1 of 3

Sexual and Emotional Intimacy Skills

Tue Jan 21, 2025 6:30 PM - Tue Mar 11, 2025 8:30 PM PST Online, Zoom

Sexual and Emotional Intimacy Skills

Tue Jan 21, 2025 6:30 PM - Tue Mar 11, 2025 8:30 PM PST Online, Zoom

There are many reasons it can be hard to create a pleasure-filled sex life and emotionally-secure relationships. We all receive messages about who we are supposed to be, how we ought to feel, and how we should express ourselves - often enforced through shame, silence, and disconnection. Plus, inadequate sex education means we are deprived of essential intimacy skills, often causing hesitation and guesswork. Gain the skills you wished you were taught earlier in life so you can have the intimacy you’ve been needing.

Sexual and Emotional Intimacy Skills Mastercourse, taught by Dr. Alison Ash of TurnON.love, features 8 live virtual classes designed to support you in creating, deepening, and sustaining sexual and emotional intimacy in your relationship(s). Dr. Ash teaches this course at Stanford University and offers it to a wider global audience just once a year, so don't miss out!

All classes:

weave together science-based data, embodied exploration, and skills development

combine lecture with optional breakout room discussions and experiential exercises

offer supplemental materials including handouts, readings, and videos

include extra time for Q&A after

are recorded for those who can’t attend live or want additional review

Class meets on Tuesday evenings from January 21st - March 11th. Individuals, couples, and groups are invited to participate. Course content applicable to both monogamous and non-monogamous dynamics.

Curriculum:

Class 1: The Nuances of Consent and Boundaries (Jan 21, 2025)

Examine what it means to be sexually empowered. Explore how to seek and give ongoing consent. Change how you relate to saying and hearing no and ease fears around rejection. Discover ways to find shared yeses. Explore the importance of boundaries and how to assert them. Practice having meta consent conversations.

Class 2: Embodiment and Nervous System Care (Jan 28, 2025)

Explore how embodiment is essential for healthy intimacy, and get practices for increasing your capacity to be embodied. Discover resources for noticing sensations and emotions in the body and how they relate. Learn to track your triggers and ways to soothe your nervous system with self-care and co-regulating activities.

Class 3: Skills for Emotional Depth and Safety (Feb 04, 2025)

Examine your relationship to having needs and learn how to make requests to have your needs met. Explore ways to create more vulnerability with others and improve your capacity to be empathetic. Learn how to give and receive heartfelt affirmations for deepening intimacy. Discover how to have safer heart conversations.

Class 4: Flirting, Seduction, and Expressing Desire (Feb 11, 2025)

Learn techniques for verbal and nonverbal flirting. Explore how to avoid being “creepy,” ways to create safety, and how to recover from failed flirting attempts. Learn to read body language and discover ways to escalate and de-escalate while staying in connection. Practice having safer sex conversations.

Class 5: Skills for Maximizing Pleasure (Feb 18, 2025)

Discuss the role of self-exploration and mindful masturbation in expanding your capacity for pleasure. Discover how to get out of your head and into your body, let yourself receive, redirect touch that doesn’t feel quite right, and reveal enjoyment without performing. Explore how to experience pleasure from giving.

Class 6: Erotica, Fantasies, and Unpacking Shame (Feb 25, 2025)

Examine the role of erotica in shaping desires and sexual interactions and discover a wide array including feminist and queer pornography, erotica literature, podcasts, and more. Explore your fantasies and discuss ways to share them with others. Learn how to unpack shame around your desires and become more shame resilient.

Class 7: Conflict and Repairing Ruptures (Mar 04, 2025)

Learn when and how to repair relationships when miscommunications happen, boundaries get crossed, and conflict occurs. Explore common repair pitfalls and how to avoid them. Receive a template for effective repair conversations. Practice repairing ruptures in ways that can build trust and deepen intimacy.

Class 8: Picking Partners and Ending Relationships (Mar 11, 2025)

Examine what you’re looking for in a partner (for hookups, relationships, and even work collaborations) and develop a filter so you can feel more confident about your choices. Explore how to know when to end a relationship and discover healthy ways to approach it. Learn ways for coping with break ups and processing grief.

Reviews:

"This class changed my life, I am such a different person than I was 2 months ago! I now own my sexual desires, have found an amazing sexual partner, and am exploring new forms of pleasure. I have started to cultivate healthier relationships with my family, friends, and partner!” – S.S.

