When it comes to being a woman, pleasure is not really something as a culture we are taught to explore or prioritize. For Marissa Correia, it is her passion to share about the importance of pleasure in our lives and how it allows us to be more connected to our bodies and our environment.In our conversation, we discuss what it means to build a practice of embodiment. She explains that embodiment is a process of re-inhabiting our bodies.Marissa explains that sometimes pleasure is used as a means to leave our bodies, or a way out of feeling instead of a way in to feeling more deeply. She says there is a place for both - but that the true work is strengthening and promoting safety to be fully within one’s skin. She posits that a lot of the issues we are collectively facing as a society can be attributed to the idea of disembodiment or disconnection from one’s physical body. By nature, we were not designed nor meant to be living in such a fast pace way, every single day.Marissa shares her authentic perspective on the cycles of nature and how they relate to the human body. The way she uses language to explain how the body is intricately connected to the earth is incredibly beautiful. For example, we discuss the earth based wheel of the year and its significance and correlation to a woman’s menstrual cycle. Most notably, when seasons change from the depth of winter’s release to the slow emergence of early spring, we can see the correlation it has to the menses (bleeding) phase and the beginning of the follicular phase when our hormones begin to rise again to prepare for ovulation. She also describes the womb is a mirror; it reflects how we treat our body as a whole. How might we be using protection when it may not be necessary? How does being in fight or flight influence our nervous system? And how might the nervous system affect our womb? We also discuss the pelvic bowl, in lieu of the term pelvic floor, is a place of receiving and releasing. Marissa offers many different courses on earth womb embodiment both online and in person in San Diego. You can connect with her here or by visiting her website.As always thank you for being here and for supporting the MOTHERLANDS Podcast. Please like, review and share with anyone you think would enjoy this conversation.4:30 Defining embodied pleasure13:32 Supporting the conditions that allow the body to feel safe16:37 Witnessing different nervous system responses without judgment19:45 How people pleasing comes into play during birth and embodiment20:46 Natural cycles, body cycles, and earth womb embodiment26:43 Tracking cycles28:31 “Pelvic bowl” and “pelvic diaphragm” in lieu of “pelvic floor”34:38 The importance of relaxation36:12 Understanding the intelligence of scar tissue and that tension is not protectionThank you for reading Motherlands. This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Motherlands at keelysemler.substack.com/subscribe