The Sensual Sessions

Candia Raquel

The Sensual Sessions Podcast will support you on going beyond sedentarism´s stress and welcoming bodily pleasure through the practice of Postural Presence. Hosted by Candia Raquel, founder of Centro De Poder. Join weekly as she regularly interviews experts on wellness, mindfulness, medicine, embodiment, meditation, somatics, yoga, mysticism, psychology, anatomy, pilates, dance and health. To download the FREE Guide on How To Awaken Sensuality go to: www.centrodepoder.com/awaken-sensuality

  1. #160 How To Sensually Communicate Desire — Simon Paul Sutton

    FEB 3

    #160 How To Sensually Communicate Desire — Simon Paul Sutton

    🔥 Can´t Speak Your Heart Out? Discover how to sensually communicate desire with integrity and candor here on episode #160 of The Sensual Sessions Podcast with host Candia Raquel and guest Simon Paul Sutton, Speaker, Coach, Sex-educator, Tantric practitioner, Actor and Author.   🔥 About Simon Paul Sutton Simon is an internationally recognised facilitator, speaker, coach, sex-educator, tantric practitioner, actor, author and podcast host whose journey from crime and addiction to embodied truth, radical honesty, and divine play has impacted thousands across the globe. With a background that bridges the gritty depths of crime and domestic violence with the sacred spaces of meditation, ritual, and self-empowerment, Simon guides beings through breath, meditation, movement, sound, laughter and touch to unveil the masks of cultural conditioning and recover the exiled parts that require loving awareness to bring them back into wholeness. He reminds us that life is a miraculous gift, pleasure is a portal, love is the answer and play is the way. Simon is the author of Self Love Now and Burglar to Buddha, a powerful true-life story that has become the foundation of his teachings. He is the creator of ROOTED, somatic coaching supporting men in emotional maturity, conscious sexuality, and embodied presence. Co-creator of Naked Soul, offering immersive group experiences as an offering to the birth of a new story of humanity, one where we all walk together in unity, solidarity and living alive in naked truth. And Enlighten Up! a cosmic mashup of transformational teachings, music, spoken word, and unapologetic madness all hosted with his multidimensional alter egos. His work focuses on rewriting the script, self-love, radical honesty, laughter, transparency, integrity, men’s work, sacred sexuality, neo-tantra, pleasure, aliveness, emotional empowerment, and embodiment, combining lived experience with accessible, heart-centered guidance. Simon’s teachings have reached audiences worldwide through podcasts, retreats, workshops, courses, festivals, temples, keynotes, stage performances, schools, and men’s circles. He is regularly invited to attend international festivals and conferences. Learn more: https://simonpaulsutton.com/ https://www.instagram.com/simonpaulsutton   🔥 What´s next? Get FREE guide to awaken sensuality, special promotions and The Sensual Sessions podcast delivered on your inbox clicking here: https://www.candiaraquel.com/awaken-sensuality

