Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Saunders.
Hi Chelsea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’d like to start by giving you an overview of events that took place in my life that have directly shaped my pursuit in the world of mental health.
Ever since I was young, I recall love being a major theme in my life. I still fondly look back on my first crush at age 4, but in my pre-teen years, I experienced a bout of infatuation and betrayal that foundationally defined my relationship insecurities for years to follow. Over the subsequent two decades, I explored a series of drastically different partnerships from one to the next – each relationship having a unique set of challenges that I internalized because of the wound I carried around my sense of worth.
During the seven years I spent with my first long-term partner I learned so much about the essence of love, but our relationship ended in shattered trust and infidelity. In my next three-year relationship, my partner and I struggled to maintain an intimate connection, which ultimately led to an immense amount of resentment, hopelessness, and our eventual departure. Shortly thereafter I was in a classic narcistic/co-dependent dynamic that nearly ended my life, and my anxious attachment to my then-partner was further exacerbated when I lost my younger sister to an accidental overdose. To avoid the sadness, anger, and confusion that grief instilled upon me, I compartmentalized the pain from these unfortunate life events, but as a result, I left that relationship feeling like a stranger to myself and in desperate need of self-actualization.
The four years that followed were the greatest years of growth in my life. I went on my own unique mental health journey and integrated the tools of mindfulness therapy, embodiment practices, yoga, and spiritual interventions until I was able to accept my vulnerability as a strength and let the need to be resilient subside. I developed compassion for myself and took time to examine my past missteps to learn and grow from them. I opened myself up to dating without expectation, and with some trial and error, I found clarity around my core desires and relational boundaries. Eventually, I called in an incredibly aligned partnership with a human who brings passion and ease into my life and inspires continued healing of my past relationship wounds.
Alongside these underlying experiences came a mindful departure from my previous career, and I started to plant seeds that were congruent with the healing work I had undertaken at that time. In 2021, I received my first Reiki attunement and later pursued my Master certification as a Reiki practitioner. Simultaneous to this transformation, I discovered a powerful sex and relationship coaching program at the Somatica® Institute and began my schooling with the intention of bringing into life a new flavor of radical acceptance and applicable knowledge in the realm of love and sexuality. Little did I know that during my training I would dissolve so much rooted shame that I had subconsciously carried with me for years and learn to truly love myself for the first time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sacral Root is a sex-positive, LGBTQIA+ friendly, somatic coaching and Reiki healing practice that strengthens your relationship to self and others. Through the integration of non-invasive experiential tools, clients get in touch with their identities, emotions, and core erotic desires and learn how to effectively communicate their needs and boundaries.
I wholeheartedly believe that eroticism is a basic necessity of our human existence. One of my goals as a practitioner is to teach people how to harness and step into their erotic energy, even during everyday activities. When we successfully accomplish this energetic relationship with our eroticism, we operate at a higher frequency and attract positive interactions and experiences. Consequently, when we lose touch with our erotic nature, we deprive ourselves of our right to experience peak pleasure in life and are more prone to aggravation, insecurity, and depression.
I specialize in the following areas:
– Relationships
– Sexual Trauma
– Low Sexual Desire
– Dating
– Consent Escalation
– Erectile Dysfunction
– Body Dysmorphia
– Stress Management
– Processing Disappointment
– Overcoming Shame
I also offer Reiki healing sessions that promote relaxation, reduce stress, and alleviate anxiety and depression. The power of Reiki is channeled through the birthright of our universal energy, utilizing a hands-on Japanese healing technique that bolsters spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Positive outcomes include but are not limited to better sleep, improved mood, pain relief, and spiritual enlightenment.
My style of coaching is unique given the consent-informed, experiential quality of my practice. You can expect my role as an intimacy surrogate to directly benefit the relationship you share with yourself, partners, family, and friends. In addition, I’m here to empower you to conquer your sex and relationship goals, explore the why behind your protective mechanisms, process years of shame and disappointment, ease the pressure of harmful familial and societal conditioning, and develop radical acceptance of your mind, body, spirit, and identity.
Outside of my 1:1 coaching and Reiki sessions, I’m most excited to market my Reiki-infused coaching sessions. This offering includes one hour of intimacy coaching followed by an additional hour of Reiki to energetically cleanse the chakras associated with your areas of growth. With this unique interplay of body-based healing modalities, you can expect to reflect, explore, and end the session with a deep relaxation of the physical body and mind. This hybrid model will eventually be available online and in-person at my home office in West Los Angeles.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
As I continue to evolve and develop my business, I have chosen to begin a MA Holistic Counseling Psychology program that will allow me to have a wider reach with Sacral Root, as I will gain the tools to work with a greater network of individuals who struggle with trauma, grief & loss, depression, and anxiety.
Blessings & light.
Contact Info:
- Website: sacralroot.com
- Instagram: sacral.root
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Owen Scarlett
