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 Stacie Steinbock of The Golden Thread to explore how pleasure can be a reliable, ethical, and practical medicine for bodies carrying burnout, shame, and even post-cancer changes. Stacie brings a rare blend of expertise: two decades in sexuality education, including medical curriculum work with the UofL 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. Stacie 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 Stacie’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 Support the show Connect with Wendy Manganaro: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendymanganaro1/