    1h 6m
  2. #159 The Organic Sensuality Of Graham Technique — David Hochoy

    JAN 20

    #159 The Organic Sensuality Of Graham Technique — David Hochoy

    🔥 Wanna Go From Existential Angst To Potency? Discover how the organic sensuality of the Graham Technique fills the body with passionate life force here on episode #159 of The Sensual Sessions Podcast with host Candia Raquel and guest David Hochoy, Artistic Director Emeritus Dance Kaleidoscope, Former Rehearsal Director at Martha Graham Dance.   🔥 In This Episode We Discuss [00:00:00] - Welcome & Episode Introduction [00:03:15] - The Joy of Lifelong Learning: Pleasure in Discovery [00:10:20] - Dance as Ephemeral Pleasure: Living in the Now [00:18:35] - Boldness, Innocence & Vulnerability in Movement [00:25:40] - Falling & Courage: Pleasure in Risk-Taking [00:33:10] - Stage Presence: Overcoming Fear Through Embodiment [00:41:00] - Meditative Practice Through Ballet & Barre [00:48:45] - Embodied Learning & Scientific Approach to Technique [00:55:00] - Revelation of Contraction & Spiral [01:01:22] - Celebrating the Body as Instrument of Pleasure [01:01:56] - Host Exercise: Embody Your Sensual Now [01:03:42] - Closing Remarks & Social Media Info   🔥 About David Hochoy Dance Kaleidoscope’s Artistic Director Emeritus David Hochoy is truly an international ambassador. David Hochoy was born in Trinidad, West Indies. After receiving a B. Sc. at McGill University in Montreal, where he began studying for a career as a doctor, he continued his graduate work in theatre earning an M.A. in Directing from Penn State. It was there, at age 20, David took his first dance class and discovered his true love of dance. In New York, he studied at the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham schools and danced with numerous national companies. In 1980, he was invited to join the Martha Graham Dance Company. Made a soloist in 1982 and rehearsal director in 1986, David toured the world with Graham until 1989. He has given master classes in Graham technique throughout the U.S. and Europe, and in 1990 was invited to Guangzhou, China, to teach the experimental troupe of the Guangdong Dance Academy for ten weeks. David has been on the faculty of the Martha Graham School since 1982. In addition, he has taught at the American Dance Festival (ADF) held at Duke University, as well as ADF West in Salt Lake City and ADF Seoul in Korea. In 1991 he was invited to teach and choreograph at the Vienna International Dance Festival. He has given workshops in Quebec City, Tokyo, Oslo, Dublin and Rio de Janeiro. David spent two years as a full-time faculty member at Texas Christian University. Since becoming DK’s Artistic Director in 1991, he has choreographed over 70 dances including Scheherazade, Carmina Burana, COLE!, The Planets, The Four Elements, El Salòn Mexico, Magical Mystery Tour, Rite of Spring and Les Noces. He has choreographed Daphnis et Chloé for a collaboration with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as well as their New Year’s Eve and Discovery Series concerts. He also has choreographed numerous productions at the IRT, including A Christmas Carol, the Civic Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Edyvean Repertory Theatre, Salome for the Arizona Opera and Miss Evers’ Boys for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and for Santa Fe Stages. David co-directed As You Like It at the Indiana Repertory Theatre with IRT’s Artistic Director Janet Allen. He also was Artistic Director of The Green Shows at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) for ten seasons. He has choreographed The Beat on the Ball State University Student Dance Company. In 2009 he re-set sections of Fascinatin’ Rhythm on Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz of the New York City Ballet and Sarah Lane of American Ballet Theatre for the inaugural gala performance of Indianapolis City Ballet. He is the founder and co-artistic director of Spotlight, an annual fund-raiser for the Indiana Aids Fund that has brought together the Indianapolis Performing Arts community since 1994. David has served as a dance panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts on numerous occasions and was a recipient of a prestigious Choo-San Goh Award for his choreography Rhapsody in Blue in 2006. He is a two-time recipient of a Master Fellowship in Choreography and an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission as well as a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis. He has been awarded the Key to the City by the City/County Council, the Distinguished Hoosier Award by the Governor of Indiana, and was honored by the Center for Leadership Development for outstanding achievement in the arts. In 2004, he was voted one of Indiana’s 25 Keepers – men and women working to make a difference in Indiana – by the readers of Indy Men’s Magazine. On April 2, 2011, Mayor Gregory A. Ballard declared that date as David Hochoy Day in honor of his 20 years as DK’s artistic director and in recognition of his service to the arts in Indianapolis. In 2012 he was honored with the Creativity Award by University High School. In 2013 the Indiana Historical Society named him an Indiana Living Legend. Most recently, the Indiana Arts Commission presented David with a 2015 Governor’s Arts Award and, the Institute for Caribbean Studies in Washington, D.C. gave him the 2016 Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the David received TAIG Award for Excellence in the Arts from Penn State Thespians in 2017. David is sponsored by Virgil and Robert Paul Chan. Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/davidhochoy/   🔥 What´s next? Get FREE guide to awaken sensuality, special promotions and The Sensual Sessions podcast delivered on your inbox clicking here: https://www.candiaraquel.com/awaken-sensuality

    1h 4m
  3. #157 How To Sensually Embody Meditation — Upasaka Upali

    JAN 9

    #157 How To Sensually Embody Meditation — Upasaka Upali

    🔥 Easily Distracted? Discover how becoming sensually embodied through meditation will naturally bring your focus to the present here on episode #158 of The Sensual Sessions Podcast with host Candia Raquel and guest Upasaka Upali, Meditation Teacher, Founding Member of Open Dharma Foundation.   🔥 About Upasaka Upali Upali teaches that the cessation of suffering is not achieved by suffering. Journey alongside Upali and discover an innate joy and ease for meditation and life. Upasaka Upali (aka Paul Peterson) began meditating because he felt bad and thought it would help him feel better. It worked beyond anything he could have imagined. Through his success in not feeling bad, Upali realized he had little practice in feeling good. He learned a new practice of “getting good at feeling good.” This is the compass that currently guides him. With support from his spouse, friends, teachers, mentors, supervisors, meditation community, therapists, dog, garden, education, training, Buddhist lineage, and local ecology, Upali has devoted his professional life to the practice of teaching Sukkha (Joy/Satisfactoriness) and its proliferation. You can connect with Upali through 1:1 support, classes or workshops, meditation retreats, and walks in nature. Credentials Word-of-Mouth Dharma Teacher with Buddhist Lineage Completed Three Years of a Two-Year Teacher Training The Mind Illuminated Took Upasaka (layperson) Vows in 2015 Trained in Neurosystemics Trained in Mental Health First Aid Founding Member of Open Dharma Foundation Co-Host of Teaching Meditation Podcast Board Chair of Center Space - A Community Meditation Studio Has a Dog named Willow Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/upalimeditation/ https://upalimeditation.com/   🔥 What´s next? Get FREE guide to awaken sensuality, special promotions and The Sensual Sessions podcast delivered on your inbox clicking here: https://www.candiaraquel.com/awaken-sensuality

    1h 14m
  4. #155 Shift The Pain In Your Lady Parts To Sensuality  — Bonnie Gross

    12/22/2025

    #155 Shift The Pain In Your Lady Parts To Sensuality — Bonnie Gross

    🔥 Ever experienced pain in your Lady Parts? You´re not alone, over 14M women in the US have experienced it, stay tuned to know how sensuality can help here on episode #155 of The Sensual Sessions Podcast with host Candia Raquel and guest Bonnie Gross, Filmmaker, Co-owner & Producer for Brainwomb, Writer & Executive Producer of the Film Lady Parts.   🔥 In This Episode We Discuss [23:01] - Breaking the Taboo: Naming Your Body [25:00] - Pelvic Floor Awareness vs. Sexual Activity [26:00] - Medical Gaslighting & Feminine Pain [31:00] - Personal Liberation Through Storytelling [33:02] - The Power of Stranger Validation [39:11] - Reframing Pleasure Beyond Penetration [45:40] - Recognizing Symptoms & Seeking Help [50:00] - Host Wisdom: Advocating for Your Pleasure [51:00] - Community & Awareness: Lead the Way [54:00] - How to Watch Lady Parts Film & Support   🔥 About Bonnie Gross Bonnie Gross is an award-winning comedy writer, producer, and post-production pro who’s never met a taboo topic she couldn’t turn into a smart, comical, and relatable story. With a sharp sense of humor and a passion for telling authentic stories, Bonnie focuses on the realities of living with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain, which she believes deserve far more screen time. Originally from Philadelphia and now based in New York City, Bonnie earned her B.A. in Media Production from the University of Alabama and completed the UCLA Professional Program in TV Comedy Writing in 2018. Her most recent film Lady Parts is an autobiographical comedy inspired by her own experience navigating the vulvovaginal health care world, which earned the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at the Florida Film Festival and the Jury Award for Best Comedy Feature at the Austin Film Festival. Bonnie has worked for several years in post-production at Encore Hollywood and Light Iron, working on an array of television shows and films. She now co-owns Brainwomb, a boutique finishing house in NYC where she partners with filmmakers to shape their stories at every stage of the post-production process She has also written, produced, and edited comedic content for the media brand It’s a Southern Thing, and regularly creates her own offbeat comedy videos for social media. In addition to her creative work, Bonnie serves as the social media manager and a campaign team volunteer for Tight Lipped, a grassroots advocacy organization by and for people with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain. At the heart of Bonnie’s work is a simple goal: to make people feel seen, understood, and maybe laugh at a speculum joke along the way. Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/tightlippedorg/ https://ladypartsfilm.com/ https://bonnie-gross.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ladyparts_film/ https://www.instagram.com/shake_ur_bonbon/   🔥 What´s next? Get FREE guide to awaken sensuality, special promotions and The Sensual Sessions podcast delivered on your inbox clicking here: https://www.candiaraquel.com/awaken-sensuality

    55 min
  5. #153 How To Embody Your Sensual Self-Image — Hillel Braude

    12/02/2025

    #153 How To Embody Your Sensual Self-Image — Hillel Braude

    🔥 Feeling awkward in your body? Discover how to bypass judgment by embodying the self-image of yourself in a sensual way through somatic movement here on episode #153 of The Sensual Sessions Podcast with host Candia Raquel and guest Dr Hillel Braude MBBCh PhD, Founder-Director of the SomaticWell Center, Feldenkrais Method Practitioner.   🔥 In this episode we discuss [00:00:00] - Welcome to The Sensual Sessions Podcast[00:01:06] - Meet Dr. Hillel Braude: Wizard of Embodiment[00:03:34] - Rediscovering the 3D Self[00:06:12] - Cultural Shame & Pleasure[00:13:46] - The Unconscious in the Flesh[00:20:46] - Body Image vs. Body Schema[00:27:03] - Magnetic Confidence Through Enjoyment[00:38:02] - Letting Go of Fixed Identity[00:48:04] - Time as Sensual Duration[01:00:03] - 🌟 Host Exercise: The Dinosaur Spine Practice[01:08:00] - Final Reflections on Sensual Vitality   🔥 About Dr Hillel Braude MBBCh PhD I first trained as a medical doctor in South Africa, the country of my birth. This medical education has provided an invaluable basis for my present work. Yet, I knew early on in my training that the traditional medical model has its limitations in terms of meaningful self-transformation and deep healing. After training as a medical doctor, I completed a doctorate in philosophy, focusing on the use of medical intuition in clinical reasoning. This study of intuition has provided me with the intellectual tools to understand the nuances of clinical reasoning. Intuition is still an invaluable clinical skill that I utilize and help develop with my clients. Through many years of intellectual study and personal somatic exploration I became a real therapist – developing my own ability for self-healing and transformation in order to help others. I am passionate about both the latest scientific studies of the brain and mind as well as ancient somatic movement practices. While I have progressed much since my early medical education in South Africa, there is one element of the African cultural heritage I still retain – an appreciation of ubuntu – the sense that we are all inter-connected. In my therapeutic work I bring compassionate personal care together with cutting edge, evidence-based somatic and neurobiological therapies. Working for five years as the director of research at the Mifne Center for early therapeutic intervention for autism has provided me with the opportunity to develop my expertise in early autism therapeutic intervention. I am proud to have developed the Genesis Protocol integrating evolutionary movement patterns together with the Feldenkrais Method® and play. Somatic Expertise The Feldenkrais Method provides the foundational backbone of Dr. Hillel Braude’s hands-on somatic practice. Hillel received accreditation as a Guild Certified Practitioner in 2013. Further accreditation and training with infants and children: Child'Space with Chava Shelhav - Jeremy Krauss Approach (JKA) Feldenkrais and Play with Uli Komay (based on the pioneering work of Yael Ophir). Hillel is presently studying Dynamic Embodiment and collaborating with Martha Eddy. Philosophical Studies & Biomedical Ethics Dr. Hillel completed his doctoral studies in philosophy of medicine and bioethics with the University of Chicago’s Committee for the History of Culture, obtaining his PhD cum laude (1998-2006). He has additionally trained as a Clinical Ethicist with the MacLean Center’s Center for Clinical Ethics, the University of Chicago ( 2002-2003 ), and completed Post - Doctorate Fellowships in Neuroethics with McGill University’s Biomedical Ethics Unit and Religious Studies Faculty ( 2008-2011). Dr. Hillel has published extensively in the field of Neuroethics, Somatics and Philosophy of Medicine. He sits on the board of the International Feldenkrais Federation (IFF) Journal and Research Committee. Hillel continues to research Somatic Practices, and specific processes and outcomes associatedwith hands-on therapeutic work. Book Chapters• Hillel D. Braude and Jean Decety, “The Affective Limits of Medical Empathy.” In , Edited by Smadar Bustan. Springer Publishing: New York, (Forthcoming)• Alonim, H.A., Lieberman, I., Tayar, Scheingesicht, G., and Braude, H.D. “A Comparative Study of Infants and Toddlers Treated with The Mifne Approach Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder.” In edited by U. Das, N. Papaneophytou and T. El Kour. Academic Press. 2019: 277-300.• Ami Shulman & Hillel Braude. “‘What If…’ A Question of Transcendence.” In, edited by Sondra Fraleigh, University of Illinois Press. 2018: 183-204.• “Clinical Reasoning and Knowing.” In Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine, edited by James Marcum, Bloomsbury Press. 2016: 323-342.• “Skilled Know-How, Virtuosity and Expertise in Clinical Practice.” In edited by Thomas Schramme and Steven Edwards, Springer Press. 2016: 699-716.• “Enhancing Cognition in the ‘Brain Nation.’ In , Edited by Fabrice Jotterand and Veljko Dubljevic, Oxford University Press. 2016: 131-146• “Affecting the Body and Transforming Desire: The Treatment of Suffering as the End of Medicine.” Republished in , Editors Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 211-233• “Radical Somatics,” in , Edited by Sondra Fraleigh, 2015. Indiana University Press: 124-134• “Between and Beyond: Medicine and Narrative in Dick Zaner’s Phenomenology.” In Osborne P. Wiggins and Annette Allen, eds. 2010. Springer Press: 119-138.Journal Articles• “Between Psychology and Philosophy: A Review of Thinking and Doing by Moshe Feldenkrais,” .2016. http://iffresearchjournal.org/volume/5/braude• “Human All Too Human Reasoning: Comparing Clinical and Phenomenological Intuition,” . 2013, 38(2): 173-189. doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhs057• “Affecting the Body and Transforming Desire: The Treatment of Suffering as the End of Medicine,” . 2012, 19, vol. 4: 265-278. DOI: 10.1353/ppp.2012.0048• Unraveling the Knot of Suffering: Combining Neurobiological and Hermeneutic Approaches,. 2012, 19, vol. 4: 291-294. DOI: 10.1353/ppp.2012.0056• “Conciliating Cognition and Consciousness: The Perceptual Foundations of Clinical Reasoning,” . 2012, vol. 18: 945-950. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2012.01898.• Hillel Braude and Jonathan Kimmelman. “The Ethics of Managing Affective and Emotional States to Improve Informed Consent: Autonomy, Comprehension and Voluntariness,”. 2012, vol. 23(3):149-156• “Normativity Unbound: Liminality in Palliative Care Ethics, 2012, vol. 33(2):107-122. DOI:10.1007/s11017-011-9200-2• “Clinical Intuition Versus Statistics: Different Modes of Tacit Knowledge in Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine,” , vol. 30(3): 181-98.• “Colonialism, Biko and AIDS: The Principle of Beneficence in South African Bioethics”. 2009, vol. 68: 2053-2060. Learn more: https://www.somaticwell.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drhillel/   🔥 What´s next? Get FREE guide to awaken sensuality, special promotions and The Sensual Sessions podcast delivered on your inbox clicking here: https://www.candiaraquel.com/awaken-sensuality

    1h 14m

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About

The Sensual Sessions Podcast will support you on going beyond sedentarism´s stress and welcoming bodily pleasure through the practice of Postural Presence. Hosted by Candia Raquel, founder of Centro De Poder. Join weekly as she regularly interviews experts on wellness, mindfulness, medicine, embodiment, meditation, somatics, yoga, mysticism, psychology, anatomy, pilates, dance and health. To download the FREE Guide on How To Awaken Sensuality go to: www.centrodepoder.com/awaken-sensuality