“It can often be very challenging for POC to feel safe in such vulnerable environments, but I can't emphasize enough how incredibly informed and compassionate Dr. Aly is, and how safe I felt in the space she clearly worked very hard to curate. I would recommend this class a thousand times over to anyone.” – J.G.

“The digital zoom format works really well for this topic, perhaps is even better than in-person, as you feel safe to engage as much or as little as you want in any activity. Hearing other viewpoints from a very diverse group of participants helped universalize our own experiences during interactive portions. We can't speak highly enough of this course!" - M.H. and B.H.

“I have found myself using many of the tools I learned not only with my partner, but also with friends, family members, and even colleagues at work. The discussion groups allowed me to practice new skills and helped me feel a lot less alone. I frequently find myself referring to the course handouts when I am experiencing something challenging in my life.” - D.A.

"Dr Aly is able to dive deeply into each topic, answering questions and adding rich details. I have not only seen my relationships and communication skills improve, I’ve seen myself understanding improve. This was very much worth my time.”- S.L.

"We found ourselves in these deep conversations we'd previously avoided--and equipped with tools for compassionately navigating them. Dr. Aly encouraged us to verbalize our desires, and when we started communicating these more, we found our time in the bedroom to be sexier.” B.H. and M.H.

Instructor Bio:

Dr. Alison Ash, aka Dr. Aly, is a trauma-informed intimacy coach and educator, Stanford University Lecturer, author, and founder of TurnON.love. As a sociologist with a PhD from Stanford, she has a comprehensive understanding of the complex societal challenges that often lead to unsatisfying and disempowering intimate experiences. She also draws on her extensive training in the Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Innate Somatic Intelligence Trauma Therapy Approach, and Somatica Method of sex and intimacy coaching to support her clients to radically explore and courageously express themselves. Dr. Aly designs workshops, courses, and retreats and offers individuals and couples coaching to give others the tools to be able to cultivate and sustain nourishing emotional and sexual intimacy. Dr. Aly invites you to TurnON pleasure, intimacy and love at www.TurnON.love

Additional details:

SUPER Early Bird Tickets available through November 15th, 2024. Early Bird Tickets available through December 15th, 2024. Regular tickets are available thereafter.

Each participant must have their own ticket. Any two people can purchase a "Ticket for 2" so feel free to invite a friend, lover, or partner to join you for additional savings!

Experiencing financial difficulties? Apply for a sliding scale ticket or send an email to coordinator@turnon.love to create a payment plan.

Tickets are not refundable but may be transferred to another individual.

Folks of all genders, sexual orientations, relationship structures, ages, body types, abilities, races, and ethnicities are welcome.

***

Upcoming Workshops and Courses

Oct 2nd, 9th, 16th, & 23rd - Sustainable Intimacy: Reignite the Flame for the Long Game (also available an an on-demand rental)

Struggling with different libidos, relating to sex like it’s a chore, and feeling rejection and resentment are just some of the challenges couples in long-term relationships face. When intimacy gets stagnant it can be hard to find ways to reconnect sexually that feel genuine and pleasurable. Rather than giving you a momentary boost of passion, Seb and I will provide you all the tools you need to create a sustainable and personalized path to lasting intimacy for the long run.

Learn how to get out of the anxious-avoidant dynamic, cohabitator-coparent roles, and the pressure-rejection cycle
Uncover the various libido blockers that get in the way of your turn on, pleasure, and intimacy and how to overcome them
Explore how to make verbal, physical, and romantic bids for intimacy that will allow you to effectively woo your partner
Discover how to create fun and exciting intimacy dates with a menu of ways to connect authentically and without pressure.
Acquire an array of practices that will support you to rediscover your turn on and increase your capacity for giving and receiving pleasure.
Receive the 35 page Sustainable Intimacy booklet that will enable you to identify your specific intimacy blockers, engage in self-reflection exercises, and record the specific practices that will empower you to continue to nurture your intimacy.

Nov 10th - How to Eat Pussy like a Champ (also available as an on-demand rental)

Givers will learn how to discover what turns their lover(s) on and explore a wide range of techniques for maximizing pleasure. Receivers will learn how to surrender into sensation while also taking a more active role in cultivating their own pleasure. Discover all the nerve pathways involved so you can understand the different kinds of orgasms possible as well as science-based techniques for how to explore them. Plus, there's a thorough live demo so you can see all the skills put into action. Both individuals and couples are welcome!