll slow down, soften, and explore the restorative possibilities of intentional rest through gentle breath awareness, grounding, somatic movement, live sound, reflection, and community.
This is your invitation to pause.
To breathe.
To receive.
To connect.
And to notice what becomes available when nothing is being asked of you.
Giving Back
$10 from every ticket sold will be donated to ALAS-WINGS (Latina Association for Breast Cancer) — a Chicago-based organization supporting Hispanic/Latina women affected by breast cancer and their families through education, mental health programs, and emotional support groups, offered free and in Spanish.
Your rest becomes someone else's support.
Your Guides
🌿 Mayra Chaidez | PleasureFWRD
Mayra is a Somatica®-trained Somatic Intimacy and Relationship Coach, Certified Sexologist, and trauma-informed facilitator. She will guide the opening circle, somatic grounding, breath awareness, gentle movement, rest, and integration—creating a compassionate space where you can listen to your body and participate at your own pace.
🎵 Patrice | Higher Self Harmonics
Patrice of Higher Self Harmonics will create the live sound journey, weaving an immersive landscape of sound, vibration, and stillness designed to invite deep listening, rest, and personal reflection.
Together, Mayra and Patrice weave somatic awareness, live sound, ritual, and community into one intentional journey of rest, presence, connection, and receiving.
The Journey
⭕ 15 Minutes | Women’s Opening Circle
We’ll begin by gathering in circle and arriving together.
Mayra will welcome you into the space, introduce the intention for the evening, and guide a gentle check-in to help you notice what you’re carrying and what you may need.
Sharing is always optional. You are welcome to speak, listen, or simply be present.
The opening circle creates a shared container of choice, respect, and community before we begin the journey.
🌿🎵 60 Minutes | Somatic Rest & Live Sound Journey with Mayra and Patrice
Mayra will guide you through gentle breath awareness, grounding, soft somatic movement, and floor-based rest while Patrice creates an immersive live sound landscape around the room.
You’ll be invited to notice areas of tension and ease, explore movement within your own comfortable range, and gradually settle into rest as the sound journey unfolds.
You may lie down, remain seated, change positions, use ear protection, step outside, or stop participating whenever needed. There is no expected response and no right way to receive the experience.
Mayra will remain present throughout the journey to hold grounded, trauma-informed space, while Patrice carries the room through sound, vibration, and stillness.
🌙 15 Minutes | Closing Circle & Integration
After the sound journey, we’ll return slowly.
Mayra will guide a gentle integration practice with space for reflection, optional journaling, and an invitation to notice what you would like to carry forward.
We’ll close in circle with an opportunity to share a word, sensation, reflection, or simply listen.
There is never pressure to disclose anything personal.
☕ 30 Minutes | Community Connection
After the guided experience, you’re invited to stay for tea, conversation, and unhurried connection with the women sharing the space.
You may socialize, meet someone new, reflect together, continue journaling, or simply enjoy being in community without having to perform.
Because sometimes rest is something we receive alone.
And sometimes it deepens when we experience it together.
You May Leave With
A greater appreciation for intentional rest
Increased awareness of what helps you feel settled and supported
An opportunity to notice changes in physical or emotional tension
Gentle practices for creating moments of rest in everyday life
A renewed sense of presence and connection with yourself
The warmth of slowing down and connecting with other women in community
Good to Know
Length
120 Minutes
15-minute Women’s Opening Circle
60-minute Somatic Rest & Live Sound Journey
15-minute Closing Circle and Integration
30-minute Community Connection
Designed For
Women and femme-aligned adults, ages 18+
Experience Level
Open to all. No previous experience with sound baths, meditation, or somatic practices is necessary.
Dress Code
Wear soft, comfortable clothing and bring anything that helps you rest with greater ease.
Recommended to Bring
Blanket
Water bottle
Journal
Eye covering, if desired
Earplugs or hearing protection if you are sensitive to sound
Touch
Neither Mayra nor Patrice provides massage, tissue manipulation, or intimate or erotic touch. This experience does not require participant-to-participant touch.
A Note About Emotional, Sensory & Physical Safety
Mayra facilitates through a trauma-informed lens and can hold grounded, compassionate space for emotions that may arise. Every practice is invitational and may be modified, paused, or declined.
Sound and vibration can feel different for every person. If you have sound sensitivity, tinnitus, migraines, a seizure condition, are pregnant, use an implanted medical device, or have another condition that may be affected by sustained sound or vibration, consult a qualified healthcare professional before participating and contact PleasureFWRD with any accommodation questions.
Sound Bath & Somatic Rest Ritual Night™ provides a collaborative wellness, sound, rest, reflection, and community experience. It is not psychotherapy, trauma treatment, medical care, sound therapy, physical therapy, or crisis support.
Rest isn’t something you have to earn.
It’s something you’re allowed to receive.
A collaboration between PleasureFWRD and Higher Self Harmonics.
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
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.
