Stress doesn’t just live in your head—it shapes your breath, your hormones, and the choices you make when you’re tired and tense. We sit down with intimacy coach and educator Stacy Steinbock of Golden Thread to explore how pleasure can be a reliable, ethical, and practical medicine for bodies carrying burnout, shame, and even post-cancer change. Stacy brings a rare blend of expertise: two decades in sexuality education and advocacy, inclusive medical curriculum work with the U of L School of Medicine, and a rigorous Tibetan five-element tantra certification that roots her methods in lineage-based somatic practice.

We trace the real gaps in sex education—silence around desire, relationships, and body image—and how that silence becomes a generational pattern. Stacy shares her ovarian cancer story, surgical menopause, and the intimate process of relearning pleasure when familiar pathways no longer work. From there, we get specific: what somatic healing means, how cellular memory keeps trauma in the tissues, and why talk therapy alone can’t always resolve what the nervous system still flags as threat. You’ll hear how the chemistry of pleasure—dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins—protects against chronic cortisol, restoring focus, motivation, and calm. We also explore an Eastern perspective that frames orgasm as a momentary taste of freedom from suffering, while reminding us that everyday joys—like a quiet walk or a warm bath—can return the body to safety.

Stacy offers a grounded framework: movement, meditation, connection practices, and pleasure practices clients take home—no touch, clear ethics, collaborative care with medical providers when needed. We include a short guided exercise to feel the difference between recalling pain and invoking a nourishing sensory memory, illustrating how quickly the body can shift states. The takeaway is simple and powerful: pleasure isn’t an indulgence that steals from productivity; it’s the fuel that sustains creativity, resilience, and a clear connection to your why.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs relief, and leave a review to help more listeners find this conversation. To explore Stacy’s work, reach out for her free 30-minute consultation and ask for the complimentary ebook on pleasure as medicine.

Offer: 1:1 private intimacy coaching with Stacie for individuals, couples, and partnership systems

Offer Link: https://www.goldenthreadtantra.com/services

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Connect with Wendy Manganaro:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendymanganaro1/

Kumiko Sanayama, Shiatsu grandmaster and founder of Five Lives Center of Shiatsu, shares her expertise on managing stress and anxiety through self-shiatsu techniques. Drawing from her family's tradition and years of practice with clients like Giselle Bundchen and Nicole Kidman, Kumiko explains how this powerful healing art can transform wellbeing through mindful touch.

• Shiatsu follows the same pressure points as acupuncture but uses hands, elbows, and knees instead of needles
• Kumiko developed "intuitive Shiatsu" by adapting traditional techniques to individual needs
• The Japanese characters for Shiatsu represent connecting people through hands, sun, moon, and earth
• Each session is customized as practitioners assess clients through stretches and careful observation
• Entrepreneurs commonly experience stress in the back, shoulders, neck and wrists from computer work
• The pandemic increased interest in touch-based therapies as people sought alternative wellness approaches
• Digital communication creates "metal energy" that needs to be melted with "fire energy" through touch
• Self-care techniques are available on Kumiko's YouTube channel for those unable to visit practitioners

If you love what you heard today, please subscribe for more self-care tips as the weeks go forward. And if you love what Kumiko said today, please leave a review and have a blessed and abundant week.

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Connect with Wendy Manganaro:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendymanganaro1/

Dive into the world of LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System) with Nicole Bankhead, founder of Serenity Wellness Counseling, as she explains this gentle, tech-assisted approach to supporting your nervous system. Learn how this innovative therapy can help entrepreneurs struggling with sleep issues, anxiety, and burnout through a process that takes just minutes per session.

• LENS Neurofeedback provides a mirror for the brain, allowing it to see and correct its own patterns
• The therapy maps 21 points on the brain that correlate to specific functions
• Most clients experience improved sleep and decreased irritability after just a few sessions
• Treatment typically begins weekly then decreases in frequency as improvement occurs
• Sessions take only about 20 minutes with the actual feedback lasting just seconds
• Results tend to be permanent, unlike medication that requires ongoing use
• LENS works exceptionally well alongside traditional talk therapy
• The therapy can help entrepreneurs who notice increased anxiety, irritability, or sleep problems

If you're interested in trying LENS Neurofeedback, you can call Nicole's office for a free first session. Even if you're not in her area, her team can help connect you with providers near you. Please subscribe for more self-care tips and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode.

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Connect with Wendy Manganaro:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendymanganaro1/