This Netflix series for me managed to weave together a beautiful and powerful portrayal of embodied awareness around sex, love, and life. I feel very connected to this content as a practitioner in these spaces, also as a videographer I felt very inspired. I loved watching and think it’s worth recommending and not dissing. Here are my thoughts:
First of all, it’s beautifully shot, and edited with so much sensitivity and respect. There is compelling and relatable storytelling for the participants, and the same respectful and generous view is extended to the extremely educated practitioners and their unique practice.
The series showcases a range of couples, working on their intimate connection, but the core of the work is focused on the individual experience and communication. It was beautiful to watch a very powerful transformation, opening and softening which is something that can only happen in a safe environment.
Moreover, you can really feel the sigh of relief and tension dropping from your own body as the individuals experience being seen and reflected by the practitioner.
I was impressed that not all participants showcased the same amount of exposure, this for me demonstrates a lot of respect for their individual needs and my guess is that GOOP and Netflix asked for their consent throughout the process (my assumption).
I was really happy to see a full episode on Family Constellation, which focuses on the behaviour patterns of the individual in a relationship. Our first relationship is with our parents and our family, we all come from a line of difficulties, some of these passed down and never resolved.
Throughout the series, the individual and collective sense are of possibility and I love that.
Overall I just found these people so brave, not only because they allowed a film crew to document their exposing and vulnerable journey, but brave for not settling for frustration, and following their inner knowing that there is more out there to be explored; a better way of relating, intimately, physically and mentally.
An inner knowing, that it is our birthright as humans to have pleasure, and to enjoy pleasure.
Pleasure does not discriminate, to take initiative and ask for help is huge, for men and for women.
For generations, we are not taught how to enjoy our body, but taught it is shameful, and feel embarrassed or wrong in our own body and reactions. This results in most of us living life contracted and stiff, bracing and holding our breath, sometimes in pain, unaware of the impact.
For me, Pleasure is the way towards life (an ongoing journey) - to find pleasure, we need safety and time. We are all different, so compassion, heartfelt listening, and care, are key.
If your body is responding in a restricted way, ask yourself (or your body) “what do you need”, and wait for the answer. Always trust your body to tell you the truth, NO ONE but you knows what feels good to YOU.
This is important, as in these fields there can be a lot of violations physically AND physiologically. With a partner OR a practitioner, be discerning and trust your body:
NO means NO. MAYBE means NO (or not now). Only YES means YES.
Finally, I hope this inspires you to watch the show, and even better, to explore more possibilities with your intimate connections towards a life full of pleasure.
My various offers overlap with these practices and are inspired by pleasure at their core, so I'm also inviting you to visit my website and check out my services (link in bio).
With love Inbar
Image taken from Sex, Love & Goop, Netflix